What is a national urban policy? National urban policies may be best understood by what most countries are missing. Cities are hubs of people, jobs and wealth, yet even many of the world’s most developed countries have no particular strategy for their success. In fact, many countries historically have taken a hostile attitude toward cities. Especially in rural countries, governments have viewed cities as drains on resources and competing centres of power. As a result, in many parts of the world, local authorities are weak institutions, left to fend for themselves against powerful ministers or other levels of government. At the same time, other development priorities can impact cities in a big way. Countries may have policies to boost certain industries. They may spend lots of money on roads, ports, housing and other infrastructure. They may even transfer money directly to local authorities. But beneath it all, there usually is no big-picture thinking about whether those decisions make cities stronger or weaker. By contrast, a country with a national urban policy has developed some vision guiding the growth and management of cities. UN-Habitat has a more formal definition: A national urban policy is “a coherent set of decisions derived through a deliberate government-led process of coordinating and rallying various actors for a common vision and goal that will promote more transformative, productive, inclusive and resilient urban development for the long term.”
Question
What is a national urban policy? National urban policies may be best understood by what most countries are missing. Cities are hubs of people, jobs and wealth, yet even many of the world’s most developed countries have no particular strategy for their success. In fact, many countries historically have taken a hostile attitude toward cities. Especially in rural countries, governments have viewed cities as drains on resources and competing centres of power. As a result, in many parts of the world, local authorities are weak institutions, left to fend for themselves against powerful ministers or other levels of government. At the same time, other development priorities can impact cities in a big way. Countries may have policies to boost certain industries. They may spend lots of money on roads, ports, housing and other infrastructure. They may even transfer money directly to local authorities. But beneath it all, there usually is no big-picture thinking about whether those decisions make cities stronger or weaker. By contrast, a country with a national urban policy has developed some vision guiding the growth and management of cities. UN-Habitat has a more formal definition: A national urban policy is “a coherent set of decisions derived through a deliberate government-led process of coordinating and rallying various actors for a common vision and goal that will promote more transformative, productive, inclusive and resilient urban development for the long term.”
Solution
Una política urbana nacional es una estrategia desarrollada por un país para guiar el crecimiento y la gestión de sus ciudades. A menudo, los países carecen de una estrategia específica para el éxito de sus ciudades, a pesar de que estas son centros de personas, empleos y riqueza. Históricamente, muchos gobiernos han adoptado una actitud hostil hacia las ciudades, viéndolas como drenajes de recursos y centros de poder competidores, especialmente en países rurales. Esto ha resultado en autoridades locales débiles que deben enfrentarse solas a ministros poderosos u otros niveles de gobierno.
Además, otras prioridades de desarrollo pueden impactar significativamente a las ciudades. Los países pueden tener políticas para impulsar ciertas industrias, gastar mucho dinero en carreteras, puertos, viviendas y otras infraestructuras, e incluso transferir dinero directamente a las autoridades locales. Sin embargo, generalmente no existe una visión global sobre si estas decisiones fortalecen o debilitan a las ciudades.
En contraste, un país con una política urbana nacional ha desarrollado una visión que guía el crecimiento y la gestión de las ciudades. Según UN-Habitat, una política urbana nacional es "un conjunto coherente de decisiones derivadas de un proceso deliberado liderado por el gobierno para coordinar y reunir a varios actores en pos de una visión y objetivo comunes que promoverán un desarrollo urbano más transformador, productivo, inclusivo y resiliente a largo plazo."
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