Agencies Seek Advice on Helping Cities

EXECUTIVE MEMO

Agencies Seek Advice on Helping Cities

ince January, officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Agency for International Development have been showing up at town meetings on "creating sustainable communities" to listen to what local leaders and activists have to say about living conditions in American cities.

The federal government is soliciting local input in preparation for Habitat II, the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, which will take place in Istanbul in June. The conference, also known as the City Summit, is being touted as the culmination of 20 years of UN conferences on global problems, a series which has included the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio and the 1995 Conference on Women in Beijing. Habitat II will bring together more than 25,000 representatives of 185 nations to wrestle with the phenomenon of rapid urban growth and initiate action to provide adequate shelter for all.

"Although the City Summit is an international conference at which leaders from around the globe can share ideas," HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros said last August, "it also provides a unique opportunity to develop creative solutions for improving housing and urban conditions here in the United States." Cisneros will chair the U.S. delegation to the conference and has been involved in a two-year planning process with AID, the State Department and the Environmental Protection Agency that is notable for its citizen outreach efforts.

Last April, Cisneros tapped local government leaders, civil rights activists, housing construction industry representatives and others to join his National Preparatory Committee for Habitat II. The committee and the agencies involved in preparing for Habitat II are working on three projects:

• Preparing the U.S. National Report to Habitat II. This report will set forth the Clinton Administration's priorities for sustainable cities.

• Showcasing Best Practices. The committee sponsored a competition to identify creative local solutions to urban problems, and HUD is profiling the 25 winners in a book that will be distributed domestically and in Istanbul.

• Public Outreach. Activities include participating in Habitat II town meetings, operating a clearinghouse to distribute information via the Internet and a toll-free number, and partially funding the U.S. Network for Habitat II, a citizen-government liaison group.

"The United States is interested in focusing the conference so that it is practical," says David Hales, deputy assistant administrator of AID's Bureau for Global Programs. "So that it means something to mayors. So that it means something to investment bankers. The magnitude of the problems that cities face is increasing so rapidly that local institutions don't have time to evolve their own solutions.

"The U.S. delegation is not going to Istanbul to tell other countries which solutions are right and which solutions are wrong, but to create opportunities where local leaders can learn from each other."

For more information on Habitat II preparations, call the Habitat II Clearinghouse at (800) 248-8180, or visit the U.S. Network for Habitat II web site at http://www. odsnet.com/habitatnetwk.