#99 Kenya's Search For Urban Excellence: Leveraging the Dubai International Award

By Richard Kitheka

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The Dubai International Award for Best Practices, inaugurated in 1995, serves as a prestigious platform to acknowledge and promote innovative solutions addressing global urban challenges. Established under the visionary guidance of the late Maktūm bin Rāshid āl Maktūm the award honors initiatives that demonstrably enhance the living environment, thereby propelling sustainable urban development. By recognizing and rewarding exemplary practices, the award seeks to inspire and motivate governments, organizations, and communities worldwide to adopt innovative approaches to urban challenges.

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To date, over 110 winners from a pool of over 5000 initiatives from 150 nations have been honored with cash prizes of USD 200,000 and prestigious trophies for their outstanding contributions to sustainable urban development. These accolades serve as proof of the power of innovative ideas and their potential to improve the living environment for millions of people worldwide. Maktūm bin Rāshid āl Maktūm who died in January 2006 was an Emirati royal and politician who served as the second?vice president, first and third?prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and?ruler of Dubai. His vision for urbanization continues to inspire the world.

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The?Urban Best Practices is an online database?based at the UNHABITAT. It houses a repository of 5,000+ inspiring breakthroughs on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. It contains practices which have been vetted and made available by different international award schemes. It has comprehensive search functionality and serves as a useful reference tool for knowledge, success stories and lessons learnt that can be replicated and scaled up.

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This prestigious award has recognized and celebrated exceptional projects that address critical urban challenges, from sustainable development to social equity. In line with Sustainable Development Goal 11 – to make cities and communities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable – the Best Practice Award recognizes significant contributions which:

Have a demonstrable and tangible impact on improving people’s quality of life;

Are the result of effective partnerships between the public, private and civic sectors of society; are socially, culturally, economically and environmentally sustainable.

While Kenya's participation in this esteemed award has been limited, the nation possesses immense potential to contribute groundbreaking solutions to the global urban agenda. The country's vibrant urban landscape, coupled with its burgeoning innovation ecosystem, offers a fertile ground for cultivating and nurturing innovative practices.

Urbanization in most developing countries continues to deliver enormous changes in the spatial distribution of people, resource, as well as the use and consumption of land. By 2050, more than 43 million of Kenya’s population projected to be 85 million will be living in urban areas. Stakeholder mapping and analysis is key as early as now. The are international, public, national political, commercial/private, nongovernmental organization (NGO)/ civil society, labour and users/consumers (Schmeer, 1999) but it also needs the involvement of the judiciary and parliamentarians in the process.

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Although such rapid urbanization process is strongly linked to social and economic development, many countries such as Kenya lack the supporting policies and frameworks that can leverage the process for increased development gains and guide it towards sustainable patterns especially in the area of Spatial Development. While urbanization creates huge wealth and opportunities, enables better use of assets and creates new ones, in many countries, particularly in the developing world, these aspects are not optimally harnessed for development. In fact, in the developing world, urbanization challenges often seem to outpace development gains largely due to poor policy implementation and sometimes political interference.

To maximize Kenya's potential in the Dubai International Award, a multifaceted approach is essential. Such an approach will mitigate its negative externalities and promote an “urban paradigm shift”, there is a need for a coordinated approach and clear policy directions. In comes the Dubai International Award charged with:

1. Elevating Awareness: A concerted effort to raise awareness about the award among policymakers, urban planners, architects, engineers, and community leaders can stimulate interest and encourage participation.
2. Facilitating Participation: Providing technical assistance and support to potential applicants, including guidance on proposal development and submission processes, can significantly enhance the quality and quantity of Kenyan submissions.
3. Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Encouraging collaboration between diverse stakeholders, such as government agencies, NGOs, academia, and the private sector, can lead to the development of comprehensive and impactful solutions.
4. Learning from Global Best Practices: Analyzing the winning projects from previous years can provide valuable insights into successful strategies and innovative approaches, enabling Kenyan practitioners to adapt and refine their own initiatives.

By actively engaging in the Dubai International Award, Kenya can not only showcase its innovative capacity but also contribute and gain from the global discourse on sustainable urban development. By embracing the award's principles of excellence, innovation, and impact, Kenya can position itself as a leading force in shaping the future of urban living and make steps that amply prepare it for future urbanization challenges.

To enhance Kenyan participation in the award, it is crucial to:

• Raise Awareness: Promote the award among relevant stakeholders in Kenya, including government agencies, NGOs, and academic institutions.
• Facilitate Submissions: Provide support and guidance to potential applicants, assisting them in preparing strong pragmatic submissions.
• Foster Collaboration: Encourage collaboration between different sectors to develop comprehensive and impactful initiatives. ?
• Learn from Success Stories: Analyze the winning projects from previous years to identify best practices and adapt them to the Kenyan context.

By actively participating in the Dubai International Award, Kenya can showcase its innovative solutions to global challenges and contribute to the global discourse on sustainable urban development. Kenya can also receive guidance on the future development of the national urban system and its spatial configuration concretized through national and regional spatial plans for territorial development from winning projects.

The award is open to all sectors: national and regional governments; local authorities and their associations; non-governmental organizations; multilateral agencies; community based organizations; research and academic institutions; public and private foundations; media entities and individuals.

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