

Regional Development
Featured Events
- International Mayors Forum (IMF) 2021-2022
24 Jan 2022 - 27 Jan 2022 , - SDG Monitoring and Evaluation Tools for Local Governments
1 Jan 2022 - 31 Dec 2022 , - Outreach work and capacity-building activities for local governments in Chubu region to promote localizing the SDGs
1 Aug 2019 - 1 Aug 2019 , Chubu region - Training Course on Localizing the SDGs for Council of the City of Kuching South
3 Sep 2018 - 7 Sep 2018 , Aichi Prefecture - Training Course on Localizing the SDGs for Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
2 Jul 2018 - 13 Jul 2018 , Aichi Prefecture
Latest News
Focal point
Economic and Social Development Unit
Nagono 1-47-1, Nakamura-ku,
Nagoya 450-0001, JAPAN
Nagono 1-47-1, Nakamura-ku,
Nagoya 450-0001, JAPAN
"Regional development is a potential instrument for the integration and promotion of social and economic development efforts" in those countries that pursued the following objectives:
- "Induce rapid structural change and social reform, especially to achieve a broader distribution of returns from development among less privileged groups in society;
- Increase popular participation in setting development goals and in developmental decision-making and organizational process;
- Create more effective institutional and administrative arrangements and operational approaches to carry out development plans;
- Achieve a better distribution of population and human activities through a more effective integration of urban and rural development; and
- Include more effectively environmental considerations in development programmes."
Integrated Regional Development Planning (IRDP)
IRDP is founded on a territorial and spatial approach to development. It is a process of planning that can transcend sectors as well as administrative or jurisdictional boundaries to pursue holistic and integrated approaches to sustainable development at sub-national levels. The approach is multi-scalar so as to cover the environmental, social, and economic issues that are being addressed at the appropriate planning and management scale, promoting the required articulation of the different scales. IRDP enables addressing the existing interdependencies and complementarities between the territories (city-regions, urban agglomerations, systems of cities, and urban and rural linkages), which are mutually related through complex exchanges of materials (resources), services (including environmental services), energy, information, and population.
IRDP is also designed to specifically address the needs at the regional and local levels and many problems that affect people at the local level. In addition, IRDP seeks to address regional, local and community empowerment and capacity development.
IRDP is a useful tool for sustainable development, in particular, since it integrates the three pillars of sustainable development, promotes intergovernmental (horizontal and vertical) and public-private coordination, multistakeholder dialogue and synergies, common regional visions, and thus participatory planning.
With its participatory, multi-scalar, multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral approach, IRDP offers a useful tool for pursuing sustainable development, in particular for those countries undergoing decentralization.
Objectives
The overall objective is to enhance application of IRDP in Asian, African and LAC countries as an effective tool to achieve sustainable regional development. In this regards, the specific objectives of the Economic and Social Development Unit are:- To enhance capacities of national governments for effective regional and territorial development policy formulation and implementation (including planning and management instruments); and
- To improve institutional and technical capacities of sub-national institutions for integrated regional development planning and management.
Activities
The following are the areas where UNCRD focuses its activities:- Serving as a knowledge platform on IRDP;
- Organizing forums in Asia, Africa and Latin America for exchange of experiences on regional development planning and management;
- Conducting training of policy makers and planners;
- Providing technical assistance for policy formulation and integrated regional planning and management processes, including multi-stakeholder consultations as well as implementation; and
- Networking with partners and collaborators including UN organizations, aid agencies, central/local governments in Asia, Africa and LAC countries, universities, training and research institutes etc.