International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial Planning (IG-UTP)

The International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial Planning (IG-UTP) intend to constitute a global framework for improving policies, plans and designs for more compact, socially inclusive, better integrated and connected cities and territories that foster sustainable urban development and are resilient to climate change. The main objective of IG-UTP is to promote the following key urban and territorial planning principles into the planning and design of cities and territories:

(1) UTP must address competing interests and be linked to a shared vision and an overall development strategy as well as national and local urban policies;

(2) UTP represents a core component of the renewed urban governance paradigm which aims at promoting local democracy, participation and inclusion, transparency and accountability with a view to ensuring better urbanization and spatial quality, environmental sustainability, social and cultural development and economic prosperity;

(3) UTP must primarily aim at improving the living and working conditions of all segments of present and future society and at promoting equitable distribution of the costs, opportunities and benefits of urban development, as well as social inclusion and cohesion; (4) Respect and tolerance for cultural diversity are at the heart of urban development policy and planning and a pre-condition to better quality of life and successful globalization processes;

(5) UTP must support and facilitate sustained and inclusive economic growth through the provision of adequate infrastructure, the development of which should follow rather than precede the adoption of UT plans;

(6) UTP could be a powerful political mechanism to ensure that sustained economic growth and social development go hand in hand and to promote equitable and inclusive development at all territorial levels;

(7) UTP must provide a spatial framework for the protection and management of the natural and built environment and for integrated and sustainable urban and regional development;

(8) UTP must contribute to strengthening environmental and social resilience and to improving natural and environmental risk prevention and management;

(9) UTP must combine several spatial, institutional and financial dimensions over a variety of time horizons and spatial scales. It must be a continuous and iterative process grounded in well-defined and enforceable regulations;

(10) Spatial planning constitutes a practical subset of UTP aimed at facilitating and articulating political decisions based on different scenarios and broad consultations, and at translating them into actions that will transform the physical and social space and support the development of sustainable territories;

(11) A strengthened institutional framework is indispensable to the implementation of sustainable urban development agendas, policies, plans and programmes that intend to respond coherently and effectively to current and future challenges;

(12) Adequate implementation of plans in all their dimensions requires efficient urban management, improved coordination, consensus-building approaches, reduced duplication of efforts, continuous monitoring and periodic adjustments. It requires in particular an appropriate legal framework and sufficient capacities at all levels, as well as sustainable financial mechanisms and technologies.