City planners in Mongolia are expanding their horizons and preparing plans for Ulaanbaatar’s rapid urban growth. Ulaanbaatar’s urban planners have enhanced their technical skills for urban planning and development of master and local plans. The establishment of a shared urban database and upgrade of urban planning software will help urban planners prepare for Ulaanbaatar’s future.
Ulaanbaatar City belongs to the Ulaanbaatar Capital Region, which has grown substantially in recent years. By 2030 the capital region’s population is expected to reach 1,763,000, roughly half of the projected population of Mongolia.
In Ulaanbaatar, rapid urbanization revealed the Mongolian capital’s needs to build its capacity to better plan, regulate, and implement its urban development goals. However, the technical capacity of the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar (MUB) prevents the city from implementing its urban planning functions optimally. In addition, institutional arrangements within hinder the city from responding to the urban development requirements of a rapidly growing city.
ADB and the government identified capacity development as a crucial step to build MUB’s capabilities to plan and implement sustainable urban development. Crucial development frameworks like the Ulaanbaatar Urban Development Master Plan 2030, which has been endorsed by the parliament, need strong institutional capabilities for their objectives to be fully realized.
Interventions
Aligning with the country’s partnership strategy (CPS), ADB, with cofinancing from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, developed a technical assistance that contributes to enhancing the capacity of MUB to implement urban plans, specifically to achieve targets for water supply and other municipal infrastructure and services, including greater availability of municipal services and improved living conditions in urban areas.
The technical assistance sought enhancement of technical skills for urban planning and development of master and local plans, strengthening of urban planning function, establishment of shared urban database, and upgrade of urban planning software.
Results
Some 770 personnel from MUB and relevant government agencies linked to urban planning and administration underwent training sessions and workshops, which totalled 25 sessions and workshops. Stakeholders from the private sector and the academe as well as community citizen groups or nongovernment organizations also benefited from these capacity building sessions.
More than 80 staff of Master Planning Agency of Capital City and Urban Planning, Architecture, and Design Institute of Ulaanbaatar City received training on geographic information system, land valuation, socioeconomic development framework, urban mobility, urban design, environment, disaster management, urban engineering, planning administration, green city, and zoning.
In May 2017, an urban planning manual was officially submitted to the MUB. This manual includes a roadmap to strengthen urban planning organization and functions, especially on increasing public participation and improving coordination from planning to implementation among concerned agencies. A shared urban database system and information sharing methodology with approved utilization guidelines was also developed as part of the technical assistance.