The UDRM team places an
emphasis on good governance in urban areas
as an approach to reducing disaster risk.
Good governance is defined as
“The exercise of political, economic and
administrative authority in the management
of a country’s affairs at all levels is
governance. It comprises of the mechanisms,
processes and institutions through which
citizens and groups articulate their
interests, exercise their legal rights, meet
their obligations and mediate their
differences.” (UNDP, Governance for
Sustainable Human Development, 1997)
Governance is a social
process, not an output. As a process, it
relies on a system or framework that defines
or influences how public decisions are
collectively made. The system has formal
elements – constitutions, by-laws, policies,
conventions, institutions, and procedures.
There are also informal traditions, accepted
practices, mores, norms, attitudes, and
social perceptions that can have some
influence on how governance works.
The UN HABITAT has a more
explicit definition within the urban
context:
Urban governance is
inextricably linked to the welfare of the
citizenry. Good urban governance must enable
women and men to access the benefits of
urban citizenship. Good urban governance,
based on the principle of urban citizenship,
affirms that no man, woman or child can be
denied access to the necessities of urban
life, including adequate shelter, security
of tenure, safe water, sanitation, a clean
environment, health, education and
nutrition, employment and public safety and
mobility. Through good urban governance,
citizens are provided with the platform
which will allow them to use their talents
to the full to improve their social and
economic conditions. (UN HABITAT Global
Campaign on Good Governance)
It is precisely within this
construction that good governance and
disaster risk reduction come together for
UDRM.
