Reynosa is the capital and most important city in the state of Tamaulipas due to its economic and demographic dynamism, however it faces significant security, environmental and urban development challenges conditioned by the current expansive territorial model. In its urban strategy to face these challenges, in 2018, the municipal government developed a cooperation with UN-Habitat for the strengthening of its urban and territorial planning. This led to the generation of the document “Vision Reynosa 2030” aligned to the principals of the 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda.

Within the framework of update the Municipal Program of Territorial Planning and Urban Development (POTDU), this project aimed to define in a consensual and evidence-based manner, how the urban development of the city should evolve in the coming years to overcome its current challenges to allow a more inclusive, secure, resilient and sustainable city by 2030.

In this regard, the main activities to the generation of the document of Vision Reynosa 2030 were:

1. Localize the concept and principles of the 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda at the municipal context.
2. Generation of co-responsibility mechanisms for urban development.
3. Strengthen the municipal capacities in the operationalization of urban projects.

The result was the generation of a strategic city vision towards 2030 aligned to the global agendas, as key element that can contribute to the update of the municipal policies in terms of sustainable urban and territorial development. The objectives and principals that integrate this vision are based on a broad multisectoral participatory process in which the main challenges and opportunities of the city were identified.

The project applied the strategic urban planning approach and promoted the implementation of the New Urban Agenda as a mechanism for the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda at the local level, directly contributing to address SDGs 11 “Sustainable cities and communities”, 16 “Peace, justice and strong institutions” and 17 “Partnerships for the goals”.

Also, according to UN-Habitat, 65% of the targets of the SDGs are related to urban development and decision-making at the local level and, in this regard, the implementation of the guidelines defined in the document of vision could have a potential impact on all the SDGs

The project was founded by the Municipal Government and implemented through the Municipal Planning Institute (IMPLAN) in partnership with UN-Habitat Mexico, officials and professionals from the municipal and state government, private sector, academy and civil society were the direct beneficiaries of the process, but the results have impact on the entire society of Reynosa. Since one of the main objectives was the generation of co-responsibility, a wide multisectoral participatory process and a communication strategy were developed to promote the involvement of the different stakeholders in the planning and the appropriation of the city vision, and its further implementation.

This project was developed in the frame of a Memorandum of Understanding and a contribution agreement signed on March 26, 2018 between the Municipal Government of Reynosa and UN-Habitat Mexico.

For the development of this cooperation the following activities were carried out:

- Evidence-based diagnosis. Identification of the main challenges that Reynosa faces in the urban and territorial issues, based on the analysis of existing information obtained from studies, plans and programs developed during the last few years, including the results of the City Prosperity Index (CPI), a study elaborated by UN-Habitat Mexico in 2016; the evidence generated by the municipality for the update of the POTDU; the information included in other plans and programs elaborated for state institutions, international organizations and civic entities; as well as consultations with local experts.

- Vision for Reynosa by 2030. Collective definition of a city vision towards 2030, generated from the results of the diagnosis and the development of a workshop of vision with international experts, representatives of the local government, private sector, academia and civil society to generate a consensus on the desired future for the city, identifying the areas of opportunity and the necessary actions to transform the current conditions.

- Capacity strengthening process. Design and development of a training program to strengthen capacities of the IMPLAN and other municipal areas responsible of the planning and urban development of the city, focused on the knowledge on the 2030 Agenda, the New Urban Agenda and the process of projects operationalization. This activity was carried out based on a series of workshops under the concept of "learning by doing", through which, the process to translate the objectives, plans and programs into tangible urban projects was exemplified.

- Communication and dissemination. Development of a permanent communication to generate a space for dialogue and dissemination of findings, progress and results of the project. In this regard, a series of messages, publications in social networks were generated, so the process and its results could be presented in an understandable manner to the public.

In addition, during the project, a series of transversal activities were carried out to reinforce the achievement of the objectives, such as: the generation of reflections on how to boost urban plans and policies to an operational field and the roles that each stakeholder can assume to contribute to this; the generation of mechanisms of participation and co-responsibility for the implementation of actions; as well as some actions to raise awareness on the principles of the New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda among the community of Reynosa.

Outputs:
• Base document. Consists of a document that systematizes the main challenges and opportunities identified for the city of Reynosa in terms of urban and territorial issues. This document offers an integrated and multisectoral analysis of the current situation that orients the reflections and proposals for the formulation of urban policies.

• Document “Vision Reynosa 2030”. As result of the consensus achieved on the generation of a city vision towards 2030, a strategic document was generated as a guide to orient the urban policy of Reynosa, contributing to generate continuity within the urban development instruments and their operational application.

This document aims to translate the vision into concrete urban policies by defining the main objectives to be achieved in the next years for the sustainable development of the city. In this sense, it proposes 10 strategic objectives explaining the context, its alignment with the principals of the 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda, and a description of how it contributes to the achievement of the vision. Also, the document presents some examples of concrete actions that could be implemented in the short, medium and long term to advance on the accomplishment of the objectives.

The document is complemented by a technical analysis on three essential pillars for the practical application of the vision: urban legislation, urban planning, and urban economy, and includes a guide for the operationalization of projects.

Main results and impacts of the project:

- Reynosa has a vision for the future. Due to the development of this project, Reynosa has now a shared vision for its future. This vision describes how the city is visualized in the year 2030 and therefore, it allows to orient the actions related to the urban development towards a common objective.

- Generation of co-responsibility. Participatory processes developed during the project have contributed to the appropriation of the city vision and empowered the stakeholders and encourage them become more involved in the planning and the ownership of the city of Reynosa.

- Knowledge on the NUA and the SDGs. The knowledge and dissemination of the principles of the 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda have been extended within the different stakeholders and the entire society of Reynosa. It is expected that this has an important effect on the decision-making process towards the sustainable development of the city.

Impacts:
- Update of the POTDU. The municipal government of Reynosa has completed the update of its POTDU, a binding instrument that will determine where and how the city will develop in the coming decades. This update is in the final phase to be approved and formalized as the main legal framework for the urban and territorial development of the city.

Within the framework of the project, strong coordination existed between the parties involved in order to ensure efficiency in decision-making, implementation of activities, monitoring and evaluation. This allowed to generate a transparent dialogue and a solid link between the technical team involved in the process, which contributed to the achievement of the objectives.

The project had a structure to promote co-responsibility. This helped to the public acceptance and legitimacy of the project, through the active involvement of the stakeholders in all phases.

One of the main challenges faced during the project was the electoral period and the change of municipal administration occurred during the months of July to September. This challenge was successfully addressed tanks to the governance structure and the trust generated between the implementing parties to achieve the objectives, and by the involvement of the interim municipal president in the activities developed. On the other hand, the strengthening of co-responsibility among all the actors involved in the process and the communication strategy were key factors for the continuity and success of the activities, despite having passed a period of transition.

Reynosa is one of the pioneer cities in which the New Urban Agenda is being implemented in México, based on the evidence available and with a truly rich participative process which contributed to the update of the local planning instruments. Starting from this experience, this project model can be replicated on another municipalities, because its methodology and activities are highly adaptable to another similar contexts worldwide.

“Vision Reynosa 2030” implicates a series of environmental, social and economic objectives which are intended to develop a city more inclusive, secure, resilient and sustainable by 2030. It encourages the population in general to be more involved in the assessment, planification and therefore action to face the current challenges of the city with a spirit of co-responsibility.

The document “Vision Reynosa 2030” is a key tool to promote the implementation of the principles of the 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda (NUA) at the local level, contributing to urban sustainability. Its long-term spectrum and the co-responsibility mechanisms between the different key stockholders of the city allow strengthening the continuity of urban policies.



Some lessons learned from this project are:

• It is not possible to transform the urban model of a city without a plan, or rather, a series of hierarchically coordinated plans which propose how to do it, therefore, strategic urban planning is an essential tool to implement the 2030 Agenda and its SDGs at the local level.

• Urban planning is enriched through the integration of all those involved during the process of co-creation and definition of the guiding principles that orient the development of the city. This makes participative processes a fundamental part of the generation of new development policies.

• The adoption of a shared vision that brings together the aspirations and expectations of different actors enables to grant legitimacy and cohesion to the implementation of public policies and contributes to moving towards a scenario in which no one and no place is left behind.

• It becomes necessary to translate the plans, objectives and vision into reality. The professionalization and strengthening of technical capacities are key elements in this process.

http://www.reynosa.gob.mx/potmunicipal/ONU.php
http://onuhabitat.org.mx/index.php/onu-habitat-en-reynosa
http://70.35.196.242/onuhabitatmexico/VISION-REYNOSA-2030.pdf
https://www.flickr.com/photos/onuhabitates/albums/72157693123734940
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4z894Lz2kM&t=18s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdrid5ZTud0