The Integrated Urban Development Programme (IUDP) of the City of Sousse

The Integrated Urban Development Programme (IUDP) of the City of Sousse in Tunisia is a project within the framework of the decentralized cooperation between Swiss Confederation and the municipality of Sousse¹ in the fields of Urban planning, Urban Management, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)².

The project seeks to enhance the quality of life in the city by improving the economic, environmental, and social conditions for the population³. It also aims to enhance the municipal institutional development by improving and maintaining the technical and organizational capacities of the municipality of Sousse⁴.

To meet these objectives, various comprehensive studies have been carried out in the four distinct fields of this integrated development program and include the following:

• Urban planning: by revisioning the urban development plan (UDP), and forming a master plan for green spaces.
• Mobility: by initiating an Urban Transport Plan (UTP) for Greater Sousse 2030, and elaborating a Traffic and Parking Study (ECS)
• Energy: by conducting an energy audit of the municipal assets
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) by establishing a GIS unit for the city of Sousse⁵.

These various studies including master plans have enabled the formulation of strategies within the respective fields⁶. At the same time, the program has also introduced action plans and pilot projects that are highly visible and deliver quick, impactful results (referred to as “quick wins”), including the revitalization of the historic Boujaafar garden, Securing Pedestrian Crossings in the City Center and the initial testing of the pedestrianization of the Corniche that included an awareness campaign on soft mobility^{7 8}. These pilot projects aimed to implement some of the strategies in these studies and deliver some of the above-mentioned objectives.

The planning process adopts a participatory approach that engages both civil society and public actors in the formulation of strategic directions and choices for the integrated urban development plan. The participation is in the form of a series of listening and reflection workshops organized by the municipality^{9 10}.

The project is initiated by the Municipality of Sousse, in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Affairs and Environment and with the support of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of the Swiss Confederation (SECO)¹¹. The estimated budget of the project is CHF 2,800,000 funded by the Swiss Confederation¹². A consortium led by Urbaplan, along with Transitec, Planair, and Inser, has been assigned the responsibility of providing project management assistance¹³. The project has been under implementation over two key phases:

• The first phase (2017-2022) consists of the preparation of various studies in the different components of the programs and the implementation of several pilot projects, with notable examples including the revitalization of the cherished Boujaafar garden and the experimental implementation of a pedestrian-friendly Corniche. This project was implemented by a consortium led by Urbaplan, with Transitec, Planair, and Inser as key partners.
• In the second phase, the Swiss and Tunisian partners have opted to initiate a second phase of the program, focused on increasing functionality and adopting a more metropolitan approach¹⁴.