The objectives of the mission which Apur carried out in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, in October 2012, were to identify the possibilities of a Franco-Mongolian co-operation in the area of managing urban development and associating France with preparations for Ulan Bator's new 2013-2030 urbanism plan.
Ulan Bator, which has 1.2 million inhabitants, that is 40.6% of Mongolia's population, is faced with a new demographic, economic and social situation due to the extensive immigration of nomads. The new Mayor, elected in June 2012 intends to carry out a more socially orientated and controlled urban policy than his predecessors. For this reason he has instigated a complete revision of the 2002-2020 master plan drawn up after the Soviet Union was dissolved, in order to readjust the city's development for the period up until 2030.
A large part of the mission was devoted to a detailed examination of the development master plan for the period of up until 2030, which is in its final stages. This assessment, carried out by experts, has allowed a certain number of issues to be brought to light:
- Energy and the treatment of waste: constructing incineration centres could for example serve to create urban heating networks.
- Urban transport: setting up a public transport system should be thought out globally and would necessitate being implemented by a public transport authority.
- Building regulations: for the master plan to be executed correctly, it should be carried out within the framework of building regulations which fix construction rights on land parcels.
- Housing: the integration of the nomadic populations into urban and sedentary life should be done gradually and not too radically.
- Heritage: the built heritage merits to be protected, in order to safeguard the city's character.
- Landscape and the city's identity: the city +should continue to maintain a dialogue between its big urban spaces and the surrounding mountains, a dialogue on which its identity is founded.
Contents
- Background information about the city of Ulan Bator
- The city's management and the organisation of services
- The 2013-2030 master plan project
- The expert-appraisal report given to the Mayor of Ulan Bator
- The Mayor of Ulan Bator's remarks on receiving the report
