What is French decentralised cooperation doing in terms of territorial crisis management?

25/10/2011

The World Bank’s World Development Report of 2009 considers, not without reason, that the pursuit of economic growth is dependent on increased human and economic density. Urbanisation would therefore appear to be a driving force of development. On the other hand, this heightened concentration brings with it other factors, such as those which favour the development of political and social crises. These concentrated human settlements are too often established in areas which are unsuitable for human development or in at-risk areas. The cost of property causes the city to spread, for example, into areas liable to flooding. In response to this situation, the International Association of French-speaking Mayors (AIMF) decided to raise awareness amongst local authority representatives about anticipating crises in their management of a territory: support for the creation of shared governance tools, new services to be shared between municipal authorities and the development of a new form of decentralised cooperation close to the local population.