On 05 October 2023, members of the Build4People team met with representatives of the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC) in Cambodia to discuss about challenges of promoting sustainable neighbourhood development in Cambodia. From Build4People side, Dr. Michael Waibel, research consortium leader of the Build4People Project, Rolf Messerschmidt, CEO of Eble Messerschmidt Partner and leader of Build4People WP “Sustainable Neighbourhoods”, and Ms. Christina Karagianni, Research Associate WP “Sustainable Building” took part. The MLMUPC got represented by Mr. Sok Sam On, Director of Housing Technique and Development Department, General Department of Housing, Ministry of Land Management (GDH).
At the beginning of the meeting we discussed previous cooperation of German donors with the MLMUPC and Mr. Sok Sam On confirmed that now his department is generally open to future cooperation, particular since the inauguration of the new minister, with a mandate to prioritize sustainable urban development and housing in Cambodia.
Then BuildPeople introduced about its approaches, particularly about the Build4People Ecocity Transition Lab Series with the overarching aim to establish minimum criteria of sustainable neighbourhood development to foster sustainability from a very early planning stage on. We further explained about the prototype of the PPCH-B4P Transformation Toolbox, under development together with the Phnom Penh municipal government with the final aim to develop it into a comprehensive digital planning instrument and as an inter-active online information-, public participation-, and learning platform enabling evidence-based data-driven decisions to foster sustainable neighbourhood development in Cambodia. Another tangible product we explained about was the Build4People Transformation Handbook, currently under development, with the aim to compile comprehensive information about green housing and urban quality of life reaching out to the general public.
Mr. Sok Sam On explained about the work of his department in regard of informal settlements and the current development of a database of housing in Cambodia in cooperation with Habitat for Humantiy, UN-Habitat and other organisations.
Finally we agreed to mutually inform us on activities in the future and to keep on the exchange between Build4People the General Department of Housing.
The friendly meeting ended with a hand-over of the hand-over of our Handbook for Green Housing and Healthy Living (based on another BMBF project in Vietnam), with Michael Waibel as editor-in-chief, and of the Khmer language edition of the Architectural Guide Phnom Penh sponsored by Build4People.
