This final chapter examines the governance mechanisms underpinning Morocco's urban policies and proposes recommendations to strengthen vertical and sectoral coordination at the national and local levels, promote a strategic approach to urban development, enhance technical and human capacities at the subnational level, and encourage stakeholder participation. This chapter also explores ways to mobilise adequate financing to meet present and future urbanisation needs, particularly in terms of housing, infrastructure, transport and public services in Moroccan cities.
National Urban Policy Review of Morocco
Abstract
Morocco faces governance challenges that hold back compact, sustainable and resilient urban development. Despite recent reforms such as the 2011 Constitution, the advanced regionalisation of 2015 and the 2018 decentralisation charter, Moroccan local authorities are faced with coordination challenges between different levels of urban planning, between sectoral policies that are often addressed in silos, as well as at the territorial level between the different plans in the same functional urban area. To strengthen vertical and sectoral coordination at the national and local levels for urban development, Morocco's renewed national urban policy could implement incentives, regulations, and coordination mechanisms to manage trade-offs and ensure policy coherence. An interministerial commission on urban development, chaired at the level of the head of government, with a technical coordination body and a territorial coordination mechanism, could also be set up to ensure the sectoral articulation of public policies that have a link with urban development. Finally, strengthened metropolitan governance could address specific challenges of certain territories and align sectoral priorities, for example by transforming specific Intermunicipal Cooperation Establishments (Établissements de Coopération Intercommunale - ECIs) into metropolitan authorities.
Another challenge for urban development in Morocco is the financing of urbanisation, which remains insufficient and does not meet the needs of urban growth. To meet present and future needs related to urbanisation, such as housing, infrastructure, transport and public services, Morocco could draw on a wide range of financing tools, such as land value capture instruments, private investment, green financing and municipal bond issuance.
Adopting a strategic approach and defining a vision for urban development, incorporating an evaluation approach based on the use of data and indicators, would improve decision-making, the effectiveness of implemented public policies, and the ability to adequately respond to urban needs and challenges. Strengthening strategic, technical, and human capacities at the subnational level is crucial to implementing Morocco's national urban policy, particularly to address the increasing complexity of challenges faced by cities and to leverage new and innovative methods and technologies. Finally, broader and more systematic stakeholder participation could be further promoted in the development and implementation of urban policy in Morocco, notably by establishing institutional coordination and consultation mechanisms, developing the use of participatory digital platforms, and engaging citizens at more granular levels such as neighbourhoods.
The constitutional reform of 2011, the advanced regionalisation of 2015 and the decentralisation charter of 2018 have in turn strengthened the role of local authorities in the development and implementation of public policies, particularly those relating to urban development. However, despite this paradigm shift, Moroccan local and regional governments face challenges in vertical, sectoral and horizontal coordination, hindering the effective implementation of urban policies.
Coordination and convergence between the different levels of government suffer from the multiplicity of actors and need to be strengthened
The role of local authorities has been strengthened by decentralisation reforms, with a predominant role given to the regions
The constitutional reform of 2011 and the advanced regionalisation of 2015 made it possible to reform the powers of local authorities (regions, prefectures, provinces and municipalities), with the aim of granting them more autonomy. These reforms have made it possible to initiate a process of decentralisation, thus positioning Morocco alongside several OECD countries that have strengthened the powers of local authorities in recent decades, including Spain, France, Portugal and Italy. The application of the principle of subsidiarity is enshrined in the 2011 Constitution and defines the general principles on the powers of the three levels of local authorities, assigning local services to municipalities, social development to prefectures and provinces, and economic and sustainable development to the regions. The 2011 Constitution also affirms several other principles, including (Portail National des Collectivités Territoriales, s.d.[1]) :
The importance of the region over other local authorities in terms of economic development, and the design and implementation of regional land use plans;
The free administration of local affairs, as well as control and accountability;
Cooperation, partnership, and groupings of municipalities for the implementation of projects, pooling and solidarity between municipalities
The establishment of three types of responsibilities of local authorities, based on the principle of subsidiarity, namely their own responsibilities, responsibilities shared with the State and responsibilities that can be transferred to them by the latter; and
The establishment of a system of financial resources specific to local authorities and financial resources allocated by the State, to enable them to exercise their powers.
These constitutional principles were then enshrined in the advanced regionalisation reform of 2015, thanks to the new organic laws 111.14, 112.14 and 113.14, relating respectively to regions, provinces and prefectures, and municipalities (Portail National des Collectivités Territoriales, s.d.[2]). The main objective of the 2015 advanced regionalisation reform is to promote balanced territorial development through local ownership of public projects and policies, and to strengthen decentralisation and citizen participation by transferring state responsibilities to local authorities and by involving inhabitants more in decisions that affect them. Advanced regionalisation is also a central pillar of the New Model of Economic and Social Development announced during the royal speech of 13 October 2017.
The organic laws relating to advanced regionalisation of 2015 affirm the principle of free administration of the three levels of territorial communities and have allowed transfers of powers and financial resources to the elected presidents of regional, provincial and prefectural councils that until then belonged to the Walis1 and Governors – representatives of the State at the regional and provincial levels (Annex Table 6.A.1). These laws also define the own responsibilities, the responsibilities shared with the State and the responsibilities transferred for each level of local authority (Annex 6.A). In this reform, the regions are given a pre-eminent role in the field of the regional development programme and the regional spatial planning plan in relation to other local authorities, such as the provinces and prefectures, and the municipalities. The municipalities, for their part, are responsible for the provision of local services to citizens on their territory. In particular, the municipalities set up a municipal action plan, which sets out the development actions to be carried out on their territory for six years. They are also responsible for the public services and facilities necessary for the provision of local services, such as the distribution of drinking water and electricity, urban public transport, public lighting, the cleaning of public roads and squares and the collection of waste and its treatment, the creation and maintenance of natural parks, etc., as well as urban planning and land use planning (Ministère de l’Intérieur, 2015[3]).
Finally, in 2024, decentralisation and regionalisation efforts led to the promulgation of Decree 7264 of 11 January 2024 setting out the attributions and organization of the Ministry of National Territory and Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy (Ministère de l’Aménagement du Territoire National, de l’Urbanisme, de l’Habitat et de la Politique de la Ville - MATNUHPV), thus codifying its role in the articulation of this advanced regionalisation (Journal Officiel du Maroc, 2024[4]).
At the same time, and in support of the advanced regionalisation process, Morocco has also implemented administrative decentralisation mechanisms, aimed at organising a transfer of decision-making, human and material powers from central services to decentralised services in the regions, in particular through the 2018 Decentralisation Charter (Portail National des Collectivités Territoriales, 2018[5]). The State's policy in the field of administrative decentralisation is mainly based on four axes:
Make the region the privileged territorial level: the Wali of the region is the representative of the central authority at the regional level responsible for coordinating the action of the decentralised services of the ministerial departments, and guaranteeing the coordination, complementarity, monitoring and implementation of public projects programmed at the regional level;
Promote the decentralised services as a key interlocutor at the local level, by giving their representatives in the region the necessary decision-making powers;
Supporting advanced regionalisation with a series of measures aimed in particular at supporting local authorities and strengthening their capacities, supporting partnership and contracting with the various regional actors, as well as monitoring the implementation of structuring projects at the regional level;
Enshrine the rules of good governance in the conduct of the administrative decentralisation process through the establishment of reference plans for determining the responsibilities and resources that will be transferred to the decentralised services of ministerial departments and the obligations arising therefrom, as well as the establishment of steering mechanisms, coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of this structuring project.
Source: OECD (2018[6]), Morocco-OECD Dialogue on Territorial Development Policies: Challenges and Recommendations for Coordinated Public Action, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264302884-fr.
The involvement of many different actors in the development and implementation of urban policies leads to overlapping powers
In addition to their own powers, local authorities also have powers shared with other levels of government. The regions, provinces and prefectures, as well as the municipalities, exercise powers as competences shared with the State on a contractual basis, at the initiative of the State or local authorities. These powers often involve economic, social, cultural and rural development, environmental protection and tourism promotion in the case of the region, or the development of the local economy and the promotion of employment, and the preservation of the specificities of the local cultural heritage and its development in the case of the municipalities. Local authorities also exercise powers transferred by the State (Annex 6.A). These shared and transferred powers can raise a significant challenge of overlapping responsibilities if there is no effective coordination mechanism.
Moreover, as seen above, local authorities are faced with the challenge of a multiplicity of actors with overlapping powers. For example, the State and its decentralised services at the regional and subregional levels are responsible for the design, implementation, monitoring, control and management of urban development programmes and projects. These powers are similar to those of the regional, provincial and prefectural council as well as municipal councils, and even the Regional Agency for the Implementation of Projects (l’agence régionale de l’exécution des projets – AREP) or the Development Agency (l’agence de développement – AD) (Box 6.1). In addition to this, the Higher Council of Spatial Planning (Conseil Supérieur de l’Aménagement du Territoire – CSAT), which has since become the Ministerial Council for Spatial Planning (Conseil Ministériel de l’Aménagement du Territoire – CMAT), which proposes the main orientations in terms of regional planning and sustainable development and gives its opinion on national and regional strategic plans and documents for regional spatial planning, ensures the harmonisation of major sectoral projects and contributes to the evaluation of the results of the actions carried out. The Regional Investment Centres (Centres Régionaux d’Investissement – CRI), for their part, have the role of supporting the development of’attractiveness of territories, while urban agencies, public establishments with legal personality and financial autonomy and which are under the authority of the MATNUHPV, with the exception of the Casablanca Urban Agency which is under the supervision of the Minister of the Interior, are responsible in particular for carrying out the studies necessary for the establishment of the Urban development master plans (Schémas Directeurs d’Aménagement Urbain – SDAU), to monitor the implementation of the guidelines defined therein, to program development projects inherent in the achievement of the objectives of the master plans, and to prepare draft regulatory urban planning documents (Zoning Plans, Development Plans) (Fédération des agences urbaines du Maroc, s.d.[7]) (Agence Urbaine de Casablanca, s.d.[8]). Local development companies (sociétés de développement local – SDL), regional development companies (les sociétés de développement regional – SDR) and development companies (sociétés de développement – SDs) created by the prefectures and provinces also play a key role in the implementation of urban and economic development strategies. SDLs are often responsible for designing, financing and implementing urban development projects, such as the renewal of neighbourhoods, the development of public infrastructure, the creation of green and recreational areas, and the promotion of housing and social housing. Some SDLs in Morocco are responsible for the management and operation of public services and facilities, such as waste management, street lighting, urban transport and car parks, aiming for more efficient management adapted to local needs.
This overlap of powers in Morocco between local authorities and the State as well as with the many other actors reflect the complex process of decentralisation and advanced regionalisation in the country and can have many deleterious implications in the implementation of public policies, particularly urban development. Indeed, overlapping powers can lead to overlapping and confusion of roles, leading to inefficiencies, duplication in the administration of public services, and cumbersome decision-making processes. The overlapping of powers can also complicate the allocation and management of financial resources, which can affect the quality and efficiency of services offered to citizens. Overlapping powers between the state and local governments can also pose challenges in terms of accountability and transparency, as it can be difficult for citizens to understand who is responsible for what, hindering voters' ability to hold their representatives to account.
As seen in Chapter 4 in the context of urban planning, the involvement of many actors leads to an abundance of urban development strategies and plans, which can be difficult to harmonise. The case of the Casablanca-Settat region illustrates the challenges related to overlapping powers between local authorities and central government, as well as the lack of coordination and its consequences on the implementation of urban policies. Indeed, the redistribution of powers between the deconcentrated authorities and the newly elected decentralised authorities at the creation of the new region in 2015 struggled to take place, with each authority drafting development plans associated with major investment programmes for the Casablanca territory. Thus, the Greater Casablanca Development Plan (Plan de Développement du Grand Casablanca – PDGC) and the Regional Development Plan (Plan de Développement Régional – PDR), which respectively cover the old and new region, are both still in place to this day. However, while the Greater Casablanca Development Plan has its own governance bodies with project choices largely concerted with all partners, the Regional Development Plan is developed based on information provided to the regional council by local authorities and the State's deconcentrated services, aiming for coherence and complementarity between the different development programmes of the region, including the PDGC.
Several regional and local actors share different powers in Morocco:
The State: the central Moroccan administration is responsible for guidance, design, support, assistance, evaluation, and control, with the progressive delegation of operational and management tasks to deconcentrated services. The regional administration is responsible for coordinating and aligning the programmes and actions of public services and organisations, contracting with the central administration, and monitoring programme implementation. Finally, the prefectural or provincial administration implements actions and projects and ensures their day-to-day management. The Wali is the State's representative at the regional level, while the Governor is its representative at the prefecture or provincial level. Together, they are tasked with ensuring the application of laws, regulations, and government decisions, and have coordination prerogatives for deconcentrated state services. They act as intermediaries between territorial councils and the central administration in terms of information, planning, and the execution of technical assistance projects from state services to elected councils.
The regional councils, directly elected: responsible for developing and implementing human development programmes in line with regional development plans, equipment and infrastructure programmes, coordination and consultation between regional and communal councils, implementing regional development programmes and plans within the prefecture or province under a contractual framework, and promoting and ensuring the sustainability of inter-municipal cooperation to manage common projects and pool resources.
The prefectural and provincial councils, indirectly elected: responsible for the development and implementation of human development programmes in line with regional development plans, the development and implementation of equipment and infrastructure programmes, coordination and consultation between regional and communal councils, the implementation of regional development programmes and plans in the prefecture or the province within a contractual framework, the promotion and guarantee of the development and sustainability of inter-municipal cooperation in order to take charge of common projects and pool resources.
Communal councils, directly elected: responsible for implementing, under the supervision of the council president, an action plan for the municipality, and its monitoring, updating, and evaluation. Municipalities create and manage public services and facilities necessary for local services, such as the distribution of drinking water and electricity, urban public transport, public lighting, liquid and solid sanitation, wastewater treatment plants, hygiene preservation, cleaning of public roads and squares, and the creation and maintenance of natural parks. Municipalities are also responsible for urban and regional planning.
Development Agencies (Agences de développement – AD): responsible for creating a dynamic of territorial development and promotion in the provinces. They act as liaisons between public and private actors, following a partnership approach that promotes participation and involves ministerial departments, local authorities, private investors, non-governmental organisations, and foreign donors.
Regional Agencies for the Implementation of Projects (Agences régionales de l’exécution des projets - AREP): active in each region, their role is to facilitate the missions of the regional council, providing legal assistance, technical and financial engineering during the study and preparation of development programmes, and executing projects and programmes decided by the regional council, which may entrust them with managing certain projects on behalf of the region.
Source: Ministry of the Interior (2015[3]) Loi organique relative aux communes
Coordination and coherence among different levels of government in urban policy need to be strengthened, with regional urban agencies ensuring effective consultation between actors at the territorial level
Coordination between different levels of government in urban policy in Morocco is crucial for achieving harmonious and sustainable urban development.
Coordination bodies exist at all levels of government – the Ministerial Council for Spatial Planning (Conseil ministériel d’aménagement du territoire – CMAT), the Regional Coordination Committee (Comité régional de coordination) and the Provincial Coordination Committee (Comité provincial de coordination). However, their role could be strengthened, in particular that of the Ministerial Committee for Spatial Planning (Comité Ministériel de l’Aménagement du Territoire – CMAT) as a coordinator with high-level dialogue responsibility (see the following section on the role of the CMAT in ensuring cross-sectoral coordination of public policy). The CMAT has several powers: it can give opinions on the focus of national spatial planning policy and the regional spatial planning framework. In addition, the CMAT is expected to propose measures for coordinating sectoral public policies across all levels of government. In this context, the CMAT's powers could be strengthened, for example by drawing inspiration from the Finnish model of the Urban Policy Committee (Box 6.2) to strengthen its role in coordinating and implementing land-use planning and urban development policies in Morocco. For example, the CMAT could be established as a permanent inter-ministerial platform with the active participation of key ministries for urban development, local authorities, spatial planning experts and civil society. The CMAT could set up thematic working groups to address specific topics such as sustainable mobility, housing, green infrastructure, or resilience to climate change and natural disasters. The CMAT could also promote the adoption of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms (see last section of this chapter). Finally, the CMAT could place particular emphasis on engaging citizens and local actors in planning and decision-making processes, through public consultations, participatory workshops and the use of digital platforms (see also the last section of this chapter for more details on stakeholder participation).
In 2020, Finland appointed an Urban Policy Committee that coordinates and develops urban policy activities. The committee aims to strengthen partnerships between national and subnational levels of government, promoting the capacity of cities to improve their economic competitiveness, inclusiveness and ability to cope with climate change-related challenges. The Committee is chaired by the Minister of Economic Affairs and includes representatives from other ministries, as well as 22 cities and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. The Committee was responsible for coordinating the development of the National Urban Strategy 2020. The role of the Urban Policy Committee is to:
Develop urban policies and strategies: the committee may develop policies, plans, and strategies to promote balanced, sustainable, and inclusive urban development in Finland's cities and urban regions.
Coordinating urban policy activities: it serves as a platform for coordination between different stakeholders involved in urban policy, including ministries, local authorities, civil society organisations and the private sector.
Facilitating collaboration and dialogue: it organises meetings, seminars and consultations to encourage collaboration and dialogue among urban stakeholders and to foster the exchange of experiences and good practices.
Monitoring and evaluating urban policies: it is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of existing urban policies, as well as proposing adjustments and improvements according to the needs and developments of society and the urban environment.
In 2020, the Finnish national government also appointed a Committee for Metropolitan Governance to focus on issues related to urban development in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The Committee specifically aims to strengthen partnerships between the national government and the Helsinki Metropolitan Region and to better coordinate the sustainable development of the capital region.
Source: Ministry of the Environment of Finland (2021[9]), Finland's Report on the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda, https://www.urbanagendaplatform.org/sites/default/files/2021-09/Finland%20National%20Report.pdf.
As discussed in Chapter 4, the role of Morocco’s urban agencies could be strengthened to ensure coordination between the different levels of urban planning and different sectoral policies at the right territorial scale, going beyond the municipal boundaries. Indeed, urban agencies can play a key role in promoting coordination thanks to their technical expertise, their local roots and their position as a strategic interface between the central government, local authorities (regional and communal) and other urban development actors. Morocco’s urban agencies also contribute to urban planning and development. In order to fully play this coordinating role, it is essential to review the function and role of urban agencies in the territorial structure. This is also the purpose of the draft law of the MATNUHPV aimed at grouping the around thirty existing urban agencies into twelve autonomous regional urban planning and housing agencies, which would come under the supervision of this Ministry, with the exception of the Urban Agency of Casablanca which would continue to be under the Ministry of the Interior. This reconfiguration aims to ensure the implementation of more coordinated and effective urban planning decisions at the regional level (Cabinet Royal, 2023[10]). The aim is to make urban agencies a link in the chain of technical support and accompaniment of local authorities, no longer focused on the municipal level (urban planning), but also on the prospective dimension of territorial development at the regional level (regional planning). This paradigm shift for urban agencies should follow an approach centred on a territorial project, built around a common vision with the support of elected officials and all stakeholders (Maroc, 2022[11]). This geographical repositioning of Moroccan urban agencies at the regional level should promote greater coherence between the different levels of government and planning (the Regional Spatial Development Schemes (SRAT), the Urban Development Master Plans (SDAU) and the Development Plans (PA)). Urban agencies can also play a central role in operationalising the UN-Habitat New Urban Agenda.
Improved coherence between different sectors of public policy would allow for integrated urban development
As seen in Chapters 4 and 5, sectoral strategies such as those for economic development, social inclusion, housing, transport, environment and resilience in cities, are often thought of in silos. This lack of coordination between sectoral policies may have led to situations of inefficiency, unbalanced urban development, or lack of infrastructure. For example, major sectoral projects of national, regional or metropolitan interest often revolve around a new development – new towns, new universities or innovation hubs. However, these sometimes do not sufficiently integrate the territorial, environmental and social dimensions, thus coming up against inadequate basic infrastructure, equipment and transport limiting the potential to drive economic development. This has resulted in the emergence of new towns which have subsequently lost their attractiveness. For example, the new town of Tamesna, created in 2007 to relieve congestion in Rabat, currently has only 40 000 inhabitants and lacks public spaces, shops, and community facilities, illustrating the lack of coordination between housing objectives and those of mobility, accessibility, and economic development (see Chapter 4).
To foster an integrated approach to urban development, Morocco's renewed national urban policy could put in place incentives, regulations, and coordination mechanisms to manage trade-offs (including accounting for the budgetary cost of each action where possible) and to ensure policy coherence. As the OECD's work in the case of housing policies in cities shows, trade-offs must be taken into account and carefully managed, particularly those between the objectives of quantity, affordability, quality and sustainability of housing (OECD, 2023[12]). For example, housing allowances may have the side effect of increasing rents and land prices, and improving the quality of housing through new quality or energy standards may in turn contribute to increasing the cost of housing. Similarly, the OECD's work suggests that while compact city policies and limiting urban sprawl have positive effects on urban competitiveness, access to employment, and the fight against pollution, compact urban development may also in some cases lead to an increase in housing costs linked to higher population density and land constraints (OCDE, 2019[13]) (Moreno Monroy et al., 2020[14]).
To ensure sectoral coordination of public policies related to urban development, there are many interministerial commissions set up and chaired by the Head of Government, such as the CMAT mentioned above. In addition, there are the Permanent Interministerial Committee for Spatial Planning (Commission Interministérielle Permanente de l’Aménagement du Territoire - CIPAT) and the Permanent Interministerial Committee for Urban Policy (Commission Interministérielle Permanente chargée de la Politique de la Ville - CIPPV). However, several of these committees have only been partially operational, and have met a limited number of times (Box 6.3). Faced with the multiplicity of interministerial commissions and committees and to strengthen sectoral coordination for urban development, Morocco could consider setting up a single interministerial committee or body, in the form of a committee chaired by the Head of Government and bringing together representatives of all the ministries and agencies involved in urban development. Such a committee would facilitate the alignment of sectoral policies and better coordination at a strategic level. This body could have a technical coordination body, as well as a territorial coordination mechanism. The existing Ministerial Council for Spatial Planning (CMAT) could have this interministerial scope, inspired for example by the Interministerial Committee of Cities set up in France in October 2023. The French Interministerial Committee aims to improve living conditions in priority neighbourhoods, by coordinating the actions of various ministries and local authorities. To this end, it brings together several ministers and key actors of the administration in order to coordinate the government actions in these districts and define strategic priorities (Box 6.4) (Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires, 2023[15]).
In Morocco, there are several interministerial committees set up and chaired by the Head of Government with a link to urban areas and urban development. Here are some examples of these committees, based on official sources:
The Higher Council for Spatial Planning (Conseil Supérieur de l'Aménagement du Territoire –CSAT), created in 2001 by Decree 2-01-2331, chaired by the Prime Minister, with an advisory role over:
Developing the national policy on spatial planning;
Proposing to the government the main objectives in this area;
Giving an opinion on draft legislative texts;
Ensuring the coordination of major sectoral projects; and
Contributing to the evaluation of results of activities carried out.
CSAT advice is based on the work of three specialised committees set up within it (Legal Affairs Committees, Public Interventions Committees, Monitoring Committees for the Work of the High and National Councils). CSAT has met only twice: in 2004 to take note of the SNAT and in 2016 to deal with the coordination of public policies.
The Permanent Interministerial Committee for Territorial Planning (Commission Interministérielle Permanente de l'Aménagement du Territoire – CIPAT): the creation of this body, chaired by the Prime Minister, is a result of the first session of the CSAT. Regarding its functions, three sessions have been held to date (2005, 2006, 2010) and one preparatory session (2014). The missions were stopped after the ending of this committee. The first session was devoted to implementing CSAT's guidelines, the second session to examining and approving the Functional Organisation and Development Scheme (SOFA), and the third and fourth to establishing agreements contractualisation for State-regions on the basis of the Integrated Regional Programs (PARI).
The results of these activities are essentially: the development of a draft law on regional planning, the examination and validation of several SRATs, the support and examination of the experimental approach carried out in terms of contractualization on the basis of the PARI.
The Ministerial Committee in charge of National Territorial Planning (Comité Ministériel chargée de l'Aménagement du Territoire National – CMAT) established by Decree No. 2.20.741 of January 6, 2021, replaces the CSAT and will hold its first meeting in the last quarter of 2024, under the chairmanship of the Head of Government. This ministerial committee provides a framework for co-construction and consultation between various ministerial departments working on major development and regional planning projects. The intention is to use its executive role to ensure coherence and coordination of sectoral policies and programmes at the territorial level.
This body is also focused on identifying complementarities between different territorial levels, in order to integrate and coordinate policies relating to spatial planning with sectoral and public strategies and policies.
As a result, this body contributes to an intersectoral culture of horizontal governance mechanisms for public policies that are urban or sectoral. The CMAT is responsible for the following areas, in particular:
Providing an opinion on the Objectives of Public Policy on Spatial Planning at the national level;
Providing an opinion on the main development objectives;
Assessing the framework for the objectives for Public Policy on Spatial Planning at the regional level and its evaluation;
Proposing necessary measures to strengthen the coordination of public policies.
The Higher Council for Water and Climate (Conseil Supérieur de l’Eau et du Climat – CSEC), created in 1981 and ratified by Law 10-95 determining its missions and by a decree in 1996, in application of the law, which sets out its composition and functions. The CSEC is chaired by the Prime Minister (Head of Government) and is composed of representatives of the State, relevant public institutions concerned and representatives of users, elected officials and professional associations. The decree provides for the creation of a Standing Committee of the CSEC. Its missions combine advisory and decision-making registers:
Setting the general objectives for national water and climate policy
Providing feedback on:
the National Strategy for Improving Climate Knowledge;
the National Water Plan (PNE);
the Master Plans for Integrated Water Resources Management (PDAIRE).
The Interministerial Commission on Water (Commission Interministérielle de l’Eau – CIE), created by the Prime Minister's circular of 3 August 2001, following the holding of the 9th session of the CSEC in June 2001. The CIE's mission is to:
The study and definition of the main objectives for the sector and coordination between different ministries;
The steering of government work to prepare and implement programmes to meet the challenges facing Morocco in terms of water, particularly those relating to sanitation, improving the efficiency of drinking water and irrigation networks, water pricing and the maintenance of hydro-agricultural equipment.
It is chaired by the Prime Minister and includes the heads of ministries concerned with the water sector (about a dozen) and it is supposed to meet monthly. A decree was issued in 2014 to confirm its role.
Regarding the functioning of the CIE, regular meetings were held until September 2002, then a freeze on activities was noted until 2014. It dealt with various themes such as the sanitation programme, the improvement of efficient drinking water distribution and irrigation networks, water mobilisation policy, the implementation of the water law, the development of watersheds, pricing of drinking water and sanitation.
Its last meeting was in 2014 when it approved the PNE subject to certain financial aspects submitted to a technical commission for consideration. It has issued several recommendations, most of which have not been followed up on, mainly because of the lack of arbitration on budgetary aspects.
The Permanent Interministerial Committee in charge of City Policy (Commission Interministérielle Permanente chargée de la Politique de la Ville – CIPPV), created by the Decree of the Head of Government No. 2.13.172 published in the Official Bulletin No. 6180 of 22 August 2013, following the Assises de la Politique de la Ville held in June 2012. This Commission is entrusted with the following missions:
To decide on the general objectives of the City Policy (Politique de la Ville);
Evaluate urban public policies and contracted projects within the framework of the City Policy;
Encourage relevant departments to join partnerships established within the framework of city projects and ensure contract signatories commitments are respected;
Propose measures to ensure the integration and coordination of various projects related to the City Policy.
With regards to its functioning, after two years of being created, it had only met once, in June 2015, under the chairmanship of the Head of Government.
The Permanent Ministerial Committee for Land Policy (Commission Ministérielle permanente de la politique foncière), created by Decree No. 2-16-263 of 24 May 2016, chaired by the Head of Government, has the following missions:
Propose strategic objectives on the State's land policy to the government, and ensure the monitoring of implementation and evaluation after being submitted for approval;
Coordinate interventions of public sectors concerned with the management of both public and private land and take measures to guarantee the coordination of relevant public policy;
To provide input on the legislative, regulatory and procedural measures that the government plans to take with a view to reforming public policy in the field of land. This is particularly relevant for measures related to controlling public land assets, improving their governance, facilitating the conditions for their mobilisation with a view to carrying out investment projects, and guaranteeing their access complies with the rules of transparency and equal opportunities;
Conduct a periodic evaluation of the State's policy in the field of land management in order to measure the impact of the reforms implemented in this area.
The Interministerial Committee for Post-Earthquake Reconstruction (Commission Interministérielle pour la Reconstruction Post-Séisme), created on 11 September 2023, following the earthquake in the province of Al Haouz. Chaired by the Head of Government, this interministerial committee is responsible for deploying an emergency programme for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of destroyed housing. This commission was set up to respond to the High Instructions of King Mohammed VI, aimed at rebuilding the disaster areas and compensating the affected citizens.
The 10th meeting of the interministerial committee in charge of the reconstruction and general rehabilitation programme for the areas affected by the Al-Haouz earthquake was held in June 2024 to review the progress of the implementation of this programme in accordance with the High Directives of King Mohammed VI.
The National Investment Commission (Commission Nationale des Investissements): In June 2024, the 5th National Investment Commission established by the new Investment Charter was held under the chairmanship of the Head of Government. This commission aims to boost Morocco's economic attractiveness.
Source: Department of Urban Planning, MATNUHPV.
The Interministerial Committee for Cities (Comité interministériel des villes – CIV) is a government body in France dedicated to the implementation of public policies aimed at improving living conditions in specific neighbourhoods, also known as urban policy neighbourhoods (quartiers de la politique de la ville – QPV). This committee brings together several ministers and key players in the administration, including the Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, the Secretary of State for Citizenship and Urban Affairs, and the President of the National Agency for Territorial Cohesion, to coordinate government actions in these neighbourhoods and define strategic objectives. It meets regularly to evaluate current policies and propose new measures to promote social and territorial cohesion, professional integration, education, security, housing, health, and other issues specific to priority neighbourhoods.
The committee is responsible for defining objectives and priorities for these neighbourhoods, allocating funding, setting up specific programmes, and ensuring coordination of actions undertaken by different ministries and local authorities. It plays an essential role in coordinating efforts to reduce social and territorial inequalities in France, particularly in disadvantaged areas, by affirming four axes for priority neighbourhoods:
Ecological transition: Priority neighbourhoods face poorly insulated housing and are most often located in mineral areas, making them vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. To meet these challenges, the government plans to add 24 new neighbourhoods to the “Resilient Neighbourhoods” programme to support them in their ecological transition. A bill is also planned to refurbish run-down apartments. Finally, the project for the future Regional Metropolitan Express Services (Services Express Régionaux Métropolitains – SERM) seeks to improve the service to the QPVs.
City policy: New city contracts will be drawn up for the period 2024-2030, accounting for an updated priority geography. The objective is also to promote social diversity by adjusting the criteria for allocating housing. City contracts will be simplified and focus on projects co-constructed with residents.
Full employment: A programme called "Entrepreneurship Neighbourhoods 2030" will be launched in partnership with Bpifrance, benefiting from funding of EUR 456 million over four years. A fund of EUR 300 million will be created to support associations and reintegrate people who are furthest from employment, half of which will benefit the inhabitants of the neighbourhoods. From 2024, a testing policy will be deployed to fight against discriminatory practices in access to internships, employment, housing and bank loans.
Public services: Accessibility to public services will be improved in priority neighbourhoods, with secondary school hours extended from 8am to 6pm from the start of the 2024 school year, and educational cities gradually generalised. Libraries in 500 neighbourhoods will also extend their opening hours and 1 000 socio-sports educators will be deployed to strengthen sports activities in these neighbourhoods.
Source: National Agency for Territorial Cohesion (2023[15]), The key measures of the Interministerial Committee on Cities 2023, https://agence-cohesion-territoires.gouv.fr/les-mesures-cles-du-comite-interministeriel-des-villes-2023-1257#scrollNav-3.
At the local level, it is crucial for Morocco to adopt a more coordinated approach to urban development, through integrated urban planning that ensures that planning documents such as urban development master plans (SDAUs) include different objectives of economic development, inclusion, housing, mobility and accessibility, sustainability and resilience. The SDAUs make it possible to implement sectoral policies and are therefore essential to encourage the coherence of public policies, provided that the territories take better ownership of them. In terms of actors, the Walis have a coordination mission and their role as well as that of the prefectures/provinces could be strengthened to ensure intersectoral coordination. Urban agencies can also play the role of guarantor of coherence between public policies in their territory. Indeed, they are essential actors in terms of planning, urban management and operational urban planning. Their repositioning provided for by the reform of the urban agencies into 12 regional agencies aims to enable them to move from a logic of regulation to a logic of anticipation and foresight of urban development, and to provide a new governance tool at the regional level as a territorial interlocutor supporting regionalisation and the Investment Charter and as a privileged player in strategic planning. These new Regional Urban Planning and Housing Agencies will thus have the following objectives:
Drive more efficiency and concrete results in terms of harmonious development of territories;
Broaden their field of action and responsibilities for better coordination between the various decentralised services of the Ministry;
Supporting the Ministry's reorganisation project;
Create proper regional development poles;
Provide a strong and dynamic regional interlocutor to support advanced regionalisation;
Facilitate the integration of regional and national public policies and strategies;
Ensure coherence between the different levels of planning from the regional to the specific scale;
To stimulate and promote investment;
Strengthen the operationality of housing and urban policy;
To be a force of coordination, impulse, solution and incentive;
To supervise territories (at different scales at the urban and rural levels) taking into account cross-cutting areas with very high socio-economic stakes;
Promote the housing sector.
Inter-municipal cooperation, led by a metropolitan authority for metropolitan areas, must be strengthened
Inter-municipal cooperation in Morocco is a central element of local governance and territorial development. The 2011 Constitution recommends that when the cooperation of several local authorities is necessary for the implementation of a project, the authorities concerned may agree on the terms of cooperation. Cooperation between municipalities is thus an essential lever for the territorial and economic development of Morocco, as it makes it possible to pool human, material and financial resources, and thus to respond with more resources to the requirements associated with the implementation of complex urban projects.
Inter-municipal cooperation is governed by Moroccan legislation, in particular Organic Law 113.14 on municipalities, which establishes the legal bases defining the instruments aimed at strengthening cooperation, association and partnership between local authorities. The text aims to encourage municipalities to work together to address common challenges and promote sustainable development. There are two types of cooperation between local authorities in Morocco (Conseil Économique, Social et Environnemental, 2023[16]). The first form is the conventional form of flexible cooperation, which establishes the rules of association or partnership agreed between municipalities, with the State, or with other economic and social partners under public or private law in order to carry out a project of common interest. This type of cooperation between municipalities can also take the form of public-private partnerships (OECD, 2018[17]). The second form of cooperation is institutionalised cooperation in the form of a public administrative establishment. Dahir No. 1-15-85 promulgating Organic Law 113-14 stipulates that inter-municipal cooperation establishments (ECIs) may be set up, with legal personality and financial autonomy, and created under agreements approved by the councils of the municipalities concerned (Portail National des Collectivités Territoriales, 2015[18]). Between 2018 and 2021, 42 groups and ECIs were created (Conseil Économique, Social et Environnemental, 2023[16]).
However, cooperation between municipalities in Morocco faces several challenges. While pooling for investment or provision of public services makes it possible in theory to fill the capacity deficits that are often present in municipalities by pooling human resources, ECIs often do not have sufficient resources to recruit qualified staff. In addition, inter-municipalities can operate at several levels of government, which poses challenges in clarifying responsibilities, especially since several forms of inter-municipalities can be established. It is therefore imperative to clarify how ECIs can be effectively and coherently integrated into the Moroccan institutional landscape. This imperative is all the more relevant in the context of advanced regionalisation, because regional responsibilities and their field of action can be juxtaposed with the responsibilities of inter-municipalities. Finally, the prerogatives of existing ECIs are often relatively limited. This is the case of the ECI Al Baida, which brings together 18 municipalities in the former Greater Casablanca region and is only responsible for urban transport, even if other prerogatives are envisaged for it, such as sanitation, waste management and urban planning.
In order to extend the fields of action of certain ECIs and to respond to the specific challenges faced by some of the most economically dynamic territories and large urban centres, some ECIs could be transformed into metropolitan authorities. This process could strengthen governance and urban planning at the metropolitan level, providing an integrated response to the increasingly complex challenges of urban development and bridging the gap between the regional scale (too large to adequately address socio-economic challenges) and the municipal scale (too small when it comes to large urban hubs that encompass city centres and their commuting areas). The creation of metropolitan authorities would be accompanied by a redefinition and broadening of their responsibilities, particularly in terms of the economic development of their territory; the development of the metropolitan area, including the organisation of mobility; housing policy; urban policy; management of services of collective interest; and environmental protection and enhancement. Drawing inspiration from the 2014 Law on the Modernisation of Territorial Public Action and the Affirmation of Metropolises (MAPTAM Law) and the 2015 Law on the New Territorial Organisation of the Republic (NOTRe Law) in France (Box 6.5), Morocco could consider developing dedicated legislation defining the responsibilities, governance and financing of metropolitan authorities. Regarding the responsibilities of metropolitan areas, Morocco could identify the key responsibilities to be transferred to metropolitan authorities according to the specific needs of the urban areas concerned. As far as the governance of these metropolitan areas is concerned, Morocco could set up metropolitan councils, on the model of the French metropolitan councils. Finally, Morocco could consider dedicated financing mechanisms for metropolitan authorities, including state grants, specific fiscal resources, as well as the possibility of taking out loans.
Metropolitan areas (métropoles) are public institutions of inter-municipal cooperation with their own taxation competencies bringing together several municipalities in a single entity and without enclaves to develop and conduct together a project for the economic, ecological, educational, cultural and social development of their territory in order to improve its cohesion and competitiveness and to contribute to the sustainable and solidarity-based development of the regional territory. They promote metropolitan economic functions, transport networks and university, research and innovation resources, in a spirit of regional and interregional cooperation and with a concern for balanced territorial development.
On 1 January 2015, a decree transformed the public institutions for inter-municipal cooperation with their own taxation into a metropolis which, on the date of the creation of the metropolis, form a group of more than 400,000 inhabitants in an urban area (within the meaning of the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (l'Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE)) of more than 650 000 inhabitants.
Metropolitan areas exercise the following powers as of right, in place of the member municipalities:
In terms of economic, social and cultural development and planning: Creation, development and management of industrial, commercial, tertiary, artisanal, touristic, port or airport activity zones; economic development actions as well as participation in the co-management of competitiveness clusters and in the capital of technology transfer acceleration companies; construction, development, maintenance and operation of cultural facilities; socio-cultural, socio-educational and sports of metropolitan interest; promotion of tourism, including the creation of tourist offices; programme of support and aid for higher education and research establishments and research programmes, taking into account the regional plan for higher education, research and innovation.
In terms of the development of the metropolitan area: Territorial coherence plan and sector plan, local urban plan and urban planning documents, definition, creation and implementation of development operations of metropolitan interest, actions to enhance the natural and landscape heritage, constitution of land reserves; organisation of mobility, creation, development and maintenance of roads, signage, passenger shelters, parks and service areas. parking and urban travel plan; creation, development and maintenance of public spaces dedicated to all modes of urban transport as well as their ancillary structures; participation in the governance and development of stations located on the metropolitan territory; establishment, operation, acquisition and provision of telecommunications infrastructure and networks.
Local housing policy: Local housing programme; housing policy, financial aid for social housing, measures to promote social housing, measures to promote housing for disadvantaged people; improvement of the built housing stock, rehabilitation and elimination of substandard housing; development, maintenance and management of reception areas for traveller communities.
In the field of urban policy: Contractual mechanisms for urban development, local development and economic and social integration; local mechanisms for the prevention of delinquency and access to the law.
In terms of the management of services of collective interest: Sanitation and water; creation, management, extension and transfer of cemeteries and cinerary sites of metropolitan interest as well as creation, management and extension of crematoriums; slaughterhouses, slaughterhouses, markets and markets of national interest; fire and rescue services; public service for external fire protection.
In terms of environmental protection and enhancement and living environment policy: Management of household and similar waste; the fight against air pollution; fight against noise pollution; contribution to the energy transition; support for actions to control energy demand; development and adoption of the territorial climate-energy plan, in line with national objectives in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and renewable energy production; concession for the public distribution of electricity and gas; creation, development, maintenance and management of district heating or cooling networks; creation and maintenance of the charging infrastructure necessary for the use of electric or hybrid vehicles; management of aquatic environments and flood prevention; the State's concessionary authority for beaches.
There are twenty-one metropolitan areas in France today: Bordeaux Métropole, Brest Métropole, Clermont Auvergne Métropole, Dijon Métropole, Grenoble-Alpes Métropole, Métropole européenne de Lille, Eurométropole de Metz, Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, Métropole du Grand Nancy, Nantes Métropole, Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur, Orléans Métropole, Rennes Métropole, Métropole Rouen Normandie, Saint-Étienne Métropole, Eurométropole de Strasbourg, Toulon-Provence-Méditerranée, Toulouse Métropole, Tours Métropole Val de Loire, and two with special status, Métropole d'Aix-Marseille-Provence and the Métropole du Grand Paris.
Source: Légifrance (s.d.[19]), General Code of Local Authorities, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000006070633/LEGISCTA000023241649/.
Metropolitan areas, and more broadly inter-municipal cooperation establishments, must be established on the right geographical scale, taking into account in particular functional urban areas, i.e. very densely populated municipalities (urban centres) to which are added adjacent municipalities with strong economic integration, measured by the importance of commuting to the urban centre, according to the definition of the OECD and the Commission European (OECD, 2013[20]). In the Netherlands, the experience of the creation of the Rotterdam-The Hague Metropolitan Region (Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag, MRDH) can provide an inspiring example for establishing intermunicipal cooperation institutions at the right scale, as this approach has aimed to tailor policies and institutions to a specific context rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all solution for cities of all shapes and sizes (Box 6.6).
The Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag (MRDH) was created on 1 January 2015, following the abolition of eight city-regions that had existed in the Netherlands until then. From 1985 to 2015, city-regions were associations of municipalities dedicated to the field of transport policy, spatial planning, housing and economic development, among others. The municipalities of Rotterdam and The Hague were each located in the centre of a separate city-region (Stadsregio Rotterdam and Stadsgewest Haaglanden, respectively), which also included the municipalities surrounding each city. The 23 municipalities that formed the 2 city-regions constitute the MRDH of today.
The prerogatives of the MRDH have focused on transport and economic development. The legal framework for cooperation is “top-down” for transport and “bottom-up” for economic development. Indeed, the MRDH has created two steering committees within the MRDH common regulations, one leading the formally transferred responsibility (from the national government) for public transport (the "top-down" framework) and the other directing the (voluntary) cooperation for economic development (the "bottom-up" framework). In terms of budget, the transport functions of the HRDM body received EUR 480 million per year for the period 2015-18, and the economic development functions around EUR 5.5 million per year. More than 96% of the transport budget comes from a transfer from the national government. The economic development activities of the MRDH are financed by a contribution of around EUR 2.45 per inhabitant of each member municipality. MRDH employs 85 full-time employees in its transportation pillar and 15 in its economic development pillar.
Source: OECD (2016[21]), OECD Territorial Reviews: The Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam-The Hague, Netherlands, OECD Territorial Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264249387-en.
The World Bank estimates the investment needs for urban infrastructure in Moroccan cities (equipment and production of housing) to MAD 320 billion over the period 2017-27, or an average of MAD 32 billion per year, of which about MAD 22 billion falls under the responsability of the municipalities – a figure well above the MAD 4.5 billion per year spent by the municipalities over the period 2009-15 (PPIAF, 2019[22]). Financing for urbanisation in Morocco is therefore insufficient and does not meet the growing needs of urbanisation, including the need for catch-up and restoration urban planning, i.e. to upgrade existing buildings and infrastructure, the needs related to urban growth and maintenance operations, and the future development needs of cities.
The process of decentralisation in Morocco is not reflected in the spending of local authorities
According to Article 141 of the Constitution, Moroccan local authorities are financed by financial resources transferred by the central government and by their own revenues. The same article stipulates that any transfer of responsibilities from the State to regional and local authorities must be accompanied by a transfer of the corresponding resources. A major tax reform was launched in 2007 with the adoption of Law 47-06 on the taxation of local authorities, supplemented by Law 39-07, which distinguishes between regional, provincial and prefectural taxes, and municipal taxes. A new Local Finance Law was adopted in 2009 to modernise the subnational financial system and was complemented by tax provisions in Organic Law 111-14 of 2015 on the Regions.
Spending by local and regional governments in Morocco remains relatively low, accounting for only 11.7% of public spending and 3.6% of GDP in 2020. This ratio has changed very little, despite the ongoing decentralisation process. Indeed, the percentage of public expenditure and the percentage of GDP were equivalent to 11.8% and 3.4% respectively in 2016 (OECD/UCLG, 2022[23]). The level of spending by local and regional authorities in Morocco as a percentage of public expenditure and GDP is much lower than that of almost all OECD countries, with the exception of Ireland, Greece and Costa Rica, which have even lower levels of spending by local and regional authorities (Figure 6.1. ).
Source: OECD/UCLG (2022[23]), 2022 Country Profiles of the World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment, https://www.sng-wofi.org/country-profiles/.
Although benefiting from significant tax revenues, Morocco's local authorities have limited fiscal autonomy
The revenues of local authorities in Morocco represented 3.4% of GDP and 15% of total public revenues in 2020. Tax revenues accounted for 80.6% of local authorities' revenues, while grants and subsidies accounted for 10.8% (OECD/UCLG, 2022[23]).
The vast majority of local authorities' tax revenues are shared with the central government (75% of local authorities' taxes). Indeed, the share of own local taxes, the rates or bases of which can be varied by local authorities, remains limited (25%), representing only 2.8% of GDP and 14.6% of total tax revenue. Three local taxes are levied by the General Tax Administration: the housing tax, also known as the “urban tax”, the tax on municipal services and the business tax. Municipalities levy and collect two other property-related taxes directly: the tax on undeveloped urban land and the tax on the construction of buildings and related infrastructure. These five taxes form the recurring taxes on real estate. Other taxes managed by local authorities include municipal taxes (e.g. beverage tax, tourist tax, bottled water tax, public transport tax, quarrying activities tax); prefectural/provincial taxes (driver's license tax, vehicle inspection tax, forest products sales tax); and regional taxes (tax on hunting permits, mining tax, tax on port services).
In 2020, Law 07.20 on Local Taxation was published, amending and supplementing Law 47.06 on Local Taxation. Its main objective is to increase the local authorities' own resources, broaden the tax base, improve the governance of the subnational tax system, as well as achieve tax justice and equity. The tax on the construction of buildings and related infrastructure and the tax on undeveloped urban land will be extended to building restoration projects, rehabilitation of non-compliant buildings and demolitions requiring a building permit. In addition, the tourist tax will be extended to furnished residences rented online via the Airbnb platform.
There are two categories of intergovernmental transfers: the first category consists of shares of national taxes, which are redistributed to local authorities, and the other category, which consists of subsidies. All local authorities receive a share of the VAT: 1% for the regions and 30% for the prefectures/provinces and municipalities.
The annual distribution to individual local authorities is based on a formula that aims to reduce vertical and horizontal imbalances. For municipalities, there are three quantitative criteria: a lump sum share (minimum transfer to all municipalities); a share based on fiscal mobilisation capacity (redistributive criteria); and a third part based on the tax effort (incentive criteria). The share of VAT transferred to the prefectures and provinces is based on a series of criteria, including the annual amount of staff salaries and wages and the size of the population and area (OECD/UCLG, 2022[23]).
Financial and fiscal measures are insufficiently articulated with urban policies
Local taxation does not integrate the financing of development and equipment
The lack of relationship between local taxation and the evolution of urbanisation, or the lack of coherence with the provisions of urban planning documents, is an obstacle to urban development. Indeed, local tax reforms are essentially aimed at improving yields and land taxation is not considered as a potential lever for influencing urbanisation policy. Although local equipment and development taxes are levied on the occasion of real estate construction operations, in order to finance actions and operations contributing to the achievement of development objectives such as the creation or extension of facilities (roads, sanitation, schools) induced by urbanisation, this type of taxation remains marginal in the tax system. In addition, most of the tax provisions such as the tax on undeveloped land, the housing tax, the tax on municipal services, the fee for the contribution of residents living near the public highway to capital and development expenses, the tax on real estate profits (of which only a small part is paid to the municipalities) do not have their revenue directly allocated to the financing of urbanisation. Nor do tax incentives make it possible to achieve urban development objectives. For example, the existing taxation of undeveloped land does not encourage owners to develop it for compact urban development purposes. On the contrary, certain methods of housing financing (low-cost land supply, tax exemptions and interest-free loans) encourage the acquisition of housing in peri-urban areas (including in new towns) characterised by a low return on public investment, and therefore urban sprawl.
Urban planning laws and documents do not integrate the issue of financing
Urban planning documents give little space to the role that taxation could play in the design of urban development, both in its configuration (sprawl, densification) and in the enhancement of its zoning. There are no references in the law on urban planning and urban planning documents to tax measures to promote economical land use and to contribute to the fight against urban sprawl or to encourage the creation of housing. Nor are there any financing measures designed to enable local authorities to adapt their taxation to the size, characteristics and development policies specific to each municipality or to different areas within their territory. Finally, fiscal financing methods do not take into account the needs linked to accelerated urbanisation in terms of equipment, infrastructure and services.
Morocco should use a diversified, balanced and sustainable basket of financial resources to increase financing for urban development
In order to meet the financing needs of urban development, Morocco should promote a diversified, balanced and sustainable basket of financial resources to finance urban development, infrastructure and services. The aim is to optimise the use of economic instruments such as taxes and fees to catalyse the necessary revenues, by strengthening the fiscal capacities of local and regional governments and giving them the necessary flexibility to adjust and manage their revenues according to the needs of urban development. To do this, it is necessary to help municipalities collect the tax resources due to avoid the loss of income in some municipalities that are struggling to collect taxes from citizens. To meet significant investment needs, Morocco can diversify sources of financing other than taxation, such as the use of international aid and credit or by facilitating access to international donors. Morocco could also support the creation of new economic wealth, for example by strengthening the tourist attractiveness of certain territories or by seeking to take better advantage of the preparation of major events such as the Africa Cup of Nations or the Football World Cup.
Finally, Morocco could explore various innovative financing mechanisms, such as land value capture instruments, private investment as well as green financing and bond issues.
Land-based finance tools
Land-based finance tools are little used in Morocco, in particular because of insufficient administrative capacity at the level of local governments or sometimes because of a lack of willingness on the part of municipalities to implement the instruments provided for by national law. In particular, Morocco could make greater use of developer's obligations (whereby developers must make a payment to cover the cost of new or additional public infrastructure and services necessary for the implementation of a private development project) and strategic land use planning (i.e. the practice of public authorities actively participating in the purchase, to the development, sale and rental of land to meet the needs of the public and to capture the added value generated by public action), which are the two instruments for capturing land value most widely used by the 60 countries that participated in the OECD Global Compendium of Land Value Capture (OECD/Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, PKU-Lincoln Institute Center, 2022[24]). Morocco could also use infrastructure levies as is done in Colombia for example, where landowners have to pay the contribución de valorización when infrastructure such as roads, public transport or green spaces is built. Development rights fees is another tool used in Brazil, where developers pay fees when zoning changes (density and use) are made. To promote the use of these instruments, Morocco needs to create an enabling environment, including garnering the support of the population and particularly of landowners, whose resistance is usually a major obstacle to their implementation, establishing fair and transparent rules, and building the capacity of local authorities.
Leveraging private investment to make urban space more inclusive, resilient and sustainable
As seen above, the investment capacity of Moroccan cities through their own revenues, such as taxes, currently remains limited, especially in a tight fiscal and monetary environment, thus creating significant financing gaps to meet current and future infrastructure needs. Private sector investment could therefore play a more important role in meeting these needs. In this context, instruments for mobilising private investment in urban areas can be categorised into four groups: (i) development levies; (ii) strategic management of land and property rights; (iii) subsidies and tax incentives; and (iv) models of partnership between cities and the private sector (OECD, 2023[25]).
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) offer a particularly promising option for financing and managing urbanisation projects in Morocco. By combining the resources and expertise of the public and private sectors, PPPs can facilitate the construction of major urban infrastructure, such as transport networks, water treatment facilities, and public spaces, as shown by several examples in OECD countries. In Chile, the PPP model was used to develop Santiago's metro network, which led to a significant improvement in urban mobility. Similarly, the city of Mannheim in Germany has launched its vision of Local Green Deal (LGD) in 2020 and defined a number of actions covering eight thematic areas (climate neutrality, energy, economy, mobility, buildings, food, biodiversity and urban environment). Cooperation between the city and local stakeholders has been a fundamental principle of the LGD Mannheim. The city has facilitated partnerships with businesses, industry organisations, and service providers, which has led to a commercial climate action called “iDEAL” and more than 17 partnerships with private companies. For example, GBG (Mannheimer Wohnungsbaugesellschaft mbH), the largest municipal housing association in the state of Baden-Württemberg, has committed to renovating 4 000 apartments and introducing greywater reuse in buildings (OECD, 2023[25]).
Green financing, municipal bond issues and other innovative financing methods
Green finance and municipal bonds are increasingly emerging as promising financing solutions for urbanisation. Green bonds, issued by cities or local authorities, raise funds for projects specifically intended to have a positive impact on the environment, for example by improving the energy efficiency of buildings or supporting the development of green public transport. In France, the city of Paris has issued green bonds to finance a wide range of sustainable projects. Similarly, Mexico City in Mexico issued its first green bonds in 2016 as part of its Climate Action Programme (Box 6.7).
Faced with the need for sustainable development, Mexico City adopted a Climate Action Programme in 2014 as a planning tool in the face of climate change. The programme considered the environmental, social and economic risks posed by climate change, and the associated impacts on people. In line with the programme, a series of sustainable investments for the city have been identified. This included a Green Corridor project along one of Mexico City's largest road arteries, which included electric buses, dedicated bus lanes, bike lanes, and sidewalks for pedestrians to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.
To help finance green projects related to the Climate Action Programme, Mexico City decided to issue its first municipal green bond in 2016. The USD 50 million bond issuance, with a maturity of 5 years, was the first green bond issued by a city government in Latin America. The funds were intended to finance the Green Corridor project, a project to convert street lighting to LEDs and a water supply project.
The city had previously issued about USD 200 million of municipal bonds each year and had a good credit rating (AAA from Fitch Ratings). The decision to issue a green bond was made in lieu of a municipal bond issuance to ensure that the funds were used for the defined green projects, increase certainty and transparency for investors (due to certification and reporting requirements), and meet investor demand.
Despite difficult market conditions, the bond was oversubscribed by two and a half times. Mexico City received the Municipal Bond of the Year award from Environmental Finance and the Green Bond Pioneer Award from the Climate Bond Institute in 2017.
Source: OECD (2023[25]), Financing Cities of Tomorrow : G20/OECD Report for the G20 Infrastructure Working Group under the Indian Presidency, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/51bd124a-en.
Other innovative instruments can catalyse sources of financing for urbanisation in Morocco. These include:
the establishment of an urban investment fund that could mobilise public and private funds to finance priority urban projects;
the possibility for owners to sell their building rights to real estate developers, which would make it possible to mobilise private funds to finance the construction of housing while avoiding urban sprawl;
tax incentives to encourage virtuous behaviour in terms of urbanisation, such as tax exemptions granted to owners who renovate their homes and improve their energy performance;
participatory loans granted by individuals, companies and communities to finance urban projects.
crowdfunding, which appeals to the generosity of the public to finance urban projects.
Finally, to optimise the use of public funds for urban development, it is necessary to improve the transparency of public procurement by setting up publicly accessible online platforms for the publication of tenders and contracts, establishing independent oversight mechanisms, and imposing regular audits.
Define a strategic approach and vision for urban development, including an evaluation approach
Defining a strategic approach and vision for urban development in Morocco is essential to guide the growth of cities in a sustainable and inclusive way. A clear strategic vision would effectively address current and future urban challenges, such as managing population growth, reducing socio-economic inequalities, protecting the environment, and improving the quality of life of city dwellers. The recent organic law on municipalities has led to the obligation for municipalities or inter-municipalities to have a Municipal Action Plan (Plan d’action communal – PAC). The PAC is a strategic planning instrument that aims to define the development orientations and priorities of a municipality for a given period, generally over six years. It is drawn up by the communal councils in collaboration with local actors and the participation of civil society. The PAC is part of the policy of decentralisation and democratisation of the management of local affairs promoted by Morocco, by strengthening the role of municipalities in the planning and management of territorial development. However, according to the latest assessment, only 35% of Moroccan municipalities had a CAB (OECD, 2017[26]).
The use of data and indicators in urban policy is crucial to improve decision-making, the effectiveness of implemented public policies, and the ability to adequately respond to urban needs and challenges. Relevant indicators make it possible to analyse various socio-economic and environmental aspects to determine the merits of an urban policy in a given context. For example, on the environmental front, indicators related to air quality, water quality, biodiversity and waste management can shed light on the environmental challenges facing a city, thus serving as a basis for planning policies to ensure sustainability and the preservation of natural resources. Thus, in 2023, urban data collection efforts led to the promulgation of Decree 2.23.751 of 21 December 2023 setting out the attributions and organisation of the Ministry of National Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and Urban Policy (Official Bulletin of Morocco no. 7264 of 11 January 2024). This decree envisages the establishment of an Information and Monitoring Systems Directorate within the MATNUHPV, responsible for collecting information and indicators in order to inform and optimise Moroccan urban governance (Journal Officiel du Maroc, 2024[27]).
In addition, Morocco and the OECD have jointly developed a system of territorial indicators to help strengthen territorial policy within the country. This system includes 28 indicators and 6 composite indices that measure the progress of Moroccan regions in five priority policy themes: territorial well-being; territorial cohesion and equity; territorial prosperity; digital inclusion and territorial innovation; and sustainable development and territorial resilience (OECD, 2024[28]). In order to generalise and promote the use of data in public policy decision-making, Morocco could:
Develop more indicators to fill data gaps in time series and key priority themes;
Promote innovative tools for collecting and using data for the development and evaluation of urban policies, in particular artificial intelligence or digital twins such as the digital 3D model initiated by the Urban Agency of Rabat-Salé;
Invest in the modernisation of statistical processes to make the production of indicators efficient and cost-effective;
Integrate administrative registers into the production of indicators and continue to explore the use of non-conventional data sources, such as geospatial data (Box 6.8) for the production of indicators;
Improve coordination between ministries and levels of government to make the most of synergies in the production of territorial indicators;
Promote open data, for example through a scalable and shared digital platform for urban data collection and consolidation, and continue to invest in the production of territorial indicators that are easily accessible to the public, through online portals but also through the dissemination of resources through workshops within the government, with the academic world and civil society in general;
Associate multidimensional indicators with the various public policies or government programs to strengthen the monitoring of results and to better analyse synergies and trade-offs related to public policy decisions;
Use comparable geographical units such as “functional urban areas”;
Implement appropriate data governance with an adequate regulatory framework. Some national strategies, such as those adopted in Japan or the United Kingdom, guide the development of smart cities, in particular to ensure that data from public organisations is made available to all in an open and transparent framework, as in the case of the Swedish National Geospatial Data Strategy. Several countries have also developed regulatory frameworks to ensure data privacy and security, thereby building citizen trust, such as in Japan with the Personal Information Protection Act (OECD, 2023[29]).
The use of geospatial data can help improve the effectiveness of urban policy
The use of geospatial data has several advantages, such as the ability to visualise and analyse the spatial dynamics of cities in an accurate way, through data on land use, existing infrastructure, population movements, and other urban phenomena. Additionally, geospatial technologies, such as remote sensing and GPS systems, provide accurate data and can be updated in real-time, providing decision-makers with up-to-date information for quick and informed decision-making.
This data then allows for more efficient land planning and management, as well as monitoring of the urban environment, including air quality, water use and vegetation cover. They also make it possible to map areas at risk, helping to put in place prevention policies and appropriate emergency responses to strengthen the resilience of cities.
The Singapore Model
In Singapore, the “smart nation” programme initiated in 2014 is a model for the advanced use of geospatial technology and data for urban planning, transport management, and environmental monitoring. Singapore uses geospatial data to map and analyse population trends, displacement patterns and land use. New technologies are therefore at the service of the digitisation of the city-state's public services and the support of city dwellers in their daily lives.
Because Singapore operates in a physically constrained territory of only 700 km² for a population of 6 million, this geospatial data is essential for effectively planning urban development, identifying infrastructure needs, and forecasting the city's future growth. Singapore is also known for its efficient and well-organised public transportation system. Geospatial data is used to monitor and manage traffic, optimise transit routes, and plan for the expansion of transportation networks. Singapore attaches great importance to the quality of the urban environment. Geospatial data is used to monitor air, water, and soil quality, identify areas at risk of pollution, and take action to conserve natural resources and protect public health. Finally, Singapore is integrating geospatial data into its efforts to promote sustainable urban development. These include the design of energy-efficient buildings, the creation of green spaces and urban parks, and the efficient management of waste and resources.
Source: Languillon (2020[30]), Singapore, towards a more human model of smart city?, La Fabrique de la Cité, https://www.lafabriquedelacite.com/publications/singapour-vers-un-modele-plus-humain-de-smart-city/.
There is also a need to integrate an approach to evaluating urban policies implemented to improve transparency, strengthen government accountability, foster organisational learning and continuous improvement, and strengthen participatory democracy. Moroccan cities should systematise the evaluation of policies put in place in order to measure their results and impacts and to allow decision-makers to have a clear vision of successes and failures, as well as to draw lessons for future urban planning initiatives. By defining a homogeneous and shared framework of evaluation methodologies in advance, Moroccan cities can ensure that evaluations are consistent, comparable, and reliable. Systems of dashboards and performance indicators could also be put in place, to allow not only the monitoring of the implementation of urban policies, but also their social and economic impact in the medium and long term (including to minimise the negative externalities of urbanisation such as urban sprawl or pollution). While a number of standards already exist in Morocco (e.g. “NM ISO/TR 37178 Smart Urban Infrastructure” or “NM ISO 37109 Sustainable Cities and Territorial Communities”), a systematic approach to assessment based on standards and indicators needs to be strengthened. In this sense, the example of the system of indicators and standards for urban development set up in Chile, for example, can help Morocco to guide the structuring of a system for evaluating urban policies (Box 6.9). Mid-term evaluations can also be useful to ensure an agile and context-sensitive policy. Recourse to internal and external audit, as well as to relevant actors such as the Court of Auditors (Cour des comptes), general inspectorates, regulatory bodies, research institutes or third parties, would promote the evaluation of urban policy, its results and impacts. A systematic system for communicating the results of urban policy evaluation exercises must be put in place to enable them to be disseminated to the population, in the interests of transparency and accountability of the public authorities, in order to prevent the risks of corruption, particularly in public procurement in cities. Rigorous monitoring and evaluation systems at different levels of government can help ensure that public funds are used effectively and transparently.
In Chile, the system of indicators and standards for urban development includes a set of tools and mechanisms used to evaluate, plan and regulate urban development in the country's different cities and regions.
Development of indicators: The system starts with the identification and definition of relevant indicators to measure different aspects of urban development, such as population density, access to public services, environmental quality, mobility, housing, etc. These indicators are usually developed in consultation with local authorities, urban planning experts and relevant stakeholders.
Data collection: Once the indicators have been defined, the system provides for the regular collection of relevant data and information to assess the current situation and monitor the evolution of urban development in the different cities and regions of Chile. These data can come from a variety of sources, such as censuses, surveys, administrative databases, etc.
Analysis and evaluation: The data collected is then analysed and evaluated to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities in urban development. This analysis helps to identify areas requiring attention and to make recommendations to guide future policies and actions.
Setting Standards and Regulations: Based on the indicators and analyses carried out, the system of indicators and standards for urban development in Chile can also provide for the establishment of standards and regulations to guide urban development in a desired direction. These standards may relate to different aspects of urban development, such as land use, construction, environmental quality, mobility, etc.
Monitoring and evaluation of policies: Finally, the system of indicators and standards for urban development generally includes mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating policies and actions implemented to promote urban development. This makes it possible to measure the effectiveness of interventions and to make the necessary adjustments to achieve the set objectives.
This important tool of Chile's national urban policy helps to assess, plan and regulate urban development in the country, ensuring that it is sustainable and equitable, and that it meets the needs of urban populations. A central element of this policy is the development of urban development standards and indicators in the areas of land policy and social integration, integrated urban planning, cultural identity and heritage, environmental balance and urban economic development. As part of the project, in partnership with the National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística), the System of Indicators and Standards for Quality of Life and Urban Development (Sistema de Indicadores y Estándares de calidad de vida y Desarrollo Urbano) was developed with the aim of identifying territorial inequalities in urban quality of life within and between Chilean cities and measuring the attributes of the urban areas linked to the quality of urban life. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has made a substantial contribution through specific technical advice, participation in working groups, preparation of documents, as well as administrative support for the recruitment of staff, as well as the procurement of goods and services.
The development and application of urban sustainability indicators has gained importance in recent years, especially since the generation of specific urban indicators for the 2030 Agenda. As urban sustainability is a broad concept involving many dimensions, it is particularly important but complicated to develop a short and comprehensive list of indicators. Chile has chosen to develop 29 indicators (so-called “CEDEUS”), designed to characterise urban sustainability, a list of indicators that could also be an interesting reference for Moroccan cities to take into account.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas de Chile (2014[31]), Sistema de Indicadores y Estándares de Desarrollo Urbano, https://www.ine.gob.cl/herramientas/portal-de-mapas/siedu; UNDP (2014[32]), Chile, Implementación de la Política Nacional de Desarrollo Urbano, https://www.undp.org/es/chile/proyectos/implementacion-de-la-politica-nacional-de-desarrollo-urbano; Steiniger et al. (2020[33]), Localising urban sustainability indicators: The CEDEUS indicator set, and lessons from an expert-driven process, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102683.
Strengthening subnational capacity in urban planning and city management
As seen above, the objective of advanced regionalisation is to transfer more powers and responsibilities to local authorities, including municipalities. This therefore requires local capacity building to effectively manage these new responsibilities and allow for better planning and management of cities, including at the level of urban agencies. However, the necessary administrative and technical skills are often insufficient, even though the use and analysis of data could contribute to the establishment and evaluation of urban policies.
To meet these challenges, several initiatives have been put in place to strengthen the capacities of local authorities, sometimes with the support of international partners. For example, the main objective of the Public Services Charter adopted in 2021 is to strengthen the efficiency of public services in the management of their resources and to improve the quality of public services, in particular through the development of human resources and the adoption of new modes of their management and the strengthening of professional conduct (Ministère de la Transition Numérique, 2021[34]). The Charter also provides for the establishment of a National Observatory of Public Services, whose mission is to measure their level of performance, to carry out studies on their governance and the quality of services and to propose measures likely to improve their functioning. As this Public Service Charter has not fully borne fruit in terms of strengthening the capacities of local authorities, training and professionalisation efforts of the public service have been accelerated with the promulgation of Decree 7264 on general service systems and employees in January 2024 (Journal Officiel du Maroc, 2024[27]). In addition, a Directorate of Innovation, Training and Education within the MATNUHPV was established in January 2024, with the mission of developing education and research strategies in the fields of land use planning, urban planning and housing, in order to optimise the training and professionalisation of these professions in the public service (MATNUHPV, 2023[35]).
The Support Programme for the Improvement of the Performance of Municipalities in Morocco (Programme d’appui à l’amélioration de la performance des communes au Maroc – PAPC), co-financed by the World Bank and the French Development Agency (l’Agence Française de Développement – AFD), targets a hundred urban municipalities with a total of 18 million inhabitants, i.e. more than 80% of the country's urban population and almost 50% of Morocco's total population. Led by the General Directorate of Local Authorities (direction générale des collectivités territoriales – DGCT) of the Ministry of the Interior, this programme aims to radically transform the relationship between municipalities and the central government, to move from a logic of supervision to a logic of support. This includes establishing a performance-based framework to enable municipalities to structure their financing and management systems, strengthen the quality of public services and exploit inter-municipal synergies through peer-to-peer learning and sharing of good experiences. The programme also supports the implementation of an ambitious capacity-building plan. The digitalisation of administrative services, such as the civil registry and the issuance of building permits, citizen satisfaction and feedback mechanisms are also central to this programme (Banque Mondiale, 2020[36]). The reform initiated by the PAPC could be deployed at the higher level of the Intermunicipal Cooperation Establishments (Établissements de Coopération Intercommunale – ECI).
In order to further strengthen capacities in local authorities, including urban agencies, Morocco's national urban policy could also encourage several complementary strategies, building on Principle 10 of the OECD Principles on Urban Policy and the OECD Recommendation on Public Service Leadership and Capacity, which is built around three main pillars: (i) building a values-based culture and leadership in the public service; (ii) investing in the capacity of the civil service; and (iii) developing public employment systems that promote a responsive and adaptive public service (OCDE, 2019[37]). These complementary strategies could include:
Encourage municipalities to define a clear vision of their current capacities, in order to identify gaps and necessary skills.
Promote the continuous training of employees of local authorities, particularly municipalities, particularly in the design and use of indicators in public policies: to this end, Morocco could establish a school of urban trades, based on the existing network of training institutions in the field of public administration, urban planning and architecture. To date, 19 universities offer training in civil engineering, urban planning and construction. These can award diplomas in professional bachelor's degrees, DUT or specialised master's degrees, or diplomas in civil engineering, buildings and public works, construction and energy of buildings, and geo-environment (Commission spéciale sur le Modèle de développement, 2021[38]). In addition, in partnership with the ministries concerned, 7 executive training institutions train state engineers and architects in the domain of planning and architecture (Architecture, Planning and Urban Planning, Risk Management and Territorial Development, Urban and Environmental Engineering). Morocco could also draw inspiration from the example of the Palladio Institute of Advanced Studies on Real Estate and the City created in 2011 in France, which aims to train real estate and city stakeholders to respond to current and future challenges, whether economic, environmental, social or societal (Fondation Palladio, s.d.[39]). The Moroccan government could also promote regular training for local elected officials and administrative staff on key topics such as financial management, urban planning, sustainable development, and participatory governance, and set up mentoring and exchange programs with experts and institutions with proven expertise in governance. Particular emphasis should be placed on training staff in the use of IT tools and data management systems for better evidence-based decision-making.
Promote inter-municipal cooperation to enable municipalities to pool their resources and skills, as well as the exchange of experience and learning between peers, including international peers, to share good practices and learn from the successes and failures of others.
Professionalise the civil service by better integrating merit into the recruitment and promotion processes, as is already done, for example, by the Rabat urban agency, which introduced a pilot system of key performance indicators (KPIs) in 2022, to contribute to the improvement of the management of the organisational performance of the agency's employees.
Encourage continuity of public action and independence from electoral cycles.
Promoting stakeholder participation in the design and implementation of urban policy in Morocco
Moroccan cities have already made efforts to promote the participation of a wide range of stakeholders in the design and implementation of urban policy, including the private sector, academics, urban residents, women, and the most vulnerable (Iraki et Houdret, 2021[40]), in line with the priorities of the New Development Model (Nouveau Modèle de Développement – NDM), which has itself made a turning point in terms of stakeholder participation. Indeed, citizens, political parties, institutional actors, economic operators, social partners, representatives of civil society and major organised bodies were invited to express themselves freely on their assessments of the constraints to development, and to share their expectations and recommendations for the New Development Model, thus instilling a new paradigm of enhanced stakeholder participation in all Moroccan policies and in particular urban policy.
Although there are tools for citizen participation, the way in which the city is “made” is more top-down than bottom-up, with room for manoeuvre to solicit more from residents-users and collective citizen intelligence
While Morocco's urban planning is part of a new paradigm of urban development that is intended to be multi-level and inclusive, most of the projects continue a tradition cultivated for several decades of a policy of “Major Works”, which does not sufficiently consult the inhabitants-users. This logic of urban project management corresponds to a top-down approach than bottom-up approach of "making" the city. This is particularly the case for the construction of new towns or the absorption of the substandard housing fabric. The same logic has long prevailed in terms of transport policy, designed by the State and then put into practice by the different regions of the country (OCDE, 2018[6]).
On the other hand, one of the objectives of the regionalisation reform is to bring institutions closer to the inhabitants. As seen above, local and regional governments are expected to be essential partners of the central government, the private sector and citizens in the development and implementation of urban programmes. Despite the turn towards regionalisation, local urban planning actors are still struggling to mobilise the collective intelligence of citizens, which remains little deployed in the design and implementation of urban projects or in the development orientations adopted in Morocco's cities (Commission spéciale sur le Modèle de développement, 2021[38]). It is only during the preparation of urban planning documents such as the Urban Development Master Plan (SDAU) or the Municipal Development Plan (PAC) that the population is invited, under Law 12-90 codifying the principles of the public inquiry, to give its opinion on urban planning projects. However, these contributions do not significantly influence the version of the draft development plan, since only the owners impacted by the urban planning easements can really oppose these proposals (OCDE, 2022[41]).
Nevertheless, several citizen collectives are already operating in the Moroccan urban landscape and these initiatives deserve to be strengthened. Some are born from a neighbourhood initiative, others are launched by more institutional actors, for the benefit of the inhabitants of a city. An example of this second case concerns the WeCasablanca participatory approach. This consultative process has thus accompanied the implementation of the Greater Casablanca Development Plan 2015-2020. Indeed, the Local Development Company Casablanca Events & Animation wanted to strengthen the attractiveness of the city by bringing together all the stakeholders concerned around a consultative process, on the model of the International Workshop of Greater Paris in France.2 The construction phase of the urban identity of Greater Casablanca was based on a process of in-depth diagnosis of the assets of the metropolis, its characteristics and its identity. A participatory approach has been deployed in order to involve all the stakeholders concerned, including elected officials, residents of the various districts, researchers, entrepreneurs and tourism stakeholders. More than 600 people participated in the meetings of the 9 working groups, 150 workshops, 5 thematic commissions, one international workshop, and more than 100 institutional meetings organized in this framework. This same consultative process has been deployed for the Regional Development Plan (RDP) of the Casablanca-Settat region (OCDE, 2018[6]). Around 200 people were mobilised in sectoral interviews with national, regional and local stakeholders. In addition, 300 people took part in a dozen thematic workshops. The Casablanca-Settat region had launched a competition for the creation of its logo in May and June 2017. After an initial selection of proposals selected by the jury made up of representatives of the academic community, the Order of Architects, the media and the communication sector, the inhabitants were invited to vote online for their favourite proposal. The chosen logo has since been declined as part of a new global visual identity for the urban area of Casablanca-Settat.
The Support for Citizen Participation project funded by the European Union, in partnership with the Ministry Delegate in charge of relations with the Parliament, the General Directorate of Local Authorities, the Moroccan Centre for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship, and the Belgian development agency Enabel (Le Matin, 2022) is another programme to promote participatory democracy that includes commitments to strengthen the associative fabric, the promotion of the participation of inhabitants in the development and monitoring of urban policies, and the launch of citizen initiatives led by Moroccan civil society. The three-year programme will inject EUR 7 million to promote greater stakeholder participation.
Similarly, some tools promoting the participation of young people in planning processes and in the management of urban affairs have also been strengthened in Morocco since 2011 (OCDE, 2021[42]). Indeed, Article 139 of the 2011 Constitution of Morocco already stipulated that “participatory mechanisms for dialogue and consultation (would) be set up by the councils of the regions and the councils of other local authorities to promote the involvement of citizens and associations in the development and monitoring of programs” (Dahir No. 1-11-91 of July 30, 2011). This constitutional reform had thus made it possible to codify the participation of young people in the management of urban affairs, in particular through neighbourhood associations or youth councils. In particular, the latter forum encouraged the strengthening of dialogue between young people and State actors at the local and national levels. The youth councils thus mobilise young people aged 15 to 35, who are members of at least one local association. They are constituted at the level of the prefecture or province, and their mandate must not exceed 4 years. They can engage in dialogue and report contributions from residents and users to representatives of local public authorities or external State services. However, the results of the ten years of these youth councils are still mixed. The case of the city of Ouarzazate shows that these councils both reinforced among the young participants the feeling of being better informed about the conduct of local public affairs, without allowing these same young people to show greater influence on local urban affairs, and on the decisions taken in the long term by the public authorities (El Mnasfi, 2021[43]). Greater youth participation is also based on strengthening educational efforts to combat illiteracy and drop-out in primary, secondary and university education. These are the prerequisites for greater participation in the urban fabric of young people aged 15 to 34, of whom more than 4.5 million are inactive, insofar as they are not in school, training or employment (NEETs) (Haut Commissariat au Plan, 2019[44]).
In addition, while several participation tools, such as digital platforms, calls for projects, municipal or associative ad hoc mobilisation initiatives, and public surveys, are already in place and strengthened since 2011, they are not replicated on a larger scale and do not benefit from the necessary resources to be better institutionalised.3
There is generally a lack of cooperation between public and private actors as well as with universities
The same can be said of cooperation between public and private actors. A challenge to encourage the participation of stakeholders in the design and implementation of Morocco's urban policy is the formalisation and deepening of the prerogatives and modalities of public-private partnerships, which have been steadily growing since the 2000s. Many actors are involved in these partnerships, such as Local Development Corporations (Sociétés de Développement Local – SDL) which are responsible for the implementation of local urban projects. The municipality owns 51% of the shares of these companies, which ensures that companies are held accountable for delays and failure to meet quality standards. Al Omrane is also a key private developer in Morocco and is involved in several development projects as a project owner, particularly in innovative projects in terms of sustainable urban planning.
While the role of the private sector is not new and is already important in Morocco's urban development, the principle of public-private partnership deserves to be better defined in order to avoid the pitfalls recorded during the creation of several new cities since 2004, such as their operation as monofunctional dormitory districts, and the logic of urban sprawl that is not very sustainable and consumes a lot of land (de Miras et Paquette Vassili, 2021[45]). These challenges have proven that a private operator cannot carry out the project management of an urban project alone, at the risk of not anticipating the needs in terms of equipment, services, and mix of functions.
Cooperation with university and research institutions also needs to be strengthened, although efforts are already under way in this direction. For example, the Joint Programme for Youth Entrepreneurship launched in January 2021 as part of a partnership between Mohammed VI University of Rabat and MIT (Alouazen, 2021[46]). This programme aims to involve young students through scientific research projects aimed at producing innovations for Moroccan cities. The aim is to encourage young innovators who want to make an impact on the Moroccan urban and economic landscape, and to support the social impact of these technological innovations. By providing a number of entrepreneurs with funding of up to MAD 250 000 (USD 28 320), the aim is to amplify the social impact of each start-up benefiting from the programme. While so-called “town-gown” (universities/research centres/ communities), local or international, are underway in Morocco, they deserve to be strengthened, and the projects carried out must be able to move more systematically from the stage of incubators to that of devices adopted on a larger scale in Moroccan cities.
The gender dimension is present in several urban policies and programmes, including in the City Policy, but several constraints remain – such as a low level of data production and the absence of study structures dedicated to women's land rights
Other tools specifically promoting women's participation in planning processes and in the management of urban affairs in Morocco have also been strengthened (ONU Femmes Maroc, 2020[47]). The general report on the New Development Model includes among the priorities in terms of participation, the participation of women through civic, cultural and sports projects (Commission spéciale sur le Modèle de développement, 2021[38]). The same report highlights that greater involvement of women in the public sphere would reduce gender inequalities, particularly in terms of access to employment, which could generate additional annual growth of 0.2% to 1.95% (Policy Center for the New South, 2017[48]). A better integration of women into the urban fabric would require a strengthening of social protection for working women, the development of services and infrastructures to facilitate their access to the labour market (or their retention), for example through the provision of crèches and pre-school and extracurricular structures, an organisation of working time, a better public transport offer and the guarantee of greater safety in public transport. Wider participation of women is also based on strengthening efforts in education against illiteracy and school drop-out in primary, secondary and university education (Naciri, 2014[49]). In addition, women's participation can be promoted by strengthening the training and information channels offered to the inhabitants of the cities concerned. Finally, greater participation can be achieved by supporting women's entrepreneurship, by providing better access to financing and public aid for micro-enterprises and women's cooperatives.
Similarly, several urban policies and programmes theoretically include a participatory gender dimension. However, this remains theoretical and is not necessarily put into practice. For example, the City Policy has a specific practical guide to integrate gender into all its programmes, particularly with regard to access to public spaces, security or public lighting. This guide mentions several objectives, including that of integrating the needs of specific groups (women, young children, adolescents, people with disabilities, seniors). One of the principles of action of this policy is to promote the “participation of the various actors (inhabitants, users, socio-economic actors, citizens) based on the sharing of knowledge and the recognition of skills in order to ensure the support of everyone”. Nevertheless, several constraints remain associated with the City Policy in Morocco, including a low level of gender-based data production, the absence of study and analysis structures dedicated to women's land rights, as well as a low participation of women in land governance bodies. There is therefore a need to build capacity on women's land rights, and to carry out outreach and awareness-raising activities in this area.
Recommendations to promote wider and more systematic stakeholder participation in the design and implementation of urban policy
Establish institutional coordination and consultation mechanisms that ensure the participation of the most vulnerable population groups
Participatory urban planning must better integrate the most vulnerable groups of inhabitants in order to ensure equity and social justice, improve the relevance and impact of the public policies implemented, and strengthen social cohesion. It is also one of the pillars of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, since it is part of Sustainable Development Goals 10 and 11, which focus on the empowerment of all inhabitants, regardless of age, gender, disability, origin, religion or socio-economic status (SDG 10), the construction of sustainable and inclusive urban spaces (SDG 11), and strengthening partnerships for the achievement of the goals (SDG 17).
Several OECD countries and cities are already seeing the benefits of greater inclusion of the most vulnerable inhabitants and users in urban affairs. For example, New Zealand's cities are a pioneering model for the inclusion of Indigenous communities in all decision-making bodies in urban planning that promote environmental health.
Strengthen the acceptability of urban policies
In order to increase the acceptability of urban policies, education and awareness-raising among the populations concerned are necessary to drive change. In particular, capacity building to better understand risks is central to strengthening the resilience of cities, for example through simulation exercises, better communication or alarm systems. In addition, it is necessary to raise awareness of the value of their participation, in order to avoid a phenomenon of “consultation fatigue”.
Better integrate and formalise private sector participation in urban policymaking
The integration and formalisation of private sector participation in urban policymaking is crucial to strengthen the quality, efficiency and sustainability of urban development in Morocco. The participation of the private sector has many advantages. The private sector provides technical expertise and innovations that can improve urban planning and service delivery, contributing know-how to identify innovative solutions to complex urban challenges. Moreover, as discussed above, integrating the private sector into urban policymaking can open avenues for new financing and investment models in urban infrastructure, green technologies, and housing. Finally, the involvement of the private sector in urban policies can stimulate local economic development by supporting entrepreneurship, attracting investment, and creating jobs.
Consolidate the role of urban agencies as guarantors of stakeholder participation
To strengthen stakeholder participation, the role of urban agencies as guarantors of consultation between stakeholders must be consolidated. Given their local roots and their unique positioning at the heart of the multi-level territorial dialogue, in connection with the advanced regionalisation reform, urban agencies can make a significant contribution to involving citizens in urban planning processes. They are responsible, among other things, for carrying out all the studies necessary for the establishment of the SDAU, preparing the drafts of regulatory urban planning documents, and promoting and carrying out urban rehabilitation, real estate renovation and neighbourhood restructuring operations.
To consolidate the role of these urban agencies as guarantors of stakeholder participation, several strategies can be envisaged. Their prerogatives, as the institutional level closest to the local demands formulated by the inhabitants and users, as well as to the contextual realities on the ground, should be accompanied by greater discretionary power, allowing them to adjust the participation mechanisms decreed by the State, in order to better correspond to local realities.
Develop the use of participatory digital platforms
Increasing the use of participatory digital platforms can help improve citizen participation by making it more accessible to a wide range of citizens, if at the same time measures are taken to ensure that all citizens have access to these platforms and have the necessary skills to use them. Digital platforms can also help to increase transparency, facilitate the collection of ideas and speed up consultation processes.
Engage citizens at smaller scales such as neighbourhoods
Engaging citizens at the neighbourhood level is essential to strengthen social cohesion and promote participatory democracy. Indeed, at this scale, residents are more likely to be actively involved because they can see first-hand the impact of their contributions on their daily lives. Initiatives such as neighbourhood assemblies allow citizens to collaborate, share ideas, make collective decisions, and adapt solutions to specific needs, thus contributing to a more inclusive and responsive governance.
Digital urban technologies have great potential to support participatory urban planning. For example, Building Information Modeling (BIM) and digital models open up new opportunities for cooperation between stakeholders. It is becoming possible to articulate the data of different trades on the same interface and to connect players who have communicated little until now, for a better consideration of the local environmental context, for example. The BIM approach can also involve residents in the making of their urban spaces. Thanks to the BIM approach, it is possible to monitor the evolution of buildings and infrastructures in real time and to evaluate the uses made of them, which allows residents to support the processes of evolution of buildings or neighbourhoods, and to debate them collectively. Several digital models of Moroccan cities (e.g. digital twins), allowing the aggregation and visualisation of different types of data, and integrating the comments of the inhabitants, could thus become a support for collective deliberation.
In this regard, MIT has developed technological tools that several cities have used to increase citizen participation to plan their urban spaces. Conducting this citizen participation upstream of the planning process makes it possible to build projects that respond as closely as possible to the aspirations of the population and their daily practices. This is why the MIT SENSEable City Lab (Cambridge, US) is developing experimental projects that use new technological tools to study user behaviour, in the service of more participatory and innovative urban planning. These projects and their application in various cities include:
Favelas 4D (Brazil): Of the 4 billion people who live in the world's cities, nearly 1 billion reside in informal settlements. Although often massive, these informal settlements are largely impervious to traditional mapping technologies, making them invisible and devoid of urban rights. Favelas 4D uses 3D laser scanning technology to analyse the morphology of Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro, making the informal visible and creating a platform for collaborative urban planning.
Slow Zones (France): Over the past 10 years, Paris has implemented pedestrian zones in more than half of its streets to give back to pedestrians some of the space previously reserved for cars. MIT compared the streets inside and outside the boundaries of pedestrian zones, before and after the implementation of these perimeters. The use of social network data as an indicator of social activity in the streets has made it possible to identify the causal effect of these perimeters on the activity of the inhabitants and users of these perimeters. The analysis of this data has proven that reducing speed limits helps to activate life on the streets and promote social activity, thus creating more dynamic and liveable streets.
Desirable Streets (United States): On average, pedestrians choose to walk about 10% longer than their shortest route. By analysing the deviations of pedestrian routes from the shortest route over more than 120 000 trips, MIT analysed the most desirable and pedestrian-friendly streets in the city of Boston. Different characteristics of the built environment make it possible to understand what the most desirable street segments used by pedestrians have in common (quiet streets, presence of shops, green spaces). Understanding these characteristics and the choices made by residents can help local governments improve Boston's built environment.
These few examples illustrate the potential of new methods of observing and analysing the needs of the population in the formulation of urban planning strategies. Starting from the uses of the population, it is possible to imagine innovative and effective solutions, contributing to a positive transformation of the city, for the benefit of its users.
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← 1. A decentralised authority of the Ministry of the Interior, the Wali is a senior civil servant who represents the King and the government in the regions. The Walis of the regions saw their responsibilities defined during the 2015 reform. The King appoints the Walis of the regions, on the proposal of the Head of Government, and on the initiative of the Minister of the Interior. The Walis coordinate the actions of the decentralised services of the ministries. They also support local authorities in the implementation of their development programmes and projects. They are also in charge of the Regional Coordination Committee (Comité regional de coordination – CRC), which brings together governors of provinces and prefectures in the region, heads of decentralised State services, heads of Regional Investment Centres (CRIs) and regional heads of public institutions.
← 2. The Atelier International du Grand Paris (AIGP) was a public interest group launched from 2010 to 2017, responsible for conducting a reflection on Greater Paris. Its mission was to implement research, development, development and animation actions related to the challenges of Greater Paris. To do this, it relied on public inquiries, as well as a scientific council made up of ten multidisciplinary teams resulting from international consultations.
← 3. This is the case of chikaya.com, Casa Bayia for environmental education, Green Thursdays for the organisation of awareness-raising sessions in the neighbourhoods, Moucharaka Mouwatina and projects financed by this programme to support civil society in Morocco, Communal consultations via the Gender Equality Commission, organised in three consultative bodies (gender, youth, economic affairs) consulted for the RDP and for the SRAT, the Taaga Association for the development of the RDP, public surveys or citizen participation associated with the dialogue for the current reform at the national level, at the regional level, and via a digital participation platform.