Samples of Ulrich's advisory services


   -   World Bank Group: Local Governance and Climate Resilience in Municipalities of Jordan (2023-24)
   -   United Nations: Quality of Life Initiative (UN-Habitat 2023-24)
    -  Saudi Arabia: Two modules of a Transformational Training for Urban Planners (2022)
    -   Poland: Sessions at the World Urban Forum in Katowice (2022)
    -   Belarus: Discussing Green Urban Development at the National Assembly in Minsk (2019)
    -   Myanmar: Two workshops in preparation of a National Urban Policy (2018)
    -   UN-Habitat in Kenya: In-house advisory services at UN-Habitat Headquarters in Nairobi (2017 - 2019)

 World Bank Group: Local Governance and Climate Resilience in Municipalities of Jordan (2023-24)

As part of the Municipal Services and Social Resilience Project (MSSRP) of the World Bank Group and as a fact finding mission the Royal Society of the Conservation of Nature (RSCN)  invited Ulrich Graute on a mission to Jordan to review climate change impacts, related policies and governance mechanisms in municipalities in preparation of a possible new project featuring resilience building against climate change in cities of the Kingdom of Jordan. Overall purpose of the consultancy was to support the RSCN team in launching the process to develop a new project on resilience building in municipalities of Jordan.

Pictures: Meetings with municipalities of Jersah and Sahab in November 2023

United Nations: Quality of Life Initiative (UN-Habitat 2023-2024)

Improving Quality of Life in Cities and Communities


Ulrich served as Team leader Governance of this initiative which has been launched in January 2023.


The Quality of Life Initiative supports local authorities and decision makers to understand how their current investment and policy priorities improve the well being and quality of life of the individuals and communities they serve and how to make tangible, long term improvements in the lives of urban populations.


The Initiative aims to develop a comprehensive, human-centric concept of quality of life including objective and subjective factors and to promote it as a primary urban development objective.


The three year project includes the development of a performance monitoring tool incorporating innovative data gathering techniques for authorities in cities and towns worldwide to measure their progress and the gaps in improving the quality of life. The globally relevant, locally applicable measuring tool is being created through wide ranging consultations and will be aligned with the Urban Monitoring Framework (UMF).


The Initiative is being implemented by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the UN agency focused on sustainable urban development. Human well being has been identified as one of the key transformative shifts needed to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Quality of Life Initiative will contribute by helping subnational governments in urban areas achieve progress towards a prosperous and fulfilling life for individuals and communities.


For more information visit: https://unhabitat.org/quality-of-life-initiative

Picture: Side event of the Initiative at the High Level Political Forum in New York on 13 July 2023

Team meetings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Nairobi, Kenya in 2023

Saudi Arabia: Two modules of a Transformational Training for Urban Planners (2022)

Poland: Sessions at the World Urban Forum in Katowice (2022)

Belarus: Discussing Green Urban Development at the National Assembly in Minsk (2019)

Workshop of the National Assembly of Belarus to discuss
Green Urban Development

We same time a new heat wave recalled the challenge of climate change, the House of Representatives of the Republic of Belarus and the United Nations Development Programme UNDP convened a workshop on 25 June 2019 in Minsk to discuss the implementation of a green urban development. The discussion focussed on environmental protection, energy efficiency measures and the experience of the greening of the district of Novogrudok.
I added with my presentation the frame for governing and managing integrated and participative planning processes along the 12 principles of the International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial Planning IGUTP.

Outstanding was the high attention the workshop received. The workshop was moderated by Tatsiana Kananchuk, Chairperson of the Standing Commission on Ecology Issues, Environment and Chernobyl Catastrophe (at centre of the picture of the opening panel). Welcome speeches were presented by Bodeslav Pirshuk, Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly (second from left) and Alexandra Solovieva, Resident Representative of UNDP (third from the right side). More than 50 deputies and representatives of local and regional authorities attended the workshop.

Myanmar: Two workshops in preparation of a National Urban Policy (2018)


The workshop activities described in the following are part of a larger project of UN-Habitat which is funded by the Republic of Korea to promote National Urban Policies and Smart City Strategies.

Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, 4 - 5 June 2018 and 12 - 14 December 2018
On 4th of June 2018 the H.E. Union Minister of Construction U Han Zaw (first from right side on the picture on the right side) launched the first consultation workshop to validate the Framework for the Myanmar National Urban Policy. The workshop received support from UN-Habitat and was organized in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw.
The Framework for the NUP was presented by Ms Daw Aye Aye Myint, Deputy Director General of Department of Urban and Housing Development at the Ministry of Construction. Ulrich Graute from UN-Habitat’s Headquarters presented key aspects of National Urban Policies and experience gained with NUP processes around the world. Following the presentations the about 100 participants continued discussions in thematic working groups.

A second workshop was organized in December 2018 in Nay Pyi Taw and the following pictures show the different situation in the course of a workshop where Ulrich inspired dialogue and cooperation.
Kenya: In-house advisory services at UN-Habitat Headquarters in Nairobi (2017 - 2019)
From September 2017 until February 2019 Ulrich worked at the Urban Planning and Design Branch UPDB of UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya, providing in-house services related to the analysis and development of national urban policies, the implementation of the International Guidelines on Urban and Territorial Planning IG-UTP and related projects.

Regional and Metropolitan Planning Unit Retreat 2019

Ulrich was part of this unit from September 2017 until November 2019 (18 months in Nairobi and six months home based in Berlin). As  Senior Metropolitan Planner Ulrich provided a broad range of senior advisory services and went on mission to Afghanistan, Belarus and Myanmar.


On 1 February 2019 the retreat of the unit was organized at Lord Errol in Nairobi, Kenya. The unit is part of the Urban Planning and Design Branch of UN-Habitat.