Integration of Areas of Recommendation

While documented as unique categories, each with its own individual report volume, the three primary Areas of Recommendation were advanced in concert throughout the project. The team practiced coordinated design and internal review processes to ensure the creation of an interdependent and integrative development strategy for HGI. The Pillars of the Higher Ground Initiative have been embedded into all aspects of the planning and recommendation development of the project. The results of this integration of economic diversification, affordable green housing, education and training, energy security, food security, water security, public health, low/ zero-emissions transport, environmental restoration, land rehabilitation, as well as affordable finance and good governance, are all specifically demonstrated through the details of various aspects of the site design for Land Portion 230 as a model of the HGI vision.

Utilizing the development contexts of the neighbourhood centre, the township park, a typical neighbourhood park, a typical private open space on an individual lot, an example of inland preservation, an example of coastal preservation, and an example of commercial agriculture, the manner in which the Pillars of HGI are applied has been graphically represented. Descriptions of details of their implementation and opportunities for their further investment are also documented and described. Similarly, the Pillars of HGI have been incorporated into the preparation of all housing and architectural designs for LP230, as well as the island wide master plan, establishing a comprehensive scheme for resiliency in the development (and redevelopment) of Nauru with designs and recommendations that reinforce each other and directly engage all nine goals of HGI. In this way, Nauru not only inaugurates a new chapter in its nationhood with a visionary investment in the future of the country, but also leads by example, demonstrating to other small island developing nations that the initiative is feasible and replicable.

In addition to fully integrating the Pillars of the Higher Ground Initiative into the project proposals, the design team has applied sustainability best practices, as described by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, reinforcing the commitment of the Republic of Nauru to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Furthermore, the planning approach employed in this body of work is based on the design principles of time tested communities that result in inherently resilient development, especially in regards to energy consumption and economic sustainability. Community-based master plans promote healthier populations, broader participation in social and economic opportunities, and are less damaging to the natural environment. The model is similar throughout the world, based on a short pedestrian walk to most daily needs, a mix of housing options and densities, an interconnected network of streets and pedestrian ways, a generous distribution of open spaces within walking distance of all residences, and the prominent location of civic institutions dispersed throughout the community. Throughout all three volumes of the individual Areas of Recommendation, the design team has attempted to provide evidence of these informing frameworks and explanation of the integration of topical areas of design and recommendation.