EVALUATION OF MANAGUA RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING

This special evaluation, which was conducted in 6/75 and is based on interviews and meetings with project personnel and a review of relevant files, focuses on the Government of Nicaragua's Program for Immediate Action (PRAI) for rebuilding Managua. Generally, the PRAI is a successful "action planning" program, both for its specific purposes and as a tool used for middle-range planning. Nevertheless, problems do exist. First, private sector projects have not been integrated into the reconstruction process. Also, meaningful project consultations have been limited to the technical and high administrative levels. To be more effective, these meetings must have a larger perspective. People involved in packaging aspects of the project do not have a full understanding of programing methods. Also, long-range planning techniques have not matured to the point where they can provide specific guidelines to be followed. Finally, the attitude that reconstruction is an ongoing process is not yet widespread in the PRAI staff. Although daily, informal, on-the-job training has been taking place, no efforts have been made to use resident U.S. technical advisors to teach Nicaraguans urban planning and programming. It is recommended that such a training program be developed by the project's principal advisor. It is also recommended that all urban planners be educated in either architecture, civil engineering, law, or an empirical science; that programming and a sense of process be emphasized in their training; and that they be trained in data processing and evaluation, and in how to package related projects into various programs. The importance of long-range urban design and environmental plans as a heuristic device to test program combinations and long-term implication should be recognized and the link between planning and implementation be made clear. Finally, planners should understand the need for outside participation in the planning process and how this interaction can be developed at the early planning stage.