Sustainable Reconstruction: A Framework for Inclusive Planning and Financing to Support Green Transition in the Arab States Region
This framework represents a comprehensive guide for Arab countries emerging from conflict and crisis situations to design and implement sustainable reconstruction activities that accelerate efforts towards building forward better. Drawing on analyses of over 100 reports and consultations with multiple stakeholders across relevant sectors, including government officials, planners, investors, and others, in Iraq, Libya, the State of Palestine, Sudan, and elsewhere, the framework serves as an operational tool laying out valuable insights and practical recommendations for action by governments and partners across the region.
…
Sustainable Reconstruction: A Framework for Inclusive Planning and Financing to Support Green Transition in the Arab States Region
Originally published by UNDP, UN-Habitat, and Oliver Wyman on 15 September 2024
The Arab States region is subject to ongoing challenges from political upheavals, socio-economic disparities, conflicts and terrorism to natural disasters, desertification, periodic dust and sandstorms, and water scarcity. The cumulative impacts lead to significant pressures on and, at times, an outright destruction of infrastructure, displacement of populations, and environmental degradation. Sustainable reconstruction is an important component for any post-conflict and post-crisis strategy that can contribute to sustainable and lasting peace, stability, and prosperity.
Access the full publication here or download the attached PDF of the publication
SDG 11 Synthesis Report for the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) 2024 by UN-Habitat…
a>
The current report shows that the world is off track in achieving SDG 11. Rescuing SDG 11 is urgent for the sake of present and future generations. The report points to the immense opportunities that exist and the innovations that are already underway.
The report was prepared by UN-Habitat as a lead coordinator, with inputs from several UN custodian agencies, other UN entities, civil society, academia, United Cities and Local Governments, and various other stakeholders and partners.
Full Report | Executive Summary | Key Highlights | Facts and Figures
The event will focus on key transformative policy and investment shifts necessary to accelerate progress with SDG 11 and recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels.
…
Rescuing SDG 11 for a resilient urban planet
Official Side-Event by UN-Habitat at the 2024 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development
14 July 2024 from 8:30 - 9:30 AM Eastern Standard Time at UN Headquarters, Conference Room 11, New York
Online Link on UN Web TV
Objectives
Specifically, it will consider priorities for:
Anchoring sustainable cities and human settlements at the center of national planning, development policies and investments plans to deliver better outcomes for everyone everywhere
Shifting economic and financing models for more effective investments in how cities are planned, managed and governed
Fostering multi-level, multi-sector and multistakeholder governance to realize SDG 11 and the 2030 Agenda more broadly
Tackling inequality within and between cities to narrow the great urban divide
Anticipating and preparing for the future of humanity and global resilience in an urban planet
Abstract
By 2030, we will not meet most SDG 11 targets without major shifts in urban policy and investments in local government. The consequences of not achieving SDG 11 in particular are immense, directly impacting billions of people’s daily lives. It is urgent to prevent the disastrous effects consequences ahead of us by changing the way we plan, manage, and govern our cities and human settlements. To avoid a collective failure and to rescue SDG 11 but also Agenda 2030 more broadly, actions need to be taken now and at scale across cities and human settlements. In line with the call of the UN General Assembly to rescue the SDGs,1 this is the moment to rescue SDG 11 through scaled action and investments. This side event will focus on the urgent transformative shifts needed to embrace innovative and bold measures to accelerate SDG 11 progress. It considers new ways of thinking and working that can positively alter the way in which policies are designed, implemented, and financed to accelerate progress with SDG 11 and recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels.
Background
Humanity’s present and future is urban. Now is the time for leaders to think, plan and act urban. Agenda 2030 sets out a vision of common global goals that links humanity’s future to the fate of cities and human settlements. For millennia, the economic and political transformation of societies has gone hand in hand with the evolution of villages into towns and cities. Urban growth continues in all world regions, and in a rapid, unplanned manner in some parts. Urbanization—how cities develop and grow—determines the quality of life for an estimated 4.4 billion people globally. This premise led the General Assembly to adopt Sustainable Development Goal 11: to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Creating the conditions for environmentally sustainable, economically prosperous, and socially equitable and just cities and communities is of paramount importance for present and future generations.
As SDG 11 is cross-cutting and a foundation to realize 63% of all the other SDGs, the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be won or lost in cities. Achieving SDG 11 is also a necessary means for accelerating the recovery from the negative socio-economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
At its core, SDG 11 sets benchmarks for urban development policies and practices that facilitate access to adequate housing, basic services, energy, public transportation and open space for everyone everywhere. This goal is achieved when member states and city managers develop policies, embrace integrated planning and develop investment budgets alongside stakeholders in a way that offers opportunities for all. As such, the day-to-day lived experiences of the world’s urban dwellers depend on the realization of SDG 11.
Additionally, global divergence is a prominent feature today in our urban planet. The widening gap between the haves and have nots is manifested in cities through spatial fragmentation, climate-driven inequalities and the digital divide. The lack of progress towards attaining SDG 11 is bound to exacerbate these global divides. The success of efforts to enhance global resilience thus on what happens in cities and human settlements.
By 2030, we will not meet most SDG 11 targets without major shifts in urban policy and investments in local government. The consequences of not achieving SDG 11 in particular are immense, directly impacting billions of people’s daily lives. When urban challenges are left unaddressed, they can escalate into global threats that affect all of humanity.
It is urgent to prevent the disastrous effects consequences ahead of us by changing the way we plan, manage, and govern our cities and human settlements. To avoid a collective failure and to rescue Agenda 2030, actions need to be taken now and at scale across cities and human settlements. The immense opportunities inherent in urbanization must be leveraged for optimal outcomes.
Positive transformative change that Member States and stakeholders have called for at the High-Level Meeting on the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda (2022) and at the 11th session of World Urban Forum (2022) respectively requires political will, policy continuity, and policy agility to developed local level action plans with the required budget and financing strategies to make measurable and swift progress.
Expected Outcomes
Elevated multi-level, multi-sector and multistakeholder engagement and collaboration to implement SDG 11
Enhanced commitments to enable transformative policy, investment and governance shifts necessary to achieve SDG 11
Improved understanding of opportunities and effective practices for scaling and spreading impacts towards SDG 11
Enhanced perspectives on global urban futures and their implications for the Pact for Future (2024 summit of the future)
For further information, please contact: Edlam Abera Yemeru ()
How local governments are using SDGs to rethink the city
The SDGs are facilitating innovation and transformation in cities, which we acknowledge as a challenging process. This event aims to share the specific solutions being experimented with by other cities and their partners. The SDGs are also helping cities to innovate and transform, and we know that this is never an easy process. This event wants to share specific solutions that other cities and their partners are already experimenting.
…
To achieve the full potential of Agenda 2030, we need to “Flip the Script”. We need more inclusive, peaceful, and sustainable cities and territories. The SDG are helping local and regional governments to bring communities together and transform policy and local action to make our cities more inclusive, green, healthy, and fair.
The event will also present the recommendations of Venice City Solutions 2030, the only yearly event fully dedicated to the local implementation of SDGs. In its 5th edition, Venice focuses on the role of local and regional governments in implementing the SDGs. It also aims to bring traditional and non-traditional partners to our special vision on Agenda 2030 as an instrument to transform our cities, to trigger individual and collective action and to help municipalities to plan, deliver and communicate better.
This side event is organized by: UNDP, SDG Action Campaign, UN-Habitat, UCLG, and AICCRE Venice.
Agenda and List of Speakers: sparkblue.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/Venice%20side%20event%20HLPF23_0.pdf
Sixth Local and Regional Governments Forum on the 2030 Agenda
The High-Level Local and Regional Governments Forum (LRGF), a Special Event to be held during the 2024 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), will illustrate the interconnected importance and breadth of SDG11 to the whole 2030 Agenda as well as how local and regional governments are localizing the SDGs through high-impact localization policies.
…
Sixth Local and Regional Governments Forum on the 2030 Agenda
When: Wednesday, 12 July 2024, 10.00 am Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Where: Conference Room 1, UNHQ, New York
The event will be streamed live on UN WebTV
Organized by UN DESA, UN-Habitat, UNDP, UCLG, Local2030 Coalition, and Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments
Local and regional governments have been playing a key role in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming to ensure that no one and no place is left behind.
Whether it be through the provision of education, food, water, waste management or health beyond healthcare, the provision of local public services has been central in responding and addressing the multiple crises, illustrating the intrinsic connection between SDG 11 on sustainable cities and territories and the other SDGs.
Within this context, the High-Level Local and Regional Governments Forum (LRGF), a Special Event to be held during the 2024 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), will illustrate the interconnected importance and breadth of SDG11 to the whole 2030 Agenda as well as how local and regional governments are localizing the SDGs through high-impact localization policies.
A special focus will be given to the five SDGs under review in the 2024 HLPF: SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation, SDG 7 on affordable and clean energy, SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure, SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities, and SDG 17 on partnerships for the Goals.
Special emphasis will be placed on showcasing impact and hope, by highlighting high-impact localization policies and partnerships for the goals currently in place as well as reflecting on specific localization needs that could contribute to bringing SDG implementation back on track.
During the Special Event, the role of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) and Voluntary Subnational Reviews (VSRs) in fostering policy transformation towards the achievement of the SDGs will be highlighted, as well as their connection with Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs).
This Special Event will be an opportunity for the constituency of local and regional governments to share localization policies, key messages and inputs towards the SDG Summit, to be held in September 2024.
The Local and Regional Governments Forum will therefore bring together local, regional, and national governments as well as representatives from the United Nations and other stakeholders to discuss how high-impact localization policies, partnerships, multilevel governance and financing can close the gap in the implementation of the SDGs.
Registration Form | Concept Note | More information: sdgs.un.org/events/LRGF6
Second Session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly
The second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly will be held from 5 to 9 June 2024 in Nairobi. Kenya. The theme of the session is “A sustainable urban future through inclusive and effective multilateralism: achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in times of global crises.” As the governance body of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Habitat Assembly convenes every four years. Thematic discussions will focus on universal access to affordable housing, urban climate action, urban crises recovery, urban crises recovery, localization of the SDGs, and prosperity and local finance.
…
Second Session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly
The second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly will be held from 5 to 9 June 2024 in Nairobi. Kenya. The theme of the session is “A sustainable urban future through inclusive and effective multilateralism: achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in times of global crises.”
As the governance body of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Habitat Assembly convenes every four years. It is the highest global decision-making body on sustainable urbanization and human settlements.
The 193 UN Member States cast the votes, while participants include non-Member States, other UN bodies and specialized agencies, as well as intergovernmental organizations, civil society, private sector, academia and research institutions, women, youth and children, and grassroots organizations.
Thematic debates and discussions during the Assembly will focus on the following topics: Universal access to affordable housing: Member States are encouraged to explore mechanisms to achieve the universal right to adequate housing and move towards removing existing barriers to affordable housing.
Urban climate action: to achieve the global commitment to stay within 1.5˚C limit on rising temperatures by 2030, Member States are encouraged to explore realistic urban pathways for climate action.
Urban crises recovery: current crises are increasingly more urban, with cities very often serving as the main places of arrival for displaced people. Member States are encouraged to empower cities to respond to urban crises and support national recovery efforts.
Localization of the SDGs: the Assembly will look at local actions needed to advance the implementation of SDGs to meet the 2030 Development Agenda targets. Member States will also be invited to explore financial mechanisms to ensure resources are directed toward urban development and reach local levels.
Prosperity and local finance: to accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, respond to urban crises, advance urban climate action, and ensure adequate and affordable housing for all, cities need policies and fiscal resources. Member States are invited to explore policies and market mechanisms to ensure financial flows directed towards urban development and reach local levels.
Notification by the Executive Director on the second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme: English | Русский | Español | Français | 中文 | العربية
After five days of debate and discussion, with 400 events featuring 700 speakers from government, civil society, communities, academia and the private sector, the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) in Katowice, Poland closed. New friendships and partnerships were formed, new agreements reached and bold ideas formulated among the 17,003 people from 155 countries who attended WUF11.
…
WUF11 closes with calls for urgent urban action
Originally posted by UN-Habitat on 1 July 2022
After five days of debate and discussion, with 400 events featuring 700 speakers from government, civil society, communities, academia and the private sector, the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) in Katowice, Poland closed. New friendships and partnerships were formed, new agreements reached and bold ideas formulated among the 17,003 people from 155 countries who attended WUF11.
Photo: IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat Executive Director
The closing ceremony in the Spodek Arena concluded with the torch for WUF12 being officially passed to the Egyptian government, represented by General Mohammed Sharawy, Minister of Local Development, in a short signing.
“What we have witnessed here was a rich experience with many inspiring topics,” he said. “I am extremely proud that Cairo is the first African city to stage the World Urban Forum since Nairobi staged the first event in 2002.”
The enthusiasm generated by participants throughout WUF11 was however balanced by warnings that there could be no further delays in taking urgent action to deliver sustainable urbanization, given the multiple crises confronting world cities.
Addressing the closing ceremony in the Spodek Arena, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said: “The climate emergency, pandemics, the housing crisis, violence and conflict, all converge in cities.
“If we want to transform to a better urban future, we will have to increasingly deal with urban crises. We have no excuse not to be prepared.
“We don’t have much time to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal targets of 2030. We have only 7.5 years, 90 months or 2,742 days left to implement the New Urban Agenda in order to achieve the SDGs. So, what shall we do? The time to act is now.”
Ms Sharif announced that the global observance of the World Habitat Day this year will be on 3 October in Belkiser, Turkey. She also opened a call for the expression of interest to host the World Urban Forum in 2026.
Photo: IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera, Martha Delgado, President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly at WUF11
The Executive Director warmly thanked Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak, State Secretary at Poland’s Ministry of Regional Development and Funds, Marcin Krupa, the Mayor of Katowice, and the local organising committee.
“The Government of Poland as well as the city of Katowice have exceeded all expectations helping us make WUF11 a most memorable and accessible event,” she said.
Ms Jarosińska-Jedynak responded that WUF11’S Declared Actions must be a basis for action. “This is the time for bold steps and bold action,” she said. “The World Urban Forum has given us energy and enthusiasm to push for change in our cities for a better future.”
Photo: IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera, Mahmoud Shaarawy, Minister of Local Development, Egypt, and Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN-Habitat Executive Director, sign the WUF12 agreement
Speakers acknowledged the special Urban Crises Track created at WUF11 on responses to conflict and disaster, prompted by the conflict in neighbouring Ukraine, and Poland’s hospitality to an estimated three million Ukrainian refugees.
The Executive Director thanked the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, H.E. Collen Kelapile, for leading the Group of Friends of Sustainable Urbanisation and UN-Habitat in New York, which is putting its full weight behind the New Urban Agenda.
She acknowledged the contributions of H.E Madame Martha Delgado, President of the UN-Habitat Assembly and Co-Chair of the Advisory Group, for her work to bring the key messages from all the constituencies of WUF11 to the UN-Habitat Assembly next year.
Retrieved from https://wuf.unhabitat.org/news/wuf11-closes-calls-urgent-urban-action
Now is the time to transform national urban policies into local action
Laura Puttkamer concludes URBANET’s spotlight on the eleventh session of the World Urban Forum. Three Cs dominated this year’s World Urban Forum: climate, conflict and Covid-19. More than 16,000 urban planners, academics, NGO members and other city enthusiasts signed up to participate in the 11th World Urban Forum, held in Katowice, Poland. The event culminated in the Katowice Declared Actions. According to Ms Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, “this document shows our willingness to take a stand. Cities are places where hopes and dreams are made, but if we don’t get them right in the next ten years, it will be too late.”
…
Now is the time to transform national urban policies into local action
Published by UN-Habitat on 6 July 2022
Laura Puttkamer concludes URBANET’s spotlight on the eleventh session of the World Urban Forum. Three Cs dominated this year’s World Urban Forum: climate, conflict and Covid-19. More than 16,000 urban planners, academics, NGO members and other city enthusiasts signed up to participate in the 11th World Urban Forum, held in Katowice, Poland. The event culminated in the Katowice Declared Actions. According to Ms Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, “this document shows our willingness to take a stand. Cities are places where hopes and dreams are made, but if we don’t get them right in the next ten years, it will be too late.”
WUF 11, image by Piotr Piosik
From June 26 to June 30, more than 700 speakers shared their knowledge and experience on urban development in over 400 events. The conference centre in Katowice was buzzing with ideas, fruitful exchanges, an urban expo with dozens of booths, and most of all with people networking, sitting down together and discussing key urban challenges.
At the German pavilion, the minister for housing, urban development and construction, Ms Klara Geywitz, opened a week of events by emphasising the need for a strong national urban policy in each country. She shared that Europe is already a forerunner when it comes to strong and successful collaboration between cities and other levels of government. “But we want to intensify the dialogue”, she stressed. With Germany at the helm of the G7, there are many opportunities for shaping the future of our cities. One of them is the new U7 initiative, an Urban 7 Alliance focusing on multi-level governance. Mannheim’s mayor, Mr Peter Kurz, described the U7 as a “platform for elevating local leaders’ voices”. He said that cities are not just objects of policies but need to shape their own strategies and their interpretation of a National Urban Policy. While the U7 consists of the same members as the G7, it invites all other countries and cities to support issues such as a post-war development strategy for Ukraine and localising SDG 11 in the Global South.
Mayors leading by example
Considering that by 2050, 70 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities, it is key to focus more on urban development to solve the triple C crisis. As the first responders, mayors have a direct connection to people. It was refreshing to see that so many of them were present at Katowice to exchange ideas with their peers.
The mayor of Katowice, Mr Marcin Krupa, led by example. Countless interested parties approached him to learn more about Katowice’s astonishing urban development. This medium-sized city in Southern Poland, the capital of Upper Silesia, fell into despair in the 1990s when its coal mines closed. The corresponding heavy industry companies also had to close; environmental degradation, unemployment, and a sense of hopelessness prevailed. Yet, in only 30 years, Katowice has managed to turn things around by implementing brave initiatives focused on culture. The conference centre, as well as the neighbouring Silesian Museum and a concert hall, exemplify this: they are located on top of a former coal mine. The city presented itself as a vibrant hub for international conferences, the IT industry, retail, and services. A new key project, a Gaming and Technology Hub, shows just how far this former industrial city has come.
Importantly, Katowice has also managed to integrate its citizens into the WUF. Compared to WUF10 in Abu Dhabi, which happened behind closed doors, WUF11 was very accessible. The 11 different zones of the event ranged from a youth zone to a science zone, an SDG corner, a music zone and relax zones. All of these were spread out around the conference centre in the spirit of the 15-minute-city. Katowice also shows how a car-centric city can become much more friendly towards pedestrians. While there are still big highways very close to the city centre, all conference zones were easily accessible via barrier-free walkways lined with trees, waste bins and bike paths, as well as clear signage. Many of these zones, as well as SDG11-related events, will continue throughout the year and beyond, inviting citizens to learn more about the work of UN-Habitat and about the importance of sustainable urban development.
Photo: UN-Habitat, one of the WUF11 urban zones in the city
What comes next? WUF12 in Egypt!
After the excitement of a successful conference with representatives from over 170 countries, the question is: what comes next? WUF12 will be held in 2024 in Cairo, Egypt and offers another check-in point for the progress of the New Urban Agenda. The Sustainable Development Report 2022 demonstrated that almost every city is behind in its implementation of SDG 11.
Photo: WUF11, image by Piotr Piosik, Executive Director of UN-Habitat hands over a baton of the World Urban Forum to Egypt
But there is still hope. The World Cities Report 2022, published during WUF11, presents three possible scenarios for the cities of the future: a worst-case scenario, a business-as-usual scenario, and an optimistic scenario. To work towards the optimistic scenario, it is more important than ever to remember that we are already in the UN Decade of Action. Now is the time to implement National Urban Policies by breaking them down to each city into ever-smaller pieces – mayors play a key role in creating tangible results. The example of Katowice offers hope and inspiration for how to achieve drastic urban change in just a few years.
“We only have about 90 months to implement the 2030 goals for cities. That’s 2,700 days. Let Covid-19 be our wake-up call to really start localising SDG11.”, Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif concludes.
Retrieved from https://wuf.unhabitat.org/news/now-time-transform-national-urban-policies-local-action
The Declared Actions of the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum
The Declared Actions of the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) were introduced at the event’s closing ceremony on 30 June, the culmination of five days of debate and discussion in Katowice, Poland. Announced by H.E Madame Martha Delgado, President of the UN-Habitat Assembly, the Declared Actions will carry the sustainable development agenda forward to the next World Urban Forum in Cairo, Egypt in January 2024, and beyond.
…
The Declared Actions of the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum
Published by UN-Habitat on 4 July 2022
The Declared Actions of the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) were introduced at the event’s closing ceremony on 30 June, the culmination of five days of debate and discussion in Katowice, Poland. Announced by H.E Madame Martha Delgado, President of the UN-Habitat Assembly, the Declared Actions will carry the sustainable development agenda forward to the next World Urban Forum in Cairo, Egypt in January 2024, and beyond.
Photo: IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera, Martha Delgado, President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly
Dozens of commitments have already been received, but city planners, mayors, governments, civil society and community groups have until 31 July, 2022 to submit their actions on the Urban Agenda Platform(www.urbanagendaplatform.org) on the WUF11 theme of ‘Transforming Our Cities for a Better Urban Future’.
Reading from the introduction to the Declared Actions, Ms Delgado said that participants in WUFF11 were “concerned by the lack of progress towards the SDGs and the Paris Agreement and call for urgent transformative action”.
“We need to focus on increasing the inevitable urban crises. The climate emergency, pandemics, the biodiversity crisis, other natural and man-made disasters, all converge in cities. Being prepared for and overcoming these crises becomes a precondition to transform towards a better urban future,” she said, quoting the document.
The Declared Actions concluded with an appeal for greater funding for UN-Habitat, which convenes the World Urban Forum every two years and co-organizes the event with a host country and city.
At the closing ceremony, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, declared that the expression of interest for the Thirteenth Session of the World Urban Forum officially opened.
Previous hosts have been: Nairobi, Barcelona, Vancouver, Nanjing, Rio de Janeiro, Naples, Medellin, Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi.
Retrieved from https://wuf.unhabitat.org/news/declared-actions-eleventh-session-world-urban-forum
World Cities Report launched with warning that “we must get cities right”
UN-Habitat’s flagship report on sustainable development was officially released on 29 June, with a warning that rapid urbanization was only temporarily delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. World Cities Report 2022 – Envisaging the Future of Cities said that the global urban population was back on track to grow by another 2.2 billion people by 2050. The large-scale flight from major cities in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic to the perceived safety of the countryside or smaller towns was a short-term response that will not alter the course of global urbanization, it found.
…
World Cities Report launched with warning that “we must get cities right”
Published by UN-Habitat on 30 June 2022
Photo: UN-Habitat | Monika Wcislak
Urbanization remains a powerful 21st century mega-trend,” said Maimunah Mohd Sharif, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat, speaking at the Eleventh Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) in Katowice, Poland.
“That entails numerous challenges, which were further exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic. But there is a sense of optimism that COVID-19 has provided us with the opportunity to build back differently. With the right policies and the right commitment from governments, our children can inherit an urban future that is more inclusive, greener, safer and healthier.”
The report identified three potential scenarios for the world’s cities. In the worst-case or “high damage” scenario, the number of people living in poverty could increase by more than 200 million by 2050.
The “pessimistic” scenario foresees a reversion to the status quo before the pandemic, a business-as-usual approach which would lock into cycles of poverty, poor productivity, inequality and unhealthy living for decade
In the optimistic vision, by 2050 there could be 260 million people lifted out of poverty compared to the pre-COVID baseline. Governments and donors would invest in urban development sufficiently to create just, resilient, healthy and prosperous cities everywhere.
Sharif added: “If we don’t get cities right, then 68 per cent of the global population will face serious problems or challenges.
“We need to accelerate. We only have 90 months, or 2700 days, until we reach 2030, the target for the Global Goals. This report is a very timely wake-up call.”
Welcoming the report at a press conference at the forum, Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak, Secretary of State in Poland’s Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, said: “I urge everyone to read the World Cities Report and follow its recommendations. It talks about coherent policy and coordinated urban planning, which is extremely important.”
Marcin Krupa, Mayor of Katowice, said: “Unless we stop the process of climate change and reduce gas emissions we are going to face even bigger problems. This document is a roadmap for us as city leaders to mitigate the bad effects of climate change, and on how to create premium living conditions for our residents.”
Ben Arimah, Chief of Global Reports and Trends at UN-Habitat, said that special attention needed to be paid to small and medium sized cities, which are among the most rapidly urbanizing.
“We need to invest in those cities, and we need to improve infrastructure on the outskirts of major cities so not everyone wants to live there,” he said.
Access the full report here: https://unhabitat.org/wcr/
WUF 11, image by Piotr Piosik
Photo: IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera, Martha Delgado, President of the United Nations Habitat Assembly
Photo: UN-Habitat | Monika Wcislak