More than window dressing? Stakeholders and partnerships in the New Urban Agenda and other UN global agreements on sustainable development

By |2024-01-05T13:04:52+01:00January 24th 2018|

Over the course of seventy years, stakeholders have become increasingly involved in UN processes. Non-state players have taken on advocacy or advisory roles for their specific issues, and have helped shape norms and debates about global concerns. Eugénie L. Birch traces the path that has led to increasing stakeholder engagement and explores its effect on the New Urban Agenda.

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National Urban Policies: a policy lever to foster a New Urban Agenda? – Part II

By |2023-12-19T15:22:33+01:00January 10th 2018|

The New Urban Agenda calls upon nation states to implement National Urban Policies to achieve integrated and coherent sustainable urban development. In the first part of this article, author Rene Peter Hohmann displays current discussions on National Urban Policies and their possible categorisation as this question remains open. To reflect on the various policy intentions that national governments may pursue under an umbrella of National Urban Policies, this second part will examine a variety of case studies more closely.

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National Urban Policies: a policy lever to foster a New Urban Agenda? – Part I

By |2023-12-19T15:22:45+01:00January 3rd 2018|

National Urban Policies are recognised as an effective and necessary tool to achieve sustainable and inclusive urban development as envisioned in the New Urban Agenda. However, it is still unclear what constitutes a National Urban Policy and how such a policy could help catalyse the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. In order to bring some light into these discussions, Rene Peter Hohmann reviews the current body of academic literature as well as policy assessments to analyse and categorise a sample of 19 countries with an explicit National Urban Policy in place.

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Cities are key for successful global climate policy

By |2023-12-19T15:32:43+01:00November 1st 2017|

The UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) starts next week. It is often stated that cities are key for implementing 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda. But what exactly is needed for cities to fulfil this important role? Dirk Messner and Benno Pilardeaux call for better coordination, increased recognition on the global level, and more financial support.

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Sustainable development in the metropolitan century: where do we stand one year after Habitat III?

By |2023-12-19T16:33:42+01:00October 27th 2017|

One year has passed since the historic adoption of the New Urban Agenda, two since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda. Is the implementation of the agendas on track? What are obstacles and how can we improve the process?

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Voices on 1 year New Urban Agenda

By |2023-12-19T16:49:45+01:00October 19th 2017|

This month, the New Urban Agenda (NUA) celebrates its first anniversary. What has happened since its adoption at Habitat III in Quito? We asked Billy Cobbett (Cities Alliance), Mei Yi (Mayor of Jingdezhen, China), Eugénie L. Birch (Professor at the University of Pennsylvania), Yang Jun (Mayor of Suzhouto), María Alejandra Vicuña Muñoz (Minister of Urban Development and Housing of Ecuador) to take stock of the past 12 months’ implementation actions.

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Paving the way for sustainable urban mobility: TUMI celebrates one-year anniversary

By |2023-12-19T16:57:08+01:00October 17th 2017|

From Cairo to Brasilia to Kaohsiung: the TUMI initiative offers exciting opportunities for international collaboration and learning on sustainable urban mobility. Launched at Habitat III last year, TUMI now celebrates its one-year anniversary. For URBANET, Armin Wagner takes stock of what has been achieved so far.

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The challenge of localising the SDGs: A reflection about Brazil

By |2023-12-19T16:58:01+01:00October 4th 2017|

To attain the SDGs, local implementation is key, and cities bear a special responsibility in that regard. But what does the situation really look like on the ground – is there enough awareness and commitment to this global process? Daphne Besen analyses the situation in metropolises and small and medium size cities in Brazil.

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UN Urban without a future, but some common ground builds up

By |2023-12-19T15:17:09+01:00September 8th 2017|

This week's high-level meeting on UN Habitat in New York City has shown that member states are committed to the Habitat process, but view critically the proposals put forward by an independent assessment panel. URBANET reports on the outcomes of the meeting.

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Habitat Reform – Business as usual will yield results as usual

By |2023-12-19T15:17:26+01:00September 1st 2017|

Next week, the two-day high-level meeting of the General Assembly on UN-Habitat will take place in New York. Member states of the United Nations will gather there and discuss future reform steps for UN-Habitat. Franz Marré provides some thought-provoking reflections on the reforms proposed by the high-level panel and says that business as usual is not an option.

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Mannheim 2030 – Tailoring the 2030 Agenda to local interests and needs

By |2023-12-19T15:19:33+01:00July 19th 2017|

Today, the High Level Political Forum for the implementation of the SDGs and Agenda 2030 ends in New York City. On this occasion, Mayor Peter Kurz explains how the city of Mannheim, Germany is working towards implementing Agenda 2030 locally. Political leaders, the city administration and the citizens are collaborating to create an inclusive, citizen-oriented city. 

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Accelerating the Synergetic Implementation of the SDGs and the New Urban Agenda

By |2023-12-19T15:19:44+01:00July 12th 2017|

This week, the UN High Level Political Forum is reviewing the implementation process of the Sustainable Development Goals in New York City. The theme: Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world. Felix Dodds from the Global Research Institute criticizes the missing involvement of urban development actors and calls for a conference on local implementation.

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What does the Integral Implementation of the New Urban Agenda mean?

By |2023-12-19T15:19:55+01:00July 7th 2017|

Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the most urbanised regions of the planet. At the same time it is also the world’s most unequal region, a region where poverty and wealth coexist and antagonise each other daily, especially in urban spaces. Today, 80 per cent of the Latin American population lives in cities, with half of the urban population in LAC concentrated in rapidly growing intermediate cities. But what are the main challenges cities in Latin America and the Caribbean have to face? And which integral approaches do cities pursue to overcome them?

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10 years of the Leipzig Charta: a model for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the SDGs?

By |2023-12-19T15:21:22+01:00June 14th 2017|

This year’s Federal Congress on National Urban Development Policy in Germany focuses on the Leipzig Charta’s 10th anniversary and future perspectives for sustainable cities in Europe. Timo Munzinger of the German Association of Cities (Deutscher Städtetag) discusses the relevance of the Leipzig Charta for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, calling for the Leipzig Charta to be brought up to date to meet current urbanisation challenges.

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