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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
In an interview with URBANET, former Executive Director of Urban Development, Land and Housing of Mexico's Ministry of Agrarian, Territorial & Urban Development (Sedatu). Jorge Wolpert explains what specific challenges Mexican cities are facing in terms of sustainable urban development.
Many cities are facing traffic-related problems and are trying to find solutions that take into consideration the local conditions. Sometimes, these solutions clash with problem solving approaches by central governments. In her interview with URBANET, Johana Hernández from the Northern Public Transport Company in Ecuador talks about such challenges and her visions for inclusive mobility.
Part I presented two subsequent paradigms related to the world of work, Fordism and Post-Fordism. Subsequently, it was argued that there are two contrasting trends in the world of (urban) labour: flexibility and stability. This is the second and concluding part of the article, which includes considerations about policies.
"Our Struggle for Global Sustainability will be won or lost in cities", said Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. The present article argues that our struggle for good urbanisation will be won or lost depending on the opportunities and conditions of work.
The German government pushes for a New Urban Agenda oriented towards the vision of the “lebenswerte Stadt”, i.e. a city worth to live in, but is mostly translated with “liveable city”. But how do we define “liveable”? Our authors Alexandra Linden, Astrid Ley and Alexander Jachnow contend that it goes beyond “freedom from fear” and “freedom from want” as proposed by the UN. Liveability, construed as Quality of life shouldn’t just be determined by indicator models, but within a specific local context and in conjunction with international standards.
Three weeks after the Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador, the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is currently taking place in Marrakesh, Morocco. Sarah Schneider and Lisa Lebershausen look at the the international climate change conference through an urban lense.
On October 20, 2016, the New Urban Agenda was adopted, setting the priorities and expectations for the next 20 years of urban development against the backdrop of growing urbanisation. The Habitat III conference in Quito, which hosted a vast array of events besides the official negotiations reflected the themes of the New Urban Agenda and the hopes attached to it. Here is a review of the events and atmosphere in Quito.
Now that the New Urban Agenda has been adopted, everyone is talking about implementation. URBANET talked to GIZ’s Günter Meinert about what it takes to make the New Urban Agenda a reality.
In the run-up to the German Habitat Forum in June 2016, people from all over the world were asked how they imagine the city of the future, what they expected from local, national and international authorities for their city, and how their city has evolved. The series "Voice on Habitat" projects an image of the
“Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” - this is the call to action formulated in Sustainable Development Goal 11. Although this reflects an awareness of urban governance issues in regard to sustainable development, our author argues that many of these issues are still neglected and need to be further elaborated.
