Town twinnings play an important role when it comes to mutual understanding and learning processes. In an interview with Imme Scheit, head of administration and deputy chief officer of the mayor’s office in the city of Bamberg Brigitte Riegelbauer explains how these partnerships can be successfully implemented.
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
According to Franziska Schreiber and Kaj Fischer from the think tank adelphi, innovative participation processes make cities more livable. URBANET talked to both urbanisation experts about how municipalities and residents can work together to shape their city.
“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.
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 issues that the New Urban Agenda has to tackle, and gives a voice to the people who will be directly affected by its implementation.
Commentary by Dr. Christoph Beier, Vice-Chair of the GIZ Management Board.
There is a growing recognition that the ambitious goal of transforming fast-growing cities into major globally attractive hubs of the world economy cannot be reached without including the urban poor as cooperation partners in housing and urban development processes. This situation, combined with pressure from civil society groups, has opened new space for the encounter between civil society and state organisations. Peter Herrle, Josefine Fokdal, Astrid Ley and Sonja Nebel assess this situation in their Cities Alliance background paper, of which an extract is published here.
What are the challenges Ghanaian cities face in achieving sustainable development? Isaac Ashai Omdatten, Mayor of Tema, describes how he makes his city more livable.
To be able to achieve good governance, local governments must not only work together with communities, but also grant them a certain amount of responsibility. In an interview with URBANET, Diana Mitlin, Managing Director of the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester, talks about the importance of community-led development and the value grassroots organisations can add to local communities.
From 1 to 2 June 2016 more than 1.000 urban development experts met in Berlin during the German Habitat Forum. We asked several of the attendees what they think should be at the core of the New Urban Agenda. Here are their answers.
Multi-stakeholder partnerships and the capacity to lead change collectively are decisive if we aim for the creation of a sustainable urban future. In an interview with Urbanet, Petra Kuenkel, Executive Director of the Collective Leadership Institute, presented her insights on the success factors of urban development partnerships and their implications for the New Urban Agenda.
Across the world, people are relocating to cities. They are the places in which global challenges emerge, but at the same time, where change and progress are shaped. The New Urban Agenda has to support cities to fulfil their role as central actors for sustainable development.
In many countries cities are struggling to satisfy even the basic needs of their population. Therefore, we need a more sober and objective assessment of the essential conditions that will need to be in place if cities are to properly perform the functions anticipated in the SDGs.
