As the ninth session of the World Urban Forum gets into full swing in the humid heat of Kuala Lumpur, it has become increasingly clear that progress toward achieving the lofty ambitions of the New Urban Agenda has so far been slow, writes Gregory Scruggs. Fifteen months after Habitat III wrapped up in Quito, there is much talk of frameworks and action plans, but little in the way of fresh deliverables.
Preserving cultural heritage while upgrading urban areas can be a challenging task for cities. Analyn Rubenecia and Chenzi Yiyang describe how the city of Yangzhou, China, designed its urban renewable project with an integrated approach. This puts Yangzhou on the right track toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Cities are irrefutably linked to human history and development. To learn more about the relevance of cities for global sustainable development and for achieving a better world, URBANET provides you with a short explainer video by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
In order to reach the Sustainable Development Goals related to water, sanitation and hygiene, the government of Madagascar has drawn up an action plan and commissioned JIRAMA, the country’s state-owned electricity and water provider, to improve access to safe water supply.
Cities and urban settlements play a key role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the commitments of the Paris Agreement. Nathaly Arguto and Stella Schroeder cast a spotlight on projects from Latin America, the region with the highest rate of urbanisation in the world, that contribute to implementing the global agendas for sustainability.
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.
HIV/AIDS continues to be a major health crisis around the world, especially in cities. As part of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa has vouched to eliminate AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Titus James Twesige explains the situation in Uganda and why mayors can drive positive change.
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.
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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At the "Co-producing sustainable cities?" conference in September 2016, we talked to Günter Meinert of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ GmbH) about his hopes for the Quito conference.
For the Sustainable Development Goals to work, cities as key development actors need to apply integrated approaches. Different actors and levels of government must be provided with opportunities to collaborate in order to ensure inclusive, secure, resilient and sustainable urban development. Furthermore, coordinated territorial planning and cross-sectoral cooperation are significant for an effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
“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.
The UN Major Group for Children and Youth is the officially mandated space for young people to participate in UN processes. How does their involvement play out in regard to the Habitat III negotiations and the New Urban Agenda? And what are their demands?
