Citiscope
U.N. General Assembly to Discuss Habitat III Rules on 3 November
United States of America
The U. N. General Assembly opened its 70th session this week amidst multiple burning issues, including sectarian war and violence [...]
Habitat III e-Discussion Opens on Metropolitan Areas
United States of America
While experts on metropolitan governance will gather in Montréal in early October for the second Habitat III “thematic meeting” [...]
Preparing for the Great Metropolitanization
United States of America
Ahead of the next Habitat III thematic meeting, a new discussion paper highlights Greater Montréal’s innovations in metropolitan [...]
Inextricably Interlinked: The Urban SDG and the New Development Agenda
United States of America
As humankind, we sit on a ticking bomb of environmental, economic, social and cultural challenges, all of which are interconnected. [...]
Digital vs. Analogue at Habitat III Meeting on Civic Engagement
United States of America
What is the best way for residents to engage with their city hall, in old-fashioned meetings or via new-fangled technology? [...]
Tel Aviv Soliciting Input for Habitat III Declaration on Civic Engagement
United States of America
This week’s Habitat III thematic meeting on civic engagement in Tel Aviv drew 1,000 attendees during the sixth annual Cities [...]
Habitat III ‘Thematic Meetings’ Process Now Underway
United States of America
As the Habitat III calendar fills up just 13 months before next year’s major cities conference in Quito, Ecuador, a [...]
Download Citiscope’s Habitat III Primer
United States of America
Whether you’re new to the complexities of the Habitat III process or an old hand, Citiscope is publishing a [...]
Obliged to Cooperate: What Hong Kong’s Experience Offers Habitat III
United States of America
Hendrik Tieben, an architect and associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was delighted with the strong attendance [...]
Bridging the GAP: Urban Advocacy for Children and Youths
United States of America
The General Assembly of Partners (GAP) is the main vehicle for civil society and other stakeholders to organize and advocate [...]
Cities Must Be Part of Defining the New Urban Agenda
United States of America
The United Nations has a contradictory relationship with cities. This became clear to me last year, when I was asked [...]
Designing a Sustainable Future in 80 Ideas from Today
United States of America
A new book puts forward dozens of urbanization innovations that spark hope among practitioners — and offer grounding to the new [...]
Graphic Highlights ‘Overlooked Links’ Between Habitat III Issue Papers
United States of America
The 22 thematic, research-based ‘issue papers’ that were released in May as a core part of the Habitat III process might [...]
U.N. Opens Urban Dialogues Summaries to Public Comment
United States of America
Following three weeks of open debate hosted on an online platform, the Habitat III Secretariat has released synthesis reports of [...]
Can the New Urban Agenda Spark the Local Action Needed?
United States of America
We are currently in the midst of an unprecedented population increase in our cities. The urban population is likely to [...]
Kampala Hosts First Urban Thinkers Campus in Africa
United States of America
After tackling the extraordinarily complex issue of slums during the first Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) to be held in a [...]
Global Guidelines on Urban, Territorial Planning Released
United States of America
The unprecedented speed of today’s urbanization has created a worldwide challenge for planners. Following two years of work by [...]
Fractured Continuity: Moving from Habitat II to Habitat III
United States of America
The substantive debate toward next year’s Habitat III conference is now warming up. In part, this has been jumpstarted [...]
Six Great Ideas from the Habitat III Urban Dialogues
United States of America
A key early phase of public input wrapped up this week in the process that will lead to next year’ [...]
Urban SDG and Habitat III Safe As Marathon Negotiations Reach Consensus
United States of America
A marathon weekend negotiating session reached the finish line on Sunday as 193 U. N. member states reached consensus on the [...]
Urban Development Group Launches Global Habitat III Listening Tour
United States of America
The global list of opportunities to get involved with the debates ahead of next year’s Habitat III conference on [...]
A Towering Challenge: Habitat III Must Promote Municipal Fiscal Health
United States of America
At next year’s Habitat III conference on cities, the world’s leaders will come together in Quito to set [...]
Habitat III Reference Included in Near-Final SDGs Text
United States of America
A proposal to include explicit reference to next year’s Habitat III conference on cities in the final negotiating text [...]
Noting Habitat III in the SDGs Text Would Have “Enormous Meaning” for Implementation
United States of America
At the start of the final week of negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) text, Ecuador has proposed including [...]
The Urban Community Can Save Financing for Development
United States of America
The Addis Ababa Conference on Financing for Development, held 13-16 July, was a political success yet a practical disappointment. Though [...]
SDGs Negotiations Enter Home Stretch with Preamble Under Fire
United States of America
The annual session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) comes to a close at the end of [...]
Pope Francis the Urbanist
United States of America
VATICAN CITY — When Pope Francis issued his much-noticed encyclical last month, it was his call for action against climate change [...]
4,000 Users Taking Part in Online Debates Around Habitat III Themes
United States of America
The Urban Dialogues, hosted throughout July by UN-Habitat, underscore a major new focus on stakeholder engagement for the entire U. [...]
Human rights and the New Urban Agenda
United States of America
Habitat III, next year’s U. N. conference on cities, will set urbanization strategy for the coming two decades. Yet [...]
Addis Agreement Pays ‘Weak Attention’ to Urbanization
United States of America
Defying widespread scepticism and mounting concern, government negotiators at a summit here have agreed to a sweeping framework aimed at [...]
U.N. Links SDGs and Habitat III, Underscores the Role of Cities in Development
United States of America
Habitat III, next year’s U. N. conference on cities, is facing a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it [...]
Habitat III Stakeholder Umbrella Group to Receive Official Financial Support
United States of America
In the run-up to next year’s U. N. conference on cities, Habitat III, the voice of civil society is [...]
Cities Can Lead on Climate Action Ahead of 2020 Pledges
United States of America
National governments from around the world are currently preparing to head to Paris in November for the 21st Conference of [...]
July a Crucial Month for Input on Habitat III ‘Issue Papers’
United States of America
This week marked an important milestone for national governments and everyday citizens alike ahead of next year’s U. N. [...]
The SDGs Will Not Be Achieved Without Local Financing
United States of America
The intensive discussions taking place on the new sustainable development agenda will not mean much without adequate financing and renewal [...]
Will Habitat III Note the Unique Urbanization of Small Island States?
United States of America
The threat to small islands from global climate change is a unique one. For those islands that are also independent [...]
Egypt Urban Forum Targets Slum Real Estate at Critical Time for the Capital
United States of America
Cairo, one of the world’s largest and oldest cities, was abuzz with energy around the New Urban Agenda this [...]
Filling the Gap Ahead of 2020 National Climate Action: Cities?
United States of America
Momentum toward a potential global agreement on how to address climate change in coming decades picked up significantly — and unexpectedly — [...]
New Deadline Announced for Habitat III ‘Policy Units’ Recommendations
United States of America
The United Nations has extended by a week and a half an important cut-off point for deciding on exactly which [...]
The Caribbean Seeks to Assert Its Identity in the New Urban Agenda
United States of America
“If you are a big tree, we are a small axe,” goes the Jamaican proverb. The saying easily holds true [...]
In Latin America, Housing Advocates Set Their Sights on Habitat III
United States of America
While much of the discussion around next year’s Habitat III cities conference has focused on urbanization, the official title [...]
Financing the New Urban Agenda
United States of America
We are at last in the final stretch of a number of processes that will define how we approach the [...]
28 Urban Thinkers Campuses Announced
United States of America
Applications for new Urban Thinkers Campuses are now closed, and the full slate of 28 events — running through early 2016 — has been [...]
UN Strengthens Opportunity for Cities to Offer Climate Pledges
United States of America
Just ahead of a major, 10-day round of negotiations on an intended climate accord, the United Nations made a major [...]
How Can We Ensure Habitat III Delivers on Citizen Priorities?
United States of America
In April, I was part of the official Egyptian delegation to the second preparatory session for next year’s Habitat [...]
Long-Awaited SDGs Negotiating Text Includes Landmark Goal on Cities
United States of America
Almost exactly three years since the international community struck a watershed agreement to find a common approach to fighting fight [...]
Habitat III ‘Issue Papers’ Provide Backbone for New Urban Agenda
United States of America
The United Nations has made public the final thematic reports offering a comprehensive, expert-level view of the processes of urbanization [...]