Urban Walk

Toolkit for Urban Walk

The Habitat III Urban Walks, held by the Habitat III Secretariat with various esteemed partners, are a series of organized walks that showcase how the New Urban Agenda can be translated into real change at the city level.

Concept and Overview

The Habitat III Urban Walks present an opportunity to initiate discussion on urban planning and the challenges of sustainable urban development by welcoming participants to witness successful planning tools, governance, community engagement, and interventions in urban spaces.

Urban Walks were originally conceived held for an audience that was primarily made up of representatives of member states, civil society groups, and other relevant stakeholders and partners that were mobilized and informed throughout the Habitat III process, as well as networks and local authorities working within the urban development sphere that were not directly engaged in the Habitat III process.

Urban Walks should have a defined scope that directly relates with one or more of the main issues developed during the Habitat III process:

  • The Right to the City and Cities for All

  • Socio-Cultural Urban Framework

  • National Urban Policies

  • Urban Governance, Capacity and Institutional Development

  • Municipal Finance and Local Fiscal Systems

  • Urban Spatial Strategies: Land Market and Segregation

  • Urban Economic Development Strategies

  • Urban Ecology and Resilience

  • Urban Services and Technology

  • Housing Policies

Partners’ Timeline and Checklist for Organizing an Urban Walk with the Habitat III Secretariat

One month before the event:

  1. Coordinate with the Habitat III Secretariat via email at habitat3stakeholders@un.org to express interest in co-organizing an Urban Walk. The email must include the following information:

    1. Overview of the topic/theme/intervention to be showcased by the walk

    2. Prospective date and route/agenda/itinerary

    3. Short description (100 words maximum) of each point of interest (POI) or stop on the route

    4. Prospective moderator/guide

  2. Provide information about the target audience for this walk. If applicable, this may include a list of those whom you are interested in inviting to the Urban Walk, along with their official designation and contact information. Ideally, each Urban Walk should have no more than 15 participants (excluding staff from the partner organization, the moderator/guide, and staff from the Habitat III Secretariat).

  3. Upon agreement with the Secretariat, finalize the programme of the Urban Walk and send it to the Habitat III Secretariat. The programme should include the following:

    1. Overview of the topic/theme/intervention being showcased by the walk

    2. Date and time range of entire event

    3. Name, contact info, and short profile of the moderator(s)/guide(s)

    4. Time of meeting and exact address and, if applicable, name and contact information of focal point there

    5. Time/duration at and exact address of each subsequent stop or point of interest and, if applicable, name and contact info of focal point there, short description of what is being showcased in that location

    See sample programme here.

  4. Send the Habitat III Secretariat a high-resolution version of your organization’s logo and social media accounts/handles, as well as social media handles of any partner/participating organizations

  5. Send Habitat III a walking route map of the Urban Walk (it can be a Google Map link or an image).

    Example: Sample route

Please contact the Habitat III Secretariat should you need support or assistance in creating, developing, or generating the route map.

Three weeks before the event:

  1. Habitat III will provide the following:

    1. Digital invitations to be sent out to targeted participants, copying you. Sample here.

    2. Online registration form for the Urban Walk participants. Sample here.

    3. Digital visual assets for promoting the walk

Two weeks before the event:

  1. Arrange for any logistical needs at the venue such as catering, audio-visuals, etc.

  2. Have branding collaterals/give-aways/brochures and other advocacy materials you want distributed during the event printed/created

  3. Start an online campaign promoting the event on your website and other digital platforms

    1. Use the hashtag #NUAUrbanWalks, #NUA, or #NewUrbanAgenda

    2. Post the digital visual assets for promoting the walk provided by the Secretariat

    3. Tag Habitat III in your posts promoting the event (@Habitat3UN for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram)

    4. Minimum of four promotional posts on each channel throughout the two-week period:

      Sample Tweet:
      Next week’s #NUAUrbanWalk lets us learn about inclusive housing redevelopment in Harlem #NUA

  4. Prepare a pre-filled/templated press release whose details and specifics (e.g., walking guide’s quotes/soundbites, questions from participants) can be filled out during or immediately after the event, then published soon after the event. (400 to 600 words)

One week before the event:

  1. Prepare any advocacy materials, publications, etc. you want distributed during the event, and consult the Secretariat to coordinate the materials.

  2. Assign sufficient personnel for each of the following tasks during the event:

    1. Manning registration at the meet-up point

    2. Live reporting during the event on your digital channels (please guide them accordingly in terms of hashtags, tagging speakers’/organization’s, tagging @Habitat3UN, etc.)

    3. Livestreaming during the event, or video documentation

    4. Filling out the press release template during the event

    5. Photo documentation of the event

Three days before the event:

  1. The Secretariat will close online registration (if number of registrants is considered sufficient by your organization; on average, turnout is usually 50% to 70% of registrants).

  2. The Secretariat will send a reminder email about the event to registrants.

  3. Print out name tags for moderator and participants.

One day before the event:

  1. Publish a reminder post.

  2. The Secretariat will send a reminder email about the event to registrants.

  3. Prepare/print out a sign-in sheet with the names of the registrants (registrant list will be sent to you by the Secretariat)

On the day of the event, at meet-up point:

  1. Registration/sign-up sheet

  2. Materials for distribution

An hour to 30 minutes before the event:

  1. Publish an “about to start” post on your digital channels

During the event:

  1. Live reporting on your digital channels (quotes, talking points, etc.) — minimum 8 posts on each channel during entire event.

  2. Share/ repost content from others about the event if appropriate

  3. Livestreaming during the event

    1. If connection is disrupted and livestreaming is not possible, continue recording the event offline.

  4. Filling out the press release template

  5. Photo documentation of the event

Several hours after the event

  1. Send the following to the Habitat III Secretariat:

    1. Filled out press release

    2. Scan or digital copy of sign-in sheet

    3. Video file of event if video documentation was done offline

    4. Photos from event (captioned with names of key figures where applicable)

Several days after the event

  1. A high-quality voice recording describing each point of interest on the Urban Walk, possibly integrating discussion points and participants’ questions and feedback from the Urban Walk. This will be used to prepare an Urban Walk Kit that the general public can use to take the same walk/ route.