After Habitat III: Working Together toward a New Urban Reality

The New Urban Agenda (NUA) will figure prominently in the work of civil society housing organizations and local governments for many years to come. With much of Habitat III focused on the specific details of the outcome document, it is important to remain attentive to the work that will come after—when civil society will become one of the actors tasked with implementing and monitoring progress of various components of the NUA.
How should we assess the NUA and, more broadly, the Habitat III process? How can civil society combine the agenda’s prescriptions with a progressive human rights framework (also including the notion of the “right to the city”), which can play a critical role in alleviating inadequate and insecure housing and living conditions? How can we promote a forward-looking vision for cities—and one which also emphasizes instead of disappearing rural areas—where decisions are made democratically and based on the human rights needs of all its inhabitants?
This event will bring together prominent housing networks and organizations from different parts of the world to discuss local and regional housing contexts, as well as possibilities for concrete collaborations towards implementing the NUA while also evolving strategies to make up for its shortcomings. It will also serve as a sort of closing circle to the week’s events, as well as a transitional space toward the tremendous work that lies ahead.
Speakers will include Shivani Chaudry (Executive Director, Housing and Land Rights Network); Bandile Mdlalose (President, Community Justice Movement & former General Secretary, Abahlali baseMjondolo); Carlos Macías (Activist, Plataforma de Afectados por la Hipoteca); and Ethan Earle (Project Manager, RLS–NYC).