Leave No One Behind

Leave No One Behind: Urban Inclusion and Prosperity

“Leave no one behind” has been the key concept in recent discussions and in the outcomes of global development frameworks. The New Urban Agenda recognizes it as a main principle and as a necessary commitment covering the social dimension of sustainability with interlinked impacts in a sustained urban prosperity for all.

Growing inequalities in both developed and developing countries have hindered development around the world, in some cases undermining previous societal achievements. The persistence of multiple forms of poverty, including the rising number of slum and informal settlement dwellers, is a sad reality in a number of countries, which makes urban segregation a spatially visible phenomenon in many cities. The challenges faced by vulnerable groups as well as the growing diversity of urban dwellers brought about by globalization and the concurrent massive movement of people displaced by conflicts or in search of a better life, further complicate in the quest of ensuring urban inclusion and prosperity for all. 

The New Urban Agenda highlights the importance of spatial dimension of inclusivity and suggests a new model of progressive actions to avoid segregation at the policy and implementation levels. This will allow achievement shared prosperity through equal access to the opportunities and benefits that good urbanization can offer.

Supported by the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all international human rights treaties, the New Urban Agenda adopts a people centered approach to urbanization focusing on increased public participation, social cohesion and integration of cultural diversity. It combines  this with the commitment to ensure equal access to urban infrastructure, basic services, and adequate housing for all, in a socioeconomically mixed environment where people can lead decent, dignified, and rewarding lives achieving their full human potential.

The High Level Round Table will discuss the underlining principles of urban inclusion and prosperity for all, identifying concrete actions to meet the commitments made within the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, and further strengthening global partnerships for sustainable urban development.  

Guiding Questions

•  What are the key elements of effective urban policies that ensure no one is left behind?
•  What are the main urban planning and design principles and approaches that should drive urban extensions and/or renewal processes towards urban inclusion? Which other key drivers would you suggest?
• Who are the main actors and what roles should they assume in the context of an enhanced urban governance framework in order to actively contribute to urban inclusion and prosperity for all?
• What are specific commitments synergic to the New Urban Agenda that you would like to actively encourage in order to strengthen urban inclusion within the global partnership framework for sustainable urban development?
• What urban processes are needed and have proven effective that give a voice in decision-making to poor and marginalized populations
• What specific actions or initiatives should be done, in the spirit of a global, regional, national, and sub-national partnership for sustainable urban development, to enhance means of implementation for urban inclusivity and shared prosperity