Promoting Sustainable Urban Development in CIS Countries

Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) chose largely different models of political and economic reforms in the transition from a planned to a market economy over the period 1996- 2014. This led to the emergence of different demographic and urbanization dynamics, with countries experiencing a rise in the share of urban population while in others the proportion of urban population decreased because of deindustrialization and outmigration from cities to rural areas due to unemployment. At the same time, there are also common challenges across the region. These include: the disruption of established interstate economic links and consequent difficulties in providing industries with raw materials and energy resources unclear and overlapping functions and competences of central, regional and local authorities high concentration of the population and industrial production in the largest and major cities with the simultaneous stagnation of small and medium human settlements the exacerbation of traffic problems in capital and major cities the lack of an effective management and maintenance system for multi-storey housing stock growing pressures on the rapidly deteriorating urban infrastructure.The event will discuss how to achieve implementation of sustainable urban development in countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with a special focus on planning frameworks and tools, focusing on urban planning and design issues at the agglomeration, city and neighborhood scales, as a response to the existing challenges The main objectives of the event will be: Strengthen the exchange of international best practices and peer to peer learning for sustainable urban development in CIS countries and get a better understanding of the impacts of programmes addressing sustainable urban development in the region Consolidate a network of decision makers, policy makers and urban professionals to facilitate the exchange of expertise and interaction of countries and cities Discuss the spatial, financial and legal instruments necessary to shift the growth patterns of cities in CIS countries towards a sustainable development model Formulation of regional programme with identified partners to address sustainable development challenges and implementation in the region The event links to the New Urban Agenda as a global and comprehensive document to guide sustainable urban development in countries, regions and cities. In this sense the event has a clear focus on the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, to be a platform to discuss the concrete challenges, initiatives and impacts of programmes promoting sustainable urban development in the CIS Region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine The event will specially promote the participation of youth groups through universities and the gender balance, linking with regional NGO of livelihoods and women empowerment.