Public Space for More Inclusive, Accessible and Liveable Cities

Cities are growing and becoming the primary habitat for the world’s population. The character and livability of a city is very much defined by its streets and public spaces. Public space takes many spatial forms, including streets, sidewalks and footpaths that connect, parks, playgrounds for recreation, marketplaces, but also edge space between buildings or roadsides which are particularly important for the urban poor. The adoption of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and particularly Goal 11 and target 7 with the ambition to: “by 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, particularly for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities” provides a key milestone. It provides significant recognition of the importance of public space in sustainable development agenda. Until 2030, all countries in the world will be required to take public space into consideration by developing legislation, policy, norms and practices, towards a holistic and integrated approach to the planning, design, development, creation, protection and management of public space. Considering that public space is a multi-sectorial topic which is very relevant for many United Nations agencies and programmes, the purpose of the meeting is setting up a joint implementation framework on public space in relation to the SDG 11.7 and the New Urban Agenda.