tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/new-urban-agenda-30717/articlesNew Urban Agenda – The Conversation2019-02-28T19:13:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1102832019-02-28T19:13:09Z2019-02-28T19:13:09ZStreet vendors’ self-help strategies highlight cities’ neglect of how the other half survive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261378/original/file-20190228-150702-q28ean.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While street vendors work in plain sight, they are "off the map" in the eyes of city officials and planners.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Redento Recio</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>About 2.5 billion people, or half of the global labour force, work in the informal economy, <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_dialogue/@actrav/documents/publication/wcms_545928.pdf">the International Labour Organisation estimates</a>. In developing Asian countries, <a href="http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Vanek-Statistics-WIEGO-WP2.pdf">more than 50% of the urban labour force is in informal work</a>. Street vending is the most visible form of this. Yet no accurate statistics on street vendors are available.</p>
<p>Official planning documents do not include informal trading activities; they are “off the map”. This invisibility largely stems from state rules that consider street vending illegal. Amid the harsh policies, street vendors devise ways to cope with poverty and their insecure livelihood. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigeria-should-tackle-poverty-rather-than-hound-hawkers-off-the-streets-65361">Nigeria should tackle poverty rather than hound hawkers off the streets</a>
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<p>In the Baclaran district of Metro Manila, the capital of the Philippines, informal hawkers have resorted to several arrangements to gain financial capital or grow their small enterprises. These hawkers sell clothes, shoes, housewares, toys, gadgets, fresh fruits and vegetables, among other things. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257199/original/file-20190205-86236-1y07uyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257199/original/file-20190205-86236-1y07uyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257199/original/file-20190205-86236-1y07uyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257199/original/file-20190205-86236-1y07uyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257199/original/file-20190205-86236-1y07uyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257199/original/file-20190205-86236-1y07uyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257199/original/file-20190205-86236-1y07uyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Vendors occupy a street under a rail track.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Redento Recio</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Some hawkers who want to avoid shelling out cash resort to the <em>hango</em> (harvest) system. <em>Hango</em> is a consignment agreement between hawkers and their suppliers where the former pays for the goods after a day of vending. Fruit juice vendor Frederic* said:</p>
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<p>[Under <em>hango</em>], we could sell without financial capital. In the morning we obtain our goods from the suppliers, and pay them in the evening. </p>
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<h2>What options do vendors have?</h2>
<p>For vendors who need capital, typically in the range of 3,000 Philippine pesos (A$79) to ₱300,000 (A$790), five options are possible. </p>
<p>The first is assistance from family. The second is a credit window from a vendors’ cooperative. But these mechanisms have limitations. </p>
<p>Family assistance is often exclusive to relatives and relies on the financial capacity of the lending individuals. The cooperative assists only those associate members with semi-fixed stalls. </p>
<p>The third scheme is <em>paluwagan</em> (to ease), a mutual savings scheme. During the peak season (September to December), <em>paluwagan</em> allows vendors to put aside extra profits to see them through lean months. The daily share ranges from ₱50 (A$1.30) to ₱1,000 (A$26). </p>
<p>While some vendors fail to join <em>paluwagan</em> due to evictions and poor sales, others initiate it even after the peak season. Vendor Nelly* noted: “For us, it’s all year round because it augments our capital.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257206/original/file-20190205-86228-1vonpda.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257206/original/file-20190205-86228-1vonpda.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257206/original/file-20190205-86228-1vonpda.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257206/original/file-20190205-86228-1vonpda.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257206/original/file-20190205-86228-1vonpda.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257206/original/file-20190205-86228-1vonpda.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257206/original/file-20190205-86228-1vonpda.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Many vendors borrow from loan sharks to keep a steady supply of stock.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Redento Recio</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>A fourth recourse for the financially strapped is to approach loan sharks and informal lenders. The monthly interest rate is 20%, with a repayment period of up to four months. For some hawkers, the high interest rate and the daily payment add to their financial woes. Vendor Rosie* said:</p>
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<p>When we’re unable to vend, we couldn’t pay the loan sharks. That’s a major problem for us. Sometimes, we don’t even have an income to buy rice. </p>
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<p>Despite this, many vendors still cling on to loan sharks. </p>
<p>Vendor Sheila* said:</p>
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<p>Poor sales force us to borrow from the loan sharks. Otherwise, we would run out of stock. We couldn’t vend if we don’t borrow.</p>
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<p>An old vendor, Esperanza*, said:</p>
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<p>I always tell [the loan sharks] to visit me every day so I could pay. I don’t renege on my debts from 5-6 lenders (loan sharks) because they have helped me raise my children.</p>
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<p>In the absence of pro-poor formal micro-credit institutions in Baclaran, the statements above show how loan sharks have helped vendors survive the uncertainty of street life. Yet, the availability of credit windows at times leads to multiple loans and over-indebtedness.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-can-protect-the-women-who-make-most-high-quality-footballs-99521">How we can protect the women who make most high-quality footballs</a>
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<h2>Street space for rent</h2>
<p>When too deeply in debt, some vendors are compelled to give up their primary asset – their vending space. Vendor leader Nancy* explained:</p>
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<p>When they [vendors] have two debt obligations, they look for a third lender until they are forced to give up their space because many [loan sharks] run after them.</p>
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<p>This recourse, giving up their vending spaces, represents the hawkers’ fifth mechanism to generate money or pay off their debts: they sell or rent out their claimed spaces. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257200/original/file-20190205-86195-13nu0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257200/original/file-20190205-86195-13nu0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257200/original/file-20190205-86195-13nu0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257200/original/file-20190205-86195-13nu0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257200/original/file-20190205-86195-13nu0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257200/original/file-20190205-86195-13nu0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257200/original/file-20190205-86195-13nu0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Some vendors rent out their claimed part of the streetscape to cope with financial distress.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Redento Recio</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p><em>Barangay</em> (village) official Allen* confirmed this arrangement: </p>
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<p>Yes, they are able to ‘sell’ and rent out the streets and sidewalks. We know that these things happen, but we could not stop them since the agreement is mostly verbal.</p>
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<p>The rental agreement period commonly lasts for one to two years, with fees ranging from ₱40,000 (A$1,051) to ₱300,000 (A$7,887) based on the size and location of the vending space. Although Allen noted that their <em>barangay</em> refuses to honour any (informal) sale or rental arrangement, in other <em>barangays</em> the agreement becomes valid when the two parties sign a written agreement in front of vendor leaders and <em>barangay</em> officials. Some local officials are even asked to sign the document.</p>
<p>Esperanza, a vendor leader, explained:</p>
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<p>They – the renter or buyer, the seller, and the lender – must have written [agreement] … It couldn’t be based on verbal [agreement] alone. There is a ‘legal’ [procedure]. It goes through the <em>barangay</em>. A <em>barangay</em> [official] must sign it. The [vendor] leader acts as a witness. It’s difficult [if there’s no witness] since we’re talking about their livelihood.</p>
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<h2>Harnessing self-help mechanisms</h2>
<p>These various finance-generating schemes are rooted in the insecure street presence of vendors. They reveal the vendors’ dogged determination to survive and improve their lives under conditions where state agencies are unwilling or unable to provide the necessary support and services. </p>
<p>When linked to policymaking, however, strategies like the <em>hango</em> consignment and the <em>paluwagan</em> mutual savings scheme can guide planners in recognising the informal practices that enable traders to earn a living. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-lending-through-community-based-organisations-makes-sense-50263">Why lending through community-based organisations makes sense</a>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257201/original/file-20190205-86224-1wntsca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257201/original/file-20190205-86224-1wntsca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257201/original/file-20190205-86224-1wntsca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257201/original/file-20190205-86224-1wntsca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257201/original/file-20190205-86224-1wntsca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257201/original/file-20190205-86224-1wntsca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257201/original/file-20190205-86224-1wntsca.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Policymakers should pay more attention to informal work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/inclusive-cities">World Bank</a></span>
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<p>To support efforts to implement the <a href="https://theconversation.com/habitat-iii-is-over-but-will-its-new-urban-agenda-transform-the-worlds-cities-67432">New Urban Agenda</a> and attain the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg11">Sustainable Development Goal 11</a> (to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable), planners and state officials need to consider these self-help mechanisms in designing an inclusive urban governance. This must address the unresponsive formal policies and the precarious conditions in informal work. </p>
<p><em>* Note: All the names in this article are pseudonyms to protect the research participants’ identity.</em></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-can-the-new-urban-agenda-and-sustainable-development-goals-do-for-cities-75533">What can the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals do for cities?</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110283/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Redento B. Recio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Street vendors are the most visible of the people who work in the informal sector – up to half the urban workforce in cities like Manila – but whose needs and rights receive no official recognition.Redento B. Recio, Postdoctoral Research Fellow - Informal Urbanism (InfUr-) Hub, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/970692018-06-05T20:07:31Z2018-06-05T20:07:31ZMaking a global agenda work locally for healthy, sustainable living in tropical Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/220969/original/file-20180530-120484-2gngra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Planning and design for healthy, liveable communities in the Australian tropics can involve quite different considerations from those that apply down south.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Silvia Tavares</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Life in the tropics is often seen as “living in paradise”, a place where everything grows and flourishes. This picture-postcard environment is not the year-round reality. At certain times of year, intense heat, humidity and the wet season affect liveability, making outdoor activity unattractive and thereby reducing social cohesion.</p>
<p>Urban living can already be pretty insular these days. People move from temperature-controlled houses to temperature-controlled cars to temperature-controlled offices, and vice versa. There’s no need to talk to anyone really. And exercise? It’s something you try to fit in if you can – but you probably don’t.</p>
<p>An ideal city life might be one in which you walk or cycle to work easily, say hi to a neighbour, and pick up some fresh produce for lunch along the way. While it is nice to expect that people will do this for a healthier self and planet, the truth is that <a href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/2/10/jeff-speck-4-ways-to-make-a-city-more-walkable">daily life choices depend on convenience</a>. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/designing-the-compassionate-city-to-overcome-built-in-biases-and-help-us-live-better-92726">planning and design (or haphazard evolution) of urban spaces largely dictate the way we live</a>. This in turn <a href="https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/columns/news-from-the-front-desk/on-why-cars-should-come-with-a-health-warning-and-maybe-our-cities-should-too/99077?mc_cid=3505518555&mc_eid=64a8a9dd84">affects our health in many ways</a>. It can, for instance, encourage or discourage active lifestyles, social cohesion and access to healthy food choices.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/designing-the-compassionate-city-to-overcome-built-in-biases-and-help-us-live-better-92726">Designing the compassionate city to overcome built-in biases and help us live better</a>
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<p>This is where the New Urban Agenda comes into play. </p>
<h2>The New Urban Agenda and why it matters</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://habitat3.org/wp-content/uploads/NUA-English.pdf">New Urban Agenda</a>, drafted by UN-Habitat and endorsed in late 2016 by the United Nations General Assembly, aims to help everyone to benefit from urbanisation. </p>
<p>Through <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/">Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 (Sustainable cities and communities)</a>, the agenda provides a guide for developing safe, inclusive, resilient and sustainable new cities that promote social integration and equity. It can also provide the impetus for conversations about the growth, redesign and redevelopment of existing urban spaces.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-can-the-new-urban-agenda-and-sustainable-development-goals-do-for-cities-75533">What can the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals do for cities?</a>
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<p>Making the New Urban Agenda work locally depends on more than overall regulations, or “importing” southern Australian solutions to the tropics. Even within the Australian tropical region, the <a href="http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/">climate varies</a>. Cairns experiences a tropical monsoon climate (wet tropics), while Townsville is exposed to a tropical savannah climate (dry tropics). </p>
<p>The way public spaces should be designed must, therefore, also vary within the tropical climate zone. We need to listen to locals, understand their behaviour and preferences, then promote these preferred public space qualities through urban planning and design. </p>
<p>Good design can improve the choices we make. But what is good design? And how do we adapt general guidelines to specific places and cultures?</p>
<h2>Urban diaries to understand each city</h2>
<p><a href="https://islandpress.org/book/seeing-the-better-city">Urban diaries</a> are premised on the importance of local history, values and knowledge. This approach aims to “<a href="https://islandpress.org/book/urbanism-without-effort">distinguish underlying organic relationships between people and cities from indiscriminate prescription imposed upon place</a>”. Urban diaries are a powerful tool for personal observation, raising awareness and creating positive urban change. </p>
<p>In our investigation, participants are invited to shoot and caption photographs of their surroundings, noting what makes their lives healthier, happier and stronger, and what does not. These images will be shared through social media and used to capture ideas and start conversations. </p>
<p>These urban diaries will help clarify how Cairns and Townsville function as tropical cities. At the same time this approach will help bring to light ways of improving local lifestyles by implementing the New Urban Agenda principles in this local context.</p>
<h2>Place-based urban planning and design</h2>
<p>Climate-responsive planning and design are important to make sure people can incorporate incidental exercise into their everyday routine. People will use public spaces if these are designed in a way that mediates the negative impacts of tropical climates.</p>
<p>What type of spaces and features will encourage people to walk even if the temperature outside is 40°C? We are particularly interested in three overarching questions. These concern how existing urban infrastructure and amenities promote or restrict:</p>
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<li>active lifestyles </li>
<li>social inclusion </li>
<li>healthy eating. </li>
</ol>
<p>These questions will be explored through public participation in the upcoming UN-Habitat World Urban Campaign <a href="http://www.worldurbancampaign.org/events/urban-livability-tropical-australia-through-urban-diaries-and-community-engagement">Urban Thinkers Campus events</a> in Cairns on June 8 and Townsville on June 15. Drawing on urban diaries, these events will provide the fundamental basis for understanding these places through a local lens.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-why-health-has-to-be-at-the-heart-of-the-new-urban-agenda-91009">This is why health has to be at the heart of the New Urban Agenda</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97069/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all plan for sustainable, healthy urban living. Urban diaries help identify what works – and doesn’t work – for tropical cities like Cairns or Townsville.Silvia Tavares, Lecturer in Urban Design, James Cook UniversityDavid Sellars, Senior Lecturer – Environmental Health, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/910092018-02-14T02:08:01Z2018-02-14T02:08:01ZThis is why health has to be at the heart of the New Urban Agenda<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205615/original/file-20180208-180808-1sida12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australia's ambassador to the United Nations, Gillian Bird, makes a statement at the 2016 Habitat III conference, where the New Urban Agenda was adopted.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexei Trundle</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Urban experts gathered at the <a href="http://wuf9.org/">ninth World Urban Forum</a> in Kuala Lumpur over the past week to discuss progress on a global commitment to sustainable urban development. UN member states adopted the <a href="http://habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/">New Urban Agenda</a> 15 months ago to guide the implementation in cities of the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld">2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development</a>. And health is central to the New Urban Agenda – health is its “<a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/250367/1/9789241511445-eng.pdf">pulse</a>”, as the World Health Organisation puts it. </p>
<p>Health must be at the heart of decisions about how to equitably house, feed, mobilise and economically support growing urban populations. Health is not just a desirable outcome but a <a href="http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/250367/1/9789241511445-eng.pdf">fundamental driver of sustainable development</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/habitat-iii-is-over-but-will-its-new-urban-agenda-transform-the-worlds-cities-67432">Habitat III is over, but will its New Urban Agenda transform the world's cities?</a>
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<h2>Sustainable development and health are linked</h2>
<p>Many sustainable development actions also have health benefits. The New Urban Agenda recognises that decent housing and access to health care, water and sanitation are the <a href="http://www.who.int/kobe_centre/publications/urban_planning2011.pdf">basic building blocks of health</a>. </p>
<p>To add to the challenges of achieving these goals, the world’s cities are expected to gain <a href="https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/publications/files/wup2014-highlights.pdf">2.5 billion inhabitants by 2050</a>. This reinforces the urgent need to provide equitable access to infrastructure and to upgrade informal settlements worldwide.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205632/original/file-20180209-180836-o0co5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/205632/original/file-20180209-180836-o0co5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205632/original/file-20180209-180836-o0co5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205632/original/file-20180209-180836-o0co5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205632/original/file-20180209-180836-o0co5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205632/original/file-20180209-180836-o0co5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/205632/original/file-20180209-180836-o0co5e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=492&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is an urgent need to reduce inequities in access to decent housing, health care, water and sanitation worldwide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hesam Kamalipour</span></span>
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<p>The agenda has a focus on social inclusion and civic engagement in city planning. Such participation can improve mental well-being and <a href="http://www.who.int/kobe_centre/publications/hidden_cities2010/en/">empower communities to overcome urban health inequities</a>. This is important for all urban residents, but particularly for disadvantaged communities.</p>
<p>The agenda proposes compact urban development which prioritises walking and cycling over private car use. <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30066-6/abstract">Multiple health benefits</a> flow from more physical activity and less air pollution. </p>
<p>Walking and cycling can also help mitigate climate change, which is predicted to contribute to an extra <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs266/en/">250,000 deaths</a> between 2030 and 2050 alone. Cycling, for example, can reduce an individual’s transportation carbon footprint by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2012.09.005">58% compared to driving a car</a>.</p>
<p>The natural environment is a vital health determinant, as it <a href="http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/7863/2/The_health_map_2006_JRSH_article_-_post_print.pdf">underpins all human life</a>. The agenda promotes reducing cities’ environmental impact, building resilience to natural disasters, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-density-cities-need-greening-to-stay-healthy-and-liveable-75840">preserving nature within cities</a>. </p>
<p>Again, this has many implications for health. Greenery can reduce urban heat islands to protect against heat stress. Contact with nature improves mental health. Attractive green spaces encourage recreational physical activity.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-density-cities-need-greening-to-stay-healthy-and-liveable-75840">Higher-density cities need greening to stay healthy and liveable</a>
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<p>The agenda emphasises the need to provide decent and productive work, end poverty and reduce income inequalities. This could minimise the <a href="http://www.who.int/social_determinants/thecommission/finalreport/key_concepts/en/">social gradient in health</a> – people with less income have poorer health. </p>
<h2>Uncontrolled growth is unhealthy</h2>
<p>Attaining these sustainability and health benefits will depend on how the New Urban Agenda is implemented. The <a href="http://wuf9.org/">World Urban Forum</a> showcased many sustainable development achievements by governments and civil society. But we still have a long way to go to realise the NUA vision. </p>
<p>As the world urbanises and cities promote development and innovation, we must take care to balance economic growth with environmental preservation. Only then will we achieve truly sustainable health improvements.</p>
<p>Most countries have a bad track record of pursuing social and economic development at the expense of the natural environment. While the New Urban Agenda does recognise the need to balance environmental and health goals with economic development, it does not acknowledge the ecological limits to growth. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-ranks-20th-on-progress-towards-the-sustainable-development-goals-62820">Australia ranks 20th on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals</a>
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<p>Currently, the <a href="https://www.footprintnetwork.org/2016/07/20/measure-sustainable-development-two-new-indeces-two-different-views/">top-ranked nations</a> on the Sustainable Development Goal Index and the Human Development Index, such as Sweden and Denmark, have high ecological footprints per person. If everyone in the world lived like them, we would need more than three planets. This is clearly unsustainable. </p>
<p>As research by <a href="https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/resources/the-spirit-level">Wilkinson and Pickett shows</a>, after a certain point, continued natural resource depletion for economic growth is not necessary to achieve good population health.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206114/original/file-20180213-44654-g0k0sd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206114/original/file-20180213-44654-g0k0sd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206114/original/file-20180213-44654-g0k0sd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206114/original/file-20180213-44654-g0k0sd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206114/original/file-20180213-44654-g0k0sd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206114/original/file-20180213-44654-g0k0sd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206114/original/file-20180213-44654-g0k0sd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/206114/original/file-20180213-44654-g0k0sd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">After a certain point, higher emissions do not increase life expectancy, as Wilkinson and Pickett demonstrated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/resources/the-spirit-level">The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, R. Wilkinson and K. Pickett</a></span>
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<h2>Agenda relies on inclusive, integrated planning</h2>
<p>While the New Urban Agenda encourages consideration of health in urban policies, it does not detail the specific actions required. </p>
<p>Urban planning interventions must be consistent with the evidence on how to create healthy and <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-cities-need-to-go-on-a-resource-diet-68984">less resource-intensive</a> cities. <a href="http://cur.org.au/project/national-liveability-report/">A recent Australian study</a> found that many urban policies are not evidence-based and are often not fully implemented. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/city-by-city-analysis-shows-our-capitals-arent-liveable-for-many-residents-85676">City-by-city analysis shows our capitals aren’t liveable for many residents</a>
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<p>Countries across the globe are looking at indicators to help monitor policy implementation. This includes <a href="http://cur.org.au/project/national-liveability-report/">spatial indicators that highlight inequities</a> in access to infrastructure and amenities within and between cities.</p>
<p>It is widely recognised that implementing the New Urban Agenda will require the <a href="http://www.who.int/kobe_centre/measuring/urban-global-report/en/">involvement of many sectors</a>, including housing, transport, urban design, energy, employment and open space. National governments adopted the agenda, but city planning is often a responsibility of sub-national governments. The private sector and communities also have important contributions to make. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"961087740849872897"}"></div></p>
<p>In all cities, there is a need to clarify responsibilities and balance national government leadership with local government and community action. Integration between policy areas requires <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14649357.2017.1407820">supportive legislative frameworks</a>, political commitment, leadership, strong governance arrangements and personnel trained in collaboration.</p>
<p>Low- and middle-income countries are further behind on urban health, so have much to gain from implementing the agenda. Nevertheless, all countries, including Australia, have room for improvement. <a href="http://cur.org.au/project/national-liveability-report/">Australian cities</a> continue to face issues with car dependence and inequities in access to public transport, jobs, services and amenities. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-what-our-cities-need-to-do-to-be-truly-liveable-for-all-83967">This is what our cities need to do to be truly liveable for all</a>
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<p>All urban actors have a role to play in pursuing the New Urban Agenda’s vision of a sustainable and healthy urban future. As we hurtle towards doubling our population with rapid city growth, now is the time for action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Lowe previously received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the National Environmental Science Programme. She is a member of the Public Health Association of Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexei Trundle receives research funding from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and an Australian Postgraduate Award from the Australian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>André Stephan receives funding from the Australian Research Council and has received funding from the Belgian National Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.-FNRS).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Billie Giles-Corti receives funding from NHMRC, the ARC, The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, and the National Environment Science Program's Clean Air and Urban Landscape Hub..</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayley Henderson is a Research Assistant on the Economic and Social Research Council (UK)-funded project examining Collaborative Governance under Austerity. She previously received an APA scholarship while undertaking her PhD studies at The University of Melbourne. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hesam Kamalipour is a Research Fellow working on the RISE (Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments) program at Monash University. He has previously held IPRS and APA scholarships at the University of Melbourne. He has also served as a Doctoral Academy member at the Melbourne Social Equity Institute.</span></em></p>Australia and other United Nations member states signed up to the New Urban Agenda more than a year ago. But how well is health being integrated into sustainable urban development?Melanie Lowe, Lecturer in Public Health, Australian Catholic UniversityAlexei Trundle, PhD Candidate, Australian-German Climate & Energy College, The University of MelbourneAndré Stephan, Lecturer in Architectural Engineering, The University of MelbourneBillie Giles-Corti, Director, Urban Futures Enabling Capability Platform and Director, Healthy Liveable Cities Group, RMIT UniversityHayley Henderson, PhD Candidate in Urban Planning, The University of MelbourneHesam Kamalipour, Research Fellow at Monash Art, Design and Architecture, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/884262017-12-11T11:13:58Z2017-12-11T11:13:58ZReligious faith can help people to build better cities – here’s how<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198539/original/file-20171211-27698-1wpm0ul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1427%2C202%2C6507%2C5079&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Religious faith is deeply ingrained in the way cities look and function. In the past, cities were often built with places of worship at their centre, and today you can find markers of faith dotted across every city in the world: from local parish churches to grand cathedrals, mosques to synagogues, soup kitchens to cemeteries. Faith also serves a social purpose, bringing city dwellers together to mourn, celebrate, remember, reflect and to help others. </p>
<p>Today, cities are <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-are-gaining-power-in-global-politics-can-the-un-keep-up-83668">becoming a driving force</a> in global politics. It’s predicted that <a href="http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/world-urbanization-prospects-2014.html">66% of the world’s population</a> will live in urban areas by 2050. And in a warming world, it’s more urgent than ever for cities to develop in an efficient and sustainable way. </p>
<p>Yet major discussions about the future of cities largely neglect the topic of faith. The United Nations’ <a href="http://habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/">New Urban Agenda</a> (NUA) - the main global strategy guiding urban development for the next 20 years – is almost entirely silent about the role of faith and religion in the cities of the future, despite the fact that <a href="http://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/05/the-changing-global-religious-landscape/">84% of the global population</a> adheres to a religious faith of some kind. </p>
<h2>A moral calling</h2>
<p>The NUA wants the cities of the future to be inclusive places, which all residents can enjoy equally, without suffering discrimination of any kind. Future cities should be just, safe, healthy, accessible, affordable, resilient and sustainable, while fostering prosperity and a high quality of life for everyone. </p>
<p>This vision resonates with <a href="https://parliamentofreligions.org/pwr_resources/_includes/FCKcontent/File/TowardsAGlobalEthic.pdf">the key values</a> of many faiths. For example, the Judeo-Christian idea of <em>shalom</em>, the Islamic notion of <em>saleem</em> and the African tribal concept of <em>Ubuntu</em> all express in different ways the idea of human flourishing within community. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198300/original/file-20171208-27705-1v4nfs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198300/original/file-20171208-27705-1v4nfs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198300/original/file-20171208-27705-1v4nfs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198300/original/file-20171208-27705-1v4nfs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198300/original/file-20171208-27705-1v4nfs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198300/original/file-20171208-27705-1v4nfs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198300/original/file-20171208-27705-1v4nfs3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A common vision.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tony709/6255509342/sizes/l">Cycling Man/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>These concepts align with deeply-held principles commonly promoted by faith communities, such as justice, peace, stewardship, the intrinsic worth of people and nature and responsibility for future generations. And these values can inspire people to become active citizens who shape their cities. They promote unity and inclusion, by encouraging people to understand that their own well-being is connected with the well-being of the broader community and natural environment. </p>
<p>By recognising that the values embedded in the NUA are also central to much religious teaching, faith communities can play a big role in creating more sustainable and inclusive cities. </p>
<h2>Taking the lead</h2>
<p>In many cases, faith-based organisations are already taking action to help make the vision set out in the NUA a reality. This was highlighted during a <a href="http://www.worldurbancampaign.org/events/faith-based-engagement-and-implementation-new-urban-agenda">unique UN Urban Thinkers’ Campus</a>, which took place in Singapore in November 2017. In our roles as academic experts, we held discussions with faith leaders and representatives from various sectors of civil society such as architects, planners, business leaders and community development workers. </p>
<p>During these talks, we realised that faith-based organisations can spark social change both within and outside of formal religious settings. Indeed, faith communities have a long history of actively working for the well-being of the community. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/rough-sleeping-street-homelessness">Salvation Army runs</a> homeless shelters and drop-in centres, for example, and religious groups lead conservation initiatives such as A Rocha’s <a href="https://ecochurch.arocha.org.uk/">Eco-Church</a> in the UK, as well as <a href="http://www.healthserve.org.sg/">health care</a> and <a href="http://www.mentoringpittsburgh.org/">youth mentoring programmes</a> around the world. </p>
<p>What’s more, many of the people who work as civil servants, educators, charity workers and business leaders are motivated by their religious faith, to bring about positive change in cities. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198299/original/file-20171208-27719-w3ybpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198299/original/file-20171208-27719-w3ybpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/198299/original/file-20171208-27719-w3ybpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198299/original/file-20171208-27719-w3ybpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198299/original/file-20171208-27719-w3ybpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198299/original/file-20171208-27719-w3ybpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198299/original/file-20171208-27719-w3ybpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/198299/original/file-20171208-27719-w3ybpm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Caring for the community after Grenfell Tower fire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/69057297@N04/34507280394/sizes/l">ChiralJon/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>The fact that places of worship are often located at the geographic centre of the communities they serve also means that they can be a place for people to rally and recover in the face of disaster. For example, after the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/grenfell-tower-39675">Grenfell Tower fire</a> in London, local churches and mosques were on hand to administer support to victims, in many cases <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2017/jun/22/after-the-grenfell-fire-the-church-got-it-right-where-the-council-failed">more rapidly and effectively</a> than government support services.</p>
<p>Faith communities can help to make their city fairer and more sustainable by getting involved in urban planning and politics. This can be really effective at a local level, when people representing faith communities connect meaningfully with local authorities, join planning councils and advise in matters of community well-being. In the UK, for example, faith communities have worked with civic organisations such as <a href="http://www.citizensuk.org/">Citizens UK</a> to bring about substantial social change around the country. </p>
<h2>A powerful force</h2>
<p>Religious organisations are also widely connected and influential at regional, national and international levels. The Catholic Church, for example, is estimated to have <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21443313">1.2 billion members</a>. And in the UK, there are <a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/more/policy-and-thinking/research-and-statistics">12,600 parishes</a> of the Church of England (many of which have more than one congregation), far outnumbering the nation’s 8,225 <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/386938/uk-banks-branches-number/">bank branches</a>. </p>
<p>The presence of faith communities in cities puts them in a strong position to act as bridges between governments and citizens. As also seen in the wake of the Grenfell fire tragedy, faith organisations are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/19/grenfell-faith-groups-step-in-to-mediate-between-officials-and-community">often more trusted</a> than state ones – and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1944-8287.2003.tb00220.x/full">trust is vital</a> for communities to rally together and influence powerful institutions. </p>
<p>With strong moral values, a widespread local presence and significant influence, faith communities have huge potential to help build sustainable, inclusive and liveable cities. Both the United Nations and faith organisations must work to engage the energy and enthusiasm, which people of faith can bring to improve the world’s cities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By drawing on common values, faith communities can take a lead in making cities fairer, safer, accessible and affordable for all.Christopher Ives, Assistant Professor in Environment and Society, University of NottinghamAndre Van Eymeren, PhD Candidate, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/871652017-11-09T19:19:58Z2017-11-09T19:19:58ZSharing economy sounds caring, but let’s put it to the ethical city test<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193864/original/file-20171108-14167-1tfvrjb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We need to look behind the sharing economy's apparently informal, casual intent to consider the impacts on people's lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sharing-economy-collaborative-consumption-concept-key-469243658?src=yUlAStHMev9148DXbeNUwA-2-34">Montri Nipitvittaya/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than ever, cities face multiple crises posing paradoxical opportunities. Key challenges for cities in the <a href="https://citiesspeak.org/2014/09/08/the-central-role-of-cities-in-an-urban-century/">urban century</a> are climate change, inequality and governance. Where are the solutions going to come from? In cities that are dominated by globalised, market-based forces, how can equity and justice be brought centre stage?</p>
<p>The many virtuous adjectives applied to cities have a compelling, if superficial, attraction – who wouldn’t want a city to be “smart”, “sustainable” and “resilient”? Similarly, “sharing economy” sounds good, right?</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-people-trust-sharing-economy-strangers-more-than-their-colleagues-70669">Why people trust sharing economy strangers more than their colleagues</a></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Look at the actual impacts</h2>
<p>There has been much talk of the liberating effects of <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-sharing-economy-could-have-a-hard-landing-in-australia-53747">sharing economy</a> platforms. These range from <a href="http://time.com/money/3714829/working-for-taskrabbit/">TaskRabbit</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliveroo">Deliveroo</a> to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_ridesharing">ridesharing</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CouchSurfing">Couchsurfing</a>. </p>
<p>The promise of getting a stream of income from spare time and spare stuff is tantalising. The apparently informal, casual intent of the sharing economy seems innocent enough, but in many cases the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/05/06/regulating-the-sharing-economy/services-like-airbnb-mean-we-need-to-adapt-to-a-new-economy">market reality</a> is a step change downwards in terms of equity and justice. </p>
<p>Labour markets <a href="http://networkedsociety.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2274352/Mapping-The-Melbourne-Sharing-Economy-MNSI-rp5-2017.pdf">are becoming casualised</a>, with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/protecting-the-rights-of-the-digital-workforce-in-the-gig-economy-45838">most extreme effects cascading to the most vulnerable</a>. Neighbourhoods exposed to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-financialisation-of-housing-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-73767">financialisation of housing</a> become unaffordable, pushing out residents. The examples are mounting, and this is not what was promised.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/room-sharing-is-the-new-flat-sharing-84359">Room sharing is the new flat sharing</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>In <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/sharing-cities">Sharing Cities</a>, the latest book from MIT Press on this vexatious subject, Duncan McLaren and Julian Agyeman propose a rather different “sharing” paradigm. It’s one that is more attentive to the actual work that sharing processes do for and against human values of community, trust and collaboration. How do purported sharing ideas actually reinforce such values? And how do sharing projects in the city reflect and reinforce our existing values? </p>
<p>These questions point to the need for more overt attention to civic engagement and activism. We need to call out the dark side of market forces where these undermine justice, solidarity and sustainability.</p>
<h2>Do ‘solutions’ solve our big problems?</h2>
<p>The broader point here is about the extent to which any new shiny idea presented as a “solution” actually solves urban problems. To get to the heart of the matter, we need to agree on what these are. Look no further than the United Nations’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-how-are-we-progressing-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-45441">Sustainable Development Goals</a>, or the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-habitat-iii-and-why-does-it-matter-a-beginners-guide-to-the-new-urban-agenda-65500">New Urban Agenda</a> in which <a href="http://habitat3.org/wp-content/uploads/New-Urban-Agenda-GA-Adopted-68th-Plenary-N1646655-E.pdf">Clause 5</a> lays out the ambition:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… help to end poverty and hunger in all its forms and dimensions; reduce inequalities; promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth; achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in order to fully harness their vital contribution to sustainable development; improve human health and well-being; foster resilience; and protect the environment.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-how-are-we-progressing-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-45441">Infographic: how are we progressing on the Sustainable Development Goals?</a></em></p>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/habitat-iii-is-over-but-will-its-new-urban-agenda-transform-the-worlds-cities-67432">Habitat III is over, but will its New Urban Agenda transform the world’s cities?</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>It is very obvious that, in 21st-century cities, urban humanity faces a set of three key problems: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>environmental sustainability and climate change</p></li>
<li><p>inequality, equity and inclusion</p></li>
<li><p>inclusive governance and representation. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>In developing these ideas, my <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Housing-Sustainability-in-Low-Carbon-Cities/Horne/p/book/9781138698345">latest book</a> applies the concept of “ethical cities” to considering how housing policy settings and market practices actually resolve our urban challenges or add to them. The <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/11/1197/htm">ethical cities idea</a> offers a simple yet effective way to scrutinise proposed urban solutions for the work they actually do.</p>
<p>For any sharing economy idea, then, the question is: what will it do to fix these urban problems that we face? If it undermines workers’ rights for the most vulnerable, then it is not a solution but merely a new means of capital accumulation. It will make matters worse. </p>
<p>Put simply, the question we need to ask of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uberisation">uberisation</a> is: what work will it do to either address or exacerbate climate change, inequality and democracy? If it fails on any of these, then we must resist the shiny wrapping and continue our search for real solutions.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ethical-city-an-idea-whose-time-has-come-53385">The ethical city: an idea whose time has come</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Julian Agyeman is visiting Melbourne and will be giving a public presentation on Equity, Justice and the Sustainable City at 5.30-7.30pm on Tuesday, November 14 (register <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/book-launch-equity-justice-the-sustainable-city-tickets-39532962154">here</a>). His presentation will be followed by a panel discussion on alternatives for sharing cities and housing sustainability, and a launch of a crop of related books.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87165/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ralph Horne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In cities dominated by globalised market forces, how can we achieve social equity and justice? For any sharing economy idea, we need to ask what will it do to fix the big problems confronting us all.Ralph Horne, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation; Director of UNGC Cities Programme; Professor, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/806772017-07-11T20:13:59Z2017-07-11T20:13:59ZWhat actually is a good city?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177303/original/file-20170707-3066-7x2ly3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's hard to see how a city can be good for all its people unless they are involved in its creation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul James</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is one of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/ecocity-summit-40496">series</a> of articles to coincide with the 2017 <a href="https://www.ecocity2017.com/">Ecocity World Summit</a>, which begins today in Melbourne.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Our cities have now been named as the saving places of a planet in crisis. And yet we cannot decide on the principles that make for a good city. Everybody has a view, but some views are more sustainable than others.</p>
<p>What we desperately need is a big and general public dialogue about the principles that make for a good city. This is the basis of our project, <a href="https://www.ecocity2017.com/about/principles-for-better-cities/">Principles for Better Cities</a>, led by the City of Berlin. It provides a platform for the <a href="https://www.ecocity2017.com/">Ecocity World Summit</a> in Melbourne this week.</p>
<h2>Broader vision is needed</h2>
<p>We need to get beyond the current tendency to become fixated on spruiking different high-level concepts. For example, IBM, Microsoft and Big Tech have put their money – or actually other people’s money – <a href="https://theconversation.com/creative-city-smart-city-whose-city-is-it-78258">on the smart city</a>.</p>
<p>But the concept of the smart city is too often reduced to narrow technological monitoring and big data collection. <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/urbanization/how-to-make-a-city-great">McKinsey</a> says that a good city will achieve “smart growth”. But tell that to Brussels, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto and Vienna, global cities that are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2016/nov/02/global-population-decline-cities-mapped">declining in size</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://mobilityexchange.mercer.com/quality-of-living-rankings">Mercer</a> group and <a href="https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/08/daily-chart-14">The Economist</a> tell us liveability is the key. However, they narrowly developed their indices for corporations seeking to decide on how much they will pay their executives for moving to less liveable cities. This raises a further question: “Liveable for whom?”</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/our-work/initiatives/100-resilient-cities/">Rockefeller Foundation is backing</a> the <a href="https://theconversation.com/has-the-100-resilient-cities-challenge-benefited-melbourne-60307">resilient city</a>. This too is an important concept. But much of its appeal to governments is in saving resources as they seek to defer increasing climate risks through pushing responsibility back to resilient communities to self-manage their recoveries.</p>
<h2>A common problem of definition</h2>
<p>What actually is a good city then? </p>
<p>Depending on who you ask, they are sustainable cities, liveable cities and resilient cities, but they are also adapting cities and carbon-neutral cities. Or they are caring cities, inclusive cities, just cities, peaceful cities, information cities and networked cities. To confuse things further, they are also prosperous cities, learning cities and innovative cities.</p>
<p>Just by listing these urban forms, the problem starts to become clearer. These are just concepts with shifting or weak definitions. They mean anything “good” and apply variously to anybody’s projections.</p>
<p>The second problem comes with deciding what is actually good about these different emphases.</p>
<p>As part of this difficulty, assigning different indicators to each of these urban forms is extraordinarily difficult. Is a city more liveable because it has a Mediterranean climate? That is what the current liveability indices would suggest. </p>
<p>Is a city more resilient because its “man-made assets” are more robust? (Excuse the gender-specific language here.) That is what the core resilience literature tells us.</p>
<h2>Who decides?</h2>
<p>The third problem centres on the question: “Who decides what is good?”</p>
<p>The principles and indicators tend to be decided by elite researchers working at a distance from the field, or by teams using sets of secondary data that may or may not be appropriate. </p>
<p>Elite teams develop black-box indicator sets (such as liveability indexes) that remain commercial-in-confidence. The data drive the index construction without consideration of the meaning of that data. For example, one index ranking better cities in the greater Sydney region is driven by an indicator that suggests a key consideration is being closer to the beach or mountains.</p>
<p>The fourth problem becomes how do we order and prioritise the many claims about what is good. There are so many considerations that the number of potential principles becomes overwhelming. </p>
<p>This happened to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-can-the-new-urban-agenda-and-sustainable-development-goals-do-for-cities-75533">New Urban Agenda</a>, developed by the United Nations over the last two years. It has hundreds of principles, all thrown together in an incomprehensible list. Cities are understandably confused.</p>
<h2>Towards an inclusive, holistic approach</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.circlesofsustainability.org/principles/">Principles for Better Cities</a> attempt to respond to all these problems. Complementary to the New Urban Agenda, Principles for Better Cities is an initiative of the <a href="https://www.metropolis.org/">World Association of Major Metropolises</a>, which has been working with cities on a set of basic principles to guide good urban development.</p>
<p>This set is based on the proposition that, rather than just adding together a list of proposals from different current or immediate concerns, the principles should begin from a general framework that concerns the human condition.</p>
<p>We start with the idea that there should be basic principles that relate to the following basic domains of social life:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="http://www.circlesofsustainability.org/circles-overview/profile-circles/ecology-2/">Ecology</a> – cities should have a deep and integrated relationship with nature.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.circlesofsustainability.org/circles-overview/profile-circles/economics/">Economics</a> – cities should be based on an economy organised around the social needs of all citizens.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.circlesofsustainability.org/circles-overview/profile-circles/politics-2/">Politics</a> – cities should have an enhanced emphasis on engaged and negotiated civic involvement.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="http://www.circlesofsustainability.org/circles-overview/profile-circles/culture-2/">Culture</a> – cities should actively develop ongoing processes for dealing with the uncomfortable intersections of identity and difference.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These have become the top-level principles for going deeper and deeper, elaborated across more and more specific subdomains of practice. </p>
<p>And here is the completely novel dimension. These principles have been and will be debated by people. None of these principles are fixed, hidden, confusing, or commercial-in-confidence. They are the outcome of open dialogue.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/ecocity-summit-40496">here</a>. The <a href="https://www.ecocity2017.com/">Ecocity World Summit</a> is being hosted by the University of Melbourne, Western Sydney University, the Victorian government and the City of Melbourne in Melbourne from July 12-14._T</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80677/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul James receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with Metropolis and is Scientific Advisor to City of Berlin. He is a co-convenor of the Ecocity Summit.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Gleeson receives funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council and is a co-convenor of the Ecocity World Summit 2017. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Wiseman is a co-convenor of the Ecocity World Summit 2017</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Belinda Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Developing principles to create cities that are good for all is not easy. Who decides what is good? And for whom? We desperately need a big and general public discussion about this.Paul James, Professor of Globalization and Cultural Diversity, Western Sydney UniversityBelinda Young, Project Officer – Ecocity, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, The University of MelbourneBrendan Gleeson, Director, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, The University of MelbourneJohn Wiseman, Professorial Fellow, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/773932017-05-25T20:19:11Z2017-05-25T20:19:11ZGreen space – how much is enough, and what’s the best way to deliver it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170223/original/file-20170521-12217-1caiqf1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Providing green space can deliver health, social and environmental benefits for all urban residents – few other public health interventions can achieve all of this.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anne Cleary</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Half of the world’s people now <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/half-worlds-population-live-urban-areas-un-report-finds/">live in urban areas</a>. This creates competition for resources and increases pressure on already limited green space. </p>
<p>Many urban areas are still experiencing active degradation or removal of green space. To reverse this trend and ensure the multiple benefits of green space are realised, we urgently need to move toward on-ground action.</p>
<p>However, there is no clear guidance on how to translate the evidence base on green space into action. There is limited information to guide green-space practitioners on how much is <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204614000310">“green enough”</a>, or on how to manage and maintain green space. There is also a lack of guidance on how to deliver the multiple benefits of green space with finite resources.</p>
<h2>Why we need green spaces</h2>
<p>A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/urban-health/publications/2017/urban-green-space-interventions-and-health-a-review-of-impacts-and-effectiveness.-full-report-2017">report</a> aims to provide guidance on how to tackle the uncertainties of providing such spaces.</p>
<p>There is a <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/urban-health/publications/2016/urban-green-spaces-and-health-a-review-of-evidence-2016">substantial evidence base</a> to show that green space is good for us. It is associated with many <a href="https://theconversation.com/higher-density-cities-need-greening-to-stay-healthy-and-liveable-75840">health benefits</a>, both <a href="https://theconversation.com/living-here-will-make-you-fat-do-we-need-a-public-health-warning-57119">physical</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/biophilic-urbanism-how-rooftop-gardening-soothes-souls-76789">mental</a> – including reductions in illness and deaths, <a href="https://theconversation.com/reducing-stress-at-work-is-a-walk-in-the-park-57634">stress</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/most-people-just-park-themselves-so-how-do-we-promote-more-healthy-activity-in-public-parks-56421">obesity</a> – and a range of positive <a href="https://theconversation.com/greening-cities-makes-for-safer-neighbourhoods-62093">social</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/go-native-why-we-need-wildlife-allotments-to-bring-species-back-to-the-burbs-69631">environmental</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-environmentally-just-city-works-best-for-all-in-the-end-53803">equity</a> outcomes.</p>
<p>Providing adequate green space within our urban areas is therefore paramount. We need to preserve, enhance and promote existing green spaces and create new spaces.</p>
<p>Various political frameworks underscore the need for these spaces in our cities. For example, the <a href="https://habitat3.org/">New Urban Agenda</a> calls for an increase in safe, inclusive, accessible, green and quality public spaces. The <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg11">2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development</a> pledges to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular, for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170155/original/file-20170519-12242-wm8nk3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rapid growth in cities like Brisbane increases the pressure on existing urban green spaces.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Moving toward action</h2>
<p>The WHO <a href="http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/urban-health/publications/2017/urban-green-space-interventions-and-health-a-review-of-impacts-and-effectiveness.-full-report-2017">report</a> carried out a systematic review of the published evidence on green-space interventions. The review found a variety of intervention types have strong evidence for delivering a range of health, social and environmental outcomes.</p>
<p>These intervention types range from smaller green spaces, such as street trees and community gardens, to larger, more interlinked spaces, such as parks and greenways. This signals the need to think beyond the traditional urban park when considering how to meet the demand for green space among growing urban populations.</p>
<p>Another finding of the review was that urban green-space interventions seem to be most effective when a physical improvement of the space is coupled with social engagement.</p>
<p>This highlights the importance of understanding the intervention’s target audience. Sufficient time and resources must be devoted to engaging with this audience. This should happen both during the design and implementation phases and when the intervention is completed – and promoted.</p>
<h2>Learning from others</h2>
<p>The WHO report compiled case studies of urban green-space interventions from across Europe, and documented the common lessons from these. </p>
<p>This unearthed a range of findings. For example, fostering multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaborations during planning, implementation and evaluation is a key factor in creating a successful green space.</p>
<p>Another key finding was the importance of understanding that urban green-space interventions are long-term investments. They therefore need to be integrated within local development strategies and frameworks – such as urban masterplans, transport policies and sustainability and biodiversity strategies.</p>
<p>An example of an urban green-space intervention that showcases good practice, and which features as a case study in the WHO report, is the <a href="http://www.connswatergreenway.co.uk/">Connswater Community Greenway</a> in Northern Ireland. This project adopted a bottom-up approach and emphasised community engagement. A full-time community support officer was employed. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170146/original/file-20170519-12260-1bc1c2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/170146/original/file-20170519-12260-1bc1c2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170146/original/file-20170519-12260-1bc1c2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170146/original/file-20170519-12260-1bc1c2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170146/original/file-20170519-12260-1bc1c2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170146/original/file-20170519-12260-1bc1c2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/170146/original/file-20170519-12260-1bc1c2c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Social engagement is an integral part of the Connswater Community Greenway intervention.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Connswater Community Greenway</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Having public engagement embedded from the start ensured the local community’s needs were well understood. The intervention’s design was responding to these identified needs. </p>
<p>Coupling this local understanding with the latest thinking on good practice led to an evidence-based design that was fit-for-purpose in the local context.</p>
<p>The project was also understood to be a long-term investment. A 40-year management and maintenance plan for the greenway was developed from the outset. </p>
<p>The WHO report represents an important step forward. As worrying trends in mental ill-health, obesity, social isolation, health inequalities and environmental degradation grow globally, there is a pressing need to implement equitable solutions – and green space has a key role to play in this. </p>
<p>Urban green-space interventions can deliver health, social and environmental benefits for all population groups – particularly among lower socioeconomic status groups. There are very few – if any – other public health interventions that can achieve all of this.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77393/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Cleary received funding from Healthy Land and Water and Griffith University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ruth Hunter receives funding from research councils in the UK. They have not funded this work.</span></em></p>Urban green spaces are most effective at delivering their full range of health, social and environmental benefits when physical improvement of the space is coupled with social engagement.Anne Cleary, Nature and Health PhD Candidate, Griffith UniversityRuth Hunter, Lecturer, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/755332017-04-16T19:30:21Z2017-04-16T19:30:21ZWhat can the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals do for cities?<p>Our cities are increasingly beset by a lack of affordable housing, inequality, lagging infrastructure – the list goes on.</p>
<p>To the rescue, we now have the <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/10/newurbanagenda/">New Urban Agenda</a> and the <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/">Sustainable Development Goals</a> (SDGs). But how can they help?</p>
<h2>Responding to the urban century</h2>
<p>Australia and 166 other countries agreed the New Urban Agenda at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/habitat-iii-26850">Habitat III</a> conference in Quito last October. The agenda <a href="https://theconversation.com/habitat-iii-is-over-but-will-its-new-urban-agenda-transform-the-worlds-cities-67432">frames global policy for cities</a> and urban settlements for the next 20 years. Signatories will be measured against its objectives.</p>
<p>This historic agreement did not attract the same attention as the <a href="http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php">Paris climate agreement</a>, yet it has similarly profound and linked potential. The Paris agreement will determine what action countries take on climate change, shaping policies on energy use and carbon production. The New Urban Agenda will aim for city sustainability, shaping our liveability, homes and neighbourhoods.</p>
<p>The agenda responds to the urban century. It recognises the growth energised by cities but also their spatial, social, cultural and economic inequalities.</p>
<p>Action is urgently called for to tackle inequality. The shift to cities hasn’t reduced inequality. Instead, it has shifted poverty to cities and <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-big-cities-are-engines-of-inequality-so-how-do-we-fix-that-69775">deepened inequality in the process</a>.</p>
<p>Two key concepts of the New Urban Agenda are the “city for all” and the “right to the city”. It also clearly links to <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/">Sustainable Development Goal 11</a>, which aims to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A lack of joined-up thinking</h2>
<p>Three key problems beset our approach to cities. In principle, the New Urban Agenda and SDG 11 can help overcome these. </p>
<p><strong>1)</strong> Policy siloes persist despite decades of rhetoric about joining up policy and programs. Housing affordability, planning and transport, economic development, public health and education, for example, remain remarkably siloed. </p>
<p>Transport policy rarely looks at employment and health impacts. Policy for providing affordable homes rarely examines the impact of employment and economic strategy on housing affordability. Promoting social cohesion and social inclusion is rarely considered in developing and delivering the education system. </p>
<p>Cities are intricate, entwined collections of people, plans and infrastructures. Throwing isolated and disconnected solutions at complex problems is a recipe for failure, but it’s one that is constantly repeated.</p>
<p><strong>2)</strong> Governments not only typically divide their approaches to social and economic policy, they also have split responsibilities between levels of government. Separate ministers and departments deal with the very narrowly defined aspects of their portfolio.</p>
<p>In Australia, the policy separation between states and federal government magnifies the silo issue. Wide cracks between levels of government allow critical planning and policy decisions to be postponed for decades.</p>
<p>In this policy void, local and city governments often lead the way on issues of liveability, climate change mitigation, sustainability and social cohesion. However, many of the levers for change are above their reach. Those powers reside in state and federal governments. </p>
<p><strong>3)</strong> Private sector, government and civil society interests remain fractured and opposed. Not enough attention is paid to negotiating common interests. Cities need capital but they also need to be liveable places for all citizens. New alliances are needed to reconcile needs and resources.</p>
<p>All the above problems are related to the overwhelming need for integration, which provides a common meeting point for a wide range of players to approach complex problems.</p>
<h2>Not a task for government alone</h2>
<p>Australia has no national <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-cities-will-stop-working-without-a-decent-national-housing-policy-60537">housing</a> or <a href="https://theconversation.com/turnbulls-energy-policy-vision-heavy-on-direction-light-on-action-72272">energy</a> strategy. But both are critical to successful nations and cities.</p>
<p>The joined-up phrasing of the New Urban Agenda and SDG 11 offer an entry point. They provide a catalyst for integration in three critical areas:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>policy formulation to tackle multiple, connected problems;</p></li>
<li><p>fresh attempts to develop integrated multi-level governance; and</p></li>
<li><p>reframed governance across bureaucracy, business and civil society.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Shared ideals, objectives and delivery mechanisms linked to the New Urban Agenda are the first step. This has already led to the setting up of a <a href="http://citiesprogramme.org/our-framework/multi-partner-high-impact-sustainable-urban-development-projects-platform/">multi-partner initiative</a> to support sustainable urban development.</p>
<p>The New Urban Agenda is the product of many hundreds of urban scholars, mayors, policymakers and community voices. It provides an integrative policy framework that sets a broad direction toward better cities.</p>
<p>Planning for the future of our cities can no longer ignore growing social, economic and environmental issues. And these are all exacerbated by wealth and income inequalities. The task of reframing governance across bureaucracy, business and civil society must recognise the uneven resources across the city, and reconcile the interests around the table.</p>
<p>Signing the Habitat III declaration was easy. Implementing the New Urban Agenda is a challenge that government will not be able to meet alone. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>A multi-partner initiative for sustainable urban development will be among topics discussed at a <a href="http://www.nuaconference.com">forthcoming conference in Melbourne</a> on May 4-5.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75533/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prof Ralph Horne works for RMIT and is Director of the UN Global Compact Cities Programme. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Adamson is affiliated a member of the Australian Labor Party, and is employed by Compass Housing Services Ltd, a not-for-profit Community Housing Provider.</span></em></p>Planning for the future of our cities can no longer ignore growing social, economic and environmental issues that are all exacerbated by wealth and income inequalities.Ralph Horne, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation; Director of UNGC Cities Programme; Professor, RMIT UniversityDavid Adamson, Emeritus Professor, Social and Community Policy, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/695492016-12-08T00:06:02Z2016-12-08T00:06:02ZDensity threatens liveability if we miss the big picture of how a city works<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148549/original/image-20161205-25685-naehnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The rapid growth of Melbourne is threatening the very liveability that makes it attractive to so many people.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fran001/16138805219/in/photolist-qA8Awp-CFzoRy-AXJ72x-qPz4LP-BGfPJR-Cba8jY-yyuCaS-qTj79x-Koc3LU-qT6RZL-rDpvJS-HywoF2-GK5PhR-rp12Gw-r9zYxW-shkLuL-zgVMm9-r7tj7b-F4qEwC-K4oSwQ-rPZkz7-qYc1nS-rr2wiz-re55Rk-xDP4cE-JTvBvV-xq7ubA-qrzf39-FZbcKx-y7Wg9d-HT3Vnd-CV1mQg-wEpSuy-JWsBjX-FTWSfh-FzwrjU-Jgjg1T-zEsRU7-GutmgE-rxwcJU-qrzsgY-FU6s3v-K5o3Hg-J9KPk3-BT95Yt-xqpf3u-wChPfE-E12Ygo-wwF67Y-EqZHyT">Francisco Anzola/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Melbourne has been repeatedly awarded the accolade of <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-18/melbourne-ranked-worlds-most-liveable-city-for-sixth-year/7761642">world’s most liveable city</a>. This is no doubt due in large part to the excellent public domain Melbourne offers. Its parks and leafy suburbs provide green amenity, and the city has great public programs through its libraries, cultural buildings and an ongoing calendar of events.</p>
<p>However, Melbourne is <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookup/3218.0Media%20Release12014-15">growing rapidly</a> in a way that threatens this overall <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/liveability-1375">liveability</a>. </p>
<p>The density of existing suburbs is increasing largely through the unco-ordinated development of small “mum-and-dad” developer-builders that replace one house with two or three. This ad-hoc development pattern is eroding the amenity and character of the suburbs. For instance, established tree canopies and gardens are <a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-trees-leave-the-outer-suburbs-out-in-the-heat-33299">gradually being lost</a>, to be <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-higher-density-city-development-leave-urban-forests-out-on-a-limb-57106">replaced by concreted areas</a>. </p>
<p>At the same time, large housing developments are being <a href="https://theconversation.com/back-to-the-drawing-board-for-australian-urban-planning-22287">built on newly subdivided land on Melbourne’s fringe</a>. These often lack essential services as well as public and cultural spaces and programs. </p>
<p>The combination of these development approaches is threatening overall city liveability. </p>
<p>Debates in our city about housing futures, including themes of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/housing-affordability-7820">affordability</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/sustainable-design-7">sustainability</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/urban-resilience-28401">resilience</a>, are increasingly considering wider notions of amenity and services. It is important to shift the tenor of this discussion further. This requires that issues of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/public-space-10653">public space</a> and public domain be placed at the centre of debate and action.</p>
<h2>Global agenda shifts course</h2>
<p>Many governments and international organisations, such as the UN, and non-governmental organisations are moving in this direction. </p>
<p>While still foregrounding housing as a basic human right and a central element in city-building, these bodies are looking to provide expanded solutions for increasing populations and urbanisation. Their focus is on public space, amenity, essential service provision and mobility.</p>
<p>This broadening of the debate was evident at the recent 20-yearly <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/habitat-iii-26850">Habitat III</a> <a href="https://habitat3.org/">conference</a> I attended in Quito, Ecuador. Two important shifts from previous housing-focused directions were noticeable. </p>
<p>The first difference was the conference themes. Housing themes were were intertwined with themes around essential services and public space as an essential combination for successful city-making. </p>
<p>As a conference observer-participant, it was fascinating to watch a wide range of presentations by organisations from all over the world maintain a sustained focus on the importance of public space, public domain and amenity. </p>
<p>The shared vision of the <a href="https://habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/">New Urban Agenda</a> adopted at Habitat III illustrates this:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We envisage cities and human settlements that … are participatory, promote civic engagement, engender a sense of belonging and ownership among all their inhabitants, prioritise safe, inclusive, accessible, green and quality public spaces, friendly for families …</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The second interesting shift was the inclusion of developed cities and states into the debate and action. Previously, there had been a strong focus on developing countries and slum revitalisation and reduction. </p>
<p>It was acknowledged that the impacts of activities and actions in one country, whether planned or otherwise, go beyond jurisdictional boundaries. This was made clear, for instance, in conversations about climate change and urban development. Activities involving countries such as China, India or the US may have an impact not only at the national level but also on the globalised economy.</p>
<h2>What are the local lessons?</h2>
<p>Locally, we can take some cues from these international shifts toward more inclusive urban agendas. In Melbourne, the city faces ongoing growth in high-density living, with apartments and subdivisions rapidly rising across the city. It is imperative to understand why public and cultural spaces as well as quality amenity and services are vital to our city’s success. </p>
<p>We must also recognise that we need to design our homes and other spaces in the larger-scale context of the city.</p>
<p>Rather than looking at developments in isolation, we need to consider their connection with the whole environment and in relation to a range of pertinent issues. These include population growth, climate change, changing family demographics and resource limitations. We need to design for long-term sustainability rather than short-term gain.</p>
<p>In addition to increasing our focus on integrated models locally, it is important to become more active across international boundaries in our region, particularly in Southeast Asia. Projects being developed at Monash University focus on adapting local knowledge and expertise in integrated urban models to the slum contexts of Indonesia and Fiji.</p>
<p>By helping to create sustainable and resilient city-making processes in our region, we can contribute to a global debate and action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69549/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diego Ramírez-Lovering receives funding from the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities. </span></em></p>The increasing global focus on essential services and public space as a key combination for successful city-making is relevant to fast-growing Australian cities too.Diego Ramírez-Lovering, Head of the Department of Architecture, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/689822016-12-05T23:29:08Z2016-12-05T23:29:08ZWhen planning falls short: the challenges of informal settlements<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146530/original/image-20161118-19352-uji0xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Meeting the challenges of informal settlements, such as this one in Caracas, Venezuela, calls for integrated approaches that cut across urban scales and disciplines.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hesam Kamalipour</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://habitat3.org/wp-content/uploads/event_files/8tGW3tCTvOuowQewN3.pdf">Informal settlements</a> house around <a href="http://www.urbangateway.org/system/files/habitat-iii-issue-paper-22_informal-settlements-2.0.pdf">one-quarter of the world’s urban population</a>. This means roughly <a href="https://www2.habitat3.org/pretoria">1 billion</a> urban dwellers live in settlements that have emerged outside of the state’s control.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/habitat-iii-the-biggest-conference-youve-probably-never-heard-of-63499">Habitat III</a> conference in Quito in October recognised informal settlements as a <a href="http://www.urbangateway.org/system/files/habitat-iii-issue-paper-22_informal-settlements-2.0.pdf">critical issue</a> for sustainable urban development. But how did informal settlements come to make up such a large part of the world’s cities?</p>
<h2>Resorting to informal housing</h2>
<p>Rates of urbanisation can fluctuate rapidly and be hard to predict. This makes planning for urban growth a challenge, especially in developing countries, <a href="http://www.urbangateway.org/system/files/habitat-iii-issue-paper-22_informal-settlements-2.0.pdf">where more than 90% of urban growth</a> is occurring. When data or government capacity is limited, housing shortages often result. </p>
<p>With formal housing too expensive or unavailable, urban migrants must improvise. Many resort to informal housing.</p>
<p>Informal settlements are generally undocumented or hidden on official maps. This is because the state usually sees them as temporary or illegal. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146645/original/image-20161119-19365-1xhv4l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146645/original/image-20161119-19365-1xhv4l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146645/original/image-20161119-19365-1xhv4l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146645/original/image-20161119-19365-1xhv4l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146645/original/image-20161119-19365-1xhv4l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146645/original/image-20161119-19365-1xhv4l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146645/original/image-20161119-19365-1xhv4l7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Informal settlements are here to stay: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hesam Kamalipour, Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over the past 50 years, governments have tried to deal with these areas in a number of ways. <a href="http://uni.unhabitat.org/thematic-hubs/informal-urbanism/">Strategies</a> have included denial, tolerance, formalisation, demolition and displacement. </p>
<p>While efforts to improve settlements and anticipate future ones are becoming more common, the desire for eradication persists in many cities. Forced evictions in various parts of the world are <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-habitat-iii-defend-the-human-right-to-the-city-57576">putting the rights of informal settlement dwellers at risk</a>.</p>
<p>Over time, however, it has been recognised that poverty and inequality cannot be simply eradicated through demolition or eviction. In the developing world, one-third of the urban population <a href="http://www.urbangateway.org/system/files/habitat-iii-issue-paper-22_informal-settlements-2.0.pdf">now lives in slums</a>. In Africa, the proportion is 62%. </p>
<p>Many cities are looking for alternatives that formalise these areas through incremental, on-site upgrading. In addition to offering effective protection against forced evictions, it is critical to provide access to basic services, public facilities and inclusive public spaces.</p>
<p>We need to adopt integrated approaches that cut across urban scales and disciplines. These need to involve stakeholders from government, citizens and other organisations. Design thinking is essential in this process to meet the challenges of urbanisation.</p>
<h2>The role of the New Urban Agenda</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://habitat3.org/">Habitat III</a> conference <a href="https://theconversation.com/habitat-iii-is-over-but-will-its-new-urban-agenda-transform-the-worlds-cities-67432">adopted</a> a <a href="https://habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/">New Urban Agenda</a> for the United Nations. This document presents a road map for sustainable urban development until Habitat IV in 2036.</p>
<p>While the quality of life for some informal settlement dwellers has improved over recent decades, growing inequality pushes more people into informal housing. As a result, the growth rate of informal settlements often outstrips upgrading processes. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146639/original/image-20161118-19340-1ft2fj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146639/original/image-20161118-19340-1ft2fj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146639/original/image-20161118-19340-1ft2fj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146639/original/image-20161118-19340-1ft2fj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146639/original/image-20161118-19340-1ft2fj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146639/original/image-20161118-19340-1ft2fj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146639/original/image-20161118-19340-1ft2fj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inequality is both social and spatial in nature across cities such as Bangkok, Thailand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hesam Kamalipour, Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The UN Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) was one of the key agencies involved in Habitat III. Since Habitat II, UN-Habitat has worked extensively on <a href="http://unhabitat.org/urban-themes/housing-slum-upgrading/">housing and slum upgrading</a>. The New Urban Agenda incorporates lessons from this process. </p>
<p>An example is the need for innovative small investment models for informal housing and their inhabitants’ transport needs. The agenda also acknowledges the informal settlements located in hazard-prone areas. Their inhabitants often need more help with reducing the risks and building resilience. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Dealing with informal settlements is an issue of inequality. This inequality is both social and spatial in nature, across cities worldwide.</p>
<p>It is problematic that spatial thinking <a href="https://habitat3.org/programme/designing-the-urban-age/">does not have a high profile</a> in the New Urban Agenda. While urban design by itself cannot reduce social inequality and urban poverty, much can be learned from <a href="http://www.elementalchile.cl/wp-content/uploads/111000_DESIGN-WITH-THE-OTHER-90_CITIES_LOW.pdf">cutting-edge practices</a> that integrate design thinking into upgrading informal settlements. </p>
<p>One key lesson is that incremental housing (a step-by-step process of upgrading) can be a <a href="http://www.elementalchile.cl/en/projects/abc-of-incremental-housing/">critical part</a> of the solution. Incrementalism allows informal housing to be adapted over time. It also means community engagement is central to governments’ handling of informal settlements. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146643/original/image-20161119-19371-8adtj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146643/original/image-20161119-19371-8adtj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146643/original/image-20161119-19371-8adtj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146643/original/image-20161119-19371-8adtj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146643/original/image-20161119-19371-8adtj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146643/original/image-20161119-19371-8adtj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146643/original/image-20161119-19371-8adtj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Incremental, on-site upgrading, such as the Slum Rehabilitation Project in Pune, India, relies on a sophisticated understanding of informal settlement forms and adaptations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hesam Kamalipour, Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another learning is that evidence-based, multi-scale and multidisciplinary approaches are essential to tackle the challenges of informal settlements. Such integrated approaches intervene at multiple scales to provide a network of public open space and access to affordable public transport and facilities.</p>
<p>Most informal settlements – but for a few exceptions located in hazardous areas – need to be upgraded incrementally and on the same site.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146644/original/image-20161119-19375-zvnb1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146644/original/image-20161119-19375-zvnb1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146644/original/image-20161119-19375-zvnb1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146644/original/image-20161119-19375-zvnb1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=605&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146644/original/image-20161119-19375-zvnb1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146644/original/image-20161119-19375-zvnb1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146644/original/image-20161119-19375-zvnb1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=760&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Integrated approaches work at multiple scales to provide access to public space and affordable public transport and facilities, as seen in the Northeastern Urban Integration Project, Medellin, Colombia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hesam Kamalipour, Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Are we prepared?</h2>
<p>When it comes to the critical role of design thinking in the process of urbanisation, built environment professionals need to be prepared to tackle the challenge of informal settlements. </p>
<p>Incremental and on-site upgrading relies on a sophisticated understanding of informal settlement forms and adaptations. </p>
<p>Universities have a key role in equipping future built environment professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to meet the real challenges of urbanisation. Informal settlements are here to stay. </p>
<p>To better integrate these settlements into cities globally, they need to be recognised – politically, socially and spatially – and made visible through the gaze of mapping and research.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68982/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hesam Kamalipour receives IPRS and APA scholarships from the Australian Government. He is also a Doctoral Academy member at the Melbourne Social Equity Institute (MSEI).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexei Trundle receives research funding from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and an Australian Postgraduate Award from the Australian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>André Stephan receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayley Henderson receives an APA scholarship from the Australian Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Lowe receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the National Environmental Science Programme. </span></em></p>Informal settlements are often undocumented or hidden on official maps, but they house about a billion people worldwide. Their existence demands a more sophisticated approach to urban development.Hesam Kamalipour, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant in Urban Design, The University of MelbourneAlexei Trundle, PhD Candidate, Australian-German Climate & Energy College, The University of MelbourneAndré Stephan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneHayley Henderson, PhD Candidate in Urban Planning, The University of MelbourneMelanie Lowe, Research Fellow, McCaughey VicHealth Community Wellbeing Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/689842016-11-30T19:19:54Z2016-11-30T19:19:54ZOur cities need to go on a resource diet<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146492/original/image-20161118-19334-15v5qqu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Think of all the resources needed to transform Shenzhen, a fishing town 35 years ago, into a megacity of more than 10 million people. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AShenzhen_Skyline_from_Nanshan.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cities are the epicentres of human activity. They cover <a href="http://unhabitat.org/urban-themes/climate-change/">less than 2% of the earth’s land surface</a> but generate <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/urbanization/urban-world-mapping-the-economic-power-of-cities">about 70% of GDP</a> and house <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-urbanization-prospects.html">more than half</a> the human population. The importance of cities is only going to increase in coming decades as another <a href="https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2014-Report.pdf">2.5 billion people move to urban centres</a>. </p>
<p>This intense production and consumption requires huge quantities of natural resources. Cities account for more than 60% of global energy use, 70% of greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of global waste. Current practices are depleting the Earth’s finite resources, changing its climate and damaging its natural ecosystems. With our planetary life support system <a href="http://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries/planetary-boundaries/about-the-research/the-nine-planetary-boundaries.html">in the red</a>, we need to put cities on a serious resource diet.</p>
<h2>Resources efficiency in the New Urban Agenda</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www2.habitat3.org/file/535859/view/588897">New Urban Agenda</a> adopted at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/habitat-iii-the-biggest-conference-youve-probably-never-heard-of-63499">Habitat III</a> conference outlines a vision for sustainable urban development. These <a href="https://theconversation.com/habitat-iii-is-over-but-will-its-new-urban-agenda-transform-the-worlds-cities-67432">global guidelines</a>, along with the related UN <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-worlds-new-sustainable-development-goals-47262">Sustainable Development Goals</a>, recognise the need to use resources more efficiently. </p>
<p>Habitat III included a <a href="https://habitat3.org/programme/rapid-urbanization-and-material-usage-resource-efficiency-through-sustainable-construction-and-urban-planning-2/">number of sessions</a> on resource efficiency and associated tools and <a href="http://www.unep.org/SBCI/pdfs/Cities_and_Buildings-UNEP_DTIE_Initiatives_and_projects_hd.pdf">initiatives</a>. Organisations such as <a href="http://www.unep.org/">UNEP</a>, <a href="http://unhabitat.org/">UN-Habitat</a> and the <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm">European Commission</a> and its <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en">research centres</a> typically led these events. The New Urban Agenda includes many references to efficiency and reduced consumption in cities. </p>
<p>We must now act urgently to translate words into actions. This will ease pressure on ecosystems and produce a range of co-benefits, including health, wellbeing and resilience.</p>
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<h2>How do we create more resource-efficient cities?</h2>
<p>Cities use resources directly, such as burning fossil fuels for electricity and transport. However, indirect uses, such as water for growing food crops, are much wider-reaching. </p>
<p>It can be overwhelming to consider the resources used for all goods, processes and infrastructure in cities. Yet it is possible to measure this using a <a href="http://watersfoundation.org/systems-thinking/definitions/">systems approach</a>. Instead of considering components in isolation, the entire city is considered as an open system, connected to others. </p>
<p>This perspective ensures a much broader understanding of complex relationships between scales, resource flows, the built environment, socio-economic factors and ecological outcomes.</p>
<p>There are tools that embrace a systems perspective. For example, the <a href="https://urbanmetabolism.weblog.tudelft.nl/what-is-urban-metabolism/">urban metabolism</a> approach considers cities as ecosystems, across which flows of resources (such as energy or water) are measured. <a href="http://www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/Consumption/StandardsandLabels/MeasuringSustainability/LifeCycleAssessment/tabid/101348/Default.aspx">Life cycle assessment</a> measures resource use through the entire production, consumption and degradation process of a good or service.</p>
<p>These approaches have been successfully applied at various scales such as <a href="http://metabolismofcities.org/datavisualizations/1-the-urban-ecosystem-of-brussels">cities</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2013.06.003">neighbourhoods</a> and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.05.076">buildings</a>. This reveals that we are using more resources than shown by traditional assessment techniques (see this example on <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-energy-saving-homes-often-use-more-energy-20589">building energy efficiency regulations</a>). </p>
<p>But measurement without action has no impact on the ground. How can these tools be used to transform our cities?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147099/original/image-20161123-19722-1thf46b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/147099/original/image-20161123-19722-1thf46b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147099/original/image-20161123-19722-1thf46b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147099/original/image-20161123-19722-1thf46b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147099/original/image-20161123-19722-1thf46b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=701&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147099/original/image-20161123-19722-1thf46b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=701&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/147099/original/image-20161123-19722-1thf46b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=701&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Recent research enables us to map the quantities of materials in buildings and predict when and where we can reuse or recycle these. Here a map of estimated steel quantities in each building of Melbourne, Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Source: authors' own; left: Google and TerraMetrics; right: Stephan, A. and Athanassiadis, A. (In Press) Quantifying and mapping embodied environmental requirements of urban building stocks, Building and Environment</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many initiatives are targeting urban resource efficiency. The <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy">circular economy paradigm</a> is a good example, where materials are reused, upcycled and recycled. It demonstrates that waste is a human concept and not an inherent property of cities. Waste does not exist in natural systems. </p>
<p>A range of projects by <a href="http://www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/Policy/ResourceEfficientCities/tabid/55541/">UNEP</a>, the <a href="http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/resource-efficient-cities-vital-step">European Commission</a> and other organisations support local resource efficiency initiatives and encourage local governments to implement related regulations. Blogging, data visualisation and disseminating research all help promote the adoption of resource efficiency concepts. In addition to the pioneering work of groups such as <a href="http://metabolismofcities.org/">metabolism of cities</a>, the uptake of <a href="https://theodi.org/about">open data</a> is helping with this.</p>
<h2>Learning from those who already live on less</h2>
<p>Informal settlements provide interesting lessons in resource efficiency. Construction materials in these settlements are typically not very durable. However, because they are in short supply, they are constantly reused or repurposed, almost never discarded. </p>
<p>Other residents often reuse replaced materials, such as metal sheets, or store them for later use. This practice avoids additional resource use to produce new materials.</p>
<p>Although informal slum areas are often the focus of “<a href="unhabitat.org/urban-initiatives/initiatives-programmes/participatory-slum-upgrading/">upgrading</a>” and improvement, lessons learnt in these settings can enhance material flow management and reduce waste elsewhere in cities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146903/original/image-20161122-24533-29505h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/146903/original/image-20161122-24533-29505h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146903/original/image-20161122-24533-29505h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146903/original/image-20161122-24533-29505h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146903/original/image-20161122-24533-29505h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146903/original/image-20161122-24533-29505h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/146903/original/image-20161122-24533-29505h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Informal settlements like Karail next to Banani Lake in Dhaka, Bangladesh, can offer lessons in resource efficiency, waste reduction and material flow management to most cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexei Trundle</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Co-benefits of resource efficiency</h2>
<p>More resource-efficient cities tend to result in better health outcomes. For instance, encouraging walking, cycling and public transport instead of car use can reduce fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30067-8">improve population health through increased physical activity</a>. </p>
<p>Food systems that promote consumption of fresh, local produce can benefit both the environment and nutrition. Energy-efficient housing reduces energy and water use and can <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.017">improve occupants’ health</a> at the same time.</p>
<p>Resource efficiency can also contribute to urban resilience. <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=nbs">Nature-based solutions</a> use relatively few non-renewable materials to increase resilience to environmental change and natural disasters. For example, a park can be designed to be flooded during storms or a tsunami, reduce the urban heat island effect, support urban ecosystems and provide areas for community activities, recreation and urban agriculture.</p>
<p>Efficiency can also ensure that redundancy – <a href="http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/320741468036883799/pdf/758450PUB0EPI0001300PUBDATE02028013.pdf">a core principle of resilience</a> – is built into urban systems. This means resources can be repurposed in the event of an unanticipated shock or stress. For example, during the recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-caused-south-australias-state-wide-blackout-66268">blackout</a> in South Australia, a household with solar battery storage was able to <a href="http://techau.com.au/tesla-powerwall-delivers-12-hrs-of-power-during-sa-blackout/">maintain power for 12 hours</a> “off grid”. </p>
<h2>Working together for better solutions</h2>
<p>Although these steps move cities in the right direction, more action from governments, the private sector and civil society is needed to transform our growing urban footprints.</p>
<p>Focusing solely on resource efficiency may neglect opportunities to generate co-benefits across sectors and will not provide robust solutions. We need to look at the entire city as a system and work together, across all disciplines, with effective and strong governance structures that support integrated policy definition and long-term implementation. If we don’t, we might simply shift a problem from one area to another, increase resource demand elsewhere, or create social divisions and tensions. </p>
<p>Strong leadership, political stability, effective institutions and awareness-raising among citizens are vital factors for success. Urban resource efficiency is critical, but it should be considered along all other pressing issues highlighted in the New Urban Agenda.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/68984/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>André Stephan receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexei Trundle receives research funding from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and an Australian Postgraduate Award from the Australian Government.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dave Kendal receives funding from the Clean Air and Urban Landscape hub of the National Environmental Science Program</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayley Henderson receives an APA scholarship from the Australian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hesam Kamalipour receives IPRS and APA scholarships from the Australian Government. He is also a Doctoral Academy member at the Melbourne Social Equity Institute (MSEI).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Lowe receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the National Environmental Science Programme.</span></em></p>Our cities need to become much more efficient not just to conserve precious resources but to improve the economy, wellbeing and resilience to environmental change and disasters.André Stephan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneAlexei Trundle, PhD Candidate, Australian-German Climate & Energy College, The University of MelbourneDave Kendal, Researcher, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (ARCUE), The University of MelbourneHayley Henderson, PhD Candidate in Urban Planning, The University of MelbourneHesam Kamalipour, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant in Urban Design, The University of MelbourneMelanie Lowe, Research Fellow, McCaughey VicHealth Community Wellbeing Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/674322016-10-25T06:12:47Z2016-10-25T06:12:47ZHabitat III is over, but will its New Urban Agenda transform the world’s cities?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143039/original/image-20161025-28420-ry8nwu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Quito lights up for Habitat III. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexei Trundle</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www2.habitat3.org/file/535859/view/588897">New Urban Agenda</a> was officially adopted in Quito, Ecuador in the last plenary of the <a href="https://habitat3.org">Habitat III</a> conference.</p>
<p>The agenda provides a <a href="https://theconversation.com/habitat-iii-the-biggest-conference-youve-probably-never-heard-of-63499">20-year “roadmap”</a> to guide sustainable urban development globally. </p>
<p>The text of the New Urban Agenda itself was agreed well before Habitat III at the UN General Assembly <a href="http://sdg.iisd.org/events/informal-negotiations-on-habitat-iii-outcome-document/?rdr=sd.iisd.org">in September</a>, during an extraordinary informal negotiation session that lasted for <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/09/final-burst-talks-results-consensus-draft-new-urban-agenda">more than 30 hours</a>.</p>
<p>This allowed the focus in Quito to shift towards commitment and action. Under the banner of the “<a href="https://habitat3.org/quito-implementation-plan">Quito Implementation Plan</a>”, commitments ranged from the development and enhancement of <a href="http://unhabitat.org/mayor-sally-lee-sorsogon-launches-addressing-climate-change-in-national-urban-policy-publication-at-habitat-iii/">national urban policies</a>, to integration between <a href="http://www.un.org/pga/71/2016/10/16/world-mayors-assembly-of-habitat-iii/">different levels of government</a>.</p>
<p>The conference also saw announcements of new sources of <a href="https://habitat3.org/programme/habitat-for-humanitys-launch-of-commitments-under-the-quito-implementation-plan/">international development assistance</a> for countries to provide better access to housing and shelter for millions more people worldwide.</p>
<h2>Sustainable urban development for all</h2>
<p><a href="https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/Publications/Files/WUP2014-Highlights.pdf">More than half</a> of the world’s population now lives in cities. So it makes sense that the New Urban Agenda will significantly shape the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld">UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development</a>.</p>
<p>The 2030 agenda is built around a series of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Most relevant to the New Urban Agenda is <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/">SDG 11</a>, which aims to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. However, the New Urban Agenda has been <a href="http://www.citiesalliance.org/sites/citiesalliance.org/files/Opportunities%20for%20the%20New%20Urban%20Agenda.pdf">criticised</a> for lacking direct links to the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg11">targets</a> set out within Goal 11.</p>
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<p>Unlike their predecessors the <a href="http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/goals/">Millennium Development Goals</a>, the SDGs apply to all UN members states equally. </p>
<p>While most of the world’s rapid urban growth is in the Global South, challenges abound in the cities of Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and East Asia. In these regions, upgrading existing infrastructure and avoiding “<a href="https://www.sei-international.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-WP-2015-11-C40-Cities-carbon-lock-in.pdf">carbon lock-in</a>” - where old, carbon-intensive structures prevent the adopting of lower carbon alternatives – will require significant transformative efforts.</p>
<p>Much of Habitat III focused on the application of new technologies and the harvesting of big data, particularly in these established urban centres. Under the umbrella of <a href="http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/articles/data-driven-cities-a-key-to-the-habitat-iii-new-urban-agenda/85843">Smart Cities</a>, using open data networks for better urban planning provided an optimistic, technology-based future for cities. However, questions about the security, ethics, and oversight of large-scale information gathering remain largely <a href="http://cityminded.org/smart-technology-ethics-15967">unanswered</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142709/original/image-20161021-1763-oabs20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142709/original/image-20161021-1763-oabs20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142709/original/image-20161021-1763-oabs20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=695&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142709/original/image-20161021-1763-oabs20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=695&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142709/original/image-20161021-1763-oabs20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=695&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142709/original/image-20161021-1763-oabs20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142709/original/image-20161021-1763-oabs20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142709/original/image-20161021-1763-oabs20.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Melbourne, Australia, is consistently rated as the world’s ‘most liveable city’, but it’s also very carbon intensive.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Alexei Trundle</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Also included in the New Urban Agenda are renewed efforts to help developing countries urbanise. These build on earlier work under the <a href="http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/goals/">Millennium Development Goals</a> and <a href="http://www.un.org/en/development/devagenda/habitat.shtml">Habitat II</a>. Related commitments focus on emerging concepts, such as <a href="http://www.iclei.org/details/article/iclei-launches-resilient-cities-report-2016.html">urban resilience</a> and <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/commentary/2016/10/placemaking-and-promise-new-urban-agenda">inclusive public spaces</a>.</p>
<p>Commitments from individual countries under the Quito Implementation Plan <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/10/official-commitments-new-urban-agenda-slow-start?utm_source=Citiscope&utm_campaign=4901066977-Mailchimp_Quito_2016_10_19&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ce992dbfef-4901066977-118056697">were underwhelming</a>. Instead, civil society and academia led the way with a range of commitments to <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/10/habitat-iii-ngo-makes-major-commitments-strengthen-access-housing">new initiatives</a>. This included a new $15 million <a href="https://habitat3.org/programme/habitat-for-humanitys-launch-of-commitments-under-the-quito-implementation-plan/">Terwilliger Centre for Innovation in Shelter</a> funded by Habitat for Humanity, and $2.3 million by the <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/10/fund-seeks-strengthen-climate-action-cities">C40 Cities Finance Facility</a> to upscale urban climate action. A full list of commitments to the Quito Implementation Plan can be found on the <a href="https://habitat3.org/quito-implementation-plan">Habitat III website</a>. </p>
<p>Despite references to <a href="http://unctad.org/en/pages/aldc/Least%20Developed%20Countries/UN-list-of-Least-Developed-Countries.aspx">Least Developed Countries</a> and <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/sids">Small Island Developing States</a> in the agenda, support for sustainable urbanisation in areas such as the Pacific was limited. As noted by one Pacific delegate: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are not enough people talking about the Pacific, and the Pacific’s problems with urbanisation. We don’t have the means, but we are the ones being heavily impacted by disasters and climate change.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The role of partnerships between city authorities and universities in the Global South and their more developed neighbours was also strongly emphasised. UN-Habitat is soon to release a Higher Education <a href="https://habitat3.org/programme/hesi-global-meeting-of-universities-action-plan-for-universities-to-maximize-impact-of-higher-education-in-the-sustainability-of-urbanization/">Action Plan</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142715/original/image-20161021-1763-n6gba7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142715/original/image-20161021-1763-n6gba7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142715/original/image-20161021-1763-n6gba7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142715/original/image-20161021-1763-n6gba7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142715/original/image-20161021-1763-n6gba7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142715/original/image-20161021-1763-n6gba7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142715/original/image-20161021-1763-n6gba7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Participants in a training session on urban climate action planning in Small Island Developing States.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bernhard Barth, UN-Habitat</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Was Habitat III a success?</h2>
<p>Views on the success of the conference varied among Habitat III’s <a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=55360">36,000</a> participants. This was perhaps inevitable given the contested nature of cities and urban space.</p>
<p>A clear highlight was the participation of countless young Quito residents. Many attended side events and UN-Habitat’s <a href="https://habitat3.org/programme/children-and-youth-assembly/">Youth Assembly</a>. The continued growth in the role of civil society, mayors and advocacy groups is a positive trend that should be supported.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142745/original/image-20161022-1773-nb4d93.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142745/original/image-20161022-1773-nb4d93.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142745/original/image-20161022-1773-nb4d93.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142745/original/image-20161022-1773-nb4d93.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142745/original/image-20161022-1773-nb4d93.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142745/original/image-20161022-1773-nb4d93.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142745/original/image-20161022-1773-nb4d93.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Young Quiteñas and Quiteños participate in a UN-Habitat Training Session.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bernhard Barth, UN-Habitat</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The parallel <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/10/alternative-forums-offer-urban-visions-outside-habitat-iii">Alternative Habitat</a> forums provided a platform for challenging some of the consensus-based narratives.</p>
<p>Bridging these official and unofficial events was the launch of <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/top-down-bottom-up-urban-design">the Quito Papers</a>. Authored by a trio of world-renowned urban experts, The Quito Papers provide an alternative vision for cities of the future. </p>
<p>Unlike the <a href="http://www.getty.edu/conservation/publications_resources/research_resources/charters/charter04.html">Charter of Athens</a>, which likened cities to machines, the Quito Papers consider cities as adaptive and evolving open systems. These papers urge decision-makers to give cities back to the people that inhabit them, and promote equality and socially interactive spaces.</p>
<h2>Towards Habitat IV</h2>
<p>All countries will need to step up their commitments if the aspirations set out in Habitat III are to be achieved. Key concepts, such as integrated planning and models for local-national government cooperation, will need further work. </p>
<p>Although Habitat IV will not take place until 2036, a four-yearly review process has been agreed upon, building on the biannual <a href="http://unhabitat.org/wuf/">World Urban Forum</a>. </p>
<p>Also included in the New Urban Agenda is a review of UN-Habitat’s role in its implementation. It is not yet known whether a new “<a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/08/un-cities-rumoured-proposal-gains-steam">UN-Cities</a>” entity will emerge when the review concludes in 2017.</p>
<p>From a planning perspective, 20 years is a short space of time to change the trajectory of global cities. However, the unplanned changes in our cities over the next two decades are almost equally unimaginable. </p>
<p>With the New Urban Agenda as a road map, it is hoped that we can rise to the challenge of creating more liveable, resilient and sustainable cities. Because without global urban transformation, we cannot achieve sustainable development as a whole.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67432/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexei Trundle receives research funding from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and an APA scholarship from the Australian Government.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>André Stephan receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayley Henderson receives an APA scholarship from the Australian Government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hesam Kamalipour receives IPRS and APA scholarships from the Australian Government. He is also a Doctoral Academy member at the Melbourne Social Equity Institute (MSEI).
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Lowe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nation states, UN bodies and civil society gathered in Quito for Habitat III to adopt the New Urban Agenda. So how will the UN’s new global urban roadmap transform our cities over the next 20 years?Alexei Trundle, PhD Candidate, Australian-German Climate & Energy College, The University of MelbourneAndré Stephan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneHayley Henderson, PhD Candidate in Urban Planning, The University of MelbourneHesam Kamalipour, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant in Urban Design, The University of MelbourneMelanie Lowe, Research Fellow, McCaughey VicHealth Community Wellbeing Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/661462016-10-21T16:38:03Z2016-10-21T16:38:03ZHere’s what happened at Habitat III – the world’s biggest conference on cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142695/original/image-20161021-1769-15fgqzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-habitat-iii-and-why-does-it-matter-a-beginners-guide-to-the-new-urban-agenda-65500">Habitat III</a> – the United Nation’s global conference on the future of cities – has come to a close. About 30,000 people gathered in Quito, Ecuador, to discuss the key issues facing cities today and sign off on the <a href="https://www2.habitat3.org/bitcache/97ced11dcecef85d41f74043195e5472836f6291?vid=588897&disposition=inline&op=view">New Urban Agenda</a> – the global strategy which will guide urban development over the next 20 years. </p>
<p>For four days, the Casa de la Cultura Benjamín Carrión – where most of the conference events took place – buzzed with action. A range of diverse voices was heard in the conference precinct: from high ranking UN conference officials, to activists who fight every day for a more just city. UN-Habitat can take credit for a diverse and generally inclusive conference which delivered an optimistic – though somewhat ambiguous – outlook on the future of cities. </p>
<h2>An inclusive conference</h2>
<p>Efforts to make the conference inclusive – it was free and anyone could register – materialised in a big jamboree of all kinds of people interested in urban affairs (as well as complaints about long queues). The overall message of the conference emphasised the need to address social, economic and material inequalities in cities and urban areas. </p>
<p>Disadvantaged groups were widely represented at Habitat III. Most side events included representatives of the urban poor, such as organisations like <a href="http://knowyourcity.info/">Shack/Slum Dwellers International</a>. </p>
<p>International organisations which had previously ignored the significance of cities in international development – such as <a href="http://www.unido.org/unido-united-nations-industrial-development-organization.html">UNIDO</a> and the <a href="http://www.redcross.org.uk/">Red Cross</a> – pleaded to join an increasingly popular (and highly lucrative) urban field. </p>
<p>Yet international experts often appeared oblivious to the enormous progress that the poorest urban communities have made to organise themselves and finance their futures. During the sessions, questions from Ecuadorian students raised eyebrows, pointing towards unexamined assumptions that international experts take for granted – such as <a href="https://ayonadatta.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/what-is-smart-about-smart-cities-a-response-from-the-global-south/">what makes a city “smart”</a>. </p>
<h2>The New Urban Agenda</h2>
<p>The main outcome of Habitat III was that UN nation states agreed on the New Urban Agenda (NUA): a non-binding document, which will guide policies over the next 20 years with the goal of making cities safer, resilient and sustainable and their amenities more inclusive. </p>
<p>The foundation for the 24-page document was <a href="http://unhabitat.org/issue-papers-and-policy-units/">a collection of papers</a> written by six policy units, made up of experts from around the world. The NUA itself emerged from a consultative process, whereby UN-Habitat collected the inputs of a diverse community of urban scholars, leaders, planners and activists. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142704/original/image-20161021-1796-5564oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142704/original/image-20161021-1796-5564oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142704/original/image-20161021-1796-5564oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142704/original/image-20161021-1796-5564oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142704/original/image-20161021-1796-5564oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142704/original/image-20161021-1796-5564oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142704/original/image-20161021-1796-5564oq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">UN-Habitat director Joan Clos in action.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98168367@N06/29151347403/sizes/l">Ministry of Natural Resources - Rwanda/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The key message of the NUA was “leaving no one behind”. This points towards a vision for the future of cities, where diverse urban aspirations of prosperity and sustainable development are linked by a desire for equality. </p>
<p>Yet the document did not escape criticism. Its reliance on experts generated scepticism about whether the NUA could actually integrate grassroots perspectives. Meanwhile, the consensual approach – which involved redrafting the NUA a total of five times – has led to the avoidance of polemic issues. For example, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/oct/19/un-new-urban-agenda-inclusive-cities-lgbtq-rights-habitat-3">LGBTQ rights were excluded</a> from the NUA at the request of a group of 17 countries, led by Belarus. </p>
<p>The impact of the NUA will depend on how it is put into practice. Neither the NUA nor Habitat III have clarified how the ideals outlined should be achieved. So for the moment, the text can be thought of as a series of important goals – the consequences of which will only become evident during implementation. </p>
<h2>Urban leaders</h2>
<p>The role of city governments in implementing the NUA was one of the big issues discussed at Habitat III. The <a href="https://habitat3.org/programme/world-mayors-assembly/">World Mayors’ Assembly</a> which preceded Habitat III asserted two key demands. One was that city, metropolitan and regional governments <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/05/cities-clamour-seat-table-un-countries-club">should have a seat</a> at UN negotiation tables and be able to take decisions without the interference of national governments. </p>
<p>The other was that mayors want direct access to international finance. Some proposed that 20% to 25% of global finance for development – in instruments such as the Green Climate Fund – should be allocated directly to cities. </p>
<p>But the NUA is created by and for national governments. As a result, it often appears to prioritise the role of national policies which strategically coordinate urban development at the national level. This focus may become an obstacle for local governments seeking to implement the goals. </p>
<h2>The right to the city</h2>
<p>The consensus around the “right to the city” – an idea championed by Ecuador and Brazil – was historical. The “right to the city” generally refers to the capacity of urban citizens to influence processes of urban development, and make a city they want to live in. </p>
<p>Social movements have promoted the “right to the city” to denounce urban processes that generate injustices, such as gentrification, <a href="https://theconversation.com/public-spaces-are-going-private-and-our-cities-will-suffer-60460">privatisation of public spaces</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/vila-autodromo-the-favela-fighting-back-against-rios-olympic-development-52393">forced evictions</a> and the mistreatment of urban refugees. But the inclusion of the “right to the city” in the NUA meant watering it down, because it is not explicitly recognised as a universal human right. Instead, the NUA merely encourages governments to enshrine the right to the city in their laws. </p>
<p>Contradictions are already beginning to emerge around the right to the city. For instance, one representative from the Senegal delegation kicked off a high level round table on financing sustainable urban development by explaining that informal settlements are often situated on high-value land. This value, he argued, can be cashed by local governments if dwellers are willing to relocate. </p>
<p>However, this representative did not explain that this means of gathering finances often entails local governments leading a process of urban gentrification. Research on <a href="https://www.bshf.org/publications/how-people-face-evictions-lessons-from-people-led-initiatives/">forced evictions</a> has documented the tremendous negative impacts that relocation has on the livelihoods and well-being of displaced people. This is just one of many contradictions which will become visible as the NUA is implemented. </p>
<p>Habitat III brought together thought leaders on the future of urban areas, fostering dialogue and collaboration. It will have a lasting impact on efforts to address urbanisation – one of the global challenges of our time. </p>
<p><em>This is part of a series on publicly funded UK research at the UN Habitat III summit in Quito, Ecuador. It is a collaboration between the <a href="http://www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk/">Urban Transformations Network</a>, UK Economic and Social Research Council and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk">The Conversation UK</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66146/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vanesa Castán Broto works for the Bartlett Development Planning Unit, University College London. She receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Funding and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. </span></em></p>As many as 30,000 delegates gathered to decide the future of cities for the next 20 years – here’s how it played out.Vanesa Castán Broto, Senior Lecturer Environment and Sustainable Development, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/666882016-10-21T12:29:56Z2016-10-21T12:29:56ZHow can we make the world’s cities safer for women and girls?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142312/original/image-20161019-20340-1ozc8bl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/">One in three</a> women around the world currently experience gender-based violence. Harmful practices such as trafficking, forced marriage, domestic violence and female genital mutilation occur both in public and in private spaces. Today, these forms of violence are recognised as a major violation of human rights, a public health challenge and one of the clearest forms of gender discrimination. It’s also <a href="http://eau.sagepub.com/content/25/1/65.full.pdf+html">widely acknowledged</a>
that women experience heightened levels of violence in cities. </p>
<p><a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/10/50000-gather-quito-habitat-iii-once-generation-summit-future-cities">Tens of thousands of delegates</a> from right across the globe met in Quito, Ecuador, to discuss the future of cities at the UN’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-habitat-iii-and-why-does-it-matter-a-beginners-guide-to-the-new-urban-agenda-65500">Habitat III</a> conference, where the fifth and final version of the New Urban Agenda was adopted by member states. The document will help to guide urban policy around the world for the next 20 years. Which begs the question: how have women’s voices and gender issues been incorporated into it?</p>
<p>Impressively, with each new draft of this latest document, women’s views are increasingly being taken on board. Consultation took place at a range of levels, with notable contributions from important global networks that fight for women’s rights and gender equality, such as Slum Dwellers International (<a href="http://sdinet.org/sdi-focus/women/">SDI</a>), Women in Informal Employment: Globalising and Organising (<a href="http://wiego.org/">WIEGO</a>) and the <a href="https://huairou.org/">Huairou Commission</a>. </p>
<h2>Living without fear</h2>
<p>From the first draft to the final document, references to women more than doubled from 14 paragraphs to 32, out of 175. The <a href="https://habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/">final document explicitly states</a> that cities should: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal rights in all fields and in leadership at all levels of decision-making, and by ensuring decent work and equal pay for equal work, or work of equal value for all women, as well as preventing and eliminating all forms of discrimination, violence and harassment against women and girls in private and public spaces. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The fact that these commitments explicitly address the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls in public and private spaces, as well as safety and security for women in cities, is a major achievement. </p>
<p>In particular, there are three commitments that have the potential, not just to empower individual women, but also to transform gender power relations in cities. These include <a href="http://workspace.unpan.org/sites/Internet/Documents/UNPAN90435.pdf">land tenure rights</a> for women, which gives women individual titles to land. When integrated into land regulation procedures, measures like these can transform gender power relations because it means women no longer have to depend on men in order to access land, as seen in <a href="https://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/what-we-do/where-we-work/latin-america-and-caribbean/brazil/secure-land-tenure-women-and-vulnerable">Recife, Brazil</a>. </p>
<p>Another <a href="https://habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/">key commitment</a> relates to informal economy opportunities for women in terms of “livelihoods, working conditions, income security, legal and social protection”. Access to an independent income for those working in the informal economy – such as waste-pickers and recyclers – empowers women, while successfully contesting legal rights can change structural power relations by <a href="http://wiego.org/informal-economy/occupational-groups/waste-pickers">reducing their dependence</a> on men for financial resources. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142642/original/image-20161021-1785-iu6qba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142642/original/image-20161021-1785-iu6qba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142642/original/image-20161021-1785-iu6qba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142642/original/image-20161021-1785-iu6qba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142642/original/image-20161021-1785-iu6qba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142642/original/image-20161021-1785-iu6qba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142642/original/image-20161021-1785-iu6qba.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Get rights.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathanstening/25670497336/sizes/l">Jonathan Stening/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The third commitment relates to calls for cities with “public spaces and streets, free from crime and violence, including sexual harassment and gender-based violence”. This empowers women by enhancing their mobility, and access to both education and employment opportunities, which can allow them to <a href="http://eau.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/09/01/0956247816662573.abstract">live more independent lives</a>.</p>
<h2>Watered down</h2>
<p>Yet some measures to address violence against women and girls were diluted throughout the five drafts. The <a href="http://citiscope.org/sites/default/files/h3/Draft_outcome_document_Habitat_III_Conference_May_6_2016.pdf">first draft</a> not only identified the importance of preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls in cities, it also specified how it should be addressed: through a range of measures, including the “investigation, prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators”. </p>
<p>It also called for the provision of services for survivors, recognition “that the treatment of women and girls can be a broader reflection of societal norms” and a commitment to “using education and public awareness campaigns as a further tool against abuse”. </p>
<p>But by the final draft, making places safer for women and girls had become a matter relating merely to the design and management of infrastructure and urban public spaces – for instance, by <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-shouldnt-dismiss-the-idea-of-women-only-carriages-46829">ensuring transport is accessible</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/gender-equality-comes-one-toilet-at-a-time-50700">improving urban sanitation</a>. There was no acknowledgement that many of the problems faced by women and girls are caused by underlying gender inequalities in society. And in the paragraph on urban safety, crime and violence prevention, women are entirely ignored. </p>
<p>Throughout the agenda, women are typically referred to as part of a composite, monolithic and vulnerable group. There are continual references to “age and gender-responsive” interventions – but very little clarity as to what this means or involves in practice. </p>
<p>In fact, only one practical commitment was made, to age and gender-responsive budgeting. This involves strengthening the capacity of national, sub-national and local governments to ensure that there are equal numbers of women represented throughout all state institutions, and to take women’s needs into account in the allocation of state budgets.</p>
<p>Compromises have to be made when agreeing on global agendas and the inclusion of women is complex and contradictory. But if the UN’s agenda is to effectively address issues of violence against women and girls, it needs to clarify the meaning of generic “gender-responsive” commitments, and consider women specifically, rather than as part of a larger group of “vulnerable” citizens. </p>
<p>While design and management can play an important role in forging safer cities, it is essential to move beyond these aspects, in order to transform gender relations in urban spaces around the world over the next 20 years. </p>
<p><em>This is part of a series on publicly funded UK research at the UN Habitat III summit in Quito, Ecuador. It is a collaboration between the <a href="http://www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk/">Urban Transformations Network</a>, UK Economic and Social Research Council and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk">The Conversation UK</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66688/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Moser is Emeritus Professor at the University of Manchester and Editor of 'Gender, asset Accumulation and Just cities (Routledge). She is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Chidren Change Colombia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cathy McIlwaine is Director of the ESRC and Newton Fund Urban Transformations project on ‘Healthy, Secure and Gender Just Cities: Transnational Perspectives on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in Rio de Janeiro and London’. She is a trustee at two organisations: Children Change Colombia and Latin Elephant.</span></em></p>Over the next 20 years, one global strategy will help to shape our cities. Here’s what it says about women.Caroline Moser, Emeritus Professor, University of ManchesterCathy McIlwaine, Professor of Geography, Queen Mary University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/666952016-10-18T10:57:56Z2016-10-18T10:57:56ZHow should we plan the cities of tomorrow?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142159/original/image-20161018-16173-30iu19.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bernd_thaller/15926320948/sizes/l">Bernd Thallar/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UN <a href="http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/2014-revision-world-urbanization-prospects.html">estimates that</a> more than six billion people will live in cities by the year 2045 – compared with fewer than four billion today. But these huge numbers hide subtle complexities. Every city is growing at a different rate, in its own distinctive direction – each one is an open, complex system, which generates cultural, economic and technological innovation by combining new materials with unique histories.</p>
<p>Clearly, there’s no single road map for the future which all cities can follow. But if urban areas are to grow sustainably, as well as coping with scarce resources, global warming, inequality, epidemics and natural disasters, then a global strategy is in order. To this end, scholars, politicians, business people and community representatives have gathered for the UN’s <a href="https://habitat3.org/">Habitat III</a> conference in Quito, Ecuador, to agree on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-habitat-iii-and-why-does-it-matter-a-beginners-guide-to-the-new-urban-agenda-65500">“New Urban Agenda”</a>. </p>
<h2>Where to begin?</h2>
<p>For those attending Habitat III, Brazil, India, China, and South Africa provide some of the best case studies of extreme division and extraordinary innovation in cities. Despite having very different histories, cities in these countries share several features, which make them useful when we want to compare how similar urban processes are playing out around the world. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142170/original/image-20161018-16145-pogg90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142170/original/image-20161018-16145-pogg90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142170/original/image-20161018-16145-pogg90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142170/original/image-20161018-16145-pogg90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142170/original/image-20161018-16145-pogg90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142170/original/image-20161018-16145-pogg90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142170/original/image-20161018-16145-pogg90.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=463&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indian cities at night.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/24354425@N03/16173824128/sizes/l">sjrankin/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Brazil urbanised much earlier than most of Asia and Africa, absorbing more than 80m people into its cities between 1970 and 2000. China has recently caught up; as of 2015, 56% of its population was living in urban areas. India and South Africa are soon to follow: according to <a href="https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/wallcharts/WUP_2014%20Urban-Rural%20Areas%20Wallchart.pdf">UN data from 2014</a>, almost 40% of India’s population, and 71% of South Africa’s, will reside in urban areas by 2030. </p>
<p>Cities in these countries are experiencing a period of great change. Part of this is political: South Africa held municipal elections in August this year, followed by Brazil in October, while in India – which is on a five-year municipal election cycle – elections are often held when politically convenient. In each case, different political promises can invoke a wide range of possible urban futures.</p>
<p>The global shift of mega-events to BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa) countries over the past decade has also caused an enormous upheaval in host cities. Examples include the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2010 South Africa World Cup, the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the Sochi (Russia) Winter Olympics of 2014 and, of course, the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil. </p>
<p>These events have been catalysts for all kinds of harm and glory. While cases of Zika virus alarmed residents and visitors in one part of Rio, the new <a href="http://www.brtrio.com/">Bus Rapid Transport</a> system improved transport links for the growing population in another. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142157/original/image-20161018-16167-1np4uyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142157/original/image-20161018-16167-1np4uyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142157/original/image-20161018-16167-1np4uyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142157/original/image-20161018-16167-1np4uyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142157/original/image-20161018-16167-1np4uyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142157/original/image-20161018-16167-1np4uyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142157/original/image-20161018-16167-1np4uyr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Chinese nail house.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/triplefivedrew/5104282303/sizes/l">Triplefivedrew/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such contrasts are common in these countries. From <a href="http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/world_news/Africa/article272369.ece">slum evictions in South Africa</a>, to <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20632277">modernist master-planning in Brazil</a>; from experiments in <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6276362.stm">participatory budgeting in more than 100 Brazilian cities</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2014/apr/15/china-nail-houses-in-pictures-property-development">“nail houses”</a> resisting mass development in China – these countries’ cities are often labelled both “problem case studies” and “great urban innovators”. </p>
<h2>Taking the lead</h2>
<p>Yet while these nations’ cities are attracting fresh attention, this hasn’t necessarily given urban leaders and citizens more power to predict, understand or determine their future. In particular, municipalities continue to rely heavily on national resources to cover local expenses, while mayors are bound to follow elaborate national regulations. </p>
<p>As cities grow, there’s pressure for city leaders to involve local communities in decisions. While this is <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-to-give-people-a-greater-say-in-their-cities-62672">ideal in theory</a>, it can be unpredictable in practice. Local discussions can easily become a stage for the strongest voices or would-be politicians, or residents can retreat from such meetings entirely, to avoid confronting local economic and political powers, especially if residents live in informal houses or have irregular jobs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142164/original/image-20161018-16173-1x9egnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142164/original/image-20161018-16173-1x9egnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142164/original/image-20161018-16173-1x9egnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142164/original/image-20161018-16173-1x9egnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142164/original/image-20161018-16173-1x9egnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142164/original/image-20161018-16173-1x9egnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142164/original/image-20161018-16173-1x9egnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Easy for some.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/c0t0s0d0/3415437248/sizes/l">☻☺/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From Bangalore to Cape Town, Shanghai to Sao Paulo, it is not uncommon for residents to start such meetings by stating their inability to participate. Many consultations take place during working hours, far removed from the site of interest. Some are presented in technical terms, formally offering a channel for participation but actually encouraging silence or absence from some members, while over-empowering others. </p>
<p>For example, a meeting in a city hall or public building to discuss an informal settlement can discourage participants from attending if they feel they do not possess the right clothes. From stigmatisation to transportation, problems with participatory practices run deep; it takes a lot more than simply offering people a channel to voice their concerns. </p>
<h2>Locked in?</h2>
<p>To really understand how a city will develop, it’s crucial to understand its “lock-ins” and “path dependencies”. Lock-ins are features of the built environment, which limit the potential of a city. For example, in Mumbai, regulations to facilitate the development of luxury condos in much of the city centre has generated infrastructure such as roads and car parks which work well for car drivers, but block possibilities for imagining public and green transport systems from the ground up. </p>
<p>Similarly, “path dependencies” occur where the history of the urban form inhibits some kinds of change and promotes others. For instance, in Rio, the long-established divisions between the city’s formal and informal settlements limit, but also shape, any future changes to the city. </p>
<p>Scientific research offers the opportunity to bring a greater understanding to the constantly shifting urban form. To that end, the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council has created <a href="http://www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk/research/">a series of collaborative research projects</a>, in partnership with China, Brazil and South Africa. Such research can reveal the metabolism of the city, mapping and measuring the lock-ins and path dependencies which structure the interdependent web of water, food and energy systems. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142168/original/image-20161018-16191-jz2d2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142168/original/image-20161018-16191-jz2d2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142168/original/image-20161018-16191-jz2d2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142168/original/image-20161018-16191-jz2d2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142168/original/image-20161018-16191-jz2d2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142168/original/image-20161018-16191-jz2d2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/142168/original/image-20161018-16191-jz2d2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The urban web.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/robertotaddeo/12458450145/sizes/o/">https://www.facebook.com/robertotaddeofoto28/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It can also analyse the way that transport systems can reproduce either segregation or integration, and how gendered divisions determine which places are safe or dangerous – and for whom. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-big-data-and-the-sims-are-helping-us-to-build-the-cities-of-the-future-47292">Enormous amounts of data</a>, generated by citizens’ own behaviours, can be used to interpret the city as it evolves. Of course, all of these advancements trigger ethical questions, which demand longer reflection.</p>
<p>While every city’s future is unique, we can enrich our understanding with collaborations that explore the diversity of cities and draw comparisons across the world. Yet scientists face the challenging task of reconciling the long-term horizons of a city with the political motivations of urban democracy, which measure the future in electoral cycles. </p>
<p>Researchers have an obligation to highlight the trade offs, compromises and alternatives that ongoing elections and global UN summits might generate for each country’s unique urban future. They must bring short term and long term possibilities to the surface, and mitigate between them, if we’re ever to get a clear vision of the future of cities. </p>
<p><em>This article is part of a series on publicly-funded UK research at the UN Habitat III summit in Quito, Ecuador. It is a collaboration between <a href="http://www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk/">Urban Transformations Network – UK Economic and Social Research Council (UT-ESRC)</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk">The Conversation</a>. This is a modified version of an article that appeared on <a href="http://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-37466807">BBC Brasil</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66695/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Keith has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. He was formerly Labour Party Leader of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andreza de Souza Santos is employed as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Urban Transformations Network (UK Economic and Social Research Council).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Simcik Arese is employed as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Urban Transformations Network (UK Economic and Social Research Council).</span></em></p>Three researchers examine the big challenges of urban development: from city leadership to lock-ins.Michael Keith, Director of COMPAS, University of OxfordAndreza de Souza Santos, Post-doctoral Research Associate, University of OxfordNicholas Simcik Arese, Post-doctoral Research Associate, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/655002016-10-11T14:33:10Z2016-10-11T14:33:10ZWhat is Habitat III and why does it matter? A beginner’s guide to the New Urban Agenda<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141215/original/image-20161011-12009-xxkfx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/simonmatzinger/12815810614/sizes/l">Simon Matzinger/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Next week, the city of Quito, Ecuador, plays host to the third ever United Nations conference on housing and sustainable urban development – also known as Habitat III. At this four-day international gathering, nation states are expected to agree on <a href="https://www2.habitat3.org/bitcache/97ced11dcecef85d41f74043195e5472836f6291?vid=588897&disposition=inline&op=view">the New Urban Agenda</a>, which will set out a global strategy on sustainable urban development for the next 20 years.</p>
<h2>What is it?</h2>
<p>The Habitat process was launched by the UN in 1976, when governments began to recognise the risks of rapid urbanisation: in particular, rising inequality, falling quality of life and unsustainable development. </p>
<p>The first conference, held in Vancouver, encouraged governments to adopt a territorial approach to their national development strategies, and to involve civil society organisations focusing on urban issues. It also established the first UN agency to be based in Africa: the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements – operated from Nairobi, Kenya – formed the foundation for the UN Programme on Human Settlements, or UN Habitat. </p>
<p>The second conference, held in Istanbul in 1996, was much bigger. It involved representatives from civil society in UN working groups, and produced a 229-page <a href="https://www.un.org/ruleoflaw/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/istanbul-declaration.pdf">Habitat Agenda</a>. Nation states in the Habitat II process endorsed the “the universal goals of ensuring adequate shelter for all and making human settlements safer, healthier and more liveable, equitable, sustainable and productive”.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why does it matter?</h2>
<p>More than half of the world’s population now <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS">lives in urban areas</a>, and this figure is predicted to rise to almost 70% by 2050. As a result, cities have become focal points for addressing many of humanity’s greatest challenges. Economic inequalities have dramatically increased, and are heavily concentrated in urban areas: <a href="http://thecityfix.com/blog/upgrading-informal-settlements-urbanizing-world-slum-inclusive-readjustment-titling-tenure-property-rights-caleb-stevens/">almost one third</a> of city-dwellers live in informal settlements, such as slums. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of Rio’s favelas, or slums.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stopherjones/15589676686/sizes/l">stopherjones/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Cities are also responsible for <a href="https://theconversation.com/oslos-ambitious-climate-budget-sets-the-bar-for-other-cities-66452">70% of global CO₂ emissions</a> and two thirds of the world’s energy consumption, making them big contributors to climate change. And coastal human settlements are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. </p>
<p>In recent times, the international community has made several important global agreements, all of which emphasise the significance of urbanisation. It’s seen as both a challenge, and an opportunity to implement the UN’s 17 new <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html">Sustainable Development Goals</a> (SDGs), one of which <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-11-sustainable-cities-and-communities.html">specifically focuses</a> on creating sustainable cities and communities.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Who’s going?</h2>
<p>Habitat is a state-led process, so many world leaders and UN representatives will be at the conference. The UN also established a <a href="http://unhabitat.org/major-groups/">General Assembly of Partners</a> to encourage the participation of local authorities, grassroots and indigenous organisations, women’s and youth groups, as well as the private and charitable sectors. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141223/original/image-20161011-12031-1bg9jhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141223/original/image-20161011-12031-1bg9jhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141223/original/image-20161011-12031-1bg9jhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141223/original/image-20161011-12031-1bg9jhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141223/original/image-20161011-12031-1bg9jhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141223/original/image-20161011-12031-1bg9jhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141223/original/image-20161011-12031-1bg9jhk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The man with the plan: UN-Habitat Executive Director Joan Clos.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/98168367@N06/29151347403/sizes/k/">Ministry of Natural Resources - Rwanda/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s more, experts from all around the world were invited to make recommendations for the NUA, through <a href="https://www2.habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/policy">ten policy units</a>. These groups examined a range of intersecting issues, including local government finance and urban ecology. Meetings and preparatory committees have been happening since 2014, in anticipation of the main event. </p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s on the agenda?</h2>
<p>The main topic of discussion will be the <a href="https://www2.habitat3.org/bitcache/97ced11dcecef85d41f74043195e5472836f6291?vid=588897&disposition=inline&op=view">Zero Draft of the New Urban Agenda</a> (NUA): a 24-page document, which outlines the nation states’ shared vision for a sustainable urban future. The NUA has undergone <a href="https://theconversation.com/phew-new-urban-agenda-clears-last-hurdle-before-habitat-iii-65217">three rounds of revisions</a> between May and September 2016, to iron out conflicts and reach a consensus between the UN nation states. </p>
<p>First and foremost, the draft emphasises the leading role of national governments in setting up national urban strategies. At a time when mayors are <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/give-cities-a-seat-at-the-top-table-1.20668">rising to prominence</a> as key leaders on the international stage, the draft does not explicitly mention what role these city leaders might play when it comes to implementing the NUA. </p>
<p>The draft also stresses the need to include local authorities, community and grassroots organisations and the private sector in urban development “when appropriate”, without providing much detail about when and how this might be. </p>
<p>The controversial <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/09/historic-consensus-reached-right-city-new-urban-agenda">“right to the city”</a> is also enshrined in the document, calling on governments to create “cities for people, not for profit”, ensuring an inclusive, gender and age sensitive approach to city planning, as well as continuing efforts to reduce urban poverty.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Will it work?</h2>
<p>Unlike the Paris climate agreement or the SDGs, the NUA is non-binding – it merely provides guidelines for those involved in urban development. There is a <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/commentary/2016/09/can-we-actually-agree-indicators-measure-urban-development">notable lack of practical advice</a> about how the NUA should be carried out, and who is in charge of implementing it. The draft does recognise the need for producing evidence to inform the implementation of the NUA, but does not indicate how cities’ progress should be <a href="http://www.futureearth.org/blog/2016-sep-26/what-role-will-science-play-future-cities">measured and assessed</a>.</p>
<p>There needs to be adequate information and monitoring systems to provide relevant city-level data on key outcomes, such as levels of inequality and carbon emissions. And many nations still need to skill up planners to help with these efforts: according to the <a href="http://wcr.unhabitat.org/quick-facts/">2016 World Cities Report</a>, there are 38 planners for 100,000 inhabitats in the UK, compared with 1.44 in Nigeria and just 0.23 in India – two of the fastest-growing parts of the world. </p>
<p>In cities around the world, ordinary citizens, local leaders, civil society groups, community organisations, the private and charity sectors are already addressing global challenges. Good intentions will reach a dead end without proper financing schemes and efficient national urban strategies, which distribute skills and resources across sectors and levels of government. </p>
<p>The extent to which the NUA can pave the way to sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban futures remains uncertain. Outcomes will heavily depend on the willingness and capacity of governments and actors at every level to implement strategies that effectively address the global challenges we face; from climate change and rising inequality, to food security and displacement. </p>
<p><em>This is the first in a series of articles on publicly funded UK research at the UN Habitat III summit in Quito, Ecuador. It is a collaboration between the <a href="http://www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk/">Urban Transformations Network</a>, UK Economic and Social Research Council (UT-ESRC) and The Conversation.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65500/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Enora Robin is a researcher at the City Leadership Laboratory (UCL) and receives funding from EPSRC.
</span></em></p>This global conference will set out how cities should develop over the next 20 years, tackling some of humankind’s toughest issues.Enora Robin, PhD Candidate in Urban Governance (Cities, Networks and Knowledge Management), UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/655632016-10-02T19:13:09Z2016-10-02T19:13:09ZCities in the sky: how do we decide where this urban journey is taking us?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138918/original/image-20160923-25460-1eerrav.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How we imagine 'the city' plays a very large role in how we shape it.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://free-photos.gatag.net/tag/%E9%AB%98%E5%B1%A4%E3%83%93%E3%83%AB/page/12">Hadi Zaher/GATAG</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Australian cities are inherently diverse places, but that diversity can lead to conflict between different values about what cities should and can be. Our series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/conflict-in-the-city-31714">Conflict in the City</a>, brings together urban researchers to examine some of these tensions and consider how cities are governed and for whom.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>We shape the city and it shapes us. </p>
<p>The recent ABC series <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/city-in-the-sky/">City in the Sky</a> focuses our attention on the sheer number of people who travel in the air at any one time and the extent of the infrastructure built up to support them. This aerial citizenry is due to double in the next 20 years and with it the global networks, smart technology and urban infrastructure that make it all possible. </p>
<p>The real provocation of the city in the sky, however, is not just rendering visible the urban worlds that exist on land and sea, above the earth and below. Rather it prompts us to re-imagine both the complex nature and make-up of our habitats, and the role of infrastructure and planning within it. </p>
<p>This raises new questions about what we imagine to be “the city” – and how we can shape it. </p>
<h2>The urban shapeshifters</h2>
<p>In the urban age, important international conferences such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/habitat-iii-26850">Habitat III</a> are seeking to generate:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… a <a href="https://habitat3.org/">new urban agenda</a> for the 21st century that recognises the ever-changing dynamics of human civilisation. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The idea of “the city” looms large. There are, it seems, no limits to the prospects and possibilities of technology and human entrepreneurship. These concentrate within the contemporary city: the super structures of the super species in the age of <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-official-welcome-to-the-anthropocene-epoch-but-who-gets-to-decide-its-here-57113">the Anthropocene</a>. </p>
<p>For Harvard university professor <a href="http://scholar.harvard.edu/glaeser/home">Ed Glaeser</a>, author of the book <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/books/review/Silver-t.html?_r=0">Triumph of the City</a>, human ingenuity can conquer urban challenges and enable social and economic mobility. </p>
<p>Others point to the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/lifeboat-cities/3032650">lifeboat</a> qualities and capacities of cities, which will help us navigate the urban challenges related to climate change, population growth and displacement, and resource depletion. </p>
<p>But has the hubris of economists, urban academics, city planners, engineers and our elected leaders over-emphasised the moment of the city as concentrated urbanisation and big infrastructure projects? Should we instead be seeking to better recognise and understand the <a href="http://www.urbantheorylab.net/publications/planetary-urbanization/">“extended” urbanisation</a> processes that are reorganising and transforming the broader urban fabric (that is, worldwide shipping lanes and flight paths, broadband, sea level rise, peak oil, smart technologies)? </p>
<p>To put it simply, are we thinking too narrowly when we talk about cities? </p>
<p>The city as shapeshifter poses a genuine conundrum for those who seek to shape urban change. Like a 5D movie on speed, the contemporary city defies conventional boundaries.</p>
<h2>The Australian city unbound</h2>
<p>Australia’s cities are described in national policy as “some of the best in the world”. According to the <a href="https://cities.dpmc.gov.au/smart-cities-plan">Smart Cities Plan</a>, Australia’s cities are: productive and accessible; full of talent and investment; agile and flexible; and encouraging of the innovation, jobs and growth on which our national prosperity depends. </p>
<p>Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2016-04-29/speech-national-cities-summit-melbourne-0">stressed earlier this year</a> that, in shaping our cities:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Planning is absolutely critical. The ad hocery [non-planning] has got to stop.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>All Australians are encouraged as part of the Smart City Plan to share their ideas to help determine the new cities agenda. But what does this mean for urban planners, developers, state and local governments, as well as for Australian city residents when so much of what shapes the urban comes from outside the traditional boundaries of “the city”? </p>
<p>Far from being self-explanatory and straightforward, the contemporary Australian city is changing, yet the processes that shape change in cities are not well understood. This is not a closed policy and planning cycle. And it’s further complicated if notions of what constitutes “the city” are constrained and outdated. </p>
<h2>Lines of flight</h2>
<p>Urban planners adapt to change in cities and regions, which are in turn transformed by changes in environment, planning and party politics. Change is often imposed on cities (in response to an environmental crisis, for example). </p>
<p>Sometimes, though, this change is the result of complex politics and negotiations between local, state and Commonwealth governments, or in response to investment interests borne elsewhere. </p>
<p>For example, the <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/2016-04-29/smart-cities-will-grow-innovation-economy">Commonwealth government</a>, in support of an interest in making Australian cities the site for innovation, has signalled the role that urban infrastructure will play in creating jobs and spurring growth.</p>
<p>Urban change, Turnbull tells us, will only be delivered:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… by addressing the policy and regulatory settings through which cities and infrastructure are governed, planned, funded, constructed and operated. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>But this safe policy and regulatory landing requires first the imagination and capacity to shape and plan for the “cities in the sky”. As American academic Joe Feagin noted in <a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8548639?selectedversion=NBD579456">The Urban Scene: Myths and Realities</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Basic conceptions and images of urban life and urban structure are extraordinarily important, since they often shape the ends envisioned, and the means by which those ends are implemented, by those intent on reinforcing or remaking the existing urban scene.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To this end, imagination and planning are central to the <a href="http://cur.org.au/research-programs/critical-urban-governance/">critical urban governance</a> of cities. As planning academic <a href="http://citta-conference.fe.up.pt/pdf/abstracts-2009/4_abstract09.pdf">Patsy Healey</a> highlights, this entails the three-fold task of: </p>
<p>1) expanding the collective knowledge base about the changing shape and nature of cities available to our communities, political and otherwise; </p>
<p>2) enhancing democratic debate; and </p>
<p>3) developing the skills for conveying to the different members of our communities. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Wendy Steele and Crystal Legacy are the guest editors of a special issue exploring questions surrounding critical urban infrastructure to be published in early 2017 in the academic journal <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=cupr20">Urban Policy and Research</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>You can read other Conflict in the City articles <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/conflict-in-the-city-31714">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65563/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Steele receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Crystal Legacy receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Like a 5D movie on speed, the city today defies conventional boundaries. This raises new questions about what we imagine to be ‘the city’ – and how we as a democratic community can shape it.Wendy Steele, Associate Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, RMIT UniversityCrystal Legacy, Australian Research Council (DECRA) Fellow and Vice Chancellor's Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/652172016-09-12T02:00:48Z2016-09-12T02:00:48ZPhew! New Urban Agenda clears last hurdle before Habitat III<p>Having run the diplomatic equivalent of a cross-country marathon, there was concern that negotiations on the New Urban Agenda might trip at the final hurdle. Three days of talks were needed, with negotiations continuing long into the night before agreement was reached on Saturday night in New York.</p>
<p>The agenda is a non-binding international agreement designed to shape urban development over the next two decades. It will be formally adopted at the UN <a href="https://www.habitat3.org">Habitat III</a> summit in Quito, Ecuador, from October 17-20, 2016.</p>
<p>Negotiations began in New York at the first preparatory meeting in September 2014. It was envisaged then, if everything went smoothly, that the final draft would be agreed at the third preparatory committee meeting in Surabaya, Indonesia, on July 25–27, 2016. The negotiators in Surabaya, however, could not reach consensus. Instead they punted the draft to a final intersessional meeting held in New York last week.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/roadmap">road to Quito</a> has been at times precarious and it is unclear how the agreement will be taken forward thereafter. It is a tremendous achievement, though, when you consider the highly contested terrain the international community has been able to negotiate to reach an agreement.</p>
<p>Credit should go to the dedicated team at UN-Habitat, the committed representatives from civil society (under the banner of the <a href="http://www.worldurbancampaign.org">World Urban Campaign</a>) and the member state negotiators. Although not without <a href="http://blog.felixdodds.net/2016/07/is-clos-killing-un-habitat.html">his critics</a>, the leadership from UN-Habitat executive director Joan Clos has also been significant in moving the agreement forward (or at least not messing things up).</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"773896073945485312"}"></div></p>
<h2>What is at stake?</h2>
<p>The disagreements were many, but I would like to point out three particular issues of contention.</p>
<p>First, it is recognised that no single UN agency can reasonably be given responsibility to implement such an all-encompassing agenda for the future of our cities. UN-Habitat hoped to have this role, but its motivation was to gain both influence and financial resources.</p>
<p>Second, co-operation from sub-national, city and local governments is a prerequisite for successful implementation. From the very start of negotiations, they have felt excluded from what is principally an agreement between nation-states. Sub-national government wants more say on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137309/original/image-20160912-13375-54xwb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137309/original/image-20160912-13375-54xwb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137309/original/image-20160912-13375-54xwb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137309/original/image-20160912-13375-54xwb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137309/original/image-20160912-13375-54xwb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137309/original/image-20160912-13375-54xwb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137309/original/image-20160912-13375-54xwb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137309/original/image-20160912-13375-54xwb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Joan Clos often talks about a paradigm shift to a global emphasis on ‘cities for people, not for profit’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/Joanclos">Twitter</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Third, civil society has fully engaged with the formulation of the agenda and successfully pushed for the principle of the “right to the city” to be included. </p>
<p>This was a huge and <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/09/historic-consensus-reached-right-city-new-urban-agenda">historic victory for civil society</a> from a social justice perspective. This encapsulates the “paradigm shift” that Clos often talks about in terms of a new global emphasis on “cities for people, not for profit”.</p>
<p>All of the above will be the subject of intense analysis and discussion once the New Urban Agenda is adopted. If taken seriously, each has the potential to be transformative. </p>
<p>First, the UN system now needs to reflect on how best to promote urban sustainability. Second, sub-national governments need to reshape how they interact and influence the UN. Third, cities need to re-evaluate how they work with and for their people.</p>
<h2>A bumpy road ahead</h2>
<p>Realistically, the biggest headaches will start from Quito onwards. By far the most significant challenge is the timing. For the UN, 2015 was an apex year with the adoption of the 17 <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/">Sustainable Development Goals</a> (the 2030 Agenda) and the <a href="http://unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php">Paris Agreement on Climate Change</a>.</p>
<p>In contrast, 2016 has been a year of intense discussion and reflection on how best to implement and fund those two world-changing initiatives. The fundamental predicament will therefore be how to squeeze the implementation of the New Urban Agenda into an already jam-packed and rapidly evolving global schema.</p>
<p>The situation is complicated by the fact that a new UN secretary-general will take up office from January 1, 2017. They will inherit a UN system that needs drastic reform to deliver effectively on the 2030 Agenda. Some <a href="https://www.un.org/ecosoc/sites/www.un.org.ecosoc/files/files/en/qcpr/ita-findings-and-conclusions-16-jun-2016.pdf">major reforms have been proposed</a>, and the new UN chief is going to have their hands full.</p>
<p>The central aim is to reduce fragmentation and duplication of effort. This implies that we need a multi-agency approach to the New Urban Agenda.</p>
<p>This was one of the sticking points in New York last week as negotiators struggled with two proposals on implementation responsibilities.</p>
<p>The first option, supported by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_77">the G77</a> (pushed by UN-Habitat host country Kenya), was for a strengthened UN-Habitat with universal representation in its governing council and greater financial resources.</p>
<p>The second, from the European Union and others who would be footing the bill, was a recommendation that the institutional framework to support the New Urban Agenda be determined in the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly. This would effectively put off the decision to late 2017.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://citiscope.org//habitatIII/news/2016/09/proposal-would-kick-habitat-iiis-main-sticking-point-un-general-assembly">compromise between these positions was reached</a> in New York. This gives UN-Habitat a period of grace to move forward from Quito until new arrangements are determined.</p>
<h2>Innovation should follow from Quito</h2>
<p>There is <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/08/un-cities-rumoured-proposal-gains-steam">a proposal</a> that the best way forward would be to establish a new co-ordinating body – UN Cities – similar to <a href="http://www.unwater.org/about/ru/">UN Water</a> and <a href="http://www.un-energy.org">UN Energy</a>. </p>
<p>This would certainly be more in line with the way that funding is moving from donors to the UN system in recent years – known as <a href="http://mptf.undp.org">multi-partner trust funds</a> – with the aim of increasing agency co-ordination.</p>
<p>An initiative like UN-Cities could also provide a more effective framework (or a clean slate) for how the UN works with sub-national government. Another option could be a <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/commentary/2016/07/united-nations-risks-stifling-its-own-progress-sustainable">UN Council for Cities</a> and/or a <a href="http://www.globalparliamentofmayors.org">Global Parliament of Mayors</a>. Both represent a significant departure from the practice to date and would likely take some time to become a reality.</p>
<p>While these global-level institutional shell games play out, perhaps we may end up concluding that the most significant outcome from Quito is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-habitat-iii-defend-the-human-right-to-the-city-57576">emphasis on the right to the city</a>.</p>
<p>There is a rich intellectual tradition reaching back to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Lefebvre">Henri Lefebvre’s</a> 1968 book, <em>Le Droit à la ville</em>. If seriously taken forward, the notion of the right to the city – essentially a human-rights approach to city governance, development and sustainability – would bring into focus a wide array of social justice issues. This includes how we deal with homelessness, urban poverty, gentrification and the privatisation of public space.</p>
<p>Can this transformation really happen, or are we doomed to repeat the follies of <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/outcomedocuments/agenda21">Agenda 21</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/kyoto-protocol-fails-get-ready-for-a-hotter-world-10742">Kyoto Protocol</a>?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brendan Barrett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two years of marathon negotiations have finally yielded agreement in last-minute meetings in New York on the New Urban Agenda to be adopted at the Habitat III summit in Quito in October.Brendan Barrett, Research Fellow/Research Coordinator, UN Global Compact Cities Programme, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/634992016-09-04T20:12:29Z2016-09-04T20:12:29ZHabitat III: the biggest conference you’ve probably never heard of<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135721/original/image-20160829-17851-qlwz9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A distinctive feature of the New Urban Agenda is that it redefines informal settlements, such as Dharavi in Mumbai, India, as an asset based on their potential to promote economic growth.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/yglvoices/6519884373/">YGLvoices/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 25,000 delegates will meet in Quito, Ecuador, in October to set out the United Nations’ <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/explainer/2015/06/what-new-urban-agenda">New Urban Agenda</a> for member states. The <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/explainer/what-habitat-iii">Habitat III</a> conference will mandate the UN’s work in cities and settlements for the next 20 years. But Australia, one of the <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?year_high_desc=true">world’s most urbanised nations</a>, is yet to play a major role in negotiations. </p>
<p>If you haven’t heard of the Habitat conference series, you’re not alone. Steered by one of the UN’s smaller organisations – <a href="http://unhabitat.org/">UN-Habitat</a> – it is the key negotiation process within the UN for planning the development of cities and human settlements. </p>
<p>Unlike the annual “<a href="http://unfccc.int/bodies/body/6383.php">Conference of the Parties</a>” held by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, these events <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/explainer/2015/06/whats-history-habitat-process">take place only once every 20 years</a>. The Habitat conference has been held twice previously: in Istanbul in 1996, and in Vancouver in 1976.</p>
<p>Since then, humanity has crossed an urbanisation milestone. Half the world’s population now lives in cities. At the time of Habitat I, <a href="http://mirror.unhabitat.org/cdrom/docs/WUF1.pdf">just over one-third</a> were urban dwellers. Habitat III and the New Urban Agenda therefore represents a watershed moment for urban development globally. </p>
<h2>Setting the New Urban Agenda</h2>
<p>The 1996 <a href="http://www.un-documents.net/ha-4.htm">Habitat Agenda</a> called for sustainable development and access to adequate shelter. These goals have driven progress in many places. For instance, provision of adequate housing is now included in many national constitutions. </p>
<p>The Habitat Agenda also formed a platform for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), agreed in 2000. The MDGs expired in 2015 and <a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-reached-the-end-of-the-millennium-development-goals-period-so-are-children-better-off-52122">were superseded</a> by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/infographic-how-are-we-progressing-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-45441">Sustainable Development Goals</a> (SDGs). These goals lie at the centre of the UN’s <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld">2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development</a>. </p>
<p>Habitat III, unlike Habitat II, builds out of these targets, not the other way around. The New Urban Agenda is therefore aiming to implement these goals in cities, particularly <a href="http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/">SDG 11</a>: to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135760/original/image-20160829-17845-1behgah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135760/original/image-20160829-17845-1behgah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/135760/original/image-20160829-17845-1behgah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135760/original/image-20160829-17845-1behgah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135760/original/image-20160829-17845-1behgah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135760/original/image-20160829-17845-1behgah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135760/original/image-20160829-17845-1behgah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/135760/original/image-20160829-17845-1behgah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=762&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The New Urban Agenda will be finalised in Quito, Ecuador, the third city in 40 years to host the Habitat conference.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jchification/24484961539/in/photolist-DiDQ2i-FqGXU2-BQQwbm-yCK9FL-xVnLBG-yE6orb-yCK6jq-GqoSeb-BhKZMp-FiAJGo-GqoWRN-EkvuZ7-GwhReA-G9r2s1-GsPyXV-GcPS5G-FDhDop-FD5aG7-Fqx6F5-FDhQdF-CUCwvG-Gf8FCk-Gf9JYX-FqHrCP-FVSWmW-Gf9Gwn-Gf8ZBX-GiGeWS-GkZs4k-xRVJgF-FqwvbJ-FqHiSD-DsrpPg-x1yG9V-FqHLNT-FqHyLX-AGDHqR-Gf9N5X-FqxpC7-wHS75D-wZ4Hcv-LkxAL7-KyfYKT-KyfUka-Kt6U7J-LcApef-LcAoWw-KiE8QG-Kk3AeK-JYJ6kf">John Haxby/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>The current version of the agenda, the “<a href="http://citiscope.org/sites/default/files/h3/Draft_outcome_document_Habitat_III_Conference_May_6_2016.pdf">zero draft</a>”, was released at the end of July 2016, having undergone a series of revisions at preparatory negotiations. Unusually for the UN, this included direct feedback from civil society and other stakeholders, following public release of the draft. </p>
<p>The draft <a href="https://www.habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda">New Urban Agenda</a> recognises that decisions about how we house, feed and mobilise urban populations will have a critical impact on human wellbeing and sustainability. Key focus areas include guiding national urban policies and systems of urban governance. The draft also has a strong emphasis on citizen participation and democratic processes.</p>
<p>What sets the agenda apart from its predecessors is the elevation of pressing global issues, such as urban informality, gender equity and disaster and climate resilience. It also recognises cities as drivers of economic and social development. </p>
<p>It is estimated that <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/urbanization/urban-world-mapping-the-economic-power-of-cities">70% of global economic activity</a> is in cities. Cities also account for more than <a href="http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/media/weowebsite/2008-1994/weo2008.pdf">70% of greenhouse gas emissions</a>. The agenda will therefore be critical in achieving the <a href="http://www.cop21paris.org/">COP21 targets</a> agreed in Paris last year.</p>
<p>The current draft is not without controversy. Inclusion of the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/will-habitat-iii-defend-the-human-right-to-the-city-57576">Right to the City</a>” has already stalled talks. And the <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/07/final-talks-fail-deliver-consensus-new-urban-agenda">future role of UN-Habitat</a> is being <a href="http://citiscope.org/habitatIII/news/2016/07/will-new-urban-agenda-define-future-un-habitat">hotly contested</a>. </p>
<p>In its current form, the agenda redefines informal settlements and sectors as assets with the capacity to promote economic growth. It also recognises the right to equal access to jobs, urban infrastructure and affordable housing, emphasising design, participation and empowerment in meeting the challenges of informal settlements.</p>
<p>The key challenge for the New Urban Agenda will be distributing implementation to the thousands of cities that need development assistance across the world. Crucially, it is unclear who will monitor and evaluate progress, and how.</p>
<h2>Australia missing in action</h2>
<p>Unlike the Paris Agreement, the New Urban Agenda is not intended to be a legally binding document. Instead, it aims to provide guidance to member states and UN agencies. However, several nations are yet to engage with the Habitat III process, either through preparatory meetings or by <a href="https://www.habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/regions/Asia-and-the-Pacific">submitting country-level urban reports</a>. </p>
<p>The Australian government has so far been absent from the Habitat III process. In regional thematic meetings the Australian chair has remained empty, despite our heavily urbanised population, <a href="https://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Documents/economic-infrastructure-development-strategy.pdf">regional investment in urban development</a>, and urban policy expertise. </p>
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<p>The agenda represents a key opportunity to reflect on Australia’s role in engaging with pressing urban development questions at home and abroad. </p>
<p>Establishment of Australia’s first <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-policy-could-the-federal-government-finally-get-cities-47858">minister for cities</a> by the Turnbull government in 2015 was seen as a strong platform for redefining an Australian national urban policy. However, the portfolio was short-lived, being downgraded to an assistant ministry <a href="http://architectureau.com/articles/minister-for-cities-lost-in-reshuffle/">six months later</a>. </p>
<p>Australian cities face many challenges associated with sustainability and population growth. These include housing affordability and deficits in provision of essential infrastructure and services. </p>
<p>Stronger federal government leadership on national and international urban policy could promote economic prosperity and the sustainability of urban settlements at home. It could also improve Australia’s ability to engage with our Asia-Pacific neighbours on shared urban challenges, such as urban migration, the health and social impacts of climate change, and managing environmental resources for current and future generations.</p>
<p>More than 30 representatives of Australian non-governmental organisations, municipalities, peak bodies and universities are registered to attend Habitat III. However, it is not yet clear whether the government will be participating in the Quito negotiations.</p>
<p>Despite its challenges, the New Urban Agenda is persuasive. It will inspire urban actors to champion its cause and drive its implementation. It will undoubtedly be used to frame funding policies of important bodies like the <a href="http://www.undp.org/">UN Development Program</a>, the <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/">World Bank</a> and <a href="http://www.adb.org/">Asian Development Bank</a>. </p>
<p>Fulfilling our UN member state role in Habitat III is an opportunity not to be missed. Through Quito, we can reinvigorate our national urban policy, build our regional profile and leverage and export our urban expertise. But, more importantly, by taking our seat at the table we will be playing our part in the transition of humanity into a sustainable, urbanised world.</p>
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<p><em>You can read other articles about Habitat III <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/habitat-iii-26850">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63499/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hayley Henderson receives an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) from the Australian Research Council (ARC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexei Trundle receives research funding from the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and an APA scholarship from the Australian Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>André Stephan receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hesam Kamalipour receives IPRS and APA scholarships from the Australian Government. He is also a Doctoral Academy member at the Melbourne Social Equity Institute (MSEI).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melanie Lowe receives funding from the NHMRC and National Environmental Science Programme </span></em></p>More than 25,000 delegates will meet in Quito in October to set out a New Urban Agenda for the UN, to be implemented over the next 20 years. But Australia is yet to play a major role in the process.Hayley Henderson, PhD Candidate in Urban Planning, The University of MelbourneAlexei Trundle, PhD Candidate, Australian-German Climate & Energy College, The University of MelbourneAndré Stephan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of MelbourneHesam Kamalipour, PhD Candidate and Research Assistant in Urban Design, The University of MelbourneMelanie Lowe, Research Fellow, McCaughey VicHealth Community Wellbeing Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.