31 days to promote better urban future
Urbanization presents some of the most significant opportunities and challenges in the world today. Cities are centres for economic growth and development but also face demographic, environmental, economic and social challenges.
The United Nation’s Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 – “to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” – identifies sustainable urbanization as one of the key priorities for global development. The adoption of the new Urban Agenda by the United Nations in 2016 has seen national and local governments around the world embark on a transformative path towards making SDG11 a reality.
By engaging all stakeholders, cities have the ability to harness transformational change and improve the life of their inhabitants. However, in many contexts, cities lack the capacity to enact this change. Ensuring cities have the capacity, capability and tools to address the challenges posed by urbanization has become a pressing global issue.
UN-Habitat. 2022. “Urban October Concept Note, June 2022.” United Nations. https://urbanoctober.unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/urban-october-concept-note-2022.pdf.
