Equitable Urban Futures discussed at World Urban Forum

KATOWICE: The 11^th session of World Urban Forum is being held in Katowice, Poland from 26^th to 30^th June. One of the sessions, held on the second day, discussed Equitable Urban Futures. The session was attended by various speakers including Dr Yama Moto, Assistant Secretary General, World Health Organisation; Renu Khosla, Director, Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence; Jan Olbrycht, Member of European Parliament; Elcio Batista, Planning Institute of Fortaleza City Hall; Mark Workman, World Blind Union; Chioma Agwuegbo, Executive Director, TechHer; etc.

The speakers discussed a gamut of issues regarding inequity in urban development. Inequalities have various forms within countries and cities. Recent crisis of COVID-19 broadened these fault lines and also added new ones like access to vaccines, education and income, climate inequalities and refugee flows. Representatives from different countries shared their experiences of dealing with these challenges pertaining to different fields and also shared innovations arising from these challenging situations.

The representative from the Government of Poland warned of the dangers of certain ideologies and the threat they pose to human rights; like communism which had governed Poland for some years. He also discussed that the rights of each individual, especially People with Disabilities, must be taken into consideration when planning revolutionary cities. Renu Khosla stressed on the need to “unthink solutions” as problems are multi-sectoral in nature. Jan Olbrycht Member of European Parliament emphasised on the importance of “partnership” among federal, state and local governments. Local governments work in a concrete system, not in a vacuum. Their potential can only be utilised more fully only when they are treated as a partner. For instance, In Ukraine, there is a new telephone helpline for providing psychological help for children in Ukraine. Chioma Agwuegbo of Nigeria, Founder of TechHer wrapped up the session with discussion on accessibility issues for women, technology and how it can be a tool to leapfrog into the future.