Voices from Cities: An effort to strengthen urban communities

‘’Voices from Cities’’ was a series of events held at the 11th World Urban Forum in Katowice, Poland, representing the voices of city residents. For any transformation strategy to be realised, it is essential for the residents of cities, whether at the level of associations, governance or civil society organisations, to actively participate in transforming their cities for good. This segment at the WUF 11 intends to give a platform to these crucial voices besides policymakers and government representatives

United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the World Association of Major Metropolises (Metropolis), and the Emergency Governance Initiative at the London School of Economics and Political Science organised a Voices from Cities event at the WUF11 titled “Governing Complex Emergencies: The Urban and Regional Response to COVID-19, the Climate Emergency, and the Social Justice Crisis.” The symposium brought together experiences of three regions/cities in managing various complex emergencies: Bogota, Gauteng, and Vienna.

Europe’s assistance to cities

The event ‘’Sustainable urban development support in the European Union – Frameworks, Practices and Tools” organised by the European Commission examined the European dimension of sustainable urban development. The event aimed to overview how the Cohesion policy will assist sustainable urban development from 2021 to 2027. Apart from this, implementation strategies and tools were also discussed at the event. The Self-Assessment Tool for Sustainable Urban Development Strategies (SAT4SUD) and the Handbook of Sustainable Urban Development Strategies are the cornerstones of the EU’s support for cities as they address the green and digital transition by assisting them in identifying their most pressing policy issues.

The role of women in local governance

Cités Unies France, City Diplomacy Lab and UCLG organised the discussion titled ‘’Urban Metabolism and Gender Equity’’. Participants included Mayors from France, Colombia and Sierra Leone, Secretary-General, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), etc. Through the lens of urban metabolism, this symposium attempted to address the problem of gender equity. It contends that gender equality is a prerequisite for any urban society’s efficient, harmonic, and long-term operation. The conference aimed to examine municipal administrations’ role in fostering this approach. Only 20 per cent of mayors worldwide are women. Most professions, including engineering, architecture, energy, sanitation, etc., are male-dominated, implying that cities are designed from a predominantly male perspective. Urban metabolism needs to be diversified by including more women in the topmost rungs of power.

Analysing the
role of ‘’Care’’ in urban planning

Care, although an essential part of urban planning, is rarely the central aspect of it. Care has traditionally been understood as ensuring people’s health and well-being and offering basic healthcare facilities to vulnerable populations. But, if the pandemic has taught us anything, cities must be redesigned with ‘’care’’ at the centre of urban planning. Our future cities should therefore be ‘’caring cities’’. The symposium on ‘’Caring Cities: Reshaping urban areas around care’’ organised by Mayor’s Office, Bogota, Columbia, discussed various themes. The event took an innovative approach to ‘’care’’. “Care” presents an opportunity to reconsider how we now view people’s well-being and how we relate to the environment and our democratic system. Activities that enhance people’s physical and emotional well-being daily and over generations are included in care work.

Recognising voice
of youth

Youth is the driving force behind growth in any society. But when it comes to policymaking, they don’t often have appropriate power. Youth are frequently excluded from urban decision-making processes. Making their voices heard is particularly difficult for young people from marginalised neighbourhoods like slums. The event ‘’Reshaping communities through art’’ organised by a Denmark-based NGO, Dreamtown, discussed how innovative methods, such as music festivals, film, and TV productions, may be successful in engaging young people in municipal governance.

Addressing climate woes of coastal regions

Coastal areas are at greater risk from Climate Change and its disastrous consequences. In addition to immediate threats of coastal erosion, salinisation, and sea level rise, extreme weather disturbances such as hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons, coastal storms, tsunamis, and floods also pose longer-term risks. To highlight these issues, a panel discussion on ‘’Multi-stakeholder approaches for resilient urban communities in coastal zones’’ was organised by the Global Disaster Preparedness Center. The event aimed to bring attention to the increased risk of disasters, especially in secondary cities along the coast, and to propose natural remedies. The Global Disaster Preparedness Center presented the outcomes of community participation in coalition building in the cities in three South Asian nations- Indonesia, Vanuatu, and Myanmar- to mitigate and adapt to the harmful effects of climate change at all levels.

Working with community

Safety and security of public places are crucial elements of making cities liveable for all. People are equal partners with the governing authorities as far as making cities safe is concerned. This issue was ideated upon in the event ‘’Safer cities for all, with all: How European initiatives and projects are fostering innovative participatory schemes for the security of public spaces’’ organised by the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI). The event’s primary goal was to increase public awareness of the shared need for local communities to be involved in developing safer urban environments.

Fighting poverty with affordable and sustainable housing

Housing affordability is a growing issue. A side effect of the current energy crisis affecting an increasing number of houses is energy poverty. To discuss this issue, the event ‘’Housing challenges for Circular Cities: Socioeconomic challenges to make smart cities more sustainable’’ was organised by the University of Alicante, Spain. The topics of the panel included people’s behaviour vs regional policies, the lack of housing affordability and its consequences, energy efficiency and welfare: avoiding energy poverty, the short-term rental market and its economic impacts and sustainable finance. There were many other sessions in this segment which addressed pertinent issues of sustainable urban development.