World Urban Forum Implementing the New Urban Agenda

More than 25,000 delegates including heads of state and other stakeholders gathered at WUF9 to share their best practices and knowledge on how cities are built, planned and managed. The forum selected the theme ‘Cities 2030, Cities for all: Implementing the new Urban Agenda’ to meet the objective of sustainable development goals

The Ninth World Urban Forum(WUF9) took place at Kuala Lumpur from 7th February to 13th February, 2018. It was the ninth session of World Urban Forum, convened by UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). It brought thousands of stakeholders to share their practices and knowledge on how cities are built, planned and managed. It included national, regional and local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations, research institutions and academies, the private sector, development finance institutions, foundations, the media and UN organizations and other international agencies.  The forum kicked off on 8th February. The World Urban Forum (WUF) is a non-legislative technical forum con-vened by UN-Habitat every two years.

It was first held in 2002. The theme of the forum this time was ‘Cities 2030, Cities for all: Implementing the New Urban Agenda’. The objective of selecting the theme was to focus on the New Urban Agenda adopted at UN Habitat III and accelerate it to achieve Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals.

In the opening ceremony, a series of dignitaries addressed the delegates and underlined various challenges that communities across the world are facing. Noh Omar, Minister of Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government, Malaysia, noted that ‘more than 50% of the world’s population now lives in urban areas’ and stated that cities must be reformed to be safe, inclusive, sustainable and prosperous. He noted that the World Urban Forum (WUF) is hosting a Grassroots Assembly for the first time, aiming to give a platform to local leaders. Magdalena Garcia Hernandez, Women’s Constituency, General Assembly of Partners (GAP), emphasized ‘the importance of good governance and UN frameworks such as the New Urban Agenda (NUA) in advancing gender equality and fighting social discrimination’. S.M. Shaikat, UN-Habitat Youth Advisory Board, underscored the ‘chal-lenges facing urban youth, such as finding employment, affordable healthcare, and education’. He added that the NUA is a ‘comprehensive solution’ to fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and becoming accountable to future generations. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director, UN-Habitat, welcomed the audience to Kuala Lumpur and to WUF9. It was her first Forum as Executive Director. While declaring the assembly open she underscored the NUA’s emphasis on inclusivity and noted UN-Habitat’s role as the focal point for its implementation.

Over the next six days the delegates participated in many workshops and panel discussions on a range of issues.

The First Three Days
On the first day, three assemblies were opened. After a joint opening plenary, the Women’s Assembly, Business Assembly and the Children and Youth Assembly met in parallel sessions throughout the day to discuss actions to advance the implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11) on cities. On the second day in the morning, a Ministers’ Roundtable and two other WUF Assemblies were convened, representing local and regional governments, and grassroots organizations respectively. It was in the afternoon of the second day, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak officially opened WUF9 that was accompanied by cultural performances and messages from dignitaries. On the third day, two high-level roundtables took place. The first session was on Climate Change and the theme was ‘The Urban Dimension in Climate Change Action’.

In the afternoon session the delegates parted in four parallel sessions on migration; land tenure; culture and diversity; and informal settlements and slum upgrading.

The last three days
On the 4th day of the forum, two high-level roundtables were convened on ‘Ur-banization and development: investing in the transformative force of cities’ and on ‘An integrated territorial approach to sustainable development’. On the fifth day, participants discussed in a special session the issues before the ‘Smart Cities’. The other two important roundtables were on ‘Innovative governance for open and inclusive cities’ and on ‘Sus-tainable urban development for peace and security’. On the sixth and last full day of the forum many special sessions were convened. The discussions ranged from multi-stakeholder partnerships, settlements for displaced persons, and food security through urban-rural linkages, urban ecological landscapes, civic engagement, and ‘housing for all’. The day ended with the host country holding a gala dinner for participants.

Throughout the six-day event alongside special sessions and roundtables, there were stakeholder consultations, dialogues and networking events on issues such as urban disaster recovery, urban data, and urban mobility with safe and accessible transport for all. Several special sessions, dialogues and side events also took place on various themes including on youth employment, urban labs, affordable housing, and access to basic services. Many other events were organized around the venue, including an art exhibition and several consultations.

The Context of WUF9

The ninth session of the WUF must be seen in the context of New Urban Agenda adopted at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development- Habitat III in 2016. Before the forum was convened the participating states requested that the report on the implementation of agenda must incorporate inputs from multilateral organizations, civil society, the private sector and academia, and to build on existing platforms such as the WUF, convened by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). Themed ‘Cities 2030, Cities for All: Implementing the New Urban Agenda’, WUF9 was the first session to focus on the implementation of the NUA. WUF was expected to provide ‘sub-stantial input’ for the implementation of the first report of the NUA. The forum was also expected to bring together a common vision on Sustainable Urban Development and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by contributing to implementation of concrete solutions for the commitments made in the NUA, which are fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Kuala Lumpur Declaration
At the end of the forum, the ‘Kuala Lumpur Declaration’ was adopted by the forum. The forum gave a clarion call for the ‘deployment of all efforts, means and resources available towards the operationalization of the concept of cities for all, ensuring that all inhabitants, of present and future generations, without discrimination of any kind, are able to inhabit and produce just, safe, healthy, accessible, affordable, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements to foster prosperity and quality of life for all’. It emphasized on the ‘global, regional, national and local implementation frameworks of the New Urban Agenda being formulated since its adoption should be supported by key enablers capable of unlocking positive transformation’.

It further added some concrete points that can enable the cities and communities to achieve National Urban Agenda such as

♦♦Strengthening the role of sub-national and local governments, urban governance systems that ensure continuous dialogue among different levels of government and participation of all actors, and increasing multilevel and cross-sectoral coordination, transparency and accountability.

♦♦ Encouraging sharing of creative solutions and innovative practices which enable a shift in mindset necessary to drive change.

♦♦ Building inclusive partnerships and strengthening age and gender responsive environments to ensure meaningful participation and engagement at all levels.

♦♦ Adopting integrated territorial development, including through appropriate urban planning and design instruments, to ensure sustainable management and use of natural resources and land, appropriate compactness and density, diversity of uses, and revitalization of cultural heritage.

♦♦ Deploying monitoring and reporting mechanisms, including assessment of impacts that encourage best practices for effective policymaking.

The challenges are immense and the forum recognized it. Crisis is increasingly urban and calls for urgent action to make it inclusive. It is important that given the rapid urbanization, managing the influx into the cities calls for more inclusive planning. Almost every city in the world is facing growing social and economic inequalities.

If the planning is more inclusive it will create social cohesion and also create new economic opportunities for all. It is imperative that implementation of New Urban Agenda must be followed up very closely and be reviewed periodically with UN-Habitat as the focal point.