THE WORLD URBAN FORUM

An Overview

presented to the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements

22 August, 2012

Pinky Vilakazi, UN HABITAT Programme Manager for SA

Mandate for the Forum

• Established by Res 18/5 of the CHS promoting “….. a merger of the Urban Environment Forum and the International Forum on Urban Poverty into a new urban forum” to strengthen the coordination of international support to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.”

• UNGA Res 56/206, decided that the Forum would be a “non-legislative technical forum in which experts can exchange views in the years when the Governing Council of UN-Habitat does not meet.”

• UNGA Res 56/205, encouraged local authorities and other Habitat Agenda partners to participate, as appropriate, in the World Urban Forum in its role as an advisory body to the Executive Director of UN-Habitat

Objectives of the Forum

• To further cooperation and coordination among development agencies in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, the Declaration of Cities and other Human Settlements in the New Millennium and the United Nations Millennium Declaration.

• To strengthen the coordination of international support to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.

• To facilitate the exchange of experiences and the advancement of collective knowledge among cities and their development partners.

These initial objectives are currently under review

Who attends WUF?

• All Member States• Local Authorities• Intergovernmental Organizations• Non-Governmental Organizations• International Organizations• Community Groups• Urban Professionals• Business and Private Sector• Academics and Students• National And International Associations• Women groups• Youth Associations

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Participation Trend

5

100 countries

146 countries

150 countries

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

WUF1(2002)

WUF2(2004)

WUF3(2006)

WUF4(2008)

WUF5(2010)

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Sessions

Number of Participants from WUF1 to WUF5

Themes since 2002

1. Nairobi, Kenya (2002) - Sustainable Urbanization

2. Barcelona, Spain (2004) - Cities: Crossroads of Cultures, inclusiveness and integration?

3. Vancouver, Canada (2006) - Sustainable Cities: Turning Ideas into Action

4. Nanjing, China (2008) - Harmonious Urbanization: The Challenge of Balanced Territorial Development

5. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2010) - The Right to the City: Bridging the Urban Divide

6. Naples, Italy (2012) – The Urban Future6

WUF6 – The Urban FutureStructure of Dialogues

Dialogue 1

Urban Planning, Institutions and Regulations: Including the Improvement of Quality of Life

Objectives

Dialogue 1 will explore the specific role of effective role of effective urban planning, institutions and regulations in enhancing the prosperity of cities. In so doing the Dialogue will examine how a new approach to urban planning can create the necessary conditions for the future cities to prosper.

The Dialogue will encourage debate on the following themes:

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Key Questions

• How can urban planning harness urbanization as a positive phenomenon and at the same time respond to the challenges associated with rapid urban growth?

• How can a new approach to urban planning contribute to improving the living conditions in slum (IS) and prevent the formation of new slums?

• How can urban planning encourage more compact urban development which entails medium to high-built densities in order to take advantage of agglomeration economies, which are so crucial to the prosperity of cities/

• How can urban planning facilitate productivity, job creation and sustainable livelihoods?

• How can city planners help to create liveable and diverse public spaces that add value and quality to urban social and economic life?

• How do national governments participate in the provision and management of public spaces as a contribution to people’s well-being and city prosperity?

• What are cities doing to transform their streets into quality public spaces?

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Dialogue 2: Equity and Prosperity: Distribution of Wealth and opportunities

• How have redistributive measures been addressed in policy making? What instruments have been used to implement these policies?

• What roles do social economic, cultural and political factors play in determining the attitudes of governments towards wealth distribution?

• What policy instruments and actions have successfully increased opportunities for all, promoting equity in the city?

• How have cities and central government succeeded in enabling access to affordable housing for all?

• Which are the successful cases of efficient land-use mechanisms, housing policies and land taxation systems for a more egalitarian access to land, adequate housing and basic services?

• What city-wide approaches have succeeded in improving living conditions of the under-privileged in slums (IS)

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Dialogue 3: Productive Cities: Competitive and Innovative Cities

Objectives of the Dialogue

Dialogue 3 will focus only on one dimension of productive cities: urban job creation. It will explore how urban areas can be engines of economic growth and be centres of employment rather than centres of unemployment. In this regard, the dialogue will examine what cities are doing and can do to be more attractive and productive in order to create jobs for its growing labour force. The dialogue will also discuss the nature of youth employment in urban areas. This is vital given recent happenings in several countries where street protests and change in government have in part been linked to youth unemployment.

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Key Questions

• What can cities do to create adequate number of renumerative jobs for their rapidly increasing populations?

• How can cities use tools of urban planning, management, revenue and capital gains to identify innovative ways of funding infrastructure for economic development?

• What role can city authorities play in promoting self-employment opportunities in cities?

• What type of city profiles are required to enable economic growth and what role can cities play in developing these?

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Dialogue 4: Urban Mobility, Energy and environment

Objectives

Dialogue 4 will analyze the prospects and challenges that cities face in adopting sustainable solutions for urban mobility. At the heart of urban mobility is mass transportation that combined with non-motorized solutions increases connectivity and interactions, which are essential for economic growth and city prosperity. A connection will be established between infrastructure provision, mass transportation and energy conservation and its benefits on climate change. The dialogue will also explore the possible impacts of climate change on urban mobility. This is expected to be severe in terms of infrastructure damage, cost of delays and lost trips especially in developing countries where infrastructure supporting urban mobility may be of poor quality and inadequately maintained.

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Methodology for Discussion

The e-Dialogue will serve as a basis to gather key ideas and questions to be used during the on-site dialogue. The Dialogue will be moderated by a professional who will question the panellists in a way that realities and experiences in developed and developing countries can be compared for better knowledge sharing.

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Key Questions

• How can cities mobilize huge investments to finance infrastructure development to enhance urban mobility?

• How have cities integrated special and transport planning?• What type of institutions and capabilities are needed to be

strengthened to transfer existing “good” concepts and ideas into a sustainable future reality?

• How may para-transit systems be integrated into sustainable and safe transport systems?

• Mass transit systems have clear benefits, yet many cities have not been able to integrate these solutions in their urban mobility plans. How can poor cities adopt mass transit systems with a view to achieving more to increase the chances of prosperous development?

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What will happen at the Forum (1)

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S. No Type of Event Noproposed

1. Opening and Closing ceremonies 2

2. Dialogues 4

3. Training Events 20

4. Peer Round tables 12

5. Networking events 120

6. Youth Assembly 10

7. Gender Assembly 16

8. Special Sessions 6

What will happen at the Forum (2)

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9. Side Events 40

10. Seminars 2

11. Business Assembly 1

12. Consultations and Caucus meetings 20

13. Concerts and cocktails and receptions

6

14. Official press conferences 20

15. Exhibition including Rio+20 120

TOTAL meetings and events at WUF 6

280+

Guide to countries: Preparations for WUF 6

EXPECTED OUTCOME: Comprehensive Representation in all WUF Events

The Benefits of the Forum

• Advocacy, publicity and image projection

• New and strengthened partnerships• Strengthening international

cooperation• Policy debates• Information Dissemination• Best practises, sharing and exchanges• Peer review• Capacity building• Strategy session for Habitat III

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Thank you