Summary
On Tuesday, 26 April 2016, the Habitat III Open-Ended Informal Consultative Meeting continued at UN Headquarters in New York. The day was organized around “Transformative Commitments for a Sustainable Urban Development” on the theme “Leave No One Behind, Urban Equity and Poverty Eradication.”
In the morning, the meeting focused on recommendations from Policy Unit 1 on the right to the city and cities for all, and Policy Unit 2 on socio-cultural urban frameworks. On the right to the city and cities for all, discussions touched on the need for a paradigm shift and the concept of “right to the city,” in particular drawing out how to make cities more inclusive. On socio-cultural urban frameworks, panelists addressed the importance of socio-cultural heritage and its protection to sustainable development, as well as urban safety and security, and social inclusiveness.
In the afternoon, the meeting focused on recommendations from Policy Unit 10 on housing policies. Panelists discussed the economic impact of the housing sector and the role of housing in the New Urban Agenda. Key issues included: land tenure; inclusiveness; recognition of slums and informal settlements; and provision of affordable housing.
A thematic panel then addressed: public spaces, from the Thematic Meeting in April 2016, in Barcelona, Spain; informal settlements, from the Thematic Meeting in April 2016, in Pretoria, South Africa; and civic engagement in April 2016, in Tel Aviv, Israel. The panel focused on the declarations from these three thematic meetings, in particular concentrating on the resulting recommendations. They also addressed questions on how to: balance the need for stand-alone policies with the need to integrate these topics into other policy areas; define and monitor effectiveness in ways that is both achievable and meaningful; and define the most important implementation principles and approaches that can build consensus at Habitat III.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, is providing web coverage from the Habitat III Open-Ended Informal Consultative Meetings. In addition, IISD Reporting Services, has published a summary report from the meetings, which is availabe in HTML and PDF format.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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