Summary
On Thursday, 28 April, the Habitat III Open-Ended Informal Consultative Meeting continued at UN Headquarters in New York. The day focused on “Effective Implementation,” organized around two themes “establishing a supportive national, regional and local framework” and “strategic and integrated planning and management of urban spatial development.”
In the morning, under the theme on establishing a supportive national, regional and local framework, two panels addressed national urban policies, and urban governance, capacity and institutional development. On national urban policies, panelists discussed the outcomes of Policy Unit 3, particularly the role of: technical and political processes at that national level; citizen participation; empowerment of local authorities; and governance standards. On urban governance, capacity and institutional development, the panel focused on the recommendations of Policy Unit 4, discussing the role of governance, including: decentralization; participatory processes; digital technology; and linkages between the urban and sustainability agendas.
In the afternoon, under the theme strategic and integrated planning and management of urban spatial development, two panels addressed urban spatial strategies – land market and segregation, and metropolitan areas and intermediate cities. On urban spatial strategies – land market and segregation, discussions focused on the results of Policy Unit 6, touching on: the importance of spatial planning; approaches to prevent segregation; inclusive planning; provision of public spaces; and territorial approaches. On metropolitan areas and intermediate cities, the panel emphasized the outcomes of the thematic meetings in October 2015 in Montreal, Canada, on metropolitan areas, and in November 2015 in Cuenca, Ecuador, on intermediate cities. Discussions addressed: the role of metropolitan areas in sustainable urban development; the need for integrated policy approaches; and fit-for-purpose and participatory planning processes.
The day concluded with a short wrap-up session that examined the outcomes of the sessions on effective implementation.
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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