Habitat III in Quito – where the future of cities will be decided

In 2050, more than 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities. This enormous growth means that the equivalent of a new city for one million people will have to be built every week. How this extraordinary social and ecological challenge can be met will be discussed at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) from 17th to 20th October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador.

The Habitat III conference will result in the New Urban Agenda, which will guide global urban development for the next 20 years. As a non-binding agreement, the implementation of the New Urban Agenda depends to a significant extent on the political will of the signatory states. Habitat III is often described as the first implementation conference of the post-2015 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and is strongly influenced by the results of other global processes. It is therefore of paramount importance that links to other relevant processes, new and existing institutions, and mechanisms be continually sought out and utilised.

To effectively prepare actors in Germany and internationally for this challenge, experts from adelphi have spent the past few months developing recommendations for the development of the New Urban Agenda. On behalf of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), adelphi explored design options for monitoring and review mechanisms and analysed possible impacts of different international agreements on the global structure of urban governance. adelphi also continually observed the Habitat III process, including relevant actors, institutions, and events. Based on these insights, adelphi advised the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the GIZ on current developments in and surrounding the Habitat III process. adelphi additionally developed discussion papers and expert analyses to support policymakers, experts, and other stakeholders in their discussions on the “New Urban Agenda”.  

Experts from adelphi will be in Quito at the Habitat III conference to engage in discussions on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. adelphi and its partners will simultaneously be spotlighting the topic "climate-resilient cities" at two events taking place on 18th and 19th October.