Sustainability in urban areas - exploring opportunities for the New Urban Agenda

2015 is a pivotal year for sustainable development. The outcomes of the 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), the United Nations Summit to adopt the post-2015 development agenda, as well as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP21 will shape sustainable development for the coming decades. This will be followed by negotiations on the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in October 2016, where the New Urban Agenda will be agreed upon. The NUA will define the goals for sustainable urban development for the coming 20 years. Often referred to as the first implementation conference of the post-2015 development agenda, Habitat III will be significantly influenced by the outcomes of other global processes. As a non-binding agreement, the implementation of the NUA is moreover dependent on the political will of the parties to the agreement. Thus, it is of central importance that possible synergies of the New Urban Agenda with other relevant political processes, institutions and mechanisms are identified.

On July 15, 2015 representatives of the Cities Alliance Secretariat, members of its management board as well as members and partners of the Joint Work Programme in support of Habitat III convened for a workshop in Brussels to discuss the New Urban Agenda. The workshop covered issues such as the international political context affecting Habitat III, discussion of relevant institutional and process-related requirements for the implementation and review of the New Urban Agenda, and development of recommendations.

adelphi´s services in this project included the preparation, moderation and wrap-up of the workshop. This included the development of Moderator´s Conclusions, which summarized the outcomes of the workshop and the participants´ recommendations.