HABITAT III AND THE NEW URBAN AGENDA

Introduction

This century will see a substantial majority of the world’s population living in urban centers. The Habitat III Conference therefore has, as its mission, the adoption of a New Urban Agenda—an action-oriented document which will set global standards of achievement in sustainable urban development, rethinking the way we build, manage, and live in cities through drawing together cooperation with committed partners, relevant stakeholders, and urban actors at all levels of government as well as the private sector.

The year 2016 is of paramount importance for urban sustainability. In October, the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) will convene in Quito, Ecuador. Given the long interval between Habitat conferences - Habitat I conference took place in Vancouver in 1976, and Habitat II convened in Istanbul 20 years later - this year's meeting offers a rare opportunity to shape the urban development agenda for coming decades. Habitat III is also the first global conference on urban issues following the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, which includes SDG 11 on Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements.

Local authorities and national governments in particular have a strong interest in molding the framework document to be adopted at the Conference. Delegates at Habitat III are expected to endorse the New Urban Agenda, a non-legally binding framework, being developed through a consultative process, that will guide urban sustainable development for 20 years. One issue under discussion is the “right to the city,” an umbrella term that encompasses political power relationships, land appropriation and social justice within the context of globalized “world cities” that are undergoing rapid transformation. This policy update reviews the debates on the Right to the City, its history, and its role in sustainable development policy making going forward.

HABITAT III

Habitat III is the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development to take place in Quito, Ecuador, from 17 – 20 October 2016. Habitat III is the first United Nations global summit after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. It offers a unique opportunity to discuss the important challenge of how cities, towns, and villages are planned and managed in order to fulfill their role as drivers of sustainable development, and hence shape the implementation of new global development and climate change goals.

In Resolution 66/207 and in line with the bi-decennial cycle (1976, 1996 and 2016), the United Nations General Assembly decided to convene the Habitat III Conference to reinvigorate the global commitment to sustainable urbanization, to focus on the implementation of a New Urban Agenda, building on the Habitat Agenda of Istanbul in 1996. Member States of the General Assembly, in Resolution 67/216 , decided that the objectives of the Conference are to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable urban development, assess accomplishments to date, address poverty and identify and address new and emerging challenges. The conference will result in a concise, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented outcome document.

HABITAT  I 1976

The United Nations General Assembly convened the Habitat I conference in Vancouver in 1976, as governments began to recognize the need for sustainable human settlements and the consequences of rapid urbanisation, especially in the developing world. At that time, urbanisation and its impacts were barely considered by the international community, but the world was starting to witness the greatest and fastest migration of people into cities and towns in history as well as rising urban population through natural growth resulting from advances in medicine.

Main outcomes 

• Recognition that shelter and urbanization are global issues to be addressed collectively
• Creation of the United Nations Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS-Habitat)

HABITAT II 1996

The Vancouver commitments were reconfirmed twenty years later, at the Habitat II conference in Istanbul. World leaders adopted the Habitat Agenda as a global plan of action for adequate shelter for all, with the notion of sustainable human settlements driving development in an urbanising world.

Main outcomes 

• Cities are the engines of global growth
• Urbanization is an opportunity
• Call for a stronger role of local authorities
• Recognition of the power of participation
•  

On 22 December 2015 the United Nations General Assembly, on its seventieth session, adopted the resolution on the ‘Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements(Habitat II) and strengthening of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat)’ (A/70/473) , which refers to the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development - Habitat III Conference’s modalities. The approved rules of procedure for Habitat III recognise the participation of the representatives of local authorities accredited to the Conference in rule 64, as it happened in Habitat II in 1996. The Conference welcomes the participation and contributions of all Member States and relevant stakeholders, including parliamentarians, civil society organizations, regional and local government and municipality representatives, professionals and researchers, academia, foundations, women and youth groups, trade unions, and the private sector, as well as organizations of the United Nations system and intergovernmental organizations.

THE PROCESS OF NEW URBAN AGENDA

Policy Unit and Issue Papers

The Habitat III Issue Papers are summary documents that address one or more research areas, highlight general findings, and identify research needs on topics related to housing and sustainable urban development. The Issue Papers provides in depth review and analysis of specific issues relevant to the discussions of the Conference. The Issue Papers are the departing point for the work of the Policy Units. The first major output of the Habitat III process took place in May 2015, when agencies from across the United Nations and others published 6 themes 22 “issue papers” — key technical snapshots of various sectors and thematic areas in today’s urbanization trends

Policy Units are composed of a maximum of 20 experts each, bringing together individual experts from a variety of fields, including academia, government, civil society and other regional and international bodies. Panelists are members in their personal capacity, however a wide variety of profiles are sort to ensure representation of all major groups.  The United Nations system should also be represented. The main tasks of the Policy Units are to:

1. Identify the challenges, including the structural and policy constraints, to the New Urban Agenda within the issues discussed by each policy unit;
2. Identify the policy priorities and critical issues for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda within the issues discussed by each policy unit;
3. Develop action-oriented recommendations for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

Areas	Issue Papers	Policy Units
1. Social Cohesion and Equity - Livable Cities	1.Inclusive cities (a.o. Pro Poor, Gender, Youth, Ageing) 2. Migration and refugees in urban areas 3. Safer Cities 4. Urban Culture and Heritage	1. Right to the City and Cities for All 2. Socio-Cultural Urban Framework
2. Urban Frameworks	5. Urban Rules and Legislation 6. Urban Governance 7. Municipal Finance	3. National Urban Policies 4. Urban Governance, Capacity and Institutional Development 5. Municipal Finance and Local Fiscal System
3. Spatial Development	8. Urban and Spatial Planning and Design 9. Urban Land 10. Urban-rural linkages 11. Public Space	6. Urban Spatial Strategies: Land Market and Segregation
4. Urban Economy	12. Local Economic Development 13. Jobs and Livelihoods 14.Informal Sector	7. Urban Economic Development Strategies
5. Urban Ecology and Environment	15. Urban Resilience 16. Urban Ecosystems and Resource Management 17. Cities and Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management	8.Urban Ecology and Resilience
6. Urban Housing and Basic Services	18. Urban Infrastructure and Basic Services, including energy 19. Transport and Mobility 20. Housing 21. Smart Cities 22. Informal Settlements	9. Urban Services and Technology 10. Housing Policie

Zero Drafts of the New Urban Agenda

6 May 2016 and 18 June

New York, USA

The first zero draft of the New Urban Agenda—which was prepared on the basis of inputs from broad regional and thematic consultations, as well as the policy recommendations elaborated by the policy units and comments thereon received by participating states and all takeholders—was submitted on 6 May 2016 by the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee for discussion at the informal intergovernmental negotiations and informal hearings with local authorities associations and civil society organizations in May and June, as decided by the General Assembly resolution A/70/210. The revised zero draft was prepared on the basis of inputs and negotiations that took place during the Habitat III intersessional process, where the following meetings were held:

• Open-ended Informal Consultative Meetings (25 - 29 April 2016)
• Informal Hearings with Local Authorities Associations (16 - 17 May 2016)
• Informal Intergovernmental Meetings (18 - 20 May 2016)
• Informal Hearings with Stakeholders (6 - 7 June 2016)
• Informal Intergovernmental Meetings (8 - 10 June 2016)

Draft of the New Urban Agenda

18 July 2016

New York, USA

The Draft New Urban Agenda has been prepared on the basis of inputs and negotiations throughout the Habitat III inter-sessional  process leading to PrepCom3.This draft will be the basis of negotiations at the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the Habitat III Conference (PrepCom3) to be held in Surabaya, Indonesia, 25–27 July 2016. The New Urban Agenda aims to be a concise, action-oriented, forward-looking, and universal framework of actions for housing and sustainable urban development.

Surabaya Draft of the New Urban Agenda

28 July 2016

Surabaya, Indonesia

This draft is the result of the negotiations at the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the Habitat III Conference (PrepCom3), held in Surabaya, Indonesia, 25–27 July 2016. It is the basis for the next round of informal negotiations in New York end of August/beginning of September. The exact date of the informal negotiations will be announced soon.

Agreed Draft of the New Urban Agenda

10 September 2016

New York, USA

After the release of the Surabaya Draft of the New Urban Agenda at the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the Habitat III Conference in Surabaya, Indonesia in July 2016, the New Urban Agenda has finally been agreed on at the Habitat III Informal Intergovernmental Meeting which took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 7 to 10 September 2016, and it will be adopted in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016.

Content of The New Urban Agenda

The main references of The New Urban Agenda

    i.       2030 Agenda For Sustainable Development, Development Goals (SDGS);

  ii.       Addis Ababa Action Agenda Of The Third International Conference On Financing For Development;

 iii.       Paris Agreement On Climate Change (COP 21);

iv.       The Sendai Framework For Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030;

  v.       The Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities Of Action (SAMOA) Pathway;

vi.       The Istanbul Programme Of Action For The Least Developed Countries For The Decade 2011-2020;

vii.       The Vienna Programme Of Action For Landlocked Developing Countries For The Decade 2014-2024;

viii.       The Rio Declaration On Environment And Development;

ix.       The World Summit On Sustainable Development;

  x.       The World Summit For Social Development;

xi.       The Programme Of Action Of The International Conference On Population And Development;

xii.       The Beijing Platform For Action; and

xiii.       The United Nations Conference On Sustainable Development

The basic ideas and concept of New Urban Agenda are related to urban planning and sustainable urban development which involved :

i.          National Urban Policy;

ii.         Urban Legislation Rules and Regulation;

iii.       Urban Planning and Design;

iv.       Urban Economy and Municipal Finance; and

v.        Planned City Extensions /Planned Urban Renewals

http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/173237/goals-new-urban-agenda