Our Work Towards a New Urban Agenda
With more than half of the world population now living in urban areas, the success of the Sustainable Development Goals hinges on equitable and holistic management of our cities. Urbanisation connects many of the focus areas of UNU’s work: governance, migration, water, health, economic development, peace and security, human welfare, climate change, and vulnerability to natural hazards. UNU seeks to overcome the past tendency to treat such issues as discrete problems by undertaking interdisciplinary, policy-relevant analysis of fragile cities and urban resilience.
UNU & HABITAT III
Habitat III, the vicennial UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, provided a significant opportunity for UNU to contribute its urban expertise and strengthen engagement across sectors. Through research, commentary and events, UNU’s work on urbanisation is helping to establish a New Urban Agenda that will drive sound economic and social development for decades to come.
ESTABLISHING THE AGENDA: Expert Commentary
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Matthias Garschagen
Head of Section, UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security
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Natasha Kuruppu
Postdoctoral Fellow, UNU International Institute for Global Health
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Jose Antonio Puppim de Oliveira and Mahendra Sethi
UNU International Institute for Global Health
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Megha Amrith
Research Fellow, UNU Institute on Globalization, Culture and Migration
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David Tan and Jose Siri
UNU International Institute for Global Health
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Alexandra Ivanovic, Menaal Munshey and Louise Bosetti
UNU Centre for Policy Research
RELATED COMMENTARY
UNU-EHS researcher Matthias Garschagen has co-authored the article Boost Resilience of Small and Mid-sized Cities, available now on NATURE.COM.
UNU-IIGH visiting research fellow Jose Puppim de Oliveira and UNU-IAS communications coordinator William Dunbar have contributed to October’s Global Roundtable (HABITAT III outcomes), available now on THENATUREOFCITIES.COM
CONTRIBUTING EXPERTS
* EXPERT ATTENDING HABITAT III CONFERENCE
FEATURED RESEARCH PROJECTS
UNU ACTIVITIES IN QUITO
The United Nations University has a variety of activities scheduled during the Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador, 17–20 October 2016.
OFFICIAL HABITAT III SIDE EVENTS
Resilience Within Water Systems: The Quest for Strategies and Innovations in the Anthropocene
17 October 2016 (MON), 08:00-09:00, CASA DE LA CULTURA ECUATORIANA, Room 12
Beyond Basic Services: Rethinking the Values, Functions, and Management of “Waters” in Our Cities
18 October 2016 (TUE), 14:30-16:00, ONE UN PAVILION, Room A
Harnessing Sustainable Urbanisation for Human and Planetary Health
20 October 2016 (THU), 08:30-10:00, ONE UN PAVILION, Room A
Climate Change and Urban Disaster Resilience: Current and Future Challenges
20 October 2016 (THU), 08:30-10:00, ONE UN PAVILION, Room B
Urban Disaster and Climate Risks: Solutions and Ways Forward
20 October 2016 (THU), 13:00-14:30, ONE UN PAVILION, Room B
OTHER ACTIVITIES
UNU-CPR’s Fragile Cities data visualisation platform is being launched at the event Measuring Fragility in Cities: A Global Perspective.
18 October 2016 (TUE), 09:30-10:30, CENTRO DE CONVENCIONES EUGENIO ESPEJO, Gran Salon 6
UNU-IAS is presenting the Water and Urban Initiative project, case study outcomes and upcoming project activities. UNU-IAS experts will be in the Water exhibition area in ONE UN PAVILION.
UNU-IIGH is presenting initiatives on systems thinking about health in the urban context. UNU-IIGH health experts will be in the Healthy City exhibition area in ONE UN PAVILION.
UNU-IIGH is also launching the THRIVE GLOBAL: People, Planet and Participation publication.
18 October 2016 (TUE), 08:00-08:45, CASA DE LA CULTURA ECUATORIANA, Urban Library
