WORLD URBAN FORUM, JUNE 19-23, 2006 Vancouver, 30 years after Habitat 1: a new vision of cities and a worldwide coalition for action: Centro Internacional de Investigaciones para el Desarrollo

Explorador

Personas

Identificación: 109901

Creado: 2007-03-06 14:58

Modificado: 2007-08-01 14:32

Refreshed: 2010-02-03 16:31

Obtenga la dirección del archivo en formato RSS

WORLD URBAN FORUM, JUNE 19-23, 2006 Vancouver, 30 years after Habitat 1: a new vision of cities and a worldwide coalition for action

Documento(s) 4 de 6

by Mamadou Kassé

The urbanization process accentuates the challenges that cities in developing countries must face. Photo: IDRC.

Hailed as one of the seminal events of the beginning of this 21st-century, and sponsored by the United Nations, the Third Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF) was held in Vancouver, Canada, from June 19-20 3, 2006. Once again, UN-Habitat, the United Nations Program for Human Settlements, put out a general call for attendance. As a result, the Forum beat its own record. 6000 were expected to register, and in fact more than 10,000 delegates from over 100 countries showed up in this city of 2.2 million people on the coast of British Columbia. According to the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, the success testifies to the importance the world attaches to the problems of cities. The Forum, under the title "Our Future: Sustainable Cities -- Turning Ideas into Action", represents a milestone in the history of the United Nations. It was in 1976, in Vancouver, beside the Pacific Ocean, that the idea was born to create an agency, UN Habitat, to deal with the future of human settlements in the world, and that of cities in particular.

In his speech at the opening ceremony in the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, Mr. Harper welcomed the holding of such a gathering, which highlighted the urban statecraft that must guide the development of cities. In his view, urbanization is a powerful phenomenon that is spreading in the developing world. Retracing the broad lines of Canadian history, the Prime Minister was proud to say that "Canada's cities are widely recognized as among the best in the world. [...] That's quite an accomplishment, and quite a challenge to keep them there." That ranking depends, he said, on sound urban planning that can restore the fiscal and jurisdictional balance, reduce the infrastructure deficit, guarantee environmental sustainability, prevent urban crime and combat terrorism, provide affordable housing, and promote cultural diversity.

Similar concerns were expressed by the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. His message, read to the session by Inge Bjork-Klevby, Deputy Executive Director of UN Habitat, dealt with the rapid pace of urbanization around the world over the last three decades. "The world has become more urbanized, congested and polluted, and less equitable", he said. "More than half of the developing world's urban population live in slums." Mr. Annan urged the international community to scale up its efforts to make our planet more just, equitable and sustainable for all its inhabitants.

Charles Kelly, Commissioner General, World Urban Forum III, spoke in a similar vein. The Vancouver Forum was, in his eyes, an important step towards realizing sustainability principles, and he expressed hope that participants would leave with “actionable” ideas to make a difference for urban development. Thus, 30 years after the first Habitat conference and two years before the next session scheduled for Nanjing, People's Republic of China, Vancouver has served to renew the partnership pact that the nations of the world had signed to make the planet's cities into places that are fit to live in.

According to the final report of WUF3, presented by members of its advisory committee and read by Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN Habitat, Vancouver 2006 paved the way for a new drive forward on the international urban agenda in a world of rapidly growing cities.

Just as the Habitat I Conference in Vancouver in 1976 placed local community concerns on the international agenda and highlighted the critical importance of a participatory approach involving all stakeholders in the design and implementation of solutions, the 2006 forum lived up to its promise of moving ideas to action.

The event attracted great numbers of participants from the public sector, local governments, civil society and the private sector, and they all highlighted the importance of sharing thoughts and coordinating action to address urban issues.

This gathering put the emphasis on the quest for innovative ideas and practical solutions (rare for a meeting convened by the United Nations). In fact, the Forum produced many scheduled or spontaneous meetings with participants from all walks of life. There were six dialogues, 13 roundtables, and more than 160 networking events, during which ministers ([Senegal’s] Minister of Urban and Regional Development, Assane Diagne, took part in the event), mayors, academics, community-based organizations, federations of NGOs, and the private sector shared their insights and experiences on what would improve the quality of life in the world's densely populated cities.

The report stressed that "the inclusive approach followed at the forum is a model for cities. Some are already following this model while others would benefit from doing so. It is promising that participants, in such large numbers and from all walks of society, began to converge towards an outline for the way forward".

Participants agreed on the need for all urban players, including ordinary citizens, to work harder to solve urban problems and challenges, and that all must do their part in this collective approach to the problems of cities.

They agreed that risk-taking and the pursuit of innovation must characterize municipal leadership if cities are to achieve sustainable development, and they cited Vancouver's example as a model in such areas as air and water quality, public transit, and urban planning.

ICRC and the Mbeubeuss research project

The Third Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF) focused on the need for all stakeholders to build appropriate engagements, partnerships and relationships in an inclusive manner, in order better to understand the challenges and find practical solutions to the problems of cities.

Within this approach, some participants including IDRC, one of the key agencies responsible for implementing Action 21 adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992, presented examples that can serve as guideposts for these strategies.

ICRC has thus designed the Focus Cities Research Initiative (FCRI), as part of its Urban Poverty and the Environment Program. This project offers an innovative approach to building a relationship of trust by generating cooperative links between communities and municipal governments, universities, civil society, and the private sector. In selecting five cities around the world, IDRC is seeking to mobilize communities to reduce the pressures that weigh on the urban environment and consequently on the poor. The city of Dakar, and more specifically the district of Malika in which the Mbeubeuss landfill is located, is part of the study.

The Canadian Crown corporation hopes in this way to demonstrate that it is possible to achieve the Millennium Development Goals when governments and citizens work together with community groups and research institutes.

This point was stressed by Maureen O'Neil, president of IDRC, who notes that the challenges of urbanization are growing. Research is essential to examine the problems, identify solutions, evaluate the consequences, and make the necessary adaptations. Mrs. O'Neil is convinced that more research needs to be focused on the problems of the South, and that it should be conducted by researchers from developing countries.

According to the president, we need urban strategies that are integrated and adapted to local realities, while promoting participation by all stakeholders, and in particular the local people, including the destitute. Moreover, she believes strongly that local communities must take the lead in formulating and implementing strategies and policies in cooperation with representatives of all walks of society, including government, so that they will feel empowered and achieve lasting results. Working together stimulates innovation. Processes associating several cities can promote learning and lead more swiftly to change, says Mrs. O'Neill. She stresses that, increasingly, municipal networks can be important catalysts for developing innovative urban policies, because they make it possible to pool local expertise, acquire collective know-how, and build capacities.

Documento(s) 4 de 6