World Cities Day - Kusum Sharma

The 31st of October is celebrated as World Cities Day. The aim is to promote the international community’s interest in global urbanization, enhance cooperation among countries and cities in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contribute to sustainable urban development. The overall World Cities Day theme is Better City, Better Life.   However, every year a different sub-theme is selected. The sub-theme is in such a way to either promote the success of urbanization or address specific challenges from urbanization. 

Significance

The theme is selected to discuss how urbanization can be used to achieve sustainable development. It aims at implementing the New Urban Agenda.

New Urban Agenda

The New Urban Agenda was adopted in Quito, Ecuador at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development in 2016. The conference is also known as the Habitat Conference. The Agenda set global standards for the way the cities are to be built, managed and inhabited. Also, it aims at implementing SDG 11 which deals with making human cities and towns inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

The Habitat conferences happen once in every 20 years. The habitat I was organized in Vancouver in 1976, Habitat II in Istanbul in 1996 and Habitat III in Quito in 2016.

Need

Over half of the world populations now live in cities. The number is to double by 2050. It possesses great challenges related to the environment, housing, infrastructure, climate change, basic services, infrastructure, food security, jobs, education, safety and natural resources. 

Courtesy- https://www.unenvironment.org/events/un-day/world-cities-day

Kusum Sharma

The Fabindia School

ksa@fabindiaschools.in