PURPOSE: The World Cities Day was established in 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution A/RES/68/239. The first World Cities Day was held on 31 October 2014. A legacy of Expo 2010 Shanghai China. The observance day ties in with Sustainable Development Goal 11, to make cities “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. Individual households in urban areas have provided an enabling environment for work and study in the home, while city communities have made a significant contribution to challenging poverty, discrimination and other forms of inequality that undermine anti-pandemic measures. The Sustainable Development Goal 11 formulates the ambition to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The Observance of World Cities Day highlights progress and new challenges on that path. The Urban October Month starts on October 1st and end on 31st october.
FORUM: “Financing sustainable urban future for all.” World Cities Day 2023. The global economic outlook remains fragile amid a convergence of crises that are threatening to further reverse progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects 2023 projects that global growth will decelerate to 1.9 per cent in 2023. It is also estimated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and IEA, that roughly $2.6 trillion dollars is required every year until 2030 to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and stay on course towards a net-zero society by 2050. (United Nations, 2023). This amount may appear huge but compared to annual global savings and other large financing markets, it is achievable. The availability of capital is large enough to solve global infrastructure needs. (World Bank, 2022) To unlock this capital, a paradigm shift is essential to inform the way efforts toward sustainable development is deployed in low-to-middle income countries. A significant drop in development grant funding and an increase in public investment is a clear signal that a change from a granting model to a financing model is crucial in keeping up the pace towards attaining the SDGs. (UN-Habitat CIF, 2023). While the financing model is not entirely new for public authorities, this period of economic downturn has not only elevated the urgency of scaling up investments for development but has also provided an opportunity for transformative innovative finance to be prioritized in public discourse. Follow the conversation with the hashtags: #WorldCitiesDay, #31October, #UrbanOctober, #sustainableurbanfuture, #Cities.
EVENTS: It will be a culmination of month-long global deliberations in Istanbul, Türkiye. The high-level segment sessions on October 31st, from 08:30 AM-19:30 PM (UTC+03) will bring together leaders of sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions, private sector and governments to focus on the theme of “Financing sustainable urban future for all.” to explore how to unlock transformative investment in urban planning and achieve adequate fiscal decentralization. Two roundtable discussions will be organized for the Global Observance of the World Cities Day 2023.
The first roundtable on ‘‘Financing sustainable future for all.” will be held from 14:00-16:00 PM (UTC+03). The main objective of this roundtable will be to examine and refine recommendations received throughout Urban October on how to best facilitate the financing of the Sustainable Urban Development.Through this mechanism, the SDG Cities Global Initiative aims to support over 1,000 cities to accelerate their progress of the UN SDGs and the impact this would have on around 1 billion lives. Whilst the SDGs Global Cities Initiative centers on increasing the institutional capacities of cities and government to prepare projects that are viable and appropriate for private sector investments. Strategic reforms in the fiscal, regulation, and systemic environments are equally important factors contributing towards securing private sector investments that need to be considered. The challenge in facilitating private capital in sustainable urbanisation in emerging markets and developing economies though remains multifaceted and complex, provides a clear path and establishes its integral role in accelerating current progress towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
The second roundtable on “Waste to Wealth” will be held from 16:00-18:00 PM (UTC+03). Building On World Cities Day 2023 and on the transition to a circular economy, This roundtable will discuss the strategies national and local governments can adopt to move towards a circular economy through sustainable operational finance to unlock investments and bring decent job in the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) value chain and shift towards a circular economy. The roundtable will also explore how cities can collaborate with industries to promote circularity and zero waste in the built environment, while simultaneously ensuring that people who depend on the waste value chain for their livelihoods, particularly vulnerable groups such as waste workers, benefit from the transition. It will also discuss how cities can leverage the “value of urbanization” in bridging the financing gap and adopting innovative financing models in collaboration with the private sector and communities to finance capital and operational expenditures to improve solid waste management and to promote a circular economy. UN-Habitat, through its Waste Wise Cities and African Clean Cities Platform programmes, is increasingly working with national and local governments to develop business models and facilitate financial investments to shift towards circular and zero-waste economies.
The guests are also invited to visit the 2023 World Cities Day Urban exhibition from 9: 00 AM -16:00 PM UTC+03, followed by the Reception hosted by the Mayor of Üsküdar, Istanbul at 19:30 PM. Read the Information for Participants, Register to participate and Get the draft programme of the World Cities Day 2023!
On World Cities Day, the World Heath organization (WHO) will organize various events to launch its new technical guidance and tools, disseminate advocacy messages, and raise awareness of urban health issues along with health experts and urban practitioners. Learn more on the Expression of interest in hosting the Global Observance of World Cities Day for 2023.
STATEMENTS: Read the statement of the United Nations Secretary-General on World Cities Day 2023; October 31st and the message of the UN-Habitat Executive Director on World Cities Day 2023; October 31st.
HIGH LEVEL OPENING CEREMONY: On 31 October 2023, the Global Observance of World Cities Day, under the theme Financing sustainable urban future for all, will explore how we can unlock transformative investment in urban planning and achieve adequate fiscal decentralization.
PODCASTS: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 “to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” identifies sustainable urbanization as one of the key priorities for global development. The adoption of the new Urban Agenda by the United Nations in 2016 has seen national and local governments around the world embark on a transformative path towards making SDG11 a reality. Listen to the audio-podcasts!
CAMPAIGN MATERIALS : Join us in the celebration of World Cities Day 2023 “Financing sustainable urban future for all.” and for the 31 days to promote better urban future. Urbanization presents some of the most significant opportunities and challenges in the world today. Cities are centres for economic growth and development but also face demographic, environmental, economic and social challenges. Explore the poster in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Russian and Chinese on Trello Board. Get the communication materials!
WHY WE CELEBRATE THE DAY?
HOW TO GET INVOLVED!
PARTNERSHIPS
The World Cities Day is co-hosted bythe UN General Assembly, the UN-Habitat, the UNESCO, the UN Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the UN-WATER, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
With the participation of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the Shanghai Municipal Government in the People’s Republic of China.
With the collaboration of Civil Society Organizations; the Mayor offices, Urban planners, Public Infrastructure ministers, Urban Architects and Engineers, International and Non-governmental Organization, researchers and academics.
Urban October is a month of exciting meetings, discussions and events focusing the world’s attention on urban issues and sustainable development. Individuals, organizations, cities, communities, and governments at every level are encouraged to take part in activities that highlight the challenges and solutions relating to cities, towns, and communities.Evaluate the Progress made towards the Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Local action is critical to achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. UN-Habitat has been at the forefront of SDG localization since the very endorsement of the Agenda 2030. Since then, UN-Habitat has been working to advance SDG localization by providing technical expertise to partners across the globe, by leading the development of cutting-edge research, by capacitating local and regional governments on SDG localization, and by strengthening the voice of local governments and local actors within the main international and UNled fora on SDGs.
By engaging all stakeholders, cities have the ability to harness transformational change and improve the life of their inhabitants. However, in many contexts, cities lack the capacity to enact this change. Ensuring cities have the capacity, capability and tools to address the challenges posed by urbanization has become a pressing global issue.
World Cities Day brings Urban October to an end on October 31th each year and was first celebrated in 2014. Our aim is to advance the technical and political debate on the localization of the SDGs as a comprehensive roadmap to enhance inclusive human settlements and organize political inputs to implement global recommendations in local contexts. To share and hear from best examples of participatory processes and inclusion related to SDG localization that can be extrapolated and tailored to different contexts. To define concrete hands-on learnings and recommendations on how to effectively implement the SDGs to reduce inequalities within cities and across territories.