UCLG welcomes the new policy priorities of Habitat calling for an optimistic future for cities

Kadir Topbas, President of UCLG celebrates the call of the Habitat Executive director to stop seeing cities as a liability and rather to acknowledge its role of developer of culture, freedom and the place where citizens are able to develop their own life projects.

Dr. Joan Clos who acknowledge the importance of working with local governments through UCLG proposed the Council to focus on the basics of urban planning. He also recalled the importance of acknowledging the role that city institutions have had throughout history and called national governments to see the city as an institutional lab: a place where innovation can be promoted.

Institution building, urban economy and job creation would be the main focus of his mandate.  Agreeing with the statement of the UCLG Presidency he affirmed the need to develop a new global consensus on the urban future in view of the upcoming Habitat III Summit due to take place in 2016.

The local government delegation further acknowledged the important progress made in terms of recognition of UCLG as the Habitat counterpart for local governments. This has been reinforced with linking he Chair of UNACLA to the UCLG Presidency.

UCLG has expressed its conviction that under the new leadership the Habitat Agenda will be more than ever before that of the Habitat partners. 

Read the full speech of Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN-Habitat