The closing event of the Global Future Cities Programme in Thailand, featuring overview of the programme's intervention, lessons learned, and recommendations. 

You are invited to join the Virtual UK Smart Cities Mission to Malaysia 2022 on 22 - 24 February 2022 from 4pm-7pm (Malaysia) / 8am - 11am (UK). Please see the full Programme

Thursday, 25 November 2021 at 15:00 - 17:15 Indonesia time (GMT+7)

The webinar will bring together key stakeholders engaged in the intervention, and explore how the private sector and academia can best be involved in community development using the case of Dolly.

The webinar is designed to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities; closed caption, accessible documents, sign language interpreter and general interpreter from English to Bahasa Indonesia and vice versa. It will also encourage women and other representatives of vulnerable groups to participate.

Ogun state ecological and economic resilience strategies, New Clark City nature-based and UN-Habitat’s CityRAP participatory approach-based climate resilience solutions as well as Bangkok flood management interventions will be discussed by the Global Future Cities Programme’s partners, who will share global innovative practices and local approach to advance urban resilience

Friday, 29 October 2021, 12:00 - 13:45 UTC

This session will introduce UN-Habitat's SDG Tool and its application in project development within the Global Future Cities Programme (GFCP), while gathering insights from participants on their needs and preferences for tools that support the alignment of transformative urban development projects with the SDGs. It will be future-focused, looking at how to leverage private Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) project financing to ensure the realisation of SDG-aligned urban projects. The results will form a part of the recommendations of the GFCPs Expert Group Meeting.

As the youth pIays a vital role as key agents of change in building and realizing a comprehensive Creative Strategy for cities, UN-Habitat is organizing a youth speak workshop on public spaces and creative hubs with students and lecturers from local universities and experts from various organizations as a platform for them to understand the vision and contribute their perspectives..

The aim of the City-to-City Knowledge Exchange will be to enable cities to share their experiences, to learn from one another, to help build relationships with one another. In this session, we will have presentations from the following cities and projects:

• Bandung, Indonesia: Development of an Integrated Public Transport System in Bandung
• Bangkok, Thailand: Integrated Data Hub for Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
• Bangkok, Thailand: Flood Management Decision Support System
• Bangkok, Thailand: Transit Development Plan for Khlong Bang Luang Area

The International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysiam (iGEM)’s theme is “From COVID-19 to Green Recovery”. The Delivery Partner in Malaysia, Mott MacDonald, will present the keynote speech

UN-Habitat and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy are hosting a global event that will bring together bring together science and innovation, policy and practice with the objective of enabling cities to take accelerated and more ambitious climate action. Topics include post-pandemic recovery, climate justice and green strategies.

The ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Forum (ASUF) will serve as a platform to promote connectivity, knowledge sharing, and learning opportunities for ASEAN Member States, ASEAN cities, and ASEAN people. The forum includes a high-level roundtable, special sessions, ASUS Thematic Dialogues and Training sessions that will be relevant to Southeast Asian cities participating in the GFCP.

Aligned with World Habitat Day’s theme, in this event UN-Habitat, FCDO, delivery partners, cities and subject matter experts will come together to share innovative methods to successfully tackle decarbonisation in mobility, from community outreach to technology, urban planning and evidence-based decision making

The event is organised by UN-Habitat and British Embassy in Turkey as part of the Marmara Urban Forum (MARUF). The five GFCP projects in Turkey will be presented by the Delivery Partner (ARUP) and the GFCP approach and principles in urban planning, transport and resilience areas to achieve sustainable urbanisation will be discussed by the partner cities.

UN-Habitat recognizes that it is necessary to consult with the public, especially with researchers, academia and professionals working on integrated planning. This workshop will be an opportunity for open discussion for the parties to share their views and practical experience, to identify problems as well as to propose solutions for planning management towards integrated planning. and sustainable development in the future. UN-Habitat Vietnam Office is organizing this event, with with representation from the GFCP.

The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The UK is committed to working with all countries and joining forces with civil society, companies and people on the frontline of climate change to inspire climate action ahead of COP26.

The City-to-City Knowledge Exchange comprises a programme of four events and follows on from the Thematic Programme, which took place in the early part of 2021. The aim of the City-to-City Knowledge Exchange will be to enable cities to share their experiences, to learn from one another, to help build relationships with one another, to promote engagement and to lay the foundation for a series of Country-Level events that are to follow.

Every October, UN-Habitat and partners organize a month of activities, events and discussions on urban sustainability known as Urban October. The month of activities ends this year as always on World Cities Day on 31 October 2021. 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 in October 2014.

Every October, UN-Habitat and partners organize a month of activities, events and discussions on urban sustainability. This year, Urban October opens with World Habitat Day on 4 October. The purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns. World Habitat Day was established in 1985 by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 40/202, and was first celebrated in 1986. It takes place on the first Monday of October.

The pace of urbanisation in many Commonwealth Countries in Asia and Africa is without precedent. For example, in Africa urban populations are expected to triple by 2050. However, there is a critical shortage of reliable, easy-to-use, data-driven planning and mapping tools to support planning decision-making in rapidly urbanising countries. Cost-effective, user-led, data-driven products and services have the potential to significantly improve the capacity of local governments and communities to make planning decisions and strategic infrastructure investments that are evidence-based and in line with sustainable and equitable development principles. A challenge prize holds potential to drive innovation in this space. This session will explore the points where a prize could have significant leverage, including a dive into the nature of the problem; current barriers to developing, using and scaling data-driven tools; and strategies to engage innovators, cities and stakeholders to accelerate innovation.

Informal settlements make up over 54% of the urban population in Africa, with profound consequences in terms of health & well-being, prosperity and environmental impact, plus the fact that retrofitting infrastructure is three time more expensive. In Lusaka, Zambia, an urbanisation plan is needed to better target investment in critical infrastructure and services, upgrading informal settlements to provide for the most vulnerable residents. But how do policy makers make informed decisions? And quickly? Working with the IGC and CAA, Ordnance Survey produced detailed data in a few weeks so that policy makers could start to ensure a more resilient urban future for Lusaka and its residents. We also discuss tools that can help nations measure their progress against SDGs and help with their resilient recovery from COVID-19.

UN Habitat suggests that 65% of the 169 targets underpinning the 17 Sustainable Development Goals are linked to territorial and urban development. Faced with the complex challenges of rapid urbanisation, climate change and the recovery from Covid-19, this session will bring together policymakers, academics and practitioners to consider (1) the importance of building an evidence base in fast-growing cities, (2) the kind of data and evidence that we need, and (3) how we can work together more effectively to help build a strong evidence base for effective policy making and action on the ground to help deliver sustainable urbanisation, leaving no one and no place behind.

Throughout 2020, the shape of the city – its buildings and open spaces – has taken centre stage in our experience of everyday life. Living in lockdown has confronted urban dwellers around the world with the limits of confined domestic environments yet reminded us of the benefits of a well-designed and accessible public realm.

As we begin taking stock of the implications of Covid-19 pandemic on year 2020, Global Future Cities Programme South Africa would like to invite you to join an interactive session titled ‘How do we build urban resilience through a pandemic?’. In this webinar, we will unpack the lessons learned in the process of delivering this ODA programme’s technical assistance to sub-national governments in South Africa for COVID-19 Response and Recovery.

You will hear from the programme Delivery Partner FCSA – PwC led Consortium and key municipal stakeholders. The webinar promises to share knowledge and learnings that can inform similar programmes and projects delivered for crisis response and long-term resilience.

The session is aimed at UK Government colleagues, programme partners and other international experts/organisations in the field of data, innovation, urban development and inclusive economic growth. 

The event is from 1:30 to 3:00 PM South Africa Standard Time (11:30-1 UTC). To join the session at the time of the event, click here.

Explore how innovation in ticketing and payments is helping to increase passenger confidence and rebuild our public transport networks. Take part in the leading online summit and access over 400+ attendees from 100+ global public transport authorities and operators.

Calling all young architects, planners and anyone with an interest in city-making and heritage!

Presented by Icomos Malaysia and Think City Institute, and made possible with support from Citi, this online course is open to all individuals below 35.

Instructed by an international panel of experts in heritage, conservation and economics, this course provides a grounding in the social and economic value of cultural heritage, and the best way to utilise cultural assets in city planning.

To register, download the application form from bit.ly/dollars-and-sense-form and email it to duncan.cave@thinkcity.com.my, by 23:59 Malaysia time (UTC+8), on 28 December 2020. For more information, please contact Duncan Cave at the email address above.

Places are limited and preference will be given to those based in Asia Pacific.

This month we are celebrating Urban October, a global dialogue on sustainable urbanization where national and local governments, NGOs, civil society organizations, academic institutions, private firms and many others are joining events to raise awareness about urbanization issues and discuss opportunities to jointly shape a better urban future.

With this in mind, we are glad to invite you to the Global Future Cities “Knowledge Sharing Session on Integrated Planning and Housing to Create Future Cities for All” that will take place on Monday 12th of October. This networking event will bring together high-level stakeholders from cities of the GFCP, Delivery Partner teams and UK and UN-Habitat experts to discuss the issue of well-planned and inclusive housing. The event’s target audience are the programme partners and beneficiaries.

In achieving inclusive prosperity and sustainable cities, integrated planning and the provision of housing plays a key role in ensuring access to job opportunities, services and creating social cohesion and inclusive communities. Many of the projects of the Global Future Cities Programme aim at advancing this contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda. In this event we aim to unpack the issue of well-located, adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services accessible for all and share best practices and lessons learnt on mechanisms, strategies and approaches to achieve this. Besides knowledge exchange, the event aims to facilitate to build partnerships to promote innovative approaches to make a real difference in the lives of people and the prosperity of our cities.

Panelists and presenters will involve high-level stakeholders from cities in the Philippines, Nigeria and Indonesia as well as international experts from Mott MacDonald, Adam Smith International and UK-based experts from the University of Leicester and Reall social enterprise. Lessons learnt will be shared from case studies in Philippines, Nigeria and Vietnam.

We welcome you to join this debate on integrated planning and inclusive housing and to actively participate in the discussion and social media.

You can join the event on the day of the event by clicking on this link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OWJjMTZmYTctNmJiNC00NWI5LWJjMWQtMjcyMjJjY2NjMGU4%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%220f9e35db-544f-4f60-bdcc-5ea416e6dc70%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22f8ebf5dc-4e63-49b8-accd-29b55aef75de%22%7d

Objectives:

• Share challenges and innovative, inspiring practices for community engagement and ownership
• Explore how the GFCP projects engage communities: Identification and engagement of vulnerable and marginalised communities, Innovative community engagement approaches during COVID-19, Common GESI issues related to the development of the GFCP projects

On Thursday 8 October 2020 join, IIIEE is hosting an online summit connecting people, places and projects around the world to advance sustainable solutions! The summit will explore missions for sustainable urban transformation from the perspectives of academia, government, business and society. It will provide a creative and critical forum to take forwards bold and inspirational missions, which are delivered through multiple top-down and bottom-up solutions, and rely on cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral and multi-level relationships and activities.

This online event will examine the key issues facing the public transport sector including what impact COVID-19 will have on the industry in the medium-to-long term.