POLICY ENGAGEMENT: SHC Director Presents at First Ever UN Environment Assembly Cities Summit

The UN Environment Programme and UN Habitat hosted the first-ever Cities Summit at the 4th UN Environment Assembly (UNEA)  in Nairobi, Kenya earlier this month. SHCN Director, Anu Ramaswami, was in attendance to present during a plenary session on the future of integrated urban infrastructure systems.

The summit focused broadly on innovation for livable and sustainable cities,  approaching the discussion with a view toward the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production).

Major topics of discussion included: integrated participatory planning, technical and institutional urban systems integration, data needs for informed urban systems decision making, national resources for urban systems, private sector engagement and public-private-partnerships, finance innovation, circular development, and community engagement for social equity.

A detailed outcome document from the Cities Summit can be accessed here.

The event was organized in collaboration with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, Cities Alliance, the Global Task Force for Local and Regional Governments, and United Cities and Local Governments. Participants in the Cities Summit included representatives from local and regional government, academia, industry, international finance institutions and multi-lateral agencies. The original agenda for the summit can be accessed here.

Broadly, UNEA is an annual convening attended by the highest-level environmental decision makers globally. Ramaswami  attended UNEA4 in her role as a member of the International Resource Panel.