Today 55 per cent of the world’s population live in cities and towns and the number is growing every day. Every October UN-Habitat and partners organize a month of activities, events and discussions on urban sustainability. 2018 was the most successful Urban October on record with a total of 61 countries and 107 cities marking World Habitat Day and World Cities Day, and hosting events to celebrate Urban October.

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.

The United Nation’s Agenda for Sustainable Development, and Sustainable Development Goal 11 “to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” puts sustainable urbanization as one of the key priorities of the global agendas for development. It has been called the ‘docking station’ for all the other SDGs. 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. By engaging all stakeholders, cities have the ability to harness transformational change and improve the life of their inhabitants. However, in many context 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.

WHD Expression of Interest WCD Expression of Interest