Brochures:
Ghana Country Programme | Vietnam Country Programme
[11 September 2012] – The Cities Alliance had a dynamic, full week at the sixth World Urban Forum (WUF6) in Naples, Italy 1-7 September 2012. In addition to hosting a large booth in the Exhibition Hall for the duration of the Forum, we presented a Networking Event on “Youth in the City: Creating Economic Opportunities for the Urban Generation” on 4 September and launched an exciting new publication on slum upgrading in Brazil.
The booth attracted a wide range of visitors, from Ministers and mayors to urban planning students and representatives of civil society. It featured interactive presentations by representatives from two of our Country Programmes, Ghana and Vietnam, who discussed our innovative Country Programmes with visitors and answered questions. (For more about our Country Programmes, please download the brochures at the right.) The booth was also a focal point for Cities Alliance members, who networked and held small bilateral meetings there.
Launch of Slum Upgrading: Lessons from Brazil
One of the highlights of our presence at WUF6 was the launch of a new publication, Slum Upgrading: Lessons from Brazil.
Published by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the book examines all of the IDB’s operations in urban development with significant favela urbanisation components in Brazil in the last ten years, at the federal, state and municipal levels.
Written mainly for urban development professionals and decision makers involved in policy and programme design, Slum Upgrading offers a practical analysis of the evolution of the project cycle, enabling a better understanding of the key stages of the design and execution process, its main players, and the impact of observed institutional and political conditions.
The idea for the publication was developed through collaboration among the IDB, the Cities Alliance, the Brazilian Ministry of Cities, and the Caixa Econômica Federal, which formed a partnership for the purpose of consolidating operational knowledge.
This operational knowledge and lessons learned may also be useful for other countries and regions undergoing similar urbanisation processes, particularly in the Latin American and Caribbean region, Africa, and Asia.
In addition to the booth, the Cities Alliance presented a Networking Event based on its 2012 Catalytic Fund, themed “Youth and the City.” The event, which was filled to capacity, showcased various perspectives on economic development for the urban youth. Five women presenters from different countries shared their personal experiences, stressing that youth is an integral part of the city that should be viewed as a resource rather than a security issue.
Partner Events at WUF Cities Alliance also supported its members and partners at their many sessions, including participating in the following Networking, Side and Training events:
-- African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town South-Africa’s Networking Event, New Urban Law for an Urban Future.
-- US Department of Housing and Urban Development's Networking Event, The Next generation in Innovative Financing Mechanism to Achieve Urban Sustainability.
-- French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs’ Networking Event, Strategic urban planning as a sustainable development factor for future cities
-- Global City Indicators Facility’s Networking Event, Global Cities Panel: Why Cities? Why Metrics?
-- Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Uganda’s Networking Event: Recording land rights: a Government-Community Partnership to Pilot STDM
-- CEPT University (India)’s Training Event, How to link City Sanitation Plans with City Development Planning in Emerging Economies
-- GIZ’s Side Event, Sustainable urban development as a country's priority - the role of national urban fora for shaping development as well as the policies
About WUF
Established by UN-Habitat in 2002 and held every two years, the World Urban Forum (WUF) is the world’s preeminent conference on all things urban, bringing together government ministers, mayors, diplomats, grassroots women's organisations, youth and slum dwellers groups, planners, engineers and architects, academics, and the private sector as partners who are all working for better cities.
The theme of WUF6, “The Urban Future,” was chosen as a reminder of how fast the world is urbanising.
For more information about WUF6, please visit UN-Habitat’s WUF page
