Description

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Picture Courtesy: Ngofeed.com

Context:

C40 Cities and UN-Habitat Partnership to Promote Resilient, Sustainable, and Inclusive Urban Development.

News in Detail

C40 Cities (a global network of 97 major cities committed to climate action) and UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) have announced a partnership to launch the Urban Planning Accelerator.

The initiative aims to help cities worldwide in reducing emissions by 25% by 2050 while creating a safer, fairer, and more inclusive urban environment.

Objectives of the Partnership

Combat Urban Sprawl:
- - Prioritize compact, regenerative cities over unchecked expansion.
  - Promote mixed-use, connected neighborhoods to reduce car dependency and foster vibrant communities.
Climate Risk Mitigation:
- - Regulate construction in climate-vulnerable areas (e.g., flood zones) and preserve natural ecosystems to safeguard against extreme weather events.
Equitable Growth:
- - Address the global housing crisis, particularly in informal settlements and slums (1.1 billion people affected globally), by promoting densification and regeneration while preserving social and ecological functions of land.

Significance

Urban areas are expanding 50% faster than population growth, especially in climate-vulnerable regions. Without intervention, cities could triple in size by 2050, exacerbating emissions, inequality, and environmental degradation (UNCCD, 2017).

About UN-Habitat

It was established in 1978 following the first UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat I) in Vancouver, Canada.

Mission: Promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities, with a goal to provide adequate shelter for all.

Governance Structure:

UN-Habitat Assembly: A universal body of 193 UN member states convening every four years.
Executive Board: 36 member states elected to oversee operations, meeting three times annually.