Co-transforming Cities: The Power of Synergy in Creating an Inclusive, Sustainable, and Resilient Urban Future

In this “Decade of Action” to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, cities are at the forefront of global innovation and economic growth, while grappling with the multidimensional challenges of rapid urbanization, urban poverty and inequality, the climate crisis, and the need to ensure an inclusive, sustainable, and resilient recovery from COVID-19. In order to better address the multiple and interlinked challenges of rapid urbanization, UNDP and UN-Habitat have taken bold steps to bolster their partnership, enhance their collaboration across countries and regions, strengthen integration of VNRs and VLRs, and accelerate the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Agreement, and the SDGs, in accordance with the UN system-wide strategy for sustainable urbanization, with a strong focus on local action that is aligned with the needs of countries and cities in their response to and recovery from COVID-19. In particular, UNDP and UN-Habitat have signed an Enhanced Collaborative Framework agreement in December 2020 with a series of global concrete actions for 2021-2022 and a selected cohort of countries and cities for rolling out joint integrated support across five pillars of: 1) National Urban Policies (NUPs): Supporting governments in establishing mechanisms, financing frameworks, platforms, and infrastructure to integrate NUPs into whole-of-government national development and economic planning development efforts. 2) Financing for Development: Supporting governments in developing Integrated National Financing Frameworks for sustainable urbanization and a green, equitable, and resilient recovery. 3) Climate Action: Assisting cities and countries in climate action planning, conducting risk assessments, implementing clean mobility options, accessing climate finance, and integrating urban and human settlement issues into Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans. 4) Urban Resilience: Strengthening the resilience of urban and community-level infrastructure to address physical, social, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities, while facilitating recovery and reconstruction and reducing risk to future disasters, conflict, and climate hazards. 5) Digital Transformation: Driving urban transformation and bridging the digital divide through people-centered approaches to smart cities and digital technologies. As a result, this event will bring together a diverse range of urban practitioners and stakeholders across national and local governments, UN agencies and development partners, IFIs, civil society, academia, NGOs, and the private sector. It will discuss and highlight the urgent and indispensable role of localizing and implementing the Enhanced Collaborative Framework, in particular the pillars of NUPs, Climate Action, and Urban Resilience, for an inclusive and resilient COVID-19 recovery, and to prepare cities and countries for a sustainable urban future.