Researcher/Educator Networks to Promote Sustainable City Development

Participants in university networks actively advancing the work of sustainable city development will share lessons on what works best to build knowledge and capacity in harmony with UN-Habitat’s work, especially through UNH’s Communities of Practice. Stimulated by the current reassessment of UN-Habitat’s partnerships with universities with focus on the Habitat University Network Initiative (UNI), this networking event will draw together eleven planning school associations under the Global Planning Education Association Network (GPEAN), active UNI institutional partners, other academic and professional networks in the same field, UN-Habitat staff, and representatives from allied international development agencies from both the Global North and South. As a strategy to still hear from the larger group, is to have invited representatives who are not listed as speakers, but who will give interventions during the session. Event participants will join the university and international agency representatives in identifying promising changes to increase the value added of university and research institution contributions to the work of U.N. Habitat. Participants will strongly engage with other stakeholders, and will draw the roadmap to the next WUF.