Reflecting on Over Two Decades of the World Urban Forum - Legacy, Impacts, and Future Accelerations

The World Urban Forum and Habitat I, Habitat II, and Habitat III have been major arenas to advance global commitments towards sustainable urban development. The World Urban Forum (WUF) was established in 2001 by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanisation and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies. The first WUF took place in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002 and has been held biannually around the world ever since to gather representatives of national, regional and local governments, civil society, academics, private sector, community leaders, and urban planners. For over two decades, WUF has facilitated discussions, shared knowledge, and promoted best practices to advance sustainable urban development globally. The Forum has been instrumental in shaping the global urban agenda, influencing policies, and fostering partnerships across various sectors. In parallel, Habitat Conferences have been taking place on a bi-decennial basis, since 1976, and with the latest one held in 2016 in Quito and creating the New Urban Agenda.

As we reach the halfway point of the Decade of Action, it is crucial to reflect on the legacy of WUF and Habitat III. We need to interrogate and evaluate the impacts and outcomes they have generated to support global sustainable urbanization. The proposed side event aims to provide a comprehensive review of WUF's contributions to urban development, assess the progress made towards the SDGs and in implementing the New Urban Agenda, and explore strategies to enhance and accelerate these impacts in a world that is urbanizing at an unprecedented pace.

The main objectives of the event are to analyze the influence of WUF on global urban policies and practices and to facilitate discussions on emerging urban issues that should be tackled at WUF. The event will aim at showcasing WUF impact and heritage for former WUF host cities and at exploring other national and regional outcomes of WUF for sustainable urbanization.
More specifically, the event will contribute to the following outcomes:
i. WUF is reinforced as a platform enabling dialogue, knowledge sharing, advocacy, policy influence, and collaborative projects in sustainable urban development;
ii. Key achievements, best practices, and lessons learned from WUF's 20-year legacy are disseminated;
iii. Priority actions for Member States are identified, based on the challenges and opportunities highlighted by WUF Alumni experience in localizing the SDGs and implementing the New Urban Agenda;
iv. Main urban issues and future themes for upcoming WUF sessions are identified through stakeholder engagement;
v. Strategic recommendations and innovative approaches for enhancing and accelerating WUF's impact in a rapidly urbanizing world are formulated and communicated