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Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS) / DUSP / Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Habitat UNI

Ana Claudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN Habitat, has proposed a distinctive role for DUSP/SPURS at the World Urban Forum (WUF) as a leading community of practice. Biswapriya Sanyal, Director of SPURS and a DUSP experienced faculty, has been invited by her to join the panel titled "It All Starts at Home: Local Actions for Sustainable Cities and Communities," scheduled for November 7th, from 4 to 6 pm.

The DUSP/SPURS booth proposes to offer a valuable opportunity to promote the concept of Communities of Practice as a means to accelerate the implementation of urban-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This will be achieved through the production and dissemination of collaborative research and teaching materials developed by SPURS and DUSP.

The impact of such collaborations could greatly shape global urban planning policies and practices. By expanding DUSP/SPURS’s collaborative reach with UN Habitat, the initiative aims to build strategic and long-term alliances with global partners from both the private and public sectors. Furthermore, the UN Habitat Executive Director has proposed an international conference for practitioners, to be held in Cambridge in 2025, co-hosted by MIT and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

At the World Urban Forum, we propose to highlight the future of Communities of Practice as a platform to achieve urban SDGs. The DUSP/SPURS exhibit will showcase groundbreaking research and teaching further strengthening global understanding of sustainable urban development, housing policy, and regional planning. A small-scale event in the UNI booth is proposed under the title of "Communities of Practice". Detailed information in the description material.

Special emphasis in the exhibit will be placed on key DUSP programs and initiatives aligned with the WUF 12 Dialogues. A detailed presentation will include a section outlining various research projects and lab work conducted, along with their relevance to specific dialogues.