Looking Back to Look Forward: Evolution of the Habitat Agenda and Prospects for Implementation of the New Urban Agenda

Abstract

Followed by two previous conferences 20 and 40 years earlier, the Habitat III conference convened in Quito in 2016 to tackle global urban challenges. With cities experiencing ever-increasing levels of poverty, inequality, and vulnerability to climate change, Habitat’s New Urban Agenda outlines its priorities for sustainable urban development considering current urban realities. This paper aims to assess the changing dynamics that have paved the road towards Habitat III and to evaluate the ongoing prospects for its effective policy implementation by analyzing: 1) the changing development paradigms that have informed the three meetings, and 2) the nature, adequacy and influence of Habitat policy frameworks. Our analysis elucidates the weak commitment of nations at framing and implementing policies that help advance past Habitat’s agendas. This leads us to conclude that local governments may be better suited to promote just and sustainable development. Promising policymaking may occur if governments can intersect the principles of the New Urban Agenda with other global agendas, including the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, it is relatively clear four years after Habitat III, that local commitment to these principles is not uniform either and that only certain world regions are actively participating in their implementation.

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