The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) launched, this Wednesday (27), the publication Urban Sustainability: a new agenda for cities, no IV Meeting of Municipalities with Sustainable Development (EMDS), which takes place in Brasília (DF). The document presents a compilation of initiatives by organizations from the business sector and civil society that aim to establish a sustainable agenda in cities, serving as inspiration for mayors and municipal managers to implement public-private partnerships for this purpose. The publication also provides space for guidelines for sustainable urban development, at national and global levels.
The publication was presented by CEBDS Institutional Projects Advisor Tatiana Araujo in the EMDS thematic room on 'Financing and Implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the SDGs'. The panel was attended by organizations such as l'Agence française de Développement (AFD), the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Ministry of Cities and the Brazilian Council of Architecture and Urbanism (CAU/BR).
“We want to reinforce that municipalities do not need to think or act in isolation, that it is possible to consolidate a series of partnerships with different spheres. CEBDS has some experiences, among them, Rio Sustainable City which helped in the urbanization process of two favelas in Rio with the partnership of the private sector, government and residents. The publication contains a compilation of initiatives that can be reproduced or inspire municipalities”, explained Tatiana Araujo.
For Nicola Speranza, representative of the Ministry of Cities and commentator on the panel, the CEBDS study is an important tool for understanding the New Agenda for Cities. “We congratulate CEBDS for the study and its commitment to concreteness in order to go beyond rhetoric,” he said.
In 2016, CEBDS participated in the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), a sign that the issue of urban development is not just a responsibility of governments, but also of other sectors of society, such as the business sector and civil society. The UN event takes place every 20 years.
About the publication
The idea of the Cities Agenda is to show mayors the city's relationship with the Development Goals (SDGs), in addition to showing a series of suggestions that can support mayors in the work of proposing sustainable improvements for the city.
The publication Urban Sustainability: a new agenda for cities is divided into three parts:
- The Sustainable Development Goals: All SDGs are listed, especially number 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, which addresses the issue of urban sustainability. This way, the general public can have a better understanding of what the document is about.
- Brazil and Sustainable Urban Development (Legislation): The main current laws that provide for the adoption of sustainable practices at the federal level and that need to be considered in Brazilian municipalities have been mapped. This way, all mayors can have an overview of what they must do to adapt to the national sustainability policy.
- The role of multi-sector initiatives in city development: presentation of initiatives and projects developed in Brazilian cities that illustrate new ways for municipal governments to act in partnership with society and how different sectors can work together, promoting sustainable urban development.
