The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) participated this week in the third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), where the New Urban Agenda was approved. The document contains approximately 175 principles that should guide sustainable urbanization over the next 20 years. The agenda will be adopted by the 193 member states of the United Nations (UN).
The meeting was attended by around 30,000 people in the city of Quito, Ecuador, and is the largest global event on housing and urban development. One of the new features on the agenda is the incorporation of the right to the city, a concept created by Henri Lefebvre in the 1960s and which is now part of the United Nations' vision on the subject.
CEBDS Institutional Projects Advisor Tatiana Araújo contributed to two round tables at the event. The first, entitled Improving Living Conditions of the Informal Settlements in the Global South Cities, was attended by representatives from the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Medellín City Hall, Program Cities Alliance and Instituto Pereira Passos. On the occasion, she presented the project “Rio Sustainable City” (RCS), carried out in partnership with other institutions, including the City of Rio de Janeiro.
“RCS was a human interest project that placed the key themes of social transformation and urban improvement under the umbrella of sustainability,” explains Tatiana. The pilot project was implemented in two urban communities in Rio de Janeiro, with a Human Development Index (HDI) lower than that of the South Zone, where they are located. “Promoting self-determination, encouraging social and economic opportunities, and strengthening the integration of these communities into the urban fabric are some of the project’s contributions,” she adds.
In another panel, Creative Collaboration on Climate Change and Public Spaces Regeneration for Making Better Cities, Tatiana Araújo addressed the importance of public-private partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to implement the emissions reduction targets established in the Paris Agreement. Representatives from Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), City Hall of San Borja (Peru) and the organization Lima How are we going?. During the conversation, the new CEBDS publication was presented – Urban Sustainability: a new agenda for cities -, which will be launched in Brazil soon.
“The publication was prepared with the aim of guiding municipal governments and compiling important initiatives from organizations in the business sector and civil society that aim to establish a sustainable agenda in cities,” comments Tatiana. This agenda presents the SDGs as guiding guidelines for sustainable urban development, highlighting the main Brazilian public policies related to the topic. “Approximately 20 important initiatives from organizations in the business sector and civil society are addressed, serving as inspiration and a model for the implementation of public-private partnerships for this purpose,” she concluded.
