DPU at Habitat III

DPU will be represented by 11 academics in Quito, with staff members participating and contributing to 15 official events. More than 60 alumni will be attending who now work in high level roles in government, the UN, as well as in civil society.

The DPU will be present throughout the conference at the Bartlett Booth in location #156

The full programme of DPU Events is available online.

DPU engagement with Habitat III

The DPU has engaged with the Habitat III process by participating in different initiatives aimed at stimulating the debate around the content of the new agenda as well as the process through which it is taking shape. The DPU's participation in the Habitat III process has occurred through different entry points, reflecting the broadness of the work undertaken at the DPU.

With the global urban population set to double by 2050, the DPU acknowledges the positive role urbanisation can play within a sustainable development framework. However, the transformative potential of urbanisation is conditional on justice and equity being deeply embedded into sustainability measures.

The DPU's contribution to the Policy Unit 7 on Urban Economic Development Strategies promotes the view that for cities to become truly for all, urban development must focus on promoting livelihoods, the creation of productive jobs and supporting the informal economy.

Through our work alongside civil society in Africa, the DPU has witnessed how evictions and issues around land grabbing were the top concerns across the continent. This calls for the protection of rights and entitlements of cities and human settlements’ most vulnerable citizens. Therefore, the DPU welcomes the inclusion of the Right to the City, the recognition of the 'social and ecological function of land' and the denouncement of 'forced evictions' in the New Urban Agenda.

Nevertheless, the DPU recognises that there is still work to be done to ensure that the New Urban Agenda delivers on its intended aim to 'leave no one behind'.

The DPU is convinced that the New Urban Agenda will only be successful if local government and urban residents, particularly the most vulnerable, are given a central role in the implementation and monitoring processes.

A detailed account of DPU's position and engagement with habitat III can be read in an article by Dr Barbara Lipietz.