Photo credit: Kirsten Holst
As international climate negotiators entered their third day of deliberations at COP26 in Glasgow, the newly established Council on Urban Initiatives, co-chaired by IIPP’s Founding Director, Professor Mariana Mazzucato, squarely placed cities at the crossroads for delivering transformative climate action and being the leading force for other ambitious societal objectives. High profile UN officials including Secretary General Antonio Guterres and UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif both expressed their commitment to the Council on Urban Initiatives and its important role for helping to shape the international agenda and reframe how we govern, plan and design cities.
Members of the Council on Urban Initiatives investigated the barriers and challenges they have faced when advancing urban health, justice and sustainability agendas during the launch event on 3 November. These discussions explored the complexity of governance, policy and design at the city level and set a foundation for the Council’s role and capabilities for generating ideas of tools and frameworks that could be developed to overcome barriers to innovation and progressive policymaking.
The Council’s launch event which was attended by a small invited in-person audience and a large virtual audience featured a keynote address from the UN Secretary General António Guterres in which he stated:
The Council on Urban Initiatives has an important role in reframing how we think about cities and urban governance, shape the international agenda, share best practices and fast-track innovation…The United Nations is fully committed to working with you to connect the local with the global and together achieve green, just and healthy cities that help us to deliver on our global commitments.”
Mariana Mazzucato, co-chair of the Council and Founding Director, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose highlighted:
"Over the past year and a half, city governments have demonstrated that they are uniquely placed to engage citizens in designing creative solutions to massive challenges. They must be empowered with the ability to transform budgets and tools to be outcomes-based, and to develop new forms of collaboration and partnership with a clear sense of public purpose, aligned with the ambitious goal of building cities that are green, healthy and just."
A highlight of the event was the Mayors’ Roundtable discussion between Council members Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, Mayor Ada Colau of Barcelona and Mayor Claudia López of Bogota, moderated by Leilani Farha of The Shift, which focused on ‘delivering just, healthy and green cities.’
Mayor Ada Colau stated:
Our mission (in Barcelona) is to build a city that defends life and prioritises safety and healthy living for all...we’ve learnt that our urban transformation needs to prioritise the most vulnerable people and ensure they are looked after.
Watch the full speech by UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres:
The Council on Urban Initiatives is a new collaboration between UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, UN-Habitat and LSE Cities at the London School of Economics.
Council on Urban Initiatives members:
Mariana Mazzucato (co-chair), Founding Director, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, London
Ricky Burdett (co-chair), Director, LSE Cities, London
Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor, Freetown
LaToya Cantrell, Mayor, New Orleans
Chan Heng Chee, Professor, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities, Singapore
Ada Colau, Mayor, Barcelona
Elizabeth Diller, Founding Partner, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, New York
Leilani Farha, Global Director, The Shift, Ottawa
Dan Hill, Director of Strategic Design, Vinnoa, Stockholm
Alcinda Honwana, Inter-Regional Advisor, UN DESA, New York
Lesley Lokko, Founding Director, Africa Futures Institute, Accra
Claudia López, Mayor, Bogotá
Rahul Mehrotra, Founding Principal, RMA Architects, Boston
Soledad Nuñez, Founder, Alma Cívica, Paraguay
Fatma Sahin, Mayor, Gaziantep
Saskia Sassen, Robert S. Lynd Professor, Columbia University, New York
Richard Sennett, Visiting Professor of Urban Studies, MIT, Boston
Claudia Sheinbaum, Mayor, Mexico City
If you would like to learn more about the Council or our work with cities, please contact Ryan Bellinson.
Further information:
- Find out more about IIPP’s involvement with COP26
- Find out more about the Council on Urban Initiatives
- Learn more about the artwork that IIPP commissioned
UCL Computer Science celebrates International Women's Day 2026
The event brought together academia and industry to build connections, inspire students and increase the visibility of women in technology.
06 Mar 2026
UCL Grant Idea Workshop Explores AI in Scientific Research
The MAPS faculty held a Grant Idea Workshop on Friday 6 March 2026, bringing together UCL researchers to explore innovative applications of AI in scientific research.
06 Mar 2026
Shift25-UCLAstro Summer Research Studentships
The Astro group, in collaboration with the Shift25 initiative, are offering 2 studentships to Year 12 or Year 13 students interested in pursuing research projects over the summer.
05 Mar 2026