The Bartlett enables UN Charter at World Urban Forum

According to the United Nations Habitat Professionals Forum (HPF), “this significant launch represents a step forward in inclusive urban planning and sustainable development, aiming to ensure that the voices of all, regardless of social status, age, gender, or abilities, are heard and respected.” 

This adopted UN document was enabled by an international workshop series and case studies developed by The Bartlett School of Planning with funding from The Bartlett. It was launched at the UNTV Press conference and presented at the Habitat Village booth coorganised by The Bartlett Development Planning Unit and other habitat related organisations.  

The Bartlett School of Planning

In addition to enabling the UN Charter, highlights from The Bartlett School of Planning (BSP) contributions at the World Urban Forum 12 included participation in an academic roundtable on research for housing crises, with contributions from BSP on the role of universities, and a UNI Habitat lecture from Dr Lucy Natarajan and Dr Michael Short on Inclusive Crisis Recovery. BSP contributions showcased student work, highlighted the importance of local knowledge for planning and designing urban and regional development, and shared lessons on ‘engaged urban pedagogy’ using the conceptual framework provided in the UCL Press book: Engaged Urban Pedagogy. 

The Bartlett Development Planning Unit

Highlights from The Bartlett Development Planning Unit (DPU) included the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Department in Cairo, the screening of two films, “(Un)homely City: Navigating houselessness in a pandemic” and “The neighbours of Santa Olga”; and the participation in numerous high level networking events, including with United Cities and Local Government (UCLG), UN-Habitat, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the African Union.

The DPU also coordinated and participated in a diverse range of events at the Habitat Village booth, a convening space for networked organised civil society organisations - including Habitat International Coalition, the Global Platform for the Right to the City, Slum Dwellers International (SDI), the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights - with a shared purposed and collective action towards the habitat agenda, alongside people-led and coproduction approaches to urban transformations. The Habitat Village booth acted as a critical space for coordinated advocacy on the Cairo Call for Action and the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan.

A full list of DPU activities at WUF can be found here. 

Professor Barbara Lipietz, Vice Dean International for The Bartlett, said: “The Bartlett’s input at the 12th session of the World Urban Forum was impressive, spanning policy engagement with multi-lateral organisations at the heart of the SDGs infrastructure, advocacy work with powerful organised civil society movements, and training activities with built environment professionals. In a world of growing inequalities, spiralling climate crises and international upheavals, and as we enter the critical last five years of the 2030 agenda, committed, justice-oriented scholarship, attentive to context is crucial. It is heartening to see the Bartlett acting out its ‘public’ role in such a way, alongside, and in partnership with, an impressive array of engaged partners.”