Citiscope News July 2015

Clockwise from top left: Singapore aims at reaching 100 secondary cities; Public spaces, here in Jerusalem, are discussed as indicator; Financing for development took place in Addis Abeba; Slum and inadeqaute housing was discussed at evaluation meeting, picture from Jakarta. Jerusalem photo: Jan Riise, all others from Wikimedia Commons.

 

New stories, comments and articles from Citiscope - July 2015

 

Urban goals "feasible and relevant" - but 'slum' issue remains

The UN Statistical Commission will finalise the indicators and targets for all Sustainable Development Goals early next year. The urban goals indicators have so far been accepted in many cases, but there are still discussions going on regarding not least the definition of "slum" or inadequate housing. Read the complete article by Greg Scruggs, called "SDGs expert group flags 'slums' definition in key urban indicator.

Urban Sustainable Development Goal includes 'Public space' as target

The quality of urban life is acknowledged in the set of targets and indicators for the Urban Sustainable Development Goal. This is unprecedented, placing quality of life in cities at the same level as poverty, sanitation and ecosystems. This was recently discussed in Stockholm at the 'Future of Places' conference. Read the article by Nicolas You, former manager of operations at UN-Habitat and key adviser and member of the board of directors of Citiscope.

Massive investments by cities will be needed

To prepare the world's cities to host 2.5 billion new citizens, and to cope with the effects of climate change andpoverty reduction, a massive need for public and private financing is foreseen, estimated to around twice what is allocated today. This was discussed at the recent 'Financing for development" conference in Addis Abeba. Read the complete article by Charlotte Lafitte and Natalie Le Denmat.

Can Singapore's experiences be of help for other cities?

The Singapore based thinktank Centre for Liveable Cities has formed a partnership with UN-Habitat to share lessons learned. Find the complete story by Greg Scruggs here.

 

Towards Habitat III

Citiscope's editors and independent journalists publish articles and other news stories to help cities around the world to work with the challenges of climate change, poverty, congestions and urban qualities.By telling stories in a credible way, Citiscope builds trust and draws attention to the world's cities innovative and imaginative steps to build sustainable futures for all citizens. Stories originally published on Citiscope will be available through Mistra Urban Futures website, as well as links to additional material. Mistra Urban Futures will primarily mirror stories, comments, articles concerning the preparations for Habitat III in October 2016, called "Toward Habitat III", but also other links and material will be published and/or promoted.