Large-scale flight from large cities in the early stages of the pandemic to the perceived safety of the countryside, or smaller towns, is one The short-term response will not change the process of global urbanizationfollow UN-HabitatTop World Cities Report 2022 – Visualizing the Future of Cities.
The 6-month periodic report is officially released on the 11thWorld Urban Forum (WUF11) on June 29 in Katowice, Poland.
Build back to ‘difference’
“Urbanization is still a big trend of the 21st century”, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, United Nations Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat – the United Nations agency for building a better urban future, is chairing the Forum.
“That entails a multitude of challenges, which continue to be exposed and exacerbated by the pandemic. But have a feeling of optimism that COVID-19 provided us with the opportunity to rebuild differently. With the right policies and the right commitment from governments, our children can inherit an urban future. more inclusive, greener, safer and healthier. “
Three situations
The report identified three potential scenarios for cities around the world. inside worst case scenario or “high damage”, the number of people living in poverty could increase by more than 200 million by 2050.
The “pessimistic” scenario predicts a reversal of the pre-pandemic status quo, a business-as-usual approach will lock in decades of cycles of poverty, low productivity, inequality and unhealthy living.
In an optimistic view, by 2050 there could be 260 million people lifted out of poverty relative to the pre-COVID baseline. Governments and donors will invest in urban development enough to create equitable, resilient, healthy and prosperous cities everywhere.
Do right
Miss Sharif added: “If we don’t build the right cities, 68% of the global population will face serious problems or challenges.
“We need to accelerate. We have only 90 months or 2700 days left until 2030, the target for the Global Goals. This report is a very timely wake-up call.”
welcome report, Małgorzata Jarosińska-Jedynak, The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland’s Regional Policy and Development Fund said: “I urge everyone to read the World Cities Report and follow its recommendations. It is about consistent policy and coordinated urban planning, which is extremely important.”
Katowice has been chosen as the site for WUF11 in recognition of its transformation from a heavily polluted city in the Soviet-era industrial heart of Poland into a cultural and technological hub. That transformation is supported by UN-Habitat in the mid-1990s.
UN Habitat / Monika Wcislak
Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, signs a copy of the World Cities Report 2022 at the World Urban Forum in Katowice, Poland.
Ukrainian element
Its proximity to Ukraine has led to major revisions to the original program to include discussions on how urban areas can better cope with and recover from conflicts and disasters.
A special session on those issues was heard from Igor Terekhov, Mayor of Kharkhiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, who said that Preparations are underway to “rebuild a new, better Kharkiveven as bombs continued to fall on his city.
Mr Terekhov said negotiations had begun with the United Nations on post-war reconstruction plans that would feature “a new public transport network with electric buses, industrial parks, a dynamic IT sector and houses. in energy saving”.
Mr. Terekhov spoke before the World Urban Forum in Katowice, at the Special Session on Rebuilding Communities and Neighborhoods After War or Natural Disasters.
The frontline role of mayors and city leaders in conflicts and disasters emerged as a prominent theme throughout the forum sessions. The comments and insights from board discussions at the forum will be used to inform future policy direction.
Ms. Sharif said that reconstruction efforts after conflicts and disasters around the globe needed to move “beyond just talking about damage assessment, but focus on the damage caused to the community, the damage caused to the people and living environment”.
“This is It’s not just about rebuilding buildings, it’s about rebuilding communities. “
UN-Habitat / Marius Ogonowsk
Mayor of Kharkhiv, Igor Terekhov, during a virtual speech at the Special Session on Rebuilding Communities and Neighborhoods After War and Natural Disasters.
Mayor as ‘first responder’
Filiep Decorte, Emergency Response Director at UN-Habitat, said: “Mayors are the first responders. They are well suited to working with local communities and the private sector. They know that Reconstruction is not a dream for the future but should begin now.“
Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations at UNHCRsaid that around the world, displaced people are increasingly concentrated in urban areas, posing a new set of challenges for local governments, particularly in relation to employment and social services. .
Gilles Carbonnier, Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, says more needs to be done to rebuild essential services, not only after urban warfare subsides but also during conflicts.
Every day, tens of thousands of people are returning to their homes in Ukraine – Sergii Mazur, Mayor of Balta
Terekhov said that since the Russian invasion, 3,500 houses and 500 public buildings in Kharkiv have been destroyed or damaged, including nearly 400 schools and kindergartens, 15 hospitals, 14 university buildings and 28 cultural centers.
Mr Terekhov said: “Kharkiv is still alive. He added: The reinvention of a greener, more accessible city is “necessary for us, Europe and the whole planet”. Ukraine was awarded as a candidate last week to join the European Union, which “will certainly be the impetus for us to transform our country”.
Poland has taken in about four million people from Ukraine, with about one million crossing the border returning to their homeland as parts become safer, according to UNHCR data.
Go home
The forum also heard Sergii Mazur, Mayor of Balta, a town near Odesa in southern Ukraine. He called on mayors and city leaders, especially in the EU and UK, to work with their partners in Ukraine to provide the necessary support for the reconstruction of towns and cities.
“Contacts between mayors from one country to another are fast and faster than contact at the central government level,“He said after the Extraordinary Dialogue on Urban Crisis Response and Recovery.
“Daily, tens of thousands of people are returning to their homes in Ukraine. Those houses may be demolished, but we have started rebuilding the infrastructure.
“We need to rebuild our schools and hospitals. We need medical equipment. We need to reinvent our infrastructure, we need vehicles – new fleets of vans and light trucks for utilities, to rewire the grid, start delivering basic services. in the occupied territories and also in the occupied areas. “
