Cities for All and housing at the center

Development must protect the planet and enable all inhabitants, whether living in formal or informal settlements and slums, to lead decent, dignified, and rewarding lives, and to achieve their full human potential. The Urban space is promoted as a new commons and cultural diversity as an asset for inclusive and cohesive cities with socio-economic integration and a strong sense of belonging through a people-centred approach. Housing exerts a catalytic role in economic development, employment generation, poverty eradication and mitigation of a range of vulnerabilities in cities. Housing, as an essential element of urbanization, must be at the center of the actions towards sustainable and inclusive urban development, including ensuring equal opportunities and better living conditions to the most vulnerable.

The High-Level Roundtable will facilitate a discussion that supports more concrete articulation of the relationship between the concept of Cities for All, that in some countries is referred to as the Right to the City, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It seeks to deepen the exchange about transformational urban policies, especially in the housing sector, that can help to ensure inclusive urban growth and at the same time allow for the economic prosperity that national and local governments strive to achieve.

The New Urban Agenda makes specific reference to promoting the concept of Cities for All, in many countries referred to as the Right to the City. This sets out a new paradigm for sustainable urban development that seeks to address the major challenges of rapid urbanization in a more fundamental way, including eradicating poverty, addressing growing inequalities and social exclusion. Initiatives stimulating economic growth in urban areas must ensure they benefit all different sectors of the society. This calls for decisive actions and new policy priorities by national, regional, and local governments.

Furthermore, the New Urban Agenda puts housing at the center of sustainable and inclusive urban development, encouraging housing initiatives for all income groups, especially low-income dwellers, with adequate provision of quality public space, infrastructure and basic services, ensuring spatial and socio-economic integration. An integrated and holistic approach to housing will contribute to ending poverty and achieving inclusive urban prosperity for all. Policy and implementation strategies should include financial, regulatory and institutional frameworks at national, subnational and local levels.

The concept of Cities for All can be seen through three pillars: (a) spatially just resource distribution, including access to housing; (b) structures, processes, and policies that enable inhabitants to exercise the full content and meaning of citizenship; and (c) social, economic and cultural diversity.

Q1: How can the concept of Cities for All, as a catalytic principle, support implementation of the New Urban Agenda towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals for an increasing global urban population?

Q2: How can Cities for All approaches such as the Housing at the Centre model better support the objective to generate economic growth and value?

Q3: Which financing options exist to support increased investment in the area of affordable housing, as proposed by the Housing at the Centre approach? How can financing institutions be involved and which policy instruments can stimulate stronger investments in affordable housing?

Q4: What are the critical factors that need to be integrated in future National Urban Policies in order to support economic prosperity while at the same time ensuring affordable housing through the Housing at the Centre approach?