Bridging the gap - Integrated strategies for inclusive urban-rural linkages

Both the Agenda 2030 and NUA call for shifting from a notion of an urban-rural dichotomy to a conception of mutual dependencies and reciprocity as key potentials for inclusive and sustainable development. Food systems, migration and commuter movements, flows of capital, raw materials and goods, including food, between cities, peri-urban areas and rural hinterlands transcend political-administrative boundaries. Urban and rural areas compete for natural resources such as land, water and energy. Along with migration and population growth, poverty as well as hunger and malnutrition are shifting to the cities, albeit that the majority of the poor live in rural areas. At the same time, urban centres, especially the small and medium-sized towns, are important sales markets as well as service and supply centres for rural areas.

Integrated territorial development approaches are contributing to the paradigm shift requested by the Agenda 2030 and the NUA. They address functionally interconnected spaces and integrate sectors, government levels and actors across administrative boundaries and are central to promoting food security and nutrition and eradicating poverty. They recognize the critical importance of demand driven service provision, which is of critical importance, for example, to those working in agriculture and food systems in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. By this means public policies can tackle both urban and rural demands in a comprehensive way, using mutual dependencies as potentials for development.

The event will highlight successful policies, strategies and instruments that have contributed to balanced territorial development, sustainable resource management and climate adaptation, employment promotion and food security. It aims at disseminating good practices and identifying key elements of successful strategies. The debate will focus on requirements for successful national urban policies, planning instruments, participative governance and partnerships, the role of small and intermediate cities and the demand for infrastructure, goods and services.