Nairobi, 6 July 2020, - UN-Habitat has recently launched the Global Future Cities Knowledge Platform to exchange knowledge on sustainable and inclusive urban development. Developed by UN-Habitat under the UK Prosperity Fund Global Future Cities Programme, the web-based platform facilitates sharing of lessons learned from the urban projects implemented in the 19 cities of the Programme as well as other cities across the world which are facing similar urban issues.
In address to some features on the platform, the Project Lead at Arup, Sertaç Erten noted, "The SDG Project Assessment Tool application, as an iterative and participatory process, is an important instrument to incorporate Sustainability Principles into our project activities at an early stage. The SDG Tool also plays a critical role for localizing the Global Goals. When developing our project framework and methodology, it helps us to consider various key drivers of sustainable development.
Accordingly, we have, for example, selected the Performance Criteria on qualitative site analysis for the implementation of a pilot project to ensure project alignment to the SDGs." ARUP is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, architects, consultants and technical specialists, working across every aspect of today’s built environment.
The need for practical, targeted knowledge to support local authorities and relevant stakeholders in city planning is now more urgent than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted many cities and disproportionately affected marginalized and vulnerable groups. The platform offers best practices in different contexts which can be replicated and scaled up to achieve more positive impact on inclusive and sustainable urban development.
Join our efforts to learn and share knowledge for sustainable urban development on the Global Future Cities Knowledge Platform. Register here to start your learning and sharing experience!
Platform Core Offerings – How can YOU contribute?
We have designed the platform to cater for the needs of different stakeholders:
- Governmental bodies can communicate directly with each other through the Community Forum, sharing experiences and best practices.
- Delivery Partners can get in touch with each other, keep stakeholders engaged and informed on the progress, reach out to communities and get support for public events, and share resources, best practices and relevant knowledge.
- Beneficiaries and communities can learn about the progress of the projects in their city and use the platform to tell their stories to a global audience.
The structure of the platform provides users with different communication methods and learning streams, optimizing knowledge exchange on urban issues. Users can learn more about the Global Future Cities Programme, discover the 19 Cities that are taking part, browse the Knowledge Hub to find resources, best practices, capacity building and explore the SDG Tool. The Community Forum, to be launched at a later date, will allow users to engage in discussions with experts and professionals on key topics and themes, ask questions, participate in polls, share their experiences, and upload articles and case studies.
We encourage you to make use of the platform so that together we can make our cities inclusive and sustainable.
About the Global Future Cities Programme
The Global Future Cities Programme supports 19 cities in 10 countries with technical assistance to reduce poverty, achieve greater prosperity, promote gender equality, and generate inclusive economic growth. The Programme is present in cities in Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar and Vietnam.
The platform has been developed to link global expertise with local experiences. By connecting it to the Urban Agenda Platform - the global platform for reporting on the progress made in implementing the New Urban Agenda and urban related SDGs - we support cities to implement the global agendas in this Decade of Action.
For more information please visit the knowledge platform here https://www.globalfuturecities.org/