Baghdad, 19 September 2017 – A new mapping exercise carried out by the Ministry of Planning in Iraq, in collaboration with UN-Habitat, found that there are currently 3,687 informal settlements in 12 governorates in the country, inhabited by about 3.2 million Iraqis.
Urban researchers, practitioners and policy-makers interested 2018 Cities IPCC conference can join upcoming webinar
UN-Habitat will host a webinar to inform about the 2018 Cities and Climate Change Science Conference, March 5-7, in Edmonton, Canada. The webinar will provide participants with opportunities to learn more and ask questions about the conference and the call for proposal for sessions and abstracts. UN-Habitat is among the eleven partner organizations of the 2018 Cities and Climate Change Science Conference.
First State of Palestine Cities Report recommends National Urbanization Policy
Ramallah, 31 August 2017 –The first State of Palestine Cities Report calls for development of a National Urban Policy and recommends that more effort should be made to improve the planning and governance frameworks, mainstream public participation policies and open up more space for citizens’ participation in decision-making.
UN-Habitat pioneers the use of Minecraft for the design of public spaces in Egypt
Cairo, 29 August 2017 – UN-Habitat in cooperation with Megawra (The Built Environment Collective-BEC) and Cairo governorate (Cairo Heritage Preservation General Administration) organized the first Minecraft workshop in Egypt for the participatory design of an open space in Al-Khalifa neighborhood in Cairo.
Minecraft for community participation to design public space in Gaza Strip
Rafah, Gaza Strip, 25 August , 2017 – UN-Habitat in partnership with UN Women, the Palestinian Housing Council, Aisha Association for Woman and child protection, and GGateway are creating a safe and inclusive public space in the Al-Shoka area in Rafah city in order to improve the urban environment and the living conditions of residents, in particular children and youth.
UN-Habitat and Mobike Company promote bike sharing as sustainable transport solution
Chengdu, 25 August 2017 - Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, and Mr. Xia Yiping, Co-Founder & Chief Technical Officer, Mobike, a leading smart bike share company in China, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UN-Habitat and Mobike to promote bike sharing as an effective, smart and sustainable mobility solution for cities. The signing ceremony took place during Dr. Clos’ recent visit to Chengdu on 21st July 2017.
Cities and Climate Change Science conference: Call for proposals
23 August 2017, Nairobi – As co-host of a conference on Cities and Climate Change Science to be held in March 2018, UN-Habitat and its partners are calling for proposals for events and abstracts for oral session contributions.
Under the title: Fostering new scientific knowledge for cities based on science, practice and policy, the conference, which will take place in Edmonton, Canada, aims to inspire the next frontier of research focused on the science of cities and climate change.