30 April 2018: The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Malaysian non-governmental organization (NGO) Think City to create a partnership to advance the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities).

Speaking about the partnership, UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif said the partnership will seek to scale up good practices that harness the potential of cities to address the issues of income inequality, exclusion, climate change and resilience. She stressed that the mobilization of all urban stakeholders is critical for implementing the NUA and SDG 11.

The MoU focuses on the economics of urbanization, and outlines collaboration to support production of the World Cities Report 2019, seeking to identify planning and development strategies, which contribute to wealth creation and address social inclusion and environmental issues. The partnership will also concentrate on culture in urban regeneration, and enable both partners to develop community-focused and sustainable urban regeneration programmes. In addition, the partnership will enhance collaboration on knowledge exchange and capacity building, particularly regarding urban planning, design and research.

Think City, established in 2009, is a community-focused urban regeneration organization that aims to create more liveable, resilient and people-centric cities by working with local governments, international agencies and communities. [UN-Habitat News Story] [Think City Website]