13 September 2016: The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has presented the Habitat III Regional Report for the UNECE region, which will be submitted as the official input from the pan-European region to the New Urban Agenda, the outcome of the Third UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III).

The regional report comprises 56 countries in North American, Europe and Central Asia, which are home to 1.3 billion people and contribute over 40% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). Regional reports are being prepared by all five UN regional commissions based on analyses of urban development and housing issues at regional and national levels. The reports also present changes and trends since Habitat I in 1976, with an emphasis on the 20 years since Habitat II in 1996.

UNECE presented its regional report at an event in Geneva, Switzerland, as part of the 77th session of the Committee on Housing and Land Management, in cooperation with the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), the Habitat III Secretariat, and the UN-HABITAT Regional Office for Europe. Habitat III, which will take place in Quito, Ecuador, from 17-20 October 2016, aims to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable urban development and focus on the implementation of a ‘New Urban Agenda.’

The report, titled ‘Towards a City-Focused, People-Centered and Integrated Approach to the New Urban Agenda,’ describes pan-European urbanization trends on the environment, climate change, job creation, affordable housing and equality. Key trends include: urban concentration and agglomeration into super-cities, where thriving cities are in close proximity to each other; shrinking cities in less successful and more remote regions that are losing population due to outmigration; urban sprawl; aging; and migration. On the economy of cities, the report highlights shifts to cleaner, greener manufacturing, and the rise of the knowledge economy and a digital revolution in North America and Europe. Key governance trends include an increase in the role of local governments and corresponding growth in access to information and public participation.

The report also highlights key urbanization opportunities and challenges. Urban sprawl, for instance, poses challenges for environmental sustainability, through high levels of car dependency and expenditure on sustaining oversized infrastructure, and for social dynamics. The report further highlights challenges related to high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollution, flooding and heat waves.

Looking forward, the report identifies addressing sprawl as critical to supporting equity, cohesion and integration in societies and underscores the role of a post-industrial, knowledge and service economy in placing different spatial demands on cities. The report recommends inter-governmental action and stakeholder collaboration on the environment and climate change, including through curbing pollution and de-carbonizing urban development.

Also on sustainable urbanization, Albania, Estonia and the UK announced an initiative to ensure access to decent, adequate, affordable and healthy housing for all with the creation of Geneva UN Charter Centres in Tirana, Tallinn and Glasgow. The three centres are expected to promote the four principles of the Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing: environmental protection; economic effectiveness; social inclusion and participation; and cultural adequacy. A network of Geneva UN Charter Centres will be established under the coordination of UNECE to promote exchange of experiences and promote cooperation and knowledge-sharing within the network. [UNECE Press Release on Event] [Event Information] [Committee on Housing and Land Management Event Website] [Publication: Habitat III Regional Report on Housing and Urban Development for the UNECE Region] [Report Methodology] [UNECE Press Release on Geneva UN Charter Centres]