Cairo, epicenter of a historic meeting for sustainable urbanization
After more than two decades, the World Urban Forum returned to Africa, hosting its twelfth session in Cairo, Egypt, from November 4th to 8th. This historic event not only marked a symbolic return but also set participation records with more than 37,000 registrants, reflecting a renewed global commitment to sustainable urbanization. Convened for the first time in 2001 by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the World Urban Forum consolidates as the preeminent global conference dedicated to addressing the complex challenges of sustainable urbanization, attracting world leaders, urban planners, researchers and development experts from around the globe.
Ms Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, urgently highlighted the disparities in how climate change impacts urban areas: “Those most exposed are also those who already face persistent and chronic structural inequalities.” Ms Rossbach emphasized how communities in informal settlements, typically located in vulnerable areas lacking adequate infrastructure, disproportionately suffer during disasters.
Under this year’s theme, “It All Starts at Home,” this twelfth edition of the Forum invited reflection on how urban transformations begin locally, daily, and collectively. From home to community, the theme underscored the importance of addressing urban challenges from a close perspective, empowering communities to lead the change towards more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient cities.
At the Forum, over 60 resilience-focused events marked a crucial turning point in how urban resilience is integrated into planning and management. These sessions underlined the critical links between climate resilience, sustainable infrastructure, and social equity. There was a strong call for a holistic approach to urban challenges, urging the enhancement of global operations and strategies. This emphasized preparing for immediate disasters and proactively mitigating long-term risks through capacity building and knowledge sharing. Esteban Leon, head of the CRGP, highlighted, “Our goal for the next World Urban Forum is to have a majority of events focused on the concept of resilience, further incorporating it into every aspect of urban development.”
The impact of the City Resilience Global Programme at WUF12
The Egypt International Exhibition Center in Cairo, heart of this twelfth edition of the World Urban Forum, not only broke attendance records but also expanded the horizons of global dialogue on urban development. The Forum hosted more than 600 partner-led events, highlighting the growth and diversity of discussions on sustainable urban development. In this context, the Urban Resilience Hub by UN-Habitat’s City Resilience Global Programme played a leading role by co-organizing 9 sessions. These workshops and panels, conducted in collaboration with a variety of local, regional, national and international partners, were fundamental to exploring and deepening the challenges and solutions for cities and territories in the context of a growing need for resilience.
Promoting resilience in vulnerable environments, adapting small island developing states and coastal cities to extreme climate challenges was one of the focuses of Riding the Resilience Wave. In collaboration with sister UN organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), specific strategies were discussed to mitigate the impacts of climate change, such as sea-level rise and the frequency of extreme storms. Experts shared successful cases and innovative strategies that are helping these communities improve their resilience. Additionally, this session highlighted the importance of an integrated approach that combines urban planning with emergency management and active community participation, emphasizing the need for solutions tailored to local realities.
The creation of evidence-based policies that can better prepare cities to face multiple simultaneous crises was the main theme of Navigating the polycrisis: evidence-based policy for resilient cities. Participants from the City of Barcelona, Community Jameel, Resilient Cities Network and C40 Cities discussed how to integrate responses to the pandemic, economic challenges, and the impacts of climate change into a cohesive policy framework that promotes long-term urban resilience. During the session, several participants were able to highlight the importance of data and its analysis in creating policies that not only respond to current emergencies but also prepare cities for future challenges, promoting proactive risk anticipation and mitigation.
Urban water governance was the focus of Cities at the forefront of multi-level governance for urban water resilience. With the participation of water experts from organizations like Deltares, it was discussed how cities can lead water governance through the implementation of policies that ensure sustainable and equitable management. Additionally, examples were presented on how cooperation among different government levels and the private sector can enhance cities’ abilities to manage water scarcity and flooding, focusing on innovative and adaptive solutions.
The value of local innovation and its scalability was explored in How to bring local innovation to a territorial scale: the value of regional government action. Led by the CRGP and the Regional Government of Catalonia, this session particularly highlighted the project in Terres de l’Ebre as a key example of how local innovation can significantly influence the design of resilience policies at the regional level. It was also discussed how local resilience policies can inform and enhance strategies at regional and national levels. Case studies such as those from the Government of Mozambique and Broward County, Florida, were shared, highlighting insights and challenges in multi-level governmental cooperation to implement innovative resilience solutions
Integrating urban planning with resilience strategies, Urban resilience operational framework offered an in-depth look at how to structure and operationalize resilience in urban management. This session, in collaboration with partners such as the Southern Denmark University, highlighted the importance of developing a global operational urban resilience framework in collaboration with the main stakeholders operating in early warning, foresight, risk reduction, crisis response and post crisis recovery and reconstruction. The session highlighted the need for a platform that brings together researchers, practitioners, and leaders to share experiences and best practices in implementing resilient policies.
In addition to participating and co-organizing these sessions, CRGP reinforced the idea that knowledge sharing is a fundamental pillar for the development of any resilience strategy, so CRGP also conducted a training session dedicated to learning and using the City Resilience Profiling Tool in collaboration with the City of Barcelona, and the Regional Government of Catalonia. During this training session, participants learnt how to apply the tool in the urban context of Cairo and discussed how to adapt the tool to other specific urban contexts. The participants were from different backgrounds: researchers and students from universities all around the world, urban practitioners, representatives of local, regional and national government immersed themselves in the City Resilience Profiling Tool and acquired an overview of the methodology and its main features.
Another key session led by the CRGP team was the Presentation of the City Resilience Profiling Interactive Tool (CRPiT), where it was demonstrated how this new interactive tool helps governments and urban planners assess and enhance the resilience of their cities. The event provided a platform for urban resilience experts to share how the CRPiT facilitates the integration of data and analysis in urban planning, helping cities identify vulnerabilities and strengths in their infrastructure and policies.
Finally, our Urban Resilience Recap session provided a comprehensive summary of the key learnings and discussions on urban resilience that took place during the Forum. This recap included a review of the main strategies discussed, the innovations presented, and the commitments made by participants to foster resilience in their respective localities.
Shaping resilient futures: Lessons and actions from the Forum
It is clear that urban resilience is at a crucial inflection point. Conversations during the Forum highlighted not only the complexity of the challenges facing cities and territories but also the diversity of approaches and solutions being implemented globally to address these challenges.
The urgent need to upscale operations worldwide and to integrate resilience into all facets of urban planning and management was underscored, with a particular emphasis on aligning these efforts with the 2030 deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This involves not only preparing to respond to imminent disasters but also designing and implementing strategies that anticipate and mitigate long-term risks. The interconnection between climate resilience, sustainable infrastructure, and social equity, along with the incorporation of traditional and indigenous knowledge, emerged as a recurring theme, reflecting a consensus on the importance of addressing resilience from a holistic and multifaceted perspective. Furthermore, the importance of capacity building and knowledge sharing was emphasized as fundamental pillars for the development of more effective resilience strategies. Experts advocated for pilot programs that allow testing and refining resilience approaches, facilitating the adaptation of successful solutions to different urban contexts. This perspective reaffirms the need for continuous learning and the adaptation of resilience practices as urban conditions and challenges evolve.
However, all advances are few if there is not a common existence: governance and collaboration. The effectiveness of resilience strategies often depends on the ability of different government levels and sectors to work together. Several sessions highlighted examples of how intersectoral cooperation and partnerships between the public, private, and civil society sectors can facilitate more coordinated and efficient responses to urban challenges.
The main takeaways extracted from this World Urban Forum reaffirm that the path we follow and the projects we develop at Urban Resilience Hub by UN-Habitat’s CRGP are synchronized with the real needs of cities and territories facing current challenges. A clear example is our role in developing and operationalizing the Human Settlements Resilience Framework (under Resolution 9 of our latest UN-Habitat Assembly 2), which aims at creating a comprehensive global resilience strategy encompassing everything from early warning systems, foresight, risk reduction, crisis response to crisis recovery and reconstruction. We are leading this effort in collaboration with partners, using a co-creative approach that maximizes the impact and applicability of the strategies.
CRGP commitment is also reflected in initiatives such as the implementation of the CRPT at the territorial level in Terres de l’Ebre, where, together with the Regional Government of Catalonia, have integrated solutions in the institutional, environmental, social, and economic dimensions across 54 municipalities, allowing to upscale the impact of the Programme. This project not only addresses local challenges but also provides a replicable model for other regions. Moreover, our projects in SIDS and coastal cities, as well as the adaptation of the City Resilience Profiling Tool (CRPT) in Arctic cities, illustrate how we are applying these strategies in extremely challenging contexts. These projects strengthen governance and risk-informed planning, demonstrating the adaptability and effectiveness of our tools and approaches.
In conclusion, the WUF reinforced that resilience strategies must be designed not only to address technical and environmental challenges but also to promote social and economic justice. Indeed, urban resilience is a dynamic and evolving field, requiring a constant commitment to innovation, collaboration, learning, and inclusion.
As we move forward, the goal of this approach must be to transform the insights and discussions from fora like the WUF into concrete actions and effective policies that prepare our cities and territories to withstand and thrive in the face of challenges.
