1. INFORMAL BRIEFING to the REGIONAL UN SYSTEM MEETING, ECA on the Outcome of the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development
Vienna, December 6, 2016
Paulius Kulikauskas,
Chief (Ag.), Office for Europe and European Institutions
United Nations Human Settlements Programme

2. On October 20, 2016 in Quito, Ecuador, the New Urban Agenda was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) with no reservations and after an inclusive and unprecedented participatory process of two years.

3. 30,000 ACCREDITED PARTICIPANTS FROM 167 COUNTRIES 2,000 REPRESENTATIVES OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES HIGHEST CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION IN ANY UN CONFERENCE
100,000 VISITORS

4. Over 1,000 events in 4 days 8 Plenary Meetings
6 High-level Roundtables
4 Assemblies
16 Stakeholders Roundtables
10 Policy Dialogues
22 Special Sessions
3 Urban Talks
1 Urban Journalism Academy

5. 59 UN Events 57 Exhibition Booths 42 Habitat III Village Projects
And over 460 Side, Networking, Training, and Parallel events were organized by various partners and stakeholders.

6. Habitat III has had the strongest participation of civil society, stakeholders, and local authorities in the history of United Nations conferences.
The General Assembly of Partners is composed of sixteen Partner Constituent Groups, including for the first time ever grassroots organizations, older persons and persons with disabilities.

7. The Quito Implementation Plan (QIP) online platform is a tool for voluntary commitments to be made, joined, and monitored— commitments that aim to contribute to or
reinforce the priorities and principles of the New Urban Agenda.

8. These voluntary commitments seek to be concrete actions, measurable and achievable, focused on implementation, and with great depth of information for future accountability and transparency.
More than 100 commitments were already submitted during the Conference.

9. Initiatives under the Quito Implementation Plan
should be specific, replicable, action- oriented, funded and innovative;
must be monitored and subject to reporting on a regular basis;
should demonstrate the capacity to deliver;
should be led by partners able to showcase implementation of existing commitments (sufficient level of maturity).
For cooperative international initiatives, they must observe inclusiveness (e.g. balance regional representation).

10. This briefing presents:
Legislative background for Habitat III and its outcome document: the New Urban Agenda; The relation of the New Urban Agenda to other global commitments; The structure of the New Urban Agenda; How the New Urban Agenda differs from Habitat Agenda of 1996; What is new in it; Key elements for Implementation; The duality of the Urban dimension of the sustainable development.

11. Legislative Background
UNGA Resolution 66/207: convene the Habitat III Conference
UNGA Resolution 67/216:
build upon the principles and gains achieved through the implementation of the
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21,
the Habitat Agenda, the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium
and the relevant internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg Plan of Implementation), as well as the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, entitled “The future we want”;
The objective to secure renewed political commitment for sustainable urban development, assessing accomplishments to date, addressing poverty and identifying and addressing new and emerging challenges,
The focus - “Sustainable urban development: the future of urbanization”;
The conference will result in a concise, focused, forward-looking and action-oriented outcome document: global commitment to and support for housing and sustainable urban development and the implementation of a “New Urban Agenda”.

13. The New Urban Agenda (the outcome of Habitat III)
QUITO DECLARATION ON SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND HUMAN SETTLEMENTS FOR ALL
Our shared vision
Our principles and commitments
Call for Action
QUITO IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE NEW URBAN AGENDA
A. THE TRANSFORMATIVE COMMITMENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT
SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION AND ENDING POVERTY
SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE URBAN PROSPERITY AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL
ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT URBAN DEVELOPMENT
B. EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION
BUILDING THE URBAN GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE: ESTABLISHING A SUPPORTIVE FRAMEWORK
PLANNING AND MANAGING URBAN SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT
MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION
C. FOLLOW-UP AND REVIEW

14. Habitat Agenda 1996 >< New Urban Agenda 2016
FOCI
1996: Adequate shelter for All (urban poverty, slums) and Sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world
2016: Sustainable urban development: the future of urbanization - By readdressing the way cities and human settlements are planned, designed, financed, developed, governed, and managed, the New Urban Agenda will help to end poverty and hunger in all its forms and dimensions, reduce inequalities, promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, in order to fully harness their vital contribution to sustainable development, improve human health and well-being, as well as foster resilience and protect the environment.
Some new approaches of the HA
special attention to the needs and contributions of women, children, youth and vulnerable social groups
recognition of some role of the local government and the civil society in shaping urbanization
importance of capacity building
Some new Themes of the NUA
Climate change
Municipal finance
Urban planning & design
Urban legislation
Resilience

15. New Urban Agenda 2016 Some new Approaches in the NUA
urbanization as transformational opportunity and driver of sustainable urban development rather than a problem that needs to be solved
integrated strategic approaches as a foundation for sectoral solutions, rather than focusing on siloed, sector-specific solutions
multi-level governance, multi-scale, functional rather than administrative territory, multi-stakeholder process from scoping to implementation
national urban policies as framework enabling coordinated finance from variety of sources: sovereign, sub-sovereign, IFI, ODA and private finance
data and statistical analysis capacities as a crucial prerequisite for efficient and effective implementation

16. Implementation of New Urban Agenda: Key Elements
National urban policies
demographic projections; roles and responsibilities of local authorities; integrate national development plans with urban plans; framework to reduce urban and territorial disparities within and among regions; jurisdictional coordination and coherence
Urban legal frameworks
law defining urban space at the national and local levels; system of urban powers and responsibilities at all levels of government; legal basis for urban planning and land management; regulate urban development or buildability rights; public space; housing and building codes; environmental protection that recognize urban needs and impacts; national sustainable, universal access to basic services
Integrated urban and territorial planning and design
scope and content of the urban plan; sustainable density and mixed use; effective urban design; natural and cultural resources; housing as an integrating element of urban planning; adequate amounts of urban space for a variety of economic activities
Financing urbanization
economic, fiscal and financial management cycle(s) of local authorities; capital investment; local revenue and investment partnerships; land-based fiscal tools; basic service and network investment plans; housing affordability
Local implementation
urban extension areas at the appropriate scale; public and private space; urban infill areas and retrofit existing urban fabric; integrated and equitable urban basic services; instruments for public benefit from public investment

17. Conceptual framework of the urban dimension of the SDGs
A distinct THEME/SECTOR
as a driver of sustainable development
A CROSS-CUTTING DIMENSION of sustainable development:
level of governance
location of socioeconomic process
SUSTAINABLE
URBAN (TERRITORIAL)
DEVELOPMENT