9.30 a.m. – 12 p.m. CET
Organizers: UNECE and Global Environmental Policy Programme, University of Geneva
The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the need for cities to improve their resilience capacities against present and future risks. Cities must reconsider their responses to demands for access to opportunities, quality of life, environmental sustainability, as well as fair distribution of goods and services. In this context, the current crisis has further brought to light informal settlements as highly impactful with respect to the urban and peri-urban fabric. They are at the forefront of containing and monitoring of transmissions, and need to be better integrated into cities’ resilience strategies. However, this integration of informal settlements is hindered by weak infrastructure and spatial planning, limited access to goods and services, and a lack of adequate data on dwellings and inhabitants.
To understand how resilience strategies can be practically utilized in informal settlements, UNECE, the UNECE nexus on Smart Sustainable Cities for All Ages, and the University of Geneva organize jointly this thematic workshop on “Improving Urban Resilience in Informal Settlements.”
This event brought together leading experts and policymakers with the objective of discussing best practices, policies and monitoring frameworks.
The workshop focused on how to improve the inclusion of informal settlements into the urban fabric through:
- better infrastructure and spatial planning
- improvement of systems integration
- efficient financing and engagement of public and private actors.
The event was held on Zoom in English and Russian.
Documents
- Background information:
This workshop is part of the RPTC Project: Post COVID-19 Recovery in Informal Settlements in the ECE Region.
- ONLINE workshop "Formalizing the Informal to Protect Residents in Informal Settlements" (17 June 2020)
- Guidelines for the Formalization of Informal Constructions (2019)
- Formalizing the Informal: Challenges and Opportunities of Informal Settlements in South-East Europe (2015)
Presentations
Challenges and opportunities towards upgrading informal settlements
GREEN PLACEMAKING: Acupuncture + Informality
Improving urban resilience through Nature-Based Solutions
How SDGs & PPPs can Improve Informal Settlements
Challenges towards the implementation of PPPs
Recording