Time and venue: 9:00-10:00 and 14:00-18:00, Palais des Nations, Room XXV
During the period from 1996 until today, countries of the North and Central Asia have seen the transition from planned to market economy, which began in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union and is still going on at present. There have been significant changes in the political, economic, social, demographic and environmental spheres of human settlements development in the region. The transformation of national economies did not bring only positive changes, it also put forward new challenges and threats, and exacerbated some old problems that former Soviet republics accumulated during previous decades. One such challenge is rapid urbanization in the region, putting unprecedented pressure on local and national governments who are now facing the challenge of ensuring that cities meet the requirements of growing urban population in a sustainable and environment-friendly manner.
UNESCAP, UN-Habitat and UNECE are jointly producing an important report on cities in the Asia-Pacific region, titled the Future of Asia and Pacific Cities 2019 Report. This document will provide guidance and support to national and local governments to encourage long-term planning and inclusive decision-making to order to advance resilient and sustainable cities. Accordingly, one of the main objectives of the Report is to create a “possibility space” to (re)imagine the future of build/natural environments and in that way aid the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other global agendas in the Asia-Pacific.
Since the Report is envisioned as not only a publication, but also a platform that would foster and strengthen partnerships through the exchange of knowledge and best practices, a consultative meeting has been scheduled as part of the Urban Week 2018, to provide an opportunity for stakeholder inputs from North and Central Asia sub-region to the Report. The meeting took place on 5 October afternoon following the 79th session of the Committee on Housing and Land Management (4 to 5 October 2018 in Geneva) and brought together around 30 participants from the region.
Please note that this was a closed meeting and by invitation only.
