The New Urban Agenda is an urbanization action blueprint aimed at making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. It represents a shared vision for a more sustainable and equitable future in which all people have equal rights and access to the benefits and opportunities that cities can offer.

Drafted by UN-Habitat and adopted in late 2016 by the United Nations General Assembly, this blueprint contributes to the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. In this present era of unprecedented urbanization, the New Agenda identifies urban systems and spaces as important sites where we can advance sustainable development. As cities in developing and developed nations continue to grow, this Agenda emphasizes the need for our cities to expand in a sustainable way.

The New Urban Agenda correlates good urbanization with positive development outcomes including job creation, improved quality of life and livelihood opportunities. It proposes that safe, accessible and resilient cities will provide favorable environments for social and economic development. The Agenda therefore functions as a guide, outlining principles that can be adopted and adapted by the decision-makers and inhabitants of different urban areas according to the unique physical, social and cultural environment of each area.

In June the UN-Habitat World Urban Campaign held a series of events in Townsville where Australian decision makers and communities to discuss and apply the New Urban Agenda to our local Australian context – and more specifically a tropical Queensland context.

More information here