Post-2015 Development Agenda, discussion 4 – 18 January 2013 – Register Here

To ensure that inequalities are addressed in the post-2015 agenda, the Global Thematic Consultation on Addressing Inequalities (co-led by UNICEF and UN Women) is holding a series of online, moderated discussions to gather views from a broad range of stakeholders on what the post-2015 development agenda should look like.

In this context, we would like to invite you take part in an online discussion on how to address Urban Inequalities in the post-2015 development agenda. The discussion is led by organizations committed to finding solutions for the urban poor: the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Slum Dwellers International, UN HABITAT and UNICEF.

The discussion takes place from 4 – 18 January 2013.

To participate, please visit the site http://www.worldwewant2015.org/node/287100 and post your response in the discussion forum, starting from Friday, 4 January.

The discussion will be co-moderated by Kerry Constabile, UNICEF and Diana Mitlin, University of Manchester, UK and IIED and will focus on the following themes:

Themes 4-18 January:

• 4-5 January – Experiences of being an urban citizen – including the role of children and young people, security and safety.
• 6-7 January – Spatial inequalities – including how cities are being planned, including exposure to pollution and flooding risks.
• 6-7 January – Social inequalities – including migrant populations, women and adolescents.
• 10-11 January – Political inequalities – including recognition, participation, decentralized decision making, data.
• 12-13 January – Income inequalities – including recyclers, market traders, social protection.
• 14-15 January – Solutions for addressing inequalities – including community-led solutions.
• 16-18 January – Concrete recommendations for the High-level Panel – recommendations from the consultations will be drafted by UNICEF and IIED and presented to the consultation for discussion and agreement by 18 January.

Why a focus on Urban Inequalities?

While cities have long been associated with employment, development and economic growth, hundreds of millions in the world’s urban areas live amid scarcity and deprivation. According to UNICEF’s “The State of the World’s Children: Children in an Urban World,” the world’s urban population increases by about 60 million annually. By 2050, 7 in 10 people will live in cities and towns. As a result of a rapidly increasing urban population, many are denied such essentials as clean water, electricity and health care even though they may live close to these services. Thus, investment in addressing the needs of those living in urban areas is the cornerstone for healthy societies with more sustainable and inclusive economic growth and shared prosperity. People living in urban areas – as creators of innovative solutions and as stakeholders in both present and future progress – should be highly involved, as a matter of course, in the discussions, design and eventual implementation and monitoring of the post-2015 development agenda.

Through the course of the discussion, the conversation aims to draw out the answers to the following questions:

• What are the most important forms of inequalities faced by people living in urban areas? – including discussion of where and among whom these challenges occur, their severity, the evidence about them, etc.
• What are the major structural factors at the root of these inequalities, within and among different societies?
• What kinds of policies, strategies or interventions have been most successful in addressing the various inequalities experienced by people living in urban areas? And under which conditions/in which situations have particular policies, strategies or interventions had the greatest, lasting impact? (Contributors may wish to cite examples or give references to these “successes”).
• Based on experience, what are the most important recommendations that could be proposed in the Post-2015 Development Agenda for making a lasting and transformative impact on the different forms of inequalities faced by people living in urban areas?
• What actions and initiatives could be taken by different stakeholders, including civil society, to bring about lasting improvements in these inequalities?
• And how should those who face inequalities themselves be enabled to participate in the implementation phase of the new Development Framework?

The recommendations emerging from your contributions will be incorporated into a report on ‘Addressing Inequalities in the Post-2015 Development Agenda’, to be presented at a high-level meeting in February 2013 in Copenhagen. The report will also be transmitted to the High-level Panel on Post-2015, appointed by the UN Secretary-General.

You are invited to register to the consultation here. The site is available in English, French and Spanish. You are welcome to post your comments in any of the sixty languages supported by Google Translate.

If you are unable to access the site, please email your response to: [email protected].

We look forward to hearing from you on how to realize the Future We Want for All.

Warm regards,

Sheela Patel, Chair, Slum Dwellers International
David Satterthwaite, Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and Visiting Professor at University College London.

Contact: [email protected]
Discussion website: http://www.worldwewant2015.org/node/287100

 

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