WUF9 Substantive Report-s

WORLD URBAN FORUM
World
Urban
Forum 1
The first WUF was held in Nairobi, Kenya, on the theme of sustainable
urbanization. It focused on several issues like the effect of HIV/AIDS on
human settlements; violence against women; basic services and
infrastructure, including provision of water and sanitation; and the
need for secure tenure. WUF has since been held every two years with
themes ranging from “Sustainable Cities — Turning Ideas into Action”
to “The Urban Future” and convened in Barcelona, Spain; Vancouver,
Canada; Nanjing, China; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Naples, Italy; and
Medellín, Colombia.
World
Urban
Forum 3
World
Urban
Forum 7
WUF3 convened in Vancouver, Canada in 2006. The Forum examined
rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies
and policies. As a partnership between the UN Human Settlements
Programme (UN- HABITAT) and the Government of Canada, WUF3
discussed the theme of “Sustainable Cities – Turning Ideas into Action,”
and brought together 10,000 participants from over 100 countries,
representing governments, UN agencies, non-governmental
organizations, urban professionals, local authorities, the private sector
and academia. Participants met in plenary, dialogue and special
sessions, and attended 13 roundtables and over 160 networking
events. WUF3 marked the 30th anniversary of the first UN Conference
on Human Settlements, which was also held in Vancouver and led to
the creation of UN-HABITAT. The WUF3 Report was submitted to the
21st session of the UN-HABITAT Governing Council that took place in
Spring of 2007. The Forum concluded with a call for strengthening
partnerships for urban development, as well as with a growing
recognition of the need to address the underlying causes of
urbanization in order to achieve the vision of sustainable human
settlements for all.
WUF7 held in Medellín, Colombia, in 2014 ran with the theme “Urban
Equity in Development – Cities for Life,”. WUF7 would go onto further
advance the outcomes of the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable
Development and contribute to the post-2015 development agenda. It
is also part of the preparatory process of UN-Habitat’s Third UN
Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat
III. City events, side events, networking events, cultural events and
televised “urban talk” debates also took place during the Forum. As the
host city, Medellín showcased many of its innovative urban
transformations, including solutions for accessible mobility and for
public and green spaces in the city.
07