World Urban Day 2015

The Professor Michael Cohen, from New School, will present the Declaration of the Global Platform for the Right to the City  in New York

In celebration of WHD (World Habitat Day), on this October 5th, the GPR2C  (Global Platform for the Right to the City) is joining the international community in New York City to discuss the implementation of the Right to the City as the cornerstone of the New Urban Agenda. The debate is organized  by ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council), UN-Habitat, the UCLG  (United Cities and Local Governments) and other organizations. Professor Michael Cohen,  from The New School, represents  the GPR2C.

GPR2C in the World Habitat Day Celebration in NYC

On this year, the WHD theme is Public Spaces for All, exploring it through the lens of Sustainable Development Goal 11, Making Cities and Human Settlements, Safe, Resilient and Sustainable and Target 7 on Public Spaces. In parallel, a lot of cities around the world are also discussing this topic.

According to UN-Habitat, the objectives are: 1) To show the relationship between public space  design and sustainable urbanization; 2) To propose innovations and best practices in the area of public space design; 3) To highlight the need for policies as well as innovative, replicable solutions, ideas, concepts, and approaches that can be used in different contexts for public space design; and, 4) To identify design ideas, concepts and approaches that are replicable.

The GPR2C emphasizes, on its newest statement, that is very important to include civil society organizations and local government on the process of Habitat III, to be held on Quito, Ecuador,  on 17-20 October 2016.

“We call for that this international effort recognizes innovations by these actors in order to achieve more just, democratic and sustainable cities in which human rights are fulfilled as well as their responsibility towards the future generations.”

The WHD celebrations occurs on UN Headquarters, to 09:30am – 6:00pm (local time). For more informations, click here.

[wpfilebase tag=fileurl id=135 linktext=DOWNLOAD /] the GPR2C Statement