Monday, October 2, marks 37 years since the first United Nations World Habitat Day commenced in Nairobi, Kenya. The purpose of this Day is to reflect on the collective responsibility we as humans have on our habitats, resource accessibility, and the future. This year's Habit Day theme in Azerbaijan was "Resilient urban economies. Cities as drivers of growth and recovery," featuring relevant keynote speakers and roundtable discussions.
The theme for 2023 has the goal of combining various city stakeholders, including local political leaders, urban planning innovators, diplomats, scholars, and historians, to have a productive conversation about how cities can achieve economic recovery following declining growth. This theme is particularly relevant this year, with the current economic growth slowdown and cities' leading role in economic recovery. For sustainable development, cities must be able to prepare for and recover following a financial shock in a way that promotes transitioning into an economy of climate neutrality. The UN-Habitat believes development models can begin locally but be expanded, with productive investments in cities and communities assisting local governments, which often cannot find resources to help fund development.
The three solutions proposed to facilitate urban economic growth are the Cities Investment facility, which helps unlock funds for urbanization projects, the UN-Habitat guarantee for sustainable cities to raise further financial resources for sustainable development, and the rapid own source revenue analysis tool, which permits local governments to prioritize policy options after analyzing their revenue and constraints.
During this Day, roundtable discussions included "Cities as National and Regional Drivers of Socioeconomic Resilience and Growth" and "Post-crisis Urban Recovery." Another large part of World Habitat Day is the announcement of the Scroll of Honour Award winners, which acknowledges those who have shown initiative and innovation in relevant fields. For instance, one of this year's winners, Sierra Leone, was honored for the country's strides in tackling plastic pollution and its impact on the urban environment. The current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, remarked on World Habitat Day, stating, "Local action is vital, and global cooperation indispensable [...] Let us pledge to build inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable human settlements for all people, everywhere."
The UN is not alone in supporting some of the principles and goals of this year's World Habitat Day. Cooperatives are guided by many of the same purposes related to World Habitat Day, focusing on local economic sustainable development, job opportunities for communities that will revitalize the economy, affordable housing, and resource access. The theme of 'Resilient urban economies' also aligns with the principles of cooperatives as far as mitigating risk for members of a community or the mission of democratic control as a form of sustainable solutions.
Sources:
“United Nations World Habitat Day,” https://www.un.org/en/observances/habitat-day; Accessed 4 October
“World Habitat Day 2023 Concept Note,” https://urbanoctober.unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2023-08/whd-2023-concept-note.pdf; Accessed 4 October