Steering Committee's Message

In 2007 our planet became predominantly urban. By 2050 about two-thirds of the world's population will be city dwellers. Due to their large populations, cities and urban areas tend to have more diverse social communities. Most people in cities have the opportunity to live healthier, relatively wealthier and better lives. Urbanisation brings with it possibilities for improved access to jobs, goods and services for poor people in developing and industrialised countries. Technology and aspects of globalisation connect cities world-wide.

Due to agglomeration and economy of scale, cities generate roughly 75% of global GDP. This comes at a price; consumption of natural resources contributes to emissions of more than 80% of global greenhouse gases, and the production of more than 50% of all waste, hampering sustainability.
We are facing the urban paradox: Urbanisation as a force for unparalleled development on the one hand, and as a catalyst for environmental and social instability on the other.

To ensure cities can become beacons of sustainability and prosperity they require sound management and appropriate tools, innovative financing mechanisms and visionary planning.

While cities are often seen as creatures of the state, they need to be enabled with autonomy or devolved authority. We are acutely aware that cities and local governments have not been given the means to address the challenges of urbanisation, which risks our cities becoming dysfunctional. 
We must recognise that many city leaders often surpass their national counterparts when it comes to adopting solutions that actually work. One example of this is the mobilisation of city leaders in tackling climate change (C40). Following the principle of subsidiarity, due to their size and proximity to citizens, cities can advance more quickly when addressing societal and environmental challenges compared to national governments.
The Urban Economy Forum supports the quest for sustainable urban development through innovations in urban economy and municipal finance principles and practices.

Urban economy and municipal finance are interdisciplinary subjects that focus on development opportunities and challenges in cities. Urban economy is the output of urban management; at its best it is the genuine engagement of urban lives in urban management issues. Urban economy is a highly contextual matter that is rooted in specific situations. It can be concluded therefore, that any changes in urban economy could bring changes in urban management approaches and vice versa, impacting people’s quality of life. 

Municipal finance is about the revenue and expenditure decisions of local governments. Prudent municipal finance management is important for the facilitation of a strong urban economy. City leaders must have access to the necessary municipal finance knowledge and level of authority that fit their economic, social and regulatory context. It is recognised that financing city development worldwide needs skill and acumen. By providing municipalities and city leaders with the necessary skills, frameworks and tools, city leaders can be empowered to seek opportunities to combat the challenges facing many of our cities, such as rapid urbanisation, lack of appropriate housing, unemployment and climate change. 

Future urban growth will occur in the medium-sized and large cities of Africa and Asia. And since many cities are urbanising before they industrialise, people living in informal settlements or the slum population is set to double in the next decade. While cities will grow in size and scale, there’s a need to understand whether this growth will be planned and financed, and if so how.

Cities in industrialised and developing countries alike need to fully assess the opportunities to access finance. For example, they can use regulatory instruments to shape market characteristics to their advantage, for example by promoting local procurement as in the 'Preston Model' from the UK. In some cases, cities can creatively leverage their assets. UEF hopes to build capacities of cities in this regard. Both a strong urban economy and the availability of appropriate municipal finance tools are two of the most important drivers to build sustainable and resilient cities. Further, by aligning these subjects with international standards, such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda, we can create prosperous and equitable cities that look toward the future and achieve their full potential. SDG 11, which focuses on sustainable cities and communities, clearly acknowledges the socio-economic, housing, infrastructure and environmental challenges associated with rapid urbanisation.

In this context, we are convinced that the Urban Economy Forum (UEF), alongside UN-Habitat, has the ability to contribute to achieving SDG 11 by developing and testing innovative ideas in urban economy and finance. By identifying new and different ways of managing cities, we can learn what works best and why, and share our learning with cities throughout the world. Following the inaugural UEF in 2019, we have focused our efforts to understand the best ways for revitalising neighbourhoods in downtown cores, how to provide appropriate housing, understand the value of city prosperity evaluations, among many other crucial opportunities for urban economies. 

Future UEFs will have a particular focus on utilising innovation and youth potential. Technological innovation has rapidly advanced over the last few decades and many cities are yet to successfully capture the numerous opportunities, such as utilising big data to understand how a city functions as a whole and plan for the future. It is also increasingly evident that youth are a major untapped resource for many cities around the world. Cities must shape their policies for future generations and provide opportunities for youth. 

In a similar manner, innovation in a disrupted world must include many more women’s and indigenous peoples’ ambitions in order to create an age and ability responsive city that responds to the needs of all men and women as well as indigenous and migrant communities.

Such an approach can reinvigorate a city’s urban economy, provide a new tax base, and perpetuate innovation. This is not just a challenge for cities, but for all levels of government - local, regional, national, trans-national. Each level of government needs to reflect on the current context facing cities to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future.

On October 28 and 29, 2019 the inaugural Urban Economy Forum (UEF) was held on the occasion of World Cities Day. This forum was the beginning of our important work bringing together participants from academia, finance and real estate sectors, architects, politicians, thought leaders, young people and municipalities to help identify, share, and implement important urban economy and municipal finance practices in municipalities. UEF 2020, will build on UEF 2019’s success and continue to bolster networks, pilot new ideas, and share best practices. UEFs momentum following the inaugural forum has been exceptionally good and it must continue. 

This is the year when we can contribute to the SDG 11 target of “substantially increasing the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters.” We hope that many city leaders, financial institutions, civil society organisations, and other stake holders will participate in UEF2020 and make use of the unprecedented opportunity to assist cities in achieving the SDGs.
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