UN Habitat III conference on Urban Sustainable Development – The New Urban Agenda

“Habitat III” [7] is shorthand for a major global summit, formally known as the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, held in Quito, Ecuador, on 17-20 October 2016. [1, 2]

The United Nations called the conference, the third in a series that began in 1976 (UN Habitat), to “reinvigorate” the global political commitment to urban sustainable development goals.  The agenda will set a new global strategy around urbanization for the next two decades – The New Urban Agenda.

• Habitat I (1976): Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements – Vancouver, Canada, May 31 – June 11, 1976 [5]
• Habitat II (1996): Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements – Istanbul, Turkey June 3-14, 1996 [3, 6]
• Habitat III (2016): Ecuador – Declaration of  “The New Urban Agenda”

Starting in 1972 it was recognised that privately owned land was a threat to social equity on the planet, including ownership of “self”! [4]

Since 1985 the United Nations designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day “to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter.”