From the 26th to 30th June 2022, a delegation from the European Commission, including DG REGIO, took part in the 11th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF). It is recognised as the foremost global arena for interaction among key high-level policy makers, local government leaders, NGOs and stakeholders to discuss global urbanisation challenges and solutions.
- 11 July 2022
Commissioner Ferreira joined the opening ceremony of the forum online and made a statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States notably reminding of the engagement of the EU for sustainable urban development and the importance of maximizing the contribution cities bring to implement transformative change through the New Urban Agenda.
As this year’ session of the World Urban Forum took place in Katowice, Poland, a special attention was put to present European perspective within the WUF 11 programme. Hence, a special block of events called the European Track was dedicated to the European dimension of sustainable urban development and a just transformation of cities in the context of global challenges.
While the European Track was organised by the Polish Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy as well as the Institute of Urban and Regional Development, the European Commission acted as a partner of this process in order to highlight the European dimension of the Forum and to provide additional content to enrich discussion among stakeholders on various priority areas.
As part of a dedicated building block of the European Track, the series of 14 events organised or co-organised by the European Commission highlighted the EU approach towards integrated sustainable urban development through various dimensions. They complemented other European track sessions and thematic areas by showcasing key priorities for supporting cities and urban development actors in taking forwards the green, digital and just transition in urban areas, presenting a number of policies, initiatives, tools and methodologies.
One of the sessions was organised by DG REGIO and the European Commission Joint Research Centre. The session entitled Sustainable urban development support in the EU – frameworks, practices and tools took place on 27 June 2022 and gathered representatives of various sectors and institutions. It highlighted in particular the framework in place to support sustainable urban development in the EU through Cohesion policy, the different parameters and opportunities for urban actors, as well as a number of available tools on the Urban Data Platform +.
Another significant event was the premiere of the World Cities Report 2022, released by UN Habitat on 29 June 2022. DG REGIO jointly with the JRC contributed by drafting Chapter 2 of this report.
The launch of the second edition of the European Handbook for SDGs Voluntary Local Reviews, produced by Joint Research Centre also took place at the occasion of the forum. The handbook supports cities to measure their progress for the implementation of the Sustainable developments goals at their level.
The event concluded by the adoption of the Katowice Declared Actions, containing the submission of 6 actions by the European Union corresponding to its renewed voluntary commitments to implement the New Urban Agenda.