India Elected to Head UN-Habitat

• India in May 2017 was unanimously elected as the President of the UN-Habitat, an organ of the United Nations’ Organisation (UNO) that promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements across the world, after 10 years. UN-Habitat reports to the United Nations General Assembly.
• Further to this election, then Minister of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation M. Venkaiah Naidu chaired the four-day meeting of the 58-member Governing Council of UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya.
• The theme of the 26th Meeting of the Governing Council was “Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda” with focus on inclusive, sustainable and adequate housing for a better future and planning and financing sustainable urbanization and integrated human settlements.
• Since the UN-Habitat came into being in 1978, it is only the third time that India has been elected to lead this important organization after 2007 and 1988.
• As an inter-governmental policy making and decision-making body, the Governing Council of UN-Habitat seeks to promote integral and comprehensive approach to human settlements, assist the countries and regions in addressing human settlement problems and strengthen cooperation among all countries on human settlement issue.

Inclusive Cities

To make sure that tomorrow’s cities provide opportunities and better living conditions for all, it is essential to understand that the concept of inclusive cities involves a complex web of multiple spatial, social and economic factors:

• Spatial Inclusion: urban inclusion requires providing affordable necessities such as housing, water and sanitation. Lack of access to essential infrastructure and services is a daily struggle for many disadvantaged households;
• Social Inclusion: an inclusive city needs to guarantee equal rights and participation of all, including the most marginalized. Recently, the lack of opportunities for the urban poor, and greater demand for voice from the socially excluded have exacerbated incidents of social upheaval in cities;
• Economic Inclusion: creating jobs and giving urban residents the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of economic growth is a critical component of overall urban inclusion.