Call to Action on Sustainable Urbanisation in the Commonwealth

Summary

With 70% of global carbon emissions attributable to cities and Commonwealth countries forecast to account for nearly 50% of the growth in cities to 2050, urbanisation is a defining issue for the Commonwealth. The Call to Action recognises the need for a cross-sector, inter-disciplinary response which will leverage the power of the Commonwealth to respond to the nature and scale of the challenge, leveraging SDG17, as an example of Partnerships for the Goals.

Fact finding: The publication of a Survey of the Built Environment Professions in the Commonwealth which identified a critical lack of capacity in many of the Commonwealth countries which are urbanising most rapidly and are among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts
Advocacy: The delivery of a comprehensive programme of events focused on awareness raising and advocacy, attracting over 2,000 organisations/participants from 44 Commonwealth and 44 non-Commonwealth countries
Engagement: The development of an inter-disciplinary Commonwealth Youth Network
Education: The delivery of a programme of Continuing Professional Development focused on sustainable urbanisation and climate literacy.
Practical Action: The development and implementation of a Rapid Planning Toolkit to support communities lacking access to professional expertise
Practical Action: The implementation of the Lusaka Mapping Pilot as an enabler of better urban planning, using advanced technology to map the city of Lusaka, 65% of whose residents live in informal settlements (replicable and scalable)
Publication of the Call to Action to Commonwealth Member States

Engagement with Member States and a range of key stakeholders at the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting due to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2022 to bring a greater focus to bear on sustainable urbanisation in Commonwealth policy making, to mobilise the power of the Commonwealth to work in a more integrated manner across its various networks toward multi-level governance and sustainable urbanisation and to develop a programme of practical action to help deliver sustainable cities and human settlements across the Commonwealth.
Many Commonwealth Member States have made great strides towards the implementation of SDG 11, particularly in the development of National Urban Policies, but many Commonwealth cities lack the capacity, authority and/or access to long term finance necessary to engage effectively with the New Urban Agenda (a particular challenge for those in the public sector and in intermediate & secondary cities which are urbanising at the same rate as their larger counterparts). The Call to Action on Sustainable Development across the Commonwealth seeks to engage with these challenges by leveraging the Commonwealth network to bring a new focus to bear on sustianable urbanisation in Commonwealth policy making and forging new partnerships to share best practice, drive innovation and develop solutions and approaches which are both scalable and replicable.

Advocacy and Awareness raising
Partnership building
Delivery of pilot programmes
Mobilising multiple stakeholders in advance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting due to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, in June 2022

The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA), the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP) and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) in collaboration with The Government of Rwanda and The Prince's Foundation.