HABITAT UNI ROUNDTABLE
Roundtable title
Universities addressing urban challenges
Objectives of the Roundtable
The roundtable will gather scholars, experts, researchers, university
representatives and heads of thematic areas of UN-Habitat to discuss the role of
knowledge and education, as well as the possible contributions of universities to
address the challenges of sustainable urbanisation in the 21st century. Focusing
on the issues raised by the Rio+20 and Post-2015 MDG processes, the roundtable
aims at identifying the real issues affecting the sustainability of rapidly growing
cities and what can be done to form a new generation of urban professionals that
is better equipped to address them.
In light of the outcomes of Rio+20 Conference and the preparatory discussions
for the Habitat III Conference, this roundtable will highlight the attributes of
sustainable cities, discuss the implications of the current urbanization pace and
single out how tertiary education can bring knowledge, evidence, skills and
methods that are needed to plan and realize the notion of sustainability in cities.
Introduction of the topic
Habitat UNI is the UN-Habitat Universities partnership, which facilitates
exchange and cooperation between universities and cities in developing and
developed countries. Since its inception the mechanisms to drive the partnership
forward have been established; the Habitat UNI website was launched; Habitat
UNI partners committed to contribute to the Habitat III agenda and continue
being a resource for UN-Habitat; six thematic Hubs were initiated with the
objective of driving the work of UNI and supporting the active role of
universities in the development of sustainable cities; educational modules have
been developed in collaboration with academic institutions and a global urban
lectures series has been launched; all demonstrating the role and contribution of
scholars and universities. It is now time to expand the discussion on specific
areas where Habitat UNI can support the Post 2015-agenda dialogue and Habitat
III.
The vision of UN-Habitat for the Post-2015 agenda is that global urbanization
processes can be an opportunity for economic development if cities follow proper
and realistic urban planning practices. Thus, urban planning needs to evolve
towards a process-oriented practice, that involves multidisciplinary professionals
with better understanding of areas like market-driven development, urban form,
legislation and informality, etc. The new generation of urban professionals will
need the skills to work collaboratively and engage in processes of participation,
facilitation and intergovernmental coordination. At the same time local
governments require capacity to engage with the private sector and academic
institutions and harness community knowledge and resources.
The roundtable will kick-off the discussion on bringing greater coherence
among: (1) The academic analysis and understanding of urbanization; (2) the
demands of cities, local governments, urban institutions and the issues raised for
the Post-2015 agenda; and (3) Education and training programmes, which
universities are providing nationally and internationally. In brief, a realistic
approach to education and urban development processes needs to be adopted so
that not only the supply of education remains relevant but also those who pursue
these urban programmes acquire meaningful, responsive and effective know-how
to address the challenges of global urban transformation.
Linkages with Post 2015 and Habitat III





Knowledge and knowledge-based institutions like universities, centres of
tertiary education, research, think tanks and training institutions have a key
role in providing evidence to shape the content and strategies to meet the
sustainable development goals of the post Rio+20 and the Post 2015 MDGs
processes.
There is a great need to develop educational programmes that deliver the
knowledge and help develop skills and methods which draw on deep-rooted
analysis, for building better understanding of the processes that fuel
urbanization.
Universities and knowledge-based institutions are key actors to develop
evidence-based and problem solving education programs, aimed to form a
new generation of urban professionals who have meaningful and responsive
skills as well as instruments to develop anticipative scenario’s and predict
trends to address present and future urban development challenges.
A Sustainable Development Goal centered on cities and its potentials to solve
critical global challenges such as climate change, greenhouse gas emissions,
employment, education, adequate housing and technological innovation
should be created. This will mobilize critical actors that are urban per se,
such as local authorities, mayors, NGOs, community organizations,
universities, and the corporate business sector, which are inexorably linked to
local solutions that trigger responses to global challenges.
The SDSN Thematic Group on Sustainable Cities recognized that an Urban
SDG would need to address the fact that outcomes of academic studies on
urban sustainability do not always reach decision‐makers.
Key interrogatives
 Do we understand the deep-rooted causes of rapidly growing cities and the
current process of urbanisation vs. shrinking cities?
 How can universities respond to the development challenges emerging in the
aftermath of the Rio+20 conferences related to urbanization?
 How can tertiary education and particularly universities bring the needed
knowledge, evidences, skills and advanced methods to advance the notion of
sustainability to these dynamic processes of urban change?
 What kind of curricula and capacity development programs are needed for a
future generation of urban professionals to support the achievement of a
better urban future, without jeopardizing the needs and aspirations of future
generations?
 How can universities play a more active role in bridging the gap between
academia and practice, thus making full use of knowledge in live projects?
 How can UN-Habitat thematic branches make use of Habitat UNI, partner
universities and their resources (knowledge, research, experience,
consultancy, publications, research outputs, venues for key conferences,
etc.)?
 Conversely, what do universities expect from the thematic branches that are
related to their focus of education and research?
Format of the debate
 Introduction by the moderator
 Brief introduction of Habitat UNI, main activities, hubs and objectives of the
round table.
 Key note on the role of Universities in the Urban Development Agenda.
 Guided discussion around key interrogatives. Heads of branches and UNHabitat units make a statement and brief presentations on their themes and
outline what they expect from universities; Hub coordinators make a brief
statement or response and the debate is thus open.
 After an hour, the moderator makes a wrap-up and backtracking of the main
issues which arose in the debate;
 Three members of UNI make a brief presentation of successful examples of
collaborative activities among universities and UN-Habitat areas of work.
 The moderator opens the discussion drawing on critical issues emerging from
the presentations. The audience has the time to react. The discussion begins.
 Finally, the moderator makes a wrap-up of the session, indicates issues to be
addressed as outcome of the round table, and the representative of UNI closes
the session.