United Nations System-wide Strategy on Sustainable Urban Development

The UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination endorsed the “United Nations system-wide strategy on sustainable urban development” in May 2019 with the aim to advance UN system-wide coherence and coordination in assisting Member States to boost sustainable urban development as a key step to realizing the 2030 Agenda through the enhanced collaborative implementation of the New Urban Agenda. The strategy, prepared by the High-level Committee on Programmes, is the outcome of a six-month consultative inter-agency process, led by UN-Habitat.  

UN-Habitat has since continued to play a role in facilitating and encouraging collaboration and coordination to realize the strategy’s implementation framework. UN-Habitat has been promoting the operationalization of the UN system-wide strategy on sustainable urban development through the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework processes, including through the guidance developed for the Common Country Assessments (CCAs). Existing inter-agency structures (including under the UN Sustainable Development Group(UNSDG); thematic inter-agency platforms like the UN Network on Migration, Inter-Agency Standing Committee for humanitarian coordination, and the Joint Steering Committee to Advance Humanitarian and Development Collaboration;  and regional inter-agency platforms) provide opportunities to promote the integration of relevant elements of the United Nations system-wide strategy on sustainable urban development into broader United Nations coordination mechanisms and reform processes. 

Additional information can be found on the Urbanization topic page.