Political Declaration to Renew Commitment and Accelerate the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda

A/RES/80/291View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 178 Follow-up to the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and strengthening of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), published in 2026.

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 subjects

Declarations (Text)Human Settlements Sustainable Development Urban Development

What’s in this document?

1 operative paragraph

Adopts the political declaration entitled “Political Declaration to Renew Commitment and Accelerate the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda” annexed to the present resolution.

Political Declaration to Renew Commitment and Accelerate the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda

We, Heads of State and Government, Ministers and High Representatives, have gathered at the United Nations on 16 and 17 July 2026 for the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the midterm review of the implementation of the New Urban Agenda¹ to assess progress, identify good practices, gaps and challenges and accelerate implementation towards achieving the New Urban Agenda by 2036.

¹Pursuant to resolution 79/214.

We reaffirm our commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development² and its Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities.

²Resolution 70/1.

We reaffirm our commitment to the full implementation of the New Urban Agenda,³ adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito in 2016, as the global framework for sustainable urbanization and human settlements, including its shared vision, principles and commitments.

³Resolution 71/256, annex.

We reaffirm that we will work in our own countries and at the regional and global levels to implement the New Urban Agenda, taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development, and respecting national legislation and practices, as well as policies and priorities.

We meet with renewed determination to realize the shared vision of just, safe, healthy, accessible, affordable, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements to accelerate implementation of the New Urban Agenda, including by addressing persistent inequalities and closing implementation gaps.

We recognize that sustainable urban development is a key driver of poverty and hunger eradication, economic growth, social inclusion, resilience, including resilience to disasters and climate change, and environmental sustainability and that well-planned and well-managed urbanization has transformative potential across the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, in the context of the multiple and interconnected challenges facing cities. We further reiterate our commitment to leave no one behind, to respect human dignity and to respect, protect and fulfil all human rights in the context of sustainable urban development. We reaffirm the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.

We acknowledge that in implementing the New Urban Agenda particular attention should be given to addressing the unique and emerging urban development challenges facing all countries, in particular the structural, persistent and evolving challenges of developing countries, including African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, as well as the specific challenges facing middle-income countries. Special attention should also be given to countries in situations of conflict, as well as countries and territories under foreign occupation, post-conflict countries and countries affected by natural and human-made disasters.

To enhance effectiveness and avoid fragmentation and duplication we reaffirm the importance of coherence of the New Urban Agenda with relevant global frameworks and international mechanisms including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,⁴ the Paris Agreement,⁵ the Convention on Biological Diversity,⁶ the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,⁷ the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa,⁸ the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification Strategic Framework 2018–2030, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030,⁹ the Sevilla Commitment,¹⁰ the Doha Political Declaration of the “World Social Summit” under the title “the Second World Summit for Social Development”,¹¹ the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries,¹² the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States: A Renewed Declaration for Resilient Prosperity,¹³ and the Awaza Programme of Action for Landlocked Developing Countries for the Decade 2024–2034.¹⁴

⁴United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1771, No. 30822.

⁵Adopted under the UNFCCC in FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21.

⁶United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1760, No. 30619.

⁷United Nations Environment Programme, document CBD/COP/15/17, decision 15/4, annex.

⁸United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1954, No. 33480.

⁹Resolution 69/283, annex II.

¹⁰Resolution 79/323, annex.

¹¹Resolution 80/5, annex.

¹²Resolution 76/258, annex.

¹³Resolution 78/317, annex.

¹⁴Resolution 79/233, annex; see also resolution 79/279.

We also reaffirm the intergovernmental frameworks and commitments related to sustainable urbanization and human settlements, including those in the Pact for the Future and its annexes,¹⁵ the ministerial and political declarations of the high-level political forum on sustainable development under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly, the United Nations Habitat Assembly and other relevant United Nations conferences and processes. We reiterate that the implementation of the New Urban Agenda contributes to the implementation and localization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in an integrated and coordinated manner at the global, regional, national, subnational and local levels, with the participation of all relevant stakeholders.

¹⁵Resolution 79/1.

We are deeply concerned that implementation of the commitments for sustainable urban development remains uneven, has not kept pace with growing demand and is insufficient to meet the scale and urgency of current and emerging challenges to address the global housing crisis, including increasing extreme poverty and rising economic inequality, housing unaffordability, inaccessibility, overcrowding, rising demand, insecurity of tenure, including for youth, young families and first-time home seekers, lack of access to basic services, and the growing number of persons living in informal settlements and slums and people in street situations, including those experiencing homelessness.

We are also concerned about the increasing complexity of urban challenges, including multiple forms of poverty, hunger, food insecurity, widening inequalities, unavailability of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, rapid urbanization, fiscal constraints, unemployment, public safety, displacement, rapid technological change and widening digital divides.

We recognize that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. We further recognize that hunger is one of the most extreme consequences of poverty.

We are further concerned about the impacts of climate change, land and environmental degradation, disasters, biodiversity loss, desertification, water scarcity, drought and pollution, which disproportionately affect those in vulnerable situations living in urban areas.

We are concerned about the impacts of armed conflicts on urban areas, including the destruction of housing and infrastructure and the disruption of essential services. We acknowledge the need for governments and civil society to further support resilient urban services. We also acknowledge the need to reaffirm full respect for international humanitarian law. There can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.

We further recognize that the aforementioned challenges vary and concern cities of all sizes, towns and villages, including in emerging economies facing rapid urbanization and constrained fiscal space.

We emphasize the need for a people-centred, human rights-based and inclusive approach to urban development, ensuring the participation of all, including women and girls, children and youth, persons with disabilities, older persons, slum and informal settlement dwellers, persons experiencing homelessness, workers including those in the informal sector, smallholder farmers and fishers, refugees, returnees, internally displaced persons, migrants, Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

We recognize towns, cities, local and regional authorities, communities, grass-roots organizations and civil society, the private sector and academia as important partners and co-creators, contributing to the implementation and localization of sustainable urban development in an integrated manner, and stress the importance of empowering them with adequate mandates, resources and capacities.

We express appreciation to Member States, United Nations system entities, international organizations, regional and local authorities and stakeholders that engaged in the midterm review process and take note of the reports of the Secretary-General on progress in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

Sustainable urban development for social inclusion and ending poverty

We recognize that addressing persistent social, economic and spatial inequalities is central to the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

We acknowledge adequate housing as a way to catalyse the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through multiplier effects across poverty eradication and the achievement of zero hunger, sustainable economic growth, health, resilience-building to disasters and climate change, environmental sustainability and social inclusion.

We also recognize that homelessness constitutes an affront to human dignity and may be an obstacle to the enjoyment of human rights and that urgent national and international action is therefore required to address it.

We acknowledge that, while progress has been made in policy development and service expansion, implementation has not kept pace with the scale and complexity of housing and urban challenges.

We emphasize the need to promote inclusive and effective urban policies that ensure equitable access to basic services for all, including safe and affordable drinking water, as well as sanitation and hygiene, sustainable transport and mobility, affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, including addressing energy poverty, clean cooking, public health, food security and nutrition, education, digital connectivity, social protection and care systems, waste management and access to cultural goods and services, with attention to physical, communication and digital accessibility.

We recognize the need for inclusive national, subnational and local urban policies that are grounded in human rights-based, people-centred approaches and supported through age- and gender-responsive and disability-inclusive planning and budgeting to facilitate ending all forms of discrimination and violence while empowering all individuals and communities, enabling their full and meaningful participation.

We commit to advance social inclusion and end poverty and hunger in urban contexts, by:

Promoting equitable and affordable access to sustainable basic physical and social infrastructure for all, without discrimination, including housing, and basic services;

Promoting the development of housing policies that foster local integrated housing approaches by addressing the strong links between education, employment, housing and health, and the prevention of exclusion, segregation, slums and informal settlements;

Improving efforts to upgrade informal settlements by proactively planning and developing sustainable, affordable, adequate, resilient and safe housing and to promote comprehensive and integrated approaches, including slum upgrading, incremental housing, improved land tenure security and the prevention of forced evictions, supported by scaled-up and sustained investment in adequate housing, as well as enabling legal, administrative and planning frameworks;

Addressing the needs of those experiencing homelessness, through comprehensive and integrated national and local responses across housing, health, employment, and social protection systems, with a focus on prevention, reduction and long-term sustainable solutions, including non‑market, social and affordable rental housing solutions;

Promoting safe, inclusive, accessible, green and quality public spaces that are friendly for families, including through culture and sport as drivers of social and economic development, by encouraging the elimination of legal, institutional, socioeconomic and physical barriers and engaging, where appropriate, local communities and non‑governmental actors in developing urban strategies and initiatives;

Integrating inclusive measures for urban safety and the prevention of crime and violence, particularly by promoting safe, inclusive and accessible public spaces free from violence and harassment, taking into consideration gender-based violence, including killings of women and girls, also known as femicide, through age- and gender-responsive and disability-inclusive urban design and planning, awareness-raising, involvement of local communities, and crime prevention laws, policies and programmes;

Equipping public water and sanitation utilities with the capacity to implement sustainable water management systems, including sustainable maintenance of urban infrastructure services, through capacity development, with the goal of progressively eliminating inequalities and promoting both universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all and adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all;

Promoting the integration of food security and the nutritional needs of urban residents, particularly the urban poor, to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition, including through urban and territorial planning, policy coherence and coordination on sustainable food security and agriculture across urban, peri-urban and rural areas, including by further strengthening coordination of food policies with energy, water, health, transport and waste policies.

Sustainable and inclusive urban prosperity and opportunities for all

We recognize the central role of sustainable urban development as engine of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, innovation and decent job creation, with cities continuing to drive economic growth, noting that the benefits of this growth need to be more widely shared to ensure inclusive and sustainable development.

We note that economic informality in urban areas remains widespread and that many urban workers lack access to decent work, formal employment and social protection.

We commit to promoting an inclusive urban economy, by:

Developing vibrant, sustainable and inclusive urban economies by fostering an enabling environment for businesses and innovation as well as livelihoods, decent work, formal employment and social protection;

Supporting positive economic links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening connectivity, value chains and market linkages between them, while supporting balanced and inclusive spatial development across metropolitan areas, intermediate cities, small towns and rural areas;

Strengthening the role of small and intermediate cities in enhancing urban-rural linkages, food security, economic resilience and access to adequate housing, infrastructure and basic services;

Supporting micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises and cooperatives throughout value chains, including by strengthening productive capacities, in particular businesses and enterprises, in the social and solidarity economy, operating in both formal and informal economies, particularly those in developing countries, through enhancing access to finance, markets and digital connectivity, and the need for targeted capacity-building and policy support;

Expanding access for youth to quality education, social and professional skills development, vocational training, apprenticeships, employment and decent work, productive inclusion, and sport, to achieve increased productivity and shared prosperity in cities and human settlements, and ensuring more and better opportunities for their meaningful participation as essential for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda;

Addressing the barriers faced by informal workers, unpaid care workers and migrant workers, including through expanded social protection systems, labour protections and pathways towards formalization and decent work, while recognizing that women and girls undertake a disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work;

Promoting investment in quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, to stimulate sustainable economic productivity, promote the equitable growth of regions across the urban-rural continuum and encourage urban-rural interactions and connectivity by strengthening sustainable transport and mobility, energy, water, technology and communications networks, as well as food production and distribution;

Promoting better access to urban transport services and the prioritization of sustainable, safe, reliable, accessible, inclusive, affordable, disaster- and climate-resilient, smart urban mobility and transport connectivity systems, to strengthen links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas, improve access to jobs, markets, education, healthcare and basic services, and support efficient logistics, trade facilitation, and balanced territorial development, through the provision of adequate means of implementation and targeted support for developing countries;

Strengthening international cooperation in infrastructure reconstruction, particularly in countries affected by humanitarian crises, through enhanced coordination and cooperation among governments, the United Nations system, international financial institutions and other stakeholders, to ensure resilient, inclusive and sustainable recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation that support long-term urban development, economic growth and improved livelihoods and address obstacles to recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation;

Expanding the participation of all countries, in particular developing countries, in the digital economy, including by closing the digital divides and enhancing digital literacy, access to universal and meaningful digital public infrastructure connectivity, improving security in the use of information and communications technologies, building capacities and access to technological innovations through stronger partnerships and participatory governance to make service delivery more inclusive, efficient and transparent;

Supporting well-managed digitalization and smart cities, particularly in developing countries, recognizing their profound and dynamic impact on human settlements and human lives, including by providing new ways to support sustainable urban development, enhancing access to basic services, promoting equality, improving accessibility and fostering economic growth and investments;

Promoting work-life balance in support of individuals and families as an element of social and economic development and living in urban and rural areas, as well as prioritizing policies that safeguard a diverse range of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and landscapes;

Leveraging cultural heritage for sustainable urban development, particularly in historic cities and human settlements, including towns and villages, and recognizing its role in stimulating participation and responsibility and in local economic development as well as promoting the innovative and sustainable use of architectural monuments and sites, with the intention of value creation, through respectful preservation, restoration and adaptation;

Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls by ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal rights in all fields and in leadership at all levels of decision-making, by ensuring decent work and equal pay for equal work, or work of equal value, for all women and by preventing and eliminating all forms of discrimination.

Environmentally sustainable and resilient urban development

We recognize local and regional authorities as indispensable actors in promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns and in addressing, inter alia, climate change and its related risks, the loss of biodiversity, pressure on ecosystems, pollution, and natural hazards.

We reaffirm all the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,¹⁶ including, inter alia, the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, as set out in principle 7.

¹⁶Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 3–14 June 1992, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigendum), resolution 1, annex I.

We further recognize the ongoing efforts of the Coalition for Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure, the Risk-Informed Early Action Partnership, the Early Warnings for All initiative, the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) initiative and the Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF).

We commit to promote environmentally sustainable and resilient urban development, by:

Promoting the integration among national and local sustainable development strategies, translating them, as appropriate, into concrete urban action, housing policy, land-use planning, sustainable mobility and building efficiency;

Promoting the integration of relevant national policies and action plans relating to climate action and biodiversity conservation into urban planning, as appropriate;

Strengthening domestic and subnational finance for local delivery through resilient and risk-informed urban development, investments in housing, integrated planning and a strengthened subnational finance system;

Promoting integrated and participatory urban and territorial planning, considering a sustainable development model that incorporates ecosystem-based approaches, nature-based solutions and sustainable waste management and urban drainage systems, as well as just transition pathways that prevent the deepening of inequalities and address the impacts of disasters, climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and pollution;

Promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns, including sustainable lifestyles, and circular economy approaches as a pathway to achieving sustainable consumption and production patterns, and zero-waste initiatives;

Strengthening resilient, inclusive and risk-informed urban development by integrating multi-hazard and multisectoral disaster risk reduction into urban planning, infrastructure management and service delivery, including through promoting the resilience of new and existing critical infrastructure, prioritizing renewal, regeneration and retrofitting of urban areas, and scaling up investments in disaster risk reduction and resilience, while strengthening anticipatory approaches and risk-informed recovery and reconstruction;

Expanding multi-hazard, impact-based early warning systems that integrate climate, hydrological, geological, environmental and health risk information in urban planning, infrastructure management and service delivery;

Integrating multi-hazard risk management, disaster prevention, resilient infrastructure for schools, early childhood facilities and protection services, and education for disaster risk reduction into urban planning, infrastructure management and service delivery, particularly in economically vulnerable areas exposed to climate and extreme weather events;

Implementing integrated water resources management, including through water-resilient urban design, to ensure that urbanization does not further exacerbate the lack of access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as water-related disasters, water scarcity and water pollution, particularly in rapidly growing and vulnerable urban areas;

Protecting urban areas from the adverse impacts of climate change and natural and human-made hazards, including earthquakes, extreme weather events, flooding, extreme rainfall, subsidence, storms, including dust and sandstorms, heatwaves, water scarcity, desertification, land degradation, including soil degradation, and drought, urban biodiversity loss, soil, water and air pollution, vector-borne diseases and sea level rise, which particularly affect coastal areas, delta regions and small island developing States, among others;

Promoting the alignment and localization of regulations across infrastructure and service delivery, economic development, and integrated spatial planning and land-use management through compact, connected, mixed-use and transit-oriented urban development and planning, and strengthening coordination between housing, transport, public space and land-use planning to improve affordability, inclusion, resilience and environmental sustainability, while protecting natural and cultural assets, and supporting balanced territorial development and sustainable public transport, including through mass public transport and clean mobility;

Developing affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, as well as encouraging national, subnational and local governments, as appropriate, to develop sustainable, renewable and affordable energy, and energy-efficient buildings and construction modes to promote energy conservation and efficiency, especially in the construction and real estate sector.

Effective implementation, multilevel governance and partnerships

We recognize that effective and strengthened implementation of the New Urban Agenda requires adequate, sustainable, predictable and accessible means of implementation, particularly for developing countries, including integrated planning, finance, peer learning, education, information, capacity development, technical assistance, technology transfer on mutually agreed terms, and strengthened international and multilevel cooperation.

We emphasize the role of adequate, affordable and accessible financing, including through domestic public resources, international development cooperation, South-South cooperation, North-South cooperation, triangular cooperation, international financial institutions and public-private partnerships, including at the global, regional, national and subnational levels.

We recognize the need to ensure that financial resources effectively reach the responsible authorities at the local level, and to strengthen subnational finance, transparency and mutual accountability, where appropriate, by enhancing local and regional authorities’ technical, technological and human resource capacities, improving accounting systems and reporting mechanisms, and boosting intergovernmental coordination in accordance with legal frameworks, under the coordination of competent national authorities.

We recognize the need for inclusive, multilevel governance systems and policy coherence for sustainable development approach and tools that empower regional and local authorities through appropriate national, legal, institutional and fiscal frameworks, ensuring their effective participation in decision-making, implementation and reporting processes, and strengthening local delivery capacity, through inclusive institutional mechanisms such as national and local habitat committees and other participatory platforms, as appropriate.

We further acknowledge the important role of mayors and local and regional authorities, as well as the importance of engagement with civil society, communities, academia, youth and the private sector, in implementing the New Urban Agenda.

We recognize that South-South, North-South and triangular, regional and international cooperation has proved to be key in advancing urban development and adequate housing, and the need to further strengthen international cooperation.

We commend the important contributions of the initiatives aimed at localizing the Sustainable Development Goals in fostering coherence, efficiency and local impact in United Nations support for local and urban development, and in facilitating the participation of relevant stakeholders, in particular local and regional authorities, in the design, implementation and monitoring of global agendas, including the Local2030 Coalition.

We commit and call upon international and regional organizations and bodies, including those of the United Nations system and multilateral environmental agreements, development partners, international financial institutions, including multilateral and regional development banks, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders, to strengthen implementation, where appropriate, by:

Scaling up domestic finance availability and other innovative financing mechanisms for sustainable urban development at all levels, including through strengthening dedicated national funds, regulatory mechanisms, including the mortgage market, credit enhancement mechanisms, support for project preparation, feasibility studies and development of investment-ready project pipelines, application of efficient and effective subsidies, incentivizing the contributions of all relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, exploring the development of municipal bond markets, as applicable, public-private partnership, promoting land-based financing instruments, strengthening municipal finance systems, fiscal decentralization, where appropriate, including direct access to finances for cities and local authorities, particularly in developing and middle-income countries as well as emerging economies, which often face significant infrastructure needs and constrained fiscal space;

Strengthening municipal finance systems, under the coordination of competent national authorities, so that resources can effectively reach responsible local authorities and communities;

Promoting the participation of international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, donor agencies and the private sector in urban development finance alongside national, regional and local authorities, through resource mobilization and expenditure targeting approaches, including addressing fiscal space constraints and expanding access to development finance, including concessional and non‑debt-creating finance, private investment, and blended finance mechanisms while preserving national ownership, country priorities and the intergovernmental nature of the process;

Mobilizing enhanced, innovative and context-appropriate financing instruments, at the national and subnational levels, such as Sustainable Development Goal-linked bonds, results-based financing and public-private partnerships, supported by enabling environments, transparency, risk-sharing and accountability mechanisms that mobilize capital while safeguarding the public interest and preserving national ownership;

Sharing skills, expertise, knowledge and experience between local and regional authorities in planning inclusive and sustainable urban development and in accessing finance for investment in urban infrastructure services, drawing on existing networks;

Investing in the promotion of education, information and awareness-building across formal and informal education for sustainable urban development, in the context of national priorities;

Recognizing the positive role that sustainable development can play in mitigating drivers of conflicts, disaster risks, humanitarian crises and complex emergencies, and also recognizing that a comprehensive whole-of-system response, including greater cooperation, coherence, coordination and complementarity among development, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian action and sustaining peace, is fundamental to most efficiently and effectively addressing needs and attaining the Sustainable Development Goals;

Implementing the calls to action in the present declaration and the New Urban Agenda at all levels, and to integrating its principles into national and local development policies, programmes, strategies and investments, while acknowledging that the calls to action will require capacity-building and technical and financial assistance to be effectively implemented by developing countries;

Strengthening multilevel governance and policy coherence for sustainable development across national priorities and global frameworks, local action, and engagement with civil society, communities, academia, youth and the private sector through whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches, as appropriate, as well as through bottom-up approaches.

We call upon national, subnational, regional, municipal and local authorities, international organizations, as well as civil society organizations, the private sector, and academic and research as well as professional institutions, to enhance implementation of the New Urban Agenda and monitoring, by:

Supporting the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda and recognizing that their achievement is inseparable from their localization, with local, regional and national authorities as important partners, co‑creators and implementers of sustainable urban development;

Advancing the New Urban Agenda by promoting participatory governance in which civil society organizations, including grass-roots and community-led organizations, have a crucial role in co-designing, implementing, monitoring and assessing urban policies, and enhancing the delivery of housing, basic services and related amenities;

Improving professional capability, enhancing capacities and technical assistance towards delivery mechanisms, including integrated and multilevel participatory planning, architecture, engineering, finance, sustainability, climate adaptation, resilient recovery and production, and sharing of knowledge and evidence for quality urban development;

Promoting robust, transparent, accountable and inclusive public-private partnerships that contribute to the sustainable development, operation and maintenance of urban infrastructure and services, while safeguarding the public interest;

Promoting capacity-development actions for residents, communities and civil society to participate in the planning and implementation of housing and urban policies.

We strongly urge States to refrain from promulgating and applying any unilateral economic, financial or trade measures not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations that impede the full achievement of economic and social development, particularly in developing countries.

Data, technology and innovation

We recognize that data and statistics, technology and innovation are critical enablers of sustainable urban development, supporting evidence-based urban planning, policymaking and service delivery for sustainable urban development.

We express concern about persistent gaps in the availability of disaggregated, timely, accessible and comparable urban data, particularly the data gaps on housing, informal settlements and underserved urban areas, which constrain effective monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal 11 and hinder the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

We commit to strengthening data, technology and innovation for urban development that serves all populations, in accordance with development needs and circumstances, by:

Strengthening national and local statistical systems and urban data platforms, including, as appropriate, through existing platforms such as the Global Urban Monitoring Framework and collaboration via the Global Urban Data Coalition, as well as through capacity-building, technical assistance and knowledge-sharing;

Promoting inclusive, safe, secure and trustworthy digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence, for urban planning and service delivery while promoting responsible data governance and implementing a human-centric approach throughout the life cycle of digital technologies, including in their design, development, deployment and use, such as geospatial information systems, remote sensing and the Internet of things;

Bridging the digital divides and supporting inclusive digital transformation through strengthened digital infrastructure, services and technical capacities, particularly for those in vulnerable situations and underserved urban areas, as well as strengthening legal and policy frameworks to protect the rights of the child in the digital space and to increase awareness about digital addiction and the challenges in the digital sphere, such as misinformation and disinformation;

Ensuring robust data governance, privacy protection, security in the use of information and communications technologies and ethical standards;

Leveraging science, data, statistics and strategic foresight to strengthen long-term thinking and planning and to promote sustainable practices and the institutional reforms necessary to ensure evidence-based decision-making, while fostering anticipatory, adaptive and responsive governance capable of addressing future opportunities, risks and challenges, including in the context of demographic change, addressing sustainable urban development and housing;

Improving monitoring systems to track emerging, slow-onset and compound risks, integrating digital tools into early warning, emergency management and recovery systems and developing standardized, comparable risk assessment frameworks for cities, especially for public facilities and basic services;

Supporting technology cooperation and open science in a manner consistent with existing international agreements, including those on intellectual property rights, knowledge-sharing and innovation partnerships for sustainable urban development, particularly in support of developing countries.

Follow-up and monitoring

We reaffirm the importance of strengthening global, regional and national progress reporting on the New Urban Agenda, including through voluntary mechanisms as tools for integrated programming, monitoring, accountability, exchange of experiences and knowledge-sharing and through inclusive national and local participatory mechanisms, in synergy with voluntary local and subnational reviews such as habitat committees, as appropriate, and promoting their alignment with national priorities and relevant global frameworks to strengthen coherence and international cooperation.

We recommend that the findings of the midterm review of the New Urban Agenda and the present political declaration should provide input to other relevant major intergovernmental outcomes of United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and environmental fields.

We reaffirm support for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and its role as the focal point within the United Nations system for sustainable urban development and implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

We reiterate the importance of Nairobi as the headquarters location of UN-Habitat and the indispensable role of its governance bodies.

We recognize the importance of predictable and sustainable resourcing for UN-Habitat to reinforce its normative leadership, operational support and convening functions in support of implementation of the New Urban Agenda and its coordination role for the United Nations system-wide strategy on sustainable urban development, within its existing mandate, to improve coherence across the United Nations system and to ensure effective support for countries in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the localization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including through multilevel governance and national Sustainable Development Goal localization frameworks.

We recognize the Open-Ended Intergovernmental Expert Working Group on Adequate Housing for All as an important platform for policy dialogue, the exchange of experiences and the formulation of recommendations and encourage Member States to take into account, as appropriate, its recommendations in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. We further encourage strengthened support for the Working Group and its follow-up, including through predictable financial, technical and in-kind contributions, as well as the enhancement of regional intergovernmental platforms on housing and sustainable urban development.

We acknowledge the contributions of the high-level political forums on sustainable development under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council and of the General Assembly on the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda to provide further guidance on the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 11 and the New Urban Agenda.

We acknowledge the need to strengthen existing institutional mechanisms for engagement, revitalizing consultative arrangements within the United Nations system, and with local and regional authorities, as well as enhancing structured engagement through United Nations country teams and reporting processes.

We recognize the important contributions of the local and regional authorities in support of the implementation and follow-up of the 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda.

We welcome the sessions of the World Urban Forum held since 2018 to advance sustainable urbanization, namely, the ninth, held in Kuala Lumpur in February 2018, the tenth, held in Abu Dhabi in February 2020, the eleventh, held in Katowice, Poland, in June 2022, the twelfth, held in Cairo in November 2024, and the thirteenth, held in Baku in May 2026, including its ministerial meeting on the New Urban Agenda and inaugural leaders’ segment, and recognize their contributions to the discussion on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, and we look forward to the convening of the fourteenth session of the Forum, in Mexico City in 2028.

We look forward to the World Urban Forums and regional and national urban forums, as platforms for Member States and all relevant stakeholders in the field of human settlements and sustainable urbanization, while recognizing the contributions of the previous forums.

We call upon relevant entities of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates, to enhance coordination and support for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the calls to action contained in the present political declaration. We further call for the integration of sustainable urbanization in the common country analysis and in United Nations planning and programming documents, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, in consultation with host Governments and in line with national policies, priorities and needs.

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