Urban 20: Cities at the center of local solutions to global development challenges

With the world becoming more urban than ever before, cities are at the core of the global development agenda.They play such a pivotal role in addressing global challenges and improving citizen’s lives that the battle against poverty and climate change to build inclusive, resilient, and sustainable communities will be won or lost in cities.

Yet, it is nations that have led the discussions around solutions for a rapidly urbanizing world, leaving the voices of cities to a secondary role. There is an urgent need to bring cities’ leadership, knowledge, and expertise to the center of global conversations on sustainable urban development.

To highlight and share effective solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time, over 30 mayors from around the world will gather at the First Urban 20 Mayors Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 29-30, 2018. Together, they will provide concrete, experience-based recommendations to the leaders of the G20 countries on what it takes to achieve urban sustainability, inclusion, and prosperity.

As a strategic partner of the summit and the overall Urban 20 (U20) Initiative, the World Bank Group – including the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – is committed to helping global cities bring their expertise, needs, and voices to the center of global discussions on sustainable development. At the summit, the World Bank will present a series of knowledge notes to inform the U20 discussions and promote the exchange of ideas and innovative approaches to complex development issues, including:

• The future of work in cities
• Affordable housing in the world’s cities
• Urban mobility, health and public spaces
• Urban water resilience

In this video, World Bank Senior Director Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez (@Ede_WBG) and Lead Urban Specialist Horacio Terraza (@TerrazaH) talk about the importance of the U20 Initiative, the World Bank’s participation in the First U20 Mayors Summit, and what is next for U20 cities after the summit in Buenos Aires.

Watch the video to learn more. Watch the U20 Mayors Summit live here October 29-30, 2018. Follow @WBG_Cities and hashtag #Urban20 for updates on and from the summit.

Also available in: Español

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