Urban Initiatives - multinational efforts

The C40 is a global network of mayors taking urgent action to confront the climate crisis and create a future where everyone can thrive.

The CLC in Singapore exists to distil, create and share knowledge on liveable and sustainable cities (including a regular publication on urban solutions which is available here).

This initiative recognises and enhances the value of nature in and around cities across the world.

The World Urban Forum is an event held every two years, usually as a hybrid in-person and online event. People from around the world come together to focus on how to make tangible change to the world's urban environments. WUF (WUF11) was held in Katowice, Poland, in June 2022. WUF 12 will be held in Cairo between 4-8 November 2024.

The Urban Resilience Hub contains the latest information about urban resilience developments around the world.

The New Urban Agenda, adopted at Habitat III in Quito, Ecuador, on 20 October 2016, presents a paradigm shift based on the science of cities and lays out standards and principles for the planning, construction, development, management and improvement of urban areas. 

The World Urban Campaign is an advocacy and partnership platform to raise awareness about positive urban change.

Urban October is an opportunity for everyone to be part of the conversation about the challenges and opportunities created by the fast rate of change in our cities and towns. Each October, people around the world are encouraged to hold or participate in activities, events and discussions about urban environments.

This part of the UNDP website provides a variety of reports and analysis on urbanisation matters and challenges. 

The UNDP Global Centre Singapore is a hub for knowledge and policy relating to sustainable development, with the emphasis on connecting top policymakers, practitioners, think tanks, business and other relevant stakeholders for learning and sharing of best practices on the themes of technology, innovation, and partnerships for sustainable development.

Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) is a multi-stakeholder initiative for improving local resilience through advocacy, sharing knowledge and experiences, establishing city-to-city learning networks, providing technical expertise, connecting governments of all levels and building partnerships. 

The Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities was published in 2017. It was developed by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) with the support of USAID, European Commission, IBM, AECOM and other partners and cities. The Scorecard provides a set of assessments for local governments to assess their disaster resilience, based on UNDRR’s Ten Essentials for Making Cities Resilient. The Scorecard is supported by a number of subset focus areas.

The Action Guide is a result of contributions from the ARISE-US Network in collaboration with UNDRR and MCR2030. It was developed to help groups using the Scorecard to agree and design actions to implement, as a result of completing the Scorecard assessment.

Resilient Cities Network is a global urban resilience network that brings together global knowledge, practice, partnerships, and funding to empower our members to build safe and equitable cities for all.

This special IEA report is the world’s first comprehensive study of how to transition to a net zero energy system by 2050 while ensuring stable and affordable energy supplies, providing universal energy access, and enabling robust economic growth. 

The World Energy Outlook is produced by the IEA annually. The analysis provides critical insights into global energy supply and demand in different scenarios and the implications for energy security, climate targets and economic development. The 2022 Report is provided.

This report provides the strategic vision of experts from the IEA Technology Collaboration Programmes (TCPs) on how to help achieve some of the most impactful short-term milestones for the buildings sector outlined in the IEA’s Net Zero by 2050 Roadmap.

The World Bank provides various support and assistance around the world towards meeting our urban needs.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is part of the World Bank. Their US$10 billion Cities Initiative helps municipal authorities to build climate-resilient, sustainable cities. It combines investment and advice with cities around the world to address pressing urban needs with private sector participation. 

The ADB’s Strategy 2030 identifies "Making Cities More Liveable" as one of its seven operational priorities for achieving its vision of a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific.

​EBRD Green Cities strives to build a better and more sustainable future for cities and their residents.

The objective of this part of the IADB is to promote the sustainable development of cities in Latin America and the Caribbean through knowledge and investment that promote inclusion, productivity and resilience.

The Caribbean Development Bank is committed to helping Borrowing Member Countries reduce inequality and halve the incidence of extreme poverty by the end of 2025, through supporting inclusive and sustainable growth and promoting good governance.

The IIPP is dedicated to public value and public purpose and bringing it to the centre of political economy and to concrete policy practice. Their work equips leaders to co-design growth that is innovation-led, sustainable and inclusive.

There are clear linkages to the socio-economic system of cities and towns (as discussed in related content).

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative responds to the growing number of cities around the world embracing art as an effective and relatively low-cost strategy to activate their streets.