New school study for habitat III: Countries made little or no progress on commitment to address urban issuesStudents and faculty from The New School in New York City attend Habitat III conference in Quito, Ecuador to present findings of Habitat Commitment Project, a study assessing the fulfillment of commitments made by countries at Habitat II |
NEW YORK, October 17, 2016 — More than half the countries that signed on to an agreement to address urban problems at Habitat II, the 1996 United Nations conference on human settlements, are not living up to their commitments. That's according to the Habitat Commitment Project (HCP), an exhaustive study by a delegation of students and faculty at The New School in New York City who are attending the Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador from October 17 to 20. Through both presentations and a large booth set up at the conference, the delegation shares the findings of the Human Commitment Index (HCI), the basis for the HCP, which assess the progress of 169 countries on 15 indicators related to Infrastructure, Poverty, Employment, Sustainability, Institutional Capacity, and Gender. The New School students and faculty present their findings as a fresh 20-year agreement, the New Urban Agenda, is being hammered out by United Nations member states at Habitat III. This agreement is intended to chart the course for improving urban well being by making multiple commitments at the level of national and local government. As countries establish the New Urban Agenda, The New School delegation, comprised of students and faculty members from The New School's Global Urban Futures project, argue that "any new commitments must be based on a realistic assessment of the fulfillment of prior commitments made at the 1996 conference." It is also calling for "a New Urban Practice to Achieve a New Urban Agenda" — i.e. a much more integrated approach that transcends jurisdictional and administrative boundaries — as well as bottom-up solutions emerging from local ecologies, economies, cultures, and institutions. "It is hoped that this project will contribute to the New Urban Agenda by clearly suggesting to national and city governments, international organizations, and civil society that the nature of commitments matter," said Michael Cohen, Professor of International Affairs at The New School who led the Habitat Commitment Project. "Formulating ambitious and realistic commitments is an indispensable first step towards achieving real progress in improving the lives of billions of city residents around the world." In addition to contributing to the main conference, The New School delegation will present work and exhibit publications at Hacia Un Habitat 3 Alternativo (Toward an Alternative Habitat 3), a four day conference of urban academics and practitioners, organized by FLACSO, the Latin American Faculty on Social Sciences. The New School's participation in Habitat III and creation of the Habitat Commitment Project reflect the university's dedication to connecting to the global community, collaborating across disciplines, and confronting the most pressing issues of our time. Members of The New School delegation includes students from 12 countries: Argentina, Botswana, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Germany, India, Israel, Kenya, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Philippines, Serbia, and the United States. Students and faculty represent multiple schools and institutions within The New School, including Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy and Parsons School of Design. |
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