UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka on Friday addressed the International Conference on Sustainable Urban Development with a call for better welfare as a means to achieving sustainable urban development. Mrs. Tibaijuka said that unless the majority of households enjoyed some measure of welfare, which accrued from productive employment, sustainable urban development was likely to remain an illusion. The three-day meeting focused on themes of urban governance and sustainable management and planning and was co-organized by UN-HABITAT, the European Commission and the Government of China. The International Conference on Sustainable Urban Development: From Research to Action also deliberated on sustainable land use planning, and sustainable housing and construction. According to Mrs. Tibaijuka, sustainable urban development is also likely remain an illusion if the urban poor, who are the majority of the urban population in most developing countries, are excluded from decision-making and from being full urban citizens. During the conference the Municipal Government of Nanning, initiated a campaign to “improve human settlements and environment, and build harmonious communities” in Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Autonomous Region of China. |
