Start Date : 22 Jun 10   End Date : 24 Jun 10 Location: Solo, Central Java, Indonesia

The Government of the Republic of Indonesia is pleased to host the 3rd Asia Pacific Ministers Conference on Housing and Urban Development (APMCHUD) in the city of Solo (also known officially as Surakarta), Central Java Province, June 22-24, 2010. 

The conference takes on the theme: Empowering Communities for Sustainable Urbanization. The theme is a continuation of the 1st APMCHUD in New Delhi (2006): A Vision for Sustainable Urbanization and the 2nd APMCHUD in Tehran (2008): Sustainable Urban Development - Associating Growth with Equity and Identity. The conference aims to develop a knowledge hub and facilitate sustainable human settlement development in the Asia-Pacific region.
Despite its rapid economic growth and many dynamic economies in a rapidly urbanizing region, over two-thirds of the developing world’s population living in overcrowded conditions resides in Asia. UN-HABITAT research shows that overcrowding and poor ventilation is directly related to the rates of illness, child mortality, crime and other anti-social behavior.

By 2020, Asia will be home to 12 of the world’s largest cities with populations of over 20 million. Despite impressive growth in China and India in the last decade, to cite to recent examples of UN-HABITAT research, neither country has been able to bridge the gap between rich and poor, whether in the countryside or in cities. In the year 2001, 38 per cent of urban residents in China lived in slums, compared to 56 per cent in India. In Bangladesh, 85 per cent of the urban populations live in slums, while Pakistan stood at 74 per cent. Four out of 10 children living in the slums of Bangladesh and Nepal are undernourished. Urban crime increases are directly linked to growing urban poverty; the list goes on.

This huge urban growth in the region is crying out for new methods of planning, management, financing and service delivery aimed at creating socially inclusive cities. The conference will seek to share experiences and learn from best practices in the implementation of pro-poor urban policies and enabling legislation, and in particular how communities can support sustainable urbanization.

During the conference five working group meetings will be held parallel around the main theme: 1) Community participation in Planning and Governance, 2) Participatory Slum Upgrading, 3) Delivery of MDGs Water and Sanitation, 4) Financing Sustainable Housing and Urban Development   and 5) The Role of Community in Addressing Climate Change. Field trips to several best practices of participatory urban development in Solo will also be arranged during the conference.

For further information on the please the 3rd APMCHUD, please contact Habitat Indonesia National Secretariat www.habitat-indonesia.or.id/apmchud,
email apmchud2010@gmail.com or seknashabitat@gmail.com. 

APMCHUD is a consultative inter-governmental mechanism for the promotion of sustainable housing and urban development in the Asia-Pacific region. It serves as a forum and network to discuss the urban challenge at the regional level as a basis for national, provincial and local level policies and strategies, and as a focus for the discussion of the Habitat Agenda and the relevant Millennium Development Goals and Targets. For further information, please visit http://www.apmchud.com.