‘The UN, the Urban Sustainable Development Goal, and the New Urban Agenda’ is one chapter of the book entitled ‘Urban Planet: Knowledge Towards Sustainable Cities’

Abstract

Since its establishment 70 years ago in the ashes of World War II, the international multilateral system’s conception of ‘the urban’ has evolved significantly. This reflects both the maturation of the original United Nations (UN) and Bretton Woods institutions and the subsequent establishment of new, more specialised institutions in the 1970s to respond to the rise of environmental and human settlements challenges on international agendas and priorities. Of particular relevance in this context are the UN Environment Programme, or UNEP, and the UN Human Settlements Programme, or UN-Habitat (formerly the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, or UNCHS). Both of these programs are symbolically headquartered in Nairobi as part of an initiative to give the UN a more global physical footprint.