"The major urban challenges of the twenty-first century include the rapid growth of many cities and the decline of others, the expansion of the informal sector, and the role of cities in causing or mitigating climate change. Evidence from around the world suggests that governments at all levels are largely failing to address these challenges."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message on World Habitat Day, 2009
Aerial view of Cap Haitïen, Haiti's second largest city. UN PhotoOn 17 December 1985, the UN General Assembly decided to designate the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day.
The theme of this year's World Habitat Day is "Planning Our Urban Future".
It is acknowledged that cities are one of the major contributors of greenhouse
gas emissions. Cities therefore have a key role to play in climate change mitigation
by promoting energy efficiency through more appropriate land-use planning, more
efficient urban management and green building practices.
At the same time, the vulnerability of cities to the effects of climate change is a critical issue of concern. The importance of creating awareness of the implications of climate change for all aspects of human living cannot be overemphasized. As in the case of the financial crisis, those who contribute the least to the problem, namely the urban poor, are those who are the most severely affected by it. Such trends, within the context of a rapidly urbanizing world, point to a defining moment in the convergence of the human settlements and environmental agendas and the need to bridge what has been long perceived as two distinct arenas for policy and action.