It is up to us to work towards the city of our dreams. Together, by maintaining unwavering confidence in mankind and remaining aware of the opportunities offered by our territories and technological advances, we can create sustainable, resilient cities that are welcoming places for their inhabitants today and for future generations.

Multisectoral collaboration among decision-making entities and the public will be critical, as no single ministry or Government can achieve climate goals alone. It is also important to integrate participatory processes in policymaking and implementation at both the national and local levels for effective governance to act on social determinants of health. Health perspectives can help shape city policies that drive cost-effective urban planning and related transport mitigation strategies.

The history of construction shows that builders have always been creative in adapting and upgrading housing structures by making the best use of locally available resources to meet their needs, while taking into account local economic, social and climatic constraints. Societies worldwide have developed building cultures that result in 'contextual' architecture, corresponding to unique construction methods and specific ways of life.

The recently drafted New Urban Agenda, which Governments will adopt in Quito, reaffirms Member States' support of all the components of Goal 11. Both parts of the outcome document—the Quito Declaration on Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements for All and the Quito Implementation Plan for the New Urban Agenda—clearly enunciate three priorities that will frame the successful execution of Goal 11 and the urban aspects of the other SDGs, and lead to the achievement of sustainable urbanization in the coming decades. These priorities are: having a supportive governance structure, inventing and maintaining twenty-first century planning and managing urban spatial development, and establishing sound financing mechanisms.

This century will see a substantial majority of the world's population living in urban centers. The United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), to be held in Quito, Ecuador, from 17 to 20 October 2016, therefore has as its mission the adoption of the New Urban Agenda, an action-oriented outcome document that will set global standards of achievement in sustainable urban development.

In our highly interconnected and interdependent world, progress in safeguarding the values of sport and in strengthening sport in society requires cooperation. In order for sport to serve humanity, sport must engage with society.

No other event can empower individuals through social inclusion and societal opportunity like the Paralympic Games. Likewise, no other event can change the views of so many millions of people or stimulate Governments to create investment programmes or pass new legislation that will benefit many generations of individuals with impairments.

Youth participation in sport for development is gaining popularity and momentum because of its value in promoting life skills and the essentials of global citizenship.There is increasing recognition of the efficacy of humanitarian programmes that employ sport as a tool for intervention and change in geopolitically and culturally diverse contexts.

The UN Chronicle, under the theme Sport Aims for the Goals, considers sport's role in improving lives and achieving the Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals. This issue explores the ways in which sport can enable individuals and communities to build a stronger, more harmonious world.

The growing and increasingly institutionalized field of Sport for Development and Peace suggests significant opportunities for the world of sport to make positive contributions to overcoming the most pressing social and environmental challenges of our time.