INTERNATIONAL
CALENDAR
       

Launch of the VLR of the Metropolitan Area of Florence

In 2020 there are 1934 metropolises with more than 300,000 inhabitants representing approximately 60% of the world’s urban population. At least 2.59 billion people live in metropolises in 2020 which is equivalent to one third of the global population. 34 metropolises have surpassed 10 million inhabitants, and 1355 of 300,000 to 1 million.

Despite Italy counts for 32 cities with more than 300,000 inhabitants, from an administrative perspective, Italian metropolitan areas (città metropolitane) have been formally established by law in 2014. The law defines 14 metropolitan areas, including the Metropolitan Area of Florence.

Metropolis around the world at the very center of global development, from an economic, demographic, environmental and cultural point of view. Hence, as the world continues to urbanize, sustainable development depends increasingly on the successful management of urban growth, and specifically of metropolis.

Globally, metropolitan governments have key responsibilities strictly linked to the promotion of territorial development and the implementation of the SDGs. In Italy, for example, metropolitan governments are responsible for the design of the development plan of the metropolitan area, for the coordination of public services, the promotion of social and economic development and the coordination of digital and information services. Moreover, metropolitan governments are becoming more and more key interlocutors with regional and national governments, hence completing the multilevel governance chain.

With this in mind, the Metropolitan Government of Florence, under the leadership of ARCOLab and Avventura Urbana, and with the support of UN-Habitat, has developed its very first Voluntary Local Review. The VLR was based on an extensive data analysis and participatory process that involved stakeholders from the different areas and municipalities composing the Florence Metropolitan Area. In addition, the VLR is set to define the context and the priorities that will inspire the Metropolitan Agenda 2030 (Agenda Metropolitana 2030), the strategic development plan of Florence Metropolitan Area towards the implementation of the SDGs.

The session falls into the joint work that UN-Habitat, UCLG and Metropolis are conducting on the role of metropolises in implementing the Global Goals, with a particular look to Voluntary Local Reviews.

 

 Session: July 15 at 11am-12.30pm CEST

 

11.00 – 11.15am Opening Session

  • Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence

  • Shipra Narang Suri, Chief Urban Practices Branch, UN-Habitat

11.15 – 11.30am Presentation of the VLR of Florence Metropolitan Area

  • Andrea Ferrannini, Coordinator Local Development Unit, ARCOLab

11.30 – 11.55am Discussion

Moderator: Oscar Chamat, Policy & Research Unit of Metropolis

Speakers:

  • Los Angeles, USA (TBC)

  • Sao Paulo, Brazil (TBC)

11.55 – 12.00pm Closing