Metropolitan Governance
AMB Initiates Debates Towards More Diverse, Equal, Prosperous and Sustainable Metropolises
On the 13 and 14 of November the Área Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB) organized the seminar “Post Hábitat III: the contribution of cities and metropolitan areas”. Representatives from Metropolis and experts gathered to discuss the application of guidelines derived from the Conference Hábitat III, which took place last year in Quito. The event served as preparation for the World Congress which AMB will carry out in May of next year, with over 300 expected to attendees, regarding growth and equality strategies in large metropolises.
During the seminar issues of sustainability (climate change, air quality, natural resources), urban and metropolitan planning (public spaces, mobility), social cohesion (segregation, digital divide, social inequality, the right to housing), and competitiveness and local development (unemployment, circular economy, innovation), were discussed.
“The idea is to explain what Barcelona and AMB are doing, and that other cities explain what they are doing, in order to mutually benefit and exchange thoughts about the criteria established by Habitat III”, explained the vice president of International Relations and Cooperation of AMB, Alfred Bosch. He stated that international agreements like New Urban Agenda, the Agenda of 2030 and the Paris Accords regarding climate change have direct repercussions on the future of large cities with regards to building more diverse, equal, prosperous and cohesive, healthy and sustainable societies.
Presentations and recommendations made by our members were distinguished, such as those of the advisor of the mayor of Dakar and the regional secretary of Metropolis for Africa, Rahmatouca Sow Dieye; the director of international relations in Johannesburg, Jan Erasmus; the president of the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination in the City of Mexico, Jacqueline L’Hoist; the director of the Master Plan of Habana, Patricia Rodríguez; the director for the Agency of Urban Ecology in Barcelona, Salvador Rueda. The seminar was held in collaboration with Metropolis, the Project AL-Las and Instituto Barcelona de Estudios Internacionales – IBEI.