NEWS

         

Last month, aiming to look beyond the management of this crisis and thinking on the aftermath of the pandemic, the Metropolis Presidency and Co-Presidencies launched a call based on the commitment to rethinking metropolitan areas worldwide. Today, already 13 institutions have joined this call to action.

"The pandemic offers us an opportunity which we should not miss to rethink our cities and to do things differently. This crisis can be a window of opportunity. [...] Let us be bold and take this unique moment to move ahead with novel solutions that will transform our cities and metropolitan areas – now and for future generations. [...] Let us join our forces to build metropolitan communities that are green, inclusive, prosperous, resilient, and safe."

Using these words, the document (available in English, French, and Spanish) is presented as a call to action open to local and regional governments, institutions and urban leaders interested in how to create more inclusive, democratic, sustainable and less unequal metropolitan spaces.

14 local governments and institutions have already committed to the call's values, 7 of them representing Metropolis membership: Berlin (Metropolis Presidency), the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, the Gauteng Province, Guangzhou, Montevideo, Montréal (Metropolis CoPresidencies), Bogotá, the Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan (PEMB), the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Global and Local, KlipSa, and L'Institut Paris Region, SmartURBuild. Understanding that the COVID-19 pandemic confronts us more than ever to challenges, contradictions and vulnerabilities in our urban communities, the above-mentioned governments and institutions decided to join their forces and take action.

In a moment when pre-existing tensions and inequalities, in particular in relation to women, has exacerbated, cooperation becomes a necessary and winning strategy to tackle issues in relation to public space, mobility, density, local businesses, adequate housing and infrastructure. More importantly, acting at the metropolitan scale becomes crucial to take into consideration the complex reality of major urban spaces, and consequently, leave no inhabitant behind. 

Adhering entities will collaborate with Metropolis to promote discussion on the future of metropolitan spaces, identifying specific responses to the current challenges. With the aim of generating shareable knowledge and incorporating successful practices developed by peers, this experience will create a space of collaboration that overcome the physical limits imposed by the COVID-19. Above all, it will create a common vision of the sustainable future of metropolitan spaces.

Join us visiting our call webpage here or sending an email to Mr. Oscar Chamat, Metropolis Policy Officer, at policy@metropolis.org