Cities are facing unprecedented demographic, environmental, economic, social and spatial challenges. The world is urban and urbanization is a source of development. How we develop our cities, towns and villages in the next years will have an impact in the quality of life of millions of citizens and will be the legacy for future generations

UN-HABITAT24th Session Governing CouncilNAIROBI, 15-19 APRIL 2013

UN-HABITAT 2

Copyright © United Nations Human Settlements Programme, April 2013

UN-HABITAT24th Session Governing CouncilNAIROBI, 15-19 APRIL 2013

UN-HABITAT 2

Joan Clos Under-Secretary-General and Executive DirectorUnited Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)

On 5 April, the United Nations Secretary-General called for accelerated action from Governments, international organizations and civil society groups in the next 1,000 days to reach the targets of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the deadline of the end of 2015.

Since the MDGs were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2000, extreme poverty has been cut by half globally, and two billion more people have gained access to safe drinking water. In addition, according to United Nations data, maternal and child mortality rates have dropped. But the world continues to fight killer diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS. We also know that the sanitation target is presently far from being met, and that many people are still in need of access to clean drinking water, in spite of the good progress made.

We are happy to have met the target of improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 well in advance. This is an important achievement. But this figure hides a reality. This welcome cut has been dramatically surpassed by the increased number of new arrivals to the slums. The final result is that the total numbers of people living in slums have actually not diminished. On the contrary, it has increased from 760 million to 863 million. In other words, the number of people joining slums has surpassed the numbers of those leaving them through national and international efforts.

Globally, we, the international community, the governments, civil society, must recognize that despite the great effort made, we have not reached the point of stopping the growth of slums.

I therefore urge all Governments and Habitat Agenda partners to ensure that the MDG targets on slums, water and sanitation are firmly kept in mind during the discussions

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on the Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals. It is critical that they are included, in one way or another, in the Post-2015 Agenda. At the same time, we all have a responsibility to continue working to make the most of the next thousand days and fulfill the millennium promise to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.

We all know that cities and towns in developing countries are facing many serious problems. The challenges are many. Inadequate housing. Insufficient urban basic services; namely water, sanitation, drainage, energy and transport. Unemployment, especially among our youth. Expansion of the informal sector. Unplanned and often chaotic peri-urban expansion. Social and political conflict over land. High levels of vulnerability to natural disasters, partly as a result of climate change.

In addition, developed countries, cities and towns are facing a new range of challenges. We see excessive energy consumption. Increasing pockets of urban poverty and inequality are manifesting themselves in new forms of segregation between the rich and the poor.

Our work at UN-Habitat has shown that in developing countries, most of these challenges are not only the result of rapid urbanization, but also of the lack of proper urban policies to guide the process.

We have to remind ourselves that throughout history, urbanization has always been the process by which societies have been transformed to higher levels of development. In fact, we can say that there is a proven, powerful

and positive correlation between urbanization and development. The experience of most of the BRIC and newly industrialized countries, including the Asian Tigers, has demonstrated the power of urbanization as an engine of development.

The strategic goal of UN-Habitat for the next six years or so is to promote the role of urbanization in achieving sustainable development. In doing so, we are building on governments’ recognition in the Rio+20 outcome document, “The Future We Want”. If cities are well planned and developed, including through integrated planning and management approaches, they can promote economically, socially and environmentally sustainable societies.

We hope that this thinking will continue to inform the preparatory process for the Habitat III Conference, and other global processes currently taking place in parallel, especially the discussions on the Post-2015 Development Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals.

How we develop our villages, towns and cities in the near future will have a significant impact on the quality of life of millions of citizens. This will be an important legacy for future generations. We need to redouble our efforts to address the urbanization challenges that villages, towns and cities are experiencing right now.

UN-Habitat will help to ensure that the urban centres and other human settlements of the future will be well planned and designed to reduce poverty and promote better quality of life.

What we are asked to do together is to facilitate equitable access to adequate housing and basic services. Provide easy

mobility for our citizens. Create an enabling environment for economic activity and job creation. All of that in addition to the enhancing of cities’ resilience to natural disasters, and promotion of sustainable energy uses.

At the same time, the goal of social inclusion and citizen participation must be supported. Sound regulatory frameworks and land management principles to deliver adequate shelter for all must also be pursued.

It is my hope that, working together, we can move away from the perception of urbanization as a source of problems. We will move towards a new and more positive view of urbanization as an opportunity and a sustainable source of development. It is indeed now “Time to Think Urban”.

Habitat III is offering us an excellent opportunity to move forward, setting a new urban and human settlements agenda for the next twenty years. This must constantly be informed by the shaping and implementation of post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. We need your engagement in the process towards a successful Habitat III Conference, one of the first global conferences that will be held after the definition of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

On our part, we stand ready to demonstrate our expertise in the struggle against poverty, and to support Governments and Habitat Agenda partners.

UN-Habitat is ready to play a leading role in guiding the urban development agenda.

UN-HABITAT 4

2011

February: UN-Habitat organizational reform starts

April: 23rd Session of the UN-Habitat Governing Council

May: Publication of the Global Report on Human Settlements – Cities and Climate Change

June: 1st African Youth Assembly, Lagos, Nigeria

October: World Habitat Day, Aguascalientes, Mexico

2012

January: Launch of “I’m a City Changer” campaign

March: AMCHUD Conference in Nairobi, Kenya

May: Launch of the Regional Report of the State of the Arab Cities 2012

June: Transitional organization structure of UN-Habitat in place

June: First National Urban Forum in Colombia. UN-Habitat continued to support National Urban Forums in 13 countries (Burkina Faso, Cuba, Fiji, Ghana, Lebanon, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines, Rwanda, Senegal, and Viet Nam)

June: Approval of “The Future We Want” at Rio+20 with specific mention to sustainable urban development

June: The Nigeria Government adopted a revised National Housing Policy and National Urban Development Policy

July: UN-Habitat participates at the London 2012 Olympic Games Torch Relay. Julius Mwelu, torchbearer

August: UN-Habitat signs the transparency commitment. Launch of Open UN-Habitat

August: State of the Latin American and Caribbean Cities Report

September: Sixth Session of the World Urban Forum, Naples, Italy

September: Launch of the State of the World Cities Report 2012-2013

September: Medellin selected host city for the seventh session of the World Urban Forum

September: First meeting of the Advisory Group on Gender Issues (AGGI)

October: World Habitat Day “Changing Cities, Building Opportunities”

TWO YEARS WORKING FORSUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT

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October: Completion of the National Urban Policy Framework

November: Launch of “Because I’m a Girl: Urban Programme”, Hanoi

November: The World Urban Campaign reaches 70 partners

December: Launch of “I’m a City Changer” Africa Campaign

December: Rabat Declaration on “Making Slums History”

December: APMCHUD Conference in Amman, Jordan

December: Global Land Tool Network increases partners up to 50

2013

January: PAAS system in place to improve UN-Habitat accountability

February: Launch of the Cities Prosperity Initiative

March: Japanese Government extends financial contribution to the rehabilitation of Sri Lanka’s conflict affected areas and UN-Habitat Afghanistan projects

March: World mayors commit to make cities crime and violence free. First Steering Committee of the Safer Cities Global Network in New York

March: Dr. Joan Clos, UN-Habitat Executive Director, awarded with the prestigious Penn IUR Urban Leadership Award

April: Launch of the City Resilience Profiling Programme

April: 24th Session of the World Urban Campaign

UN-Habitat responded to humanitarian crises in the Philippines, Mozambique, El Salvador, Libya and Cuba by deploying missions in support of Humanitarian Country Teams and Governments to coordinate housing and shelter rehabilitation response.

The One Stop Youth Resource Centre model. UN-Habitat continues to work in partnership with local authorities, United Nations agencies and other stakeholders to support the four original Centres in Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and establishment of new ones in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, India Mauritius, Nigeria and South Sudan.

UN-HABITAT 6

The world is fast becoming predominantly urban. At the beginning of the 19th century, only 2 per cent of the world’s population was urban. The population living in urban areas reached 50 per cent at the beginning of the 21st century and is expected to reach 60 per cent by 2030. At the same time the world’s population has grown from 900 million to 7 billion.

The fastest rates of urbanization are in the developing world, which is facing huge challenges related to poverty, segregation between the rich and the poor, poor basic services, inadequate housing, lack of proper means of livelihood and climate change risks.

Historical economic studies have established that there is a positive correlation between planned urbanization and development. It is also clear that the urban economy is more productive due to the proximity of the factors of production, increased specialisation and market sizes. Because of this, proper urbanization should be used as a powerful tool for creating employment and livelihoods. This requires a mind-set shift away from viewing urbanization mainly as a problem, towards viewing urbanization as a very powerful tool for development, and as a strategy against poverty and lack of adequate housing and urban basic services.

Cities and towns in developing countries are facing serious challenges, due to the lack of proper urban policies, which include unemployment, especially among the youth; high percentages of people living in slums; the dominance of the informal

SUSTAINABLE URBANIZATION: A NEW VISION

we recognize their positive potential as levers for sustainable development.

We need to see the city more as an asset and a solution, as a driver of development and poverty reduction. Urbanization presents an opportunity to solve many of the challenges confronting contemporary human development. Well-planned and designed cities can generate higher levels of societal wellbeing, global economic growth and means of livelihood and foster sustainable development. The key is to promote a more proactive perspective on the city. This will prevent negative, self-fulfilling perceptions of urbanization and piecemeal problem solving.

Sustainable urbanization is the way forward, an opportunity for sustainable development that must not be missed.

sector; inadequate urban basic services, especially water, sanitation, drainage and energy; unplanned peri-urban expansion; social and political conflict over land; high levels of vulnerability to natural disasters, partly resulting from climate change; and poor mobility systems.

At the same time, cities and towns play a role as drivers of national economic and social development.

In many developing countries, rapid urbanization is preceding industrialization. The limited number of formal industrial jobs is often linked to widespread unemployment. This, in turn, has led to the expansion of the urban informal sector, and increased social tension.

Slums and the informal sector are the spontaneous form of urbanization consisting of a series of survival strategies, most borne out of poverty and desperation. Given the lack of urban planning, the slum represents the only housing and livelihood opportunity for many. A strong pro-active policy should prevent the development of slums, promote strong local institutions and encourage people’s involvement in decision making.

The city is a human construct; a socially-constructed human artifact. Though it is often regarded as inevitable at best, the growth and development of cities is far from spontaneous and uncontrollable. Urbanization can be steered and shaped in a collectively desired manner. The more we see cities as voluntarily shaped, the more

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UN-HABITAT 8

The new urban model for the 21st century is based on the following principles:

1We must re-embrace the adequate compact and mixed-use city. Cities

and their component neighbourhoods need to be compact, integrated and connected. This requires a shift away from the mono-functional city of low density and long distances, which is poorly connected, socially divided and economically inefficient. Instead, the new paradigm optimizes well designed demographic and economic densities and privileges, and proximity among firms and people within a dominantly mixed land-use pattern. The resulting human scale minimizes transport and service delivery cost, optimizes the use of land and promotes social diversity. It also supports the protection and organization of urban open spaces.

2Reasserting urban space is a highly effective entry point for improving

the functioning of a city. The way in which space is deployed and shaped is central to the process of city development. This will determine the value of the land and will require value-sharing mechanisms. Urban public space is the backbone of the city. It allows people to live amidst complexity, negotiate differences, and assert their identities and access resources in formal and informal ways. Effective policies on the establishment, management and maintenance of urban space are the key for economic performance and efficiency, as well as inclusivity, walkability and social interaction.

TOWARDS A NEW URBAN MODEL

3Urban practitioners must move from sectorial interventions to

those that address the city as a whole. The prevailing fragmented, sectorial approach to urban development has often created enclaves of successes with little transformational impact. Partial solutions tend to worsen the conditions of the city, often producing dysfunction in the whole. Addressing the many problems characterizing cities today, such as sprawl, segregation and congestion, requires a more holistic, integrated, and city-wide approach in which solutions should be equivalent to the scale of the problems.

4Urban planning and design set the critical spatial framework. Good

urban planning and design should establish minimum common space, optimised street connectivity and social mix with a variety of housing prices within an area. The resulting urban fabric will be fine grained, with a variety of housing types, an inviting public realm, pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, defined centres and edges and varying transport options.

5Smartening land-use planning and building codes is essential.

Effective law codes and regulations are key instruments for pursuing resilient and low-carbon urban development. Such codes should limit specialised land use zoning; encourage mixed use through floor space designated for economic uses, and mandate minimum street area as a proportion of a neighbourhood’s overall land area. There is an urgent need to increase the standards

of public space form the current existing average of 10% up to at least 30%.

7Cities must promote endogenous development. The new urban

paradigm requires strategies, plans and model projects that activate endogenous factors. Such factors include nurturing and utilizing local assets – particularly human capital that maximize tangible and intangible local opportunities, exploit local potential and position the city within the outward macro context of regional, national and global development. A well-planned city can directly improve by 15% its employment rate by means of increased construction and urban basic service provision.

8City-dwellers themselves – particularly the poorest and most

vulnerable – must remain the primary beneficiaries. These are the primary stakeholders who directly and personally experience a city on a daily basis. The ‘right to the city’ remains a powerful principle for ensuring that the collective interest of a city prevails. A human rights-based approach is the only way to uphold the dignity of all urban residents in the face of multiple rights violations, including the right to decent living conditions.

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UN-HABITAT INFLUENCING URBAN CHANGE

• ThirdUnitedNationsConferenceonHousingandSustainableDevelopment(HABITAT III) to be held in 2016, will outline a new Urban Agenda to respond to the new challenges and to raise the strategic, political and media profile for sustainable urban development.

• FocusonPost-2015 United Nations Development Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals processes to take into account urban challenges.

• RecognitionofUNmemberstatesattheRio+20 outcome document, “The Future We Want”, that: “if they are well planned and developed, including through integrated planning and management approaches, cities can promote economically, socially and environmentally sustainable societies. In this regard, we recognize the need for a holistic approach to urban development and human settlements that provides for affordable housing and infrastructure and prioritizes slum upgrading and urban regeneration…” (paragraph 134)

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Liaison OfficesStrategic Planning, Legal,

Evaluation

Research and Capacity

Building Branch

What can be done to address current urban challenges and to ensure that cities and towns of the world improve their effectiveness as tools for national development? There are three fundamental principles that UN-Habitat promotes.

The first is effective political commitment to urban planning. Planned urbanization requires robust political commitment and also capacity to manage differences, land disputes and conflicts of interest. In a democratic context, planned urbanization requires political legitimacy, trust and the rule of law.

The second is improved governance capacity. The transition from spontaneous urbanization to planned urbanization requires institutional capacity at both the national and local levels.

The third pre-requisite of planned urban expansion is adequate technical capacity to plan, develop and manage the city and all other forms of human settlements. Urban planning should be clear and simple, and should allow for a multiphase approach. It should define and preserve public space.

To effectively translate these ideas into reality, UN-Habitat has prioritized four areas in its substantive work:

i. Urban legislation, land and governance;

ii. Urban planning and design;

UN-HABITAT’S NEW SUBSTANTIVE PRIORITIES

iii. Urban economy and prosperity; and

iv. Urban basic services (including energy and mobility).

In implementing these programme areas; UN-Habitat is promoting two lines of action,

the first at national level, i.e. the elaboration of National Urban Policy, and the second mainly at the local level, i.e. properly Planned City Extensions.

FIGURE 1: UN-HABITAT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

UN-HABITAT’S NEW SUBSTANTIVE PRIORITIES

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NATIONAL URBAN POLICIES AS A KEY TOOL FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

In a context in which mobility, information and opportunities are constantly improving, and where there is a risk of fostering inefficient and unsustainable urban-sprawl, UN-Habitat promotes the implementation of long-term “National Urban Policies” (NUP) as flagship solutions for both fast-urbanising and sustainably transitioning countries. Aiming at a more qualified process of urbanisation based on Compact, Connected, Integrated and Inclusive towns and cities, this tool strengthens the link between urbanisation and socio-economic development, through problem-oriented roadmaps and strategic territorial blueprints.

The best reason to opt for a new generation of National Urban Policies comes from a strong evidence base. Over the last decades, urbanisation has allowed for fast-growing emergent economies to steadily bridge their socioeconomic gaps with more developed nations. Urbanisation is positively related to economic growth, to human development and to poverty reduction.

In sum, a National Urban Policy provides a framework for future urbanisation and urban development. It ensures a maximisation of national and local benefits, urban economies of agglomerations, and at the same time a mitigation of potential adverse externalities. It also helps coordination amongst different sectors and ministries, thus placing urban development at the highest stage of strategic decision-making, as a prime strategy for national socio-economic development.

Therefore, National Urban Policies essentially seek to provide practical answers on how governments need to accommodate for the next generations of urban population, on how many different phases are necessary, and on how challenges should be appropriately addressed.

NATIONAL URBAN POLICIES PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK FOR FUTURE URBAN DEVELOPMENT

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PROPERLY PLANNED CITY EXTENSIONS PROVIDE A LOCAL PATH TO SUSTAINABLE URBANIZATION, PARTICULARLY IN CONCERT WITH NATIONAL URBAN PLANS

PLANNED CITY EXTENSION AS A KEY TOOL FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Urban growth of the past 30 years has largely resulted in crowded slums and sprawling settlements in the urban fringe. Cities are consuming more and more land to accommodate new developments. In most regions, urban land has grown much faster than urban population, resulting in less dense and in general more inefficient land use patterns. In addition, this is often happening in the absence of a viable spatial structure. Pressure on land also results in increased land prices, while low density makes it costly and inefficient to provide services and infrastructure. The overall efficiency of settlements is reduced and city development hindered.

Mechanisms for ensuring an orderly extension and densification of existing and planned neighborhoods are needed in order to provide the city with a spatial structure that can support socio-economic and environmental sustainability. In order to create this structure, city extension and densification plans are needed to enable cities to accommodate the expected urban growth in the next decades in a sustainable way. Urban plans can provide for sufficient public space and street space organised in an urban structure that minimizes transport and service delivery costs, optimizes the use of land, and supports the protection and organization of urban open spaces. Densification initiatives include subsurban densification, area redevelopment and slum upgrading, layout of new areas with higher densities, brownfield development, building conversions, and transit-oriented developments.

The aim of this combined approach is to increase residential and economic densities and thus support economies of agglomeration, while guiding new development to areas which are better suited for urbanization, thus better preserving the environment and increasing resilience.

The results achieved through the development of city extensions and densification plans are:

a. a spatial structure will be created in order to support urban development and attract investments;b. large areas of land will be made available for development thus reducing land prices and speculation;c. urban densities will increase incrementally accommodating population growth more efficiently;d. the city’s ecological footprint will be minimized through more compact city patterns.

Additional benefits of this approach include:

a. economic agglomeration advantages, including lower costs of providing infrastructure and services;b. strengthened social interactions and reduced mobility demand;c. mixed use of land that increases social heterogeneity and generates economic densities.

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UN-Habitat runs currently more than 200 technical cooperation programs and projects in 75 countries, employing well over 2,000 staff.

The financial framework of UN-Habitat comprises three sources of funding:

1. United Nations regular budget allocations approved by the United Nations General Assembly;

2. United Nations Habitat Foundation funded by voluntary contributions. The foundation is split into the foundation general purpose, which funds core activities, and foundation special purpose for specific activities;

3. Technical cooperation contributions and Trust Funds funded by voluntary contributions for specific regional and country level projects.

UN-HABITAT FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

50,0000

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000

FIGURE 4: UN-HABITAT ANNUAL BUDGET IMPLEMENTED FROM 2008-2012

FIGURE 5: UN-HABITAT 2012 SOURCES OF FUNDS*

Foundation EarmarkedRegular budget UNA

Technical Cooperation EarmarkedFoundation Programme Support

Technical Cooperation Overhead

(Amount in USD)

Year

68% Traditional Donor Countries

14% UN Agencies/Pooled Funding

1% Development Banks

4% Private sector

2% Municipalicities

6% Other Donor Countries

5% Emerging Donor Countries

32% Non-traditional source of funding

* Traditional Donor Countries according to the OECD are those countries members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC). Under Emerging Donor countries we include other important providers of development co-operation which are not DAC members. According to OECD they can be classified in three sub-groups: countries with new or recently revived, aid programmes, providers of South-South co-operation (developing countries, middle income countries and emerging economies that share expertise and financial support with other countries) and Arab Donors (some of them have been engaged in development cooperation for decades). Other donor countries include other governments contributing to UN-Habitat not included under the aforementioned categories.

UN-HABITAT 14

FIGURE 6: UN-HABITAT PORTFOLIO PER REGION

FIGURE 7: UN-HABITAT PORTFOLIO PER THEMATIC BRANCH

UN-Habitat has a portfolio of USD 716 million as at 31 January 2013, with an outstanding value of USD 217 million to be implemented. UN-Habitat has more than 200 projects located in different regions.

UN-HABITAT PORTFOLIO 2013

Asia & Pacific 77,255,721

Global 55,041,525

Africa 46,311,766

Arab States 17,168,004

Latin America and the Caribbean 11,106,026

Europe & Former Soviet Union States 4,033,714

Urban Basic Services 65,223,939

Housing and Slum Upgrading 40,564,930

Urban Land, Legislation & Governance 13,774,377

Urban Planning & Design 32,233,092

Research and Capacity Development 3,463,281

Urban Economy 7,381,862

Risk Reduction and Rehabilitation 26,936,305

(Amount in USD)

(Amount in USD)

24TH SESS ION GOVERNING COUNCIL 15

Appointed Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) at the level of Under-Secretary-General by the United Nations General Assembly, Dr. Joan Clos took office at the Programme’s headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya on 18 October 2010.

Born in Barcelona on 29 June 1949, he is a medical doctor with a distinguished career in public service and diplomacy. He was twice elected Mayor of Barcelona serving two terms during the years 1997-2006. He was appointed Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade of Spain (2006-2008). In this role, he helped rationalize the Iberian Energy Market in line with European Union Policies. Prior to joining the United Nations, he served as Spanish ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan.

He is a medical graduate from the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB), specialized in Public Health and Epidemiology, at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). Dr. Clos then joined the Barcelona Municipal Government as Director of Public Health in 1979.

As a city councillor between 1983 and 1987, he earned a reputation for improving municipal management and for urban renewal projects, notably managing the renovation of downtown Barcelona’s Ciutat Vella district. From 1990 to 1994 he was

Deputy Mayor in change of Finance and Budgeting, playing a key role during the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

Joan Clos is also widely credited with inspiring far reaching investment programmes for Barcelona. One of the most ambitious was the Barcelona@22 programme which gave the city’s dilapidated industrial zones a facelift. In 2004 one of these newly refurbished neighbourhoods near the old dockyards was chosen as the site for the second gathering of UN-Habitat’s World Urban Forum.

At the international level, in 1998 he was elected President of Metropolis, the international network of cities. Two years later, he was elected President of the World Association of Cities and Local Authorities, (WACLAC). Between 2000 and 2007, he served as Chairman of the United Nations Advisory Committee of Local Authorities, (UNACLA). And between 1997 and 2003, he was member of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, (CEMR).

Dr. Clos received a number of awards which include a gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1999 for transforming Barcelona. In 2002, he won the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award for encouraging global cooperation between local authorities and the United Nations.

Dr. Joan ClosUnited Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN-Habitat

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

UN-HABITAT 16

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Ms. Aisa Kirabo Kacyira of the Republic of Rwanda as Deputy Executive Director and Assistant Secretary-General for UN-Habitat on 11 October 2011.

Ms. Kirabo is the former Governor of Eastern Province, the largest in Rwanda with a population of 2.5 million. Prior to that, she was Mayor of Kigali City (2006 - 2011), one of the fastest urbanizing cities in the world. In recognition of the high level of cleanliness, greenness, safety and the sustainable, affordable housing initiatives combined with pro-poor urban employment opportunities, under Ms. Kirabo’s leadership, Kigali won the UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award in 2008.

Prior to her position as Mayor, Ms. Kirabo was an Elected Member of Parliament (and member of Parliamentary Standing Committee in charge of land use and management, settlement and environment), she actively participated in the legislative and over-sight functions of parliament in addition to community mobilization.

Ms. Kirabo brings to this position a broad knowledge and experience of over 15 years in senior management and strategic

leadership in Government and Non-Government institutions; both national and international.

In her new role, Ms. Kirabo assists the Executive Director, Dr. Joan Clos, in the overall management of UN-Habitat to achieve its mandate, and will support the new UN-Habitat agenda to face urban challenges by strengthening policies to generate more equitable, wealthy and sustainable cities. Among her many important responsibilities, Ms. Kirabo supports Dr. Clos in advancing the key reviews currently underway at UN-Habitat, including the review of UN-Habitat’s strategic priorities for the coming years leading to Habitat III in 2016.

Ms. Kirabo was educated at James Cook University, Australia where she gained her Masters in Veterinary Science in Animal Production and Economics and at Makerere University, Uganda where she gained her Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine.

Ms. Aisa Kirabo KacyiraAssistant Secretary-Generaland Deputy Executive Director of UN-Habitat

DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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