Urban issues are more widely recognised than ever before. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include a goal for cities to become inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The Paris climate agreement acknowledges that cities are important for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Even the key role played by cities and urban cities in economic growth and innovation is now accepted.

And yet as David Satterthwaite explains, the key urban actors – local governments, urban voters and civil society – have very little say on the international stage. Satterthwaite, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development’s human settlements group, says that the problem is rooted in the way international goals and commitments are agreed upon: by national governments. Urban governments are not an official part of this goal setting, even though most of the action on urban issues falls within the responsibilities of local governments.

The same problem exists with Habitat III, which will be held later this month in Quito, Ecuador. While it is meant to agree on the New Urban Agenda to support urban governments meet the SDGs, Satterthwaite complains that “the focus so far has been on repeating all the same commitments made before with very little attention on how they will be implemented”.

Without the active involvement of local government and local civil society, the commitments coming out of Habitat III will not or outright cannot be met, warns Satterthwaite.