From Habitat II to Pachamama: a growing agenda and diminishing expectations for Habitat III

Abstract

Preparations for the upcoming United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito in October 2016 have included a wide range of meetings and work on a negotiated outcome document entitled “The New Urban Agenda”. This is intended to present a global consensus on the significance and challenges of human settlements, as well as a Global Plan of Action. What can reasonably be expected from these activities? Will a meaningful and substantively appropriate “new urban agenda” emerge from the discussions? If so, what is the likelihood that it can actually be implemented? Or is all this activity and expense a waste of time and human energy? This article examines the results of the Habitat I and Habitat II conferences, the weakness of the associated monitoring and evaluation, and the changing dynamics of human settlements since 1996. It provides a forward-looking assessment of both the likely results of Habitat III and the issues to be faced subsequently.