The Sixth Session of the World Urban Forum, jointly organized by UN-Habitat, will take place in Naples, Italy beginning this Saturday. The event, sponsored by the National Government of Italy, the Campania Region and the City of Naples, will highlight this year’s theme, “The Urban Future,” over a seven-day course of panels, discussion groups and presentations.

The World Urban Forum was established by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing problems facing the world today: rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, policies and climate change. Today it is by far the world’s premier conference on cities. At the event, speakers from Uganda to France will engage in sharing strategies for issues like urban mobility, equity, urbanization, urban design, smart grids, creating safe transit for women.

The director of EMBARQ (the producer of this blog), Holger Dalkmann, and the director of EMBARQ Mexico, Adriana Lobo, will present at four events of the conference, addressing sustainability, public space accessibility, integrated transportation and EMBARQ’s role in these fields.

Dialogue 4: Urban Mobility, Energy and Environment Towards Sustainability
September 5, 2012
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Venue: Teatro Mediterraneo, Auditorium
EMBARQ presenter: Holger Dalkmann, Director, EMBARQ

Building on Rio+20, this Dialogue will provide an opportunity to reflect on the institutional and governance structures that have evolved in cities to better manage mobility, the integration of transport and land use practices, and practical steps cities can take to reduce congestion and provide better, safe, affordable and reliable access to transport. The dialogue provides an opportunity to discuss mobility in the context of the emerging urban agenda in preparation for HABITAT III Conference in 2016. As a follow-up to this dialogue, UN-HABITAT will propose a publication on “Mobility in the Future City”.

Sustainable Urban Development Network (SUD-Net) Special Meeting on Public Spaces
September 5, 2012
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Venue: Sala Sardinia Room
EMBARQ presenter: Adriana Lobo, Director, EMBARQ Mexico

Over the past few decades, public spaces have focused attention on the interplay of public and private interests in the planning, design, management and governance of cities and neighborhoods – as sites of social encounter and division, as fields of politics and power, as symbolic and material landscapes, and as realms of everyday experience. International debate over how “public” spaces actually are has pointed to the need for public space to be re-examined in the context of sustainable city development. This requires that systems of planning, management and governance become highly integrated, addressing the city as a whole, and more inclusive of a much wider variety of stakeholders.

Side Event: Signing of MoU between UN-HABITAT and EMBARQ
September 5, 2012
Time: TBC
Venue: TBC

EMBARQ signatories: Joan Clos, UN-Habitat Executive Director, Holger Dalkmann, Director, EMBARQ
UN-Habitat and EMBARQ seek to work in partnership with the overall aim of promoting more sustainable cities with universal access to safe, clean, and affordable transport with particular focus on the needs of the poor and vulnerable groups and incorporating transport into broader land use planning and implementation.

Panel Discussion: Integrating Transport Into Sustainable Urban Development
September 5, 2012
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Venue: City Changer Room, UN-Habitat Booth, Exhibition Pavilion

EMBARQ presenters: Holger Dalkmann, Director, EMBARQ; and Adriana Lobo, Director, EMBARQ Mexico; other presenters TBD
This session will address the experience of EMBARQ, the sustainable transport center of the World Resources Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based “do-tank” with offices and projects in Mexico, Brazil, India, Turkey, Peru, and China, in integrating sustainable transport into urban development. We will highlight our experiences in Mexico, where we have partnered with both private and public sector actors. Several of our partners have been invited to comment on their work and efforts in this area as well.

EMBARQ Contact: Gisela Méndez, Senior Coordinator, Network of Cities, EMBARQ Mexico, gmendez@embarqmexico.org