Cities, globalization and governance December 2022 –

Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection

The Progressive Takeover of Big Cities Is Nearly Complete Philly may elect a left-wing mayor too.
(New York) Just over a month after Brandon Johnson was elected mayor of Chicago, another Democrat endorsed by Bernie Sanders has a chance to govern a major U.S. city. Philadelphia’s Helen Gym, a former City Council member who has secured the support of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman, is a top contender in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. If Gym prevails — and this is no guarantee given the number of viable contenders — progressives will have capped a remarkable run of victories in mayoral races that were once the domain of machine-backed moderates.

24-30 April
2023 Cities Summit of the Americas in Denver, Colorado.
The Cities Summit will promote regional cooperation, convening subnational leaders from across the entire Western Hemisphere with diverse and inclusive representatives of government, civil society, business, academia, youth, culture and the arts, and indigenous and underrepresented groups.
24-26 April
City Leaders Finally Get an ‘Open Door’ to US Foreign Diplomacy
A new State Department initiative signals federal recognition of cities as increasingly crucial and experienced players in US foreign policy.
(Bloomberg) Denver will become a global hub this week as mayors and other city leaders from across the Western Hemisphere gather at the same table as federal officials, ambassadors and international policymakers. They’ll discuss topics like sustainable infrastructure, the energy transition and affordable housing — issues that are local but have regional and international implications.
The event, dubbed the Cities Summit of the Americas, is part of the US State Department’s new initiative to put local officials at the forefront of conversations that advance the country’s broader foreign policy goals.
Cities are key to regional migration solutions, but we must invest in them to succeed
Seven in 10 of the world’s refugees move to cities in pursuit of employment and a safe place to call home.
(WEF) Cities such as Barranquilla are using funding from the Mayors Migration Council to connect newcomers to jobs.
The first Cities Summit of the Americas is an ideal opportunity to highlight the benefit of city-led solutions to migration.
Most of the world’s migrants and refugees move to cities in pursuit of employment and a safe place to call home.
Mayors across the globe understand that migration isn’t a crisis to be solved, but rather an opportunity to unlock the potential of newcomers to contribute to the economic, civic and cultural life of their cities.
While national governments debate border and visa regimes, the world’s mayors are creating investment-ready projects for migrant and refugee inclusion.
Last June, US President Joe Biden and 20 other leaders from the Americas signed a new deal promising a more cooperative approach to regional migration and new investments in migrant inclusion – the LA Declaration on Migration and Protection.
Now, the Biden-Harris administration in the US is bringing mayors from across the western hemisphere to the first-ever Cities Summit of the Americas to share city-led solutions on everything from migration, to climate change, to global health.

26 March
Shanghai Expat Exodus Shows Covid Zero’s Enduring Scars
China’s most cosmopolitan city is losing foreign talent after last year’s chaotic lockdown dimmed its allure
(Bloomberg City Lab) A year after the lockdown that made Shanghai a byword for all that was wrong with the country’s Covid approach, China’s most international city is showing the effects of a policy that left the nation disconnected from the world.
Home to most foreign company headquarters and a quarter of China’s expatriate population before 2022, Shanghai has seen an exodus since the brutal two-month lockdown that crippled the city of 25 million from late last March. Foreigners like Xenia Sidorenko, a Russian fashion entrepreneur who has called China home for a dozen years, are leaving and foreign investment and business activity in the metropolis have also dwindled.

20 March
UN-Habitat discusses sustainable reconstruction, SDG localisation at the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development
Through a session on sustainable reconstruction in the Arab region, organised by UN-Habitat, in cooperation with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), panelists convened to discuss what constitutes sustainable reconstruction and the possibility of considering it at a time of crisis, as well as review examples from the Arab region.
“After any crisis, immediate humanitarian response is crucial, and so is the provision of infrastructure and basic services which is essential for human wellbeing and social cohesion,” Rania Hedeya, the acting UN-Habitat Regional Representative for the Arab region, stated. “Numerous examples have demonstrated that delaying the reconstruction process can exacerbate tensions and prolong the crisis.”
During the session, the elements of a policy framework, developed by UN-Habitat and UNDP, in collaboration with the consulting firm, Oliver Wyman, and aiming to guide Arab countries emerging from conflict or crisis and entering a process of infrastructure and reconstruction, were also examined.
The session concluded that sustainable reconstruction must be considered from the outset of any crisis response and must be seized as an opportunity to build back better. It is a practical expression of the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus, providing an approach to balance response to immediate humanitarian needs with long term sustainable development that contributes to building peace and stability.

2022

12 December
United Nations program:
Montréal to host UN-Habitat project office
(UNHabitat.org) Montreal has been chosen as the site of a new United Nations office that will oversee a program focused on developing green, resilient and sustainable cities.
UN-Habitat, the United Nations program for human settlements and sustainable urban development, is opening a new project office in Montréal. The office will be responsible for the Global Programme on Green, Resilient Sustainable Cities and will be the sixth UN office located in Montréal. UN-Habitat aims to leverage the latest advances in science and technology to support the sustainable development of cities.
The Montréal office will explore scientific advances and innovative tools to make policy recommendations and propose measures to foster sustainable urban development. The team will use AI to deal with the most pressing issues, while developing a multidisciplinary platform to better address the specific needs of cities and communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The office will also seek to forge new partnerships to support vulnerable groups and Indigenous communities across the globe.
Montréal was chosen for its leading-edge AI and urban development ecosystems, academic institutions, and its pool of international organizations.

UN-Habitat, the international body’s program for human settlements and sustainable urban development, made the announcement today at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, COP15.
Stéphane Paquet, the president of the organization Montreal International, says the city was chosen due to its expertise in sustainable development and artificial intelligence, as well as its universities and the number of international organizations it hosts.
Neil Khor, chief of staff at UN-Habitat, said Montreal’s bilingualism was another factor in choosing it to host the office, which will employ 28 people.