Mayor attends New York summit

eThekwini Mayor, James Nxumalo, was in New York this week to take part in an international Mayors meeting, convened by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the global urban SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) campaign to discuss how cities can address the challenges of rapid urbanisation.

This is in line with the United Nations (UN) SDG 11 which aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
The meeting took place on Monday, 22 September, at the United Nations Climate Change Summit.

Ten of the world’s leading cities shared best practise and showed how sustainable development can be achieved through partnerships between countries, cities and regions, citizens, civil society and the private sector.

Nxumalo, who is an active member of numerous global climate change and sustainability forums, said: “Agreement on an urban SDG in 2015 will be the first signal that the world has begun a new journey towards sustainability – one that recognises the transformative potential of the world’s cities, especially those in the global south, to restore ecological integrity, reduce inequality and increase well-being, both for the individual and the world.”

Today more than half of the world’s 7.3 billion population live in cities, putting immense pressure on infrastructure and service delivery. As key economic nodes, people come to cities for jobs and a hope of a better life. Better access to housing, transport, basic services, health and other facilities are major drawcards. Rapid urbanisation has led to challenges such as informal settlements, overcrowding, poor healthcare as well as poor access to water and sanitation. This is experienced in cities all over the world.

It is estimated that by 2030, almost all the growth in the world’s population will happen in urban areas, mostly in Africa and Asia.