By Frédéric Vallier, Secretary General of the International Association of Francophone Mayors In October 2016, the adoption of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) at the Habitat III conference in Quito (Ecuador) marked a historic turning point. For the first time, the international community explicitly recognised the central role of local authorities in building sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities. The NUA, a document comprising 175 paragraphs, proclaims that “achieving sustai

By Xavier Crépin, architect and urban planner, academic lead for the “Cities and Urban Environment” Urban School and co-director of the ISUR-VED Master’s programme at Sciences Po Rennes; founding member of AdP – Villes en Développement. Financing cities, particularly African cities, has been one of the key issues addressed by the AdP – Villes en Développement association since its establishment. However, results remain far below what is needed, even though progress has been o

Ten Years On, Housing as a Laboratory for Sectoral Reconfiguration Simon Deprez, Seconded Expert, Office of the Executive Director, UN-Habitat The Framework Reaffirmed: The Question of Steering Remains On 16 and 17 July 2026, the United Nations General Assembly held the midterm review of the New Urban Agenda. On 16 July, it adopted a political declaration (A/RES/80/291) reaffirming the commitment made in Quito ten years earlier and explicitly placing housing at the heart of