Locating the Importance of NUP in the Context of Present Urban Challenges

Cities are considered as engines of growth and correspondingly urbanisation is believed to be intrinsically linked to development. It is also widely acknowledged that for urbanisation to play a transformative role in integrating the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, coherent policies must be put in place. To this end, a National Urban Policy (NUP) is considered as an important tool available to governments to manage urbanisation. It provides a vision for urban transformation and to harness opportunities while mitigating inevitable challenges. The NUP has been identified as one of the tools to support implementation and monitoring of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to implement the New Urban Agenda (NUA). Furthermore, the Action Framework for Implementation of the New Urban Agenda (AFINUA), 2017 identified National Urban Policy as a strong foundational element for achieving sustainable urbanisation. In fact, successful NUPs dealing with rapid urbanisation can inform urban policy in other urbanising and developing countries. In light of the above, this chapter outlines the requirement of NUP and discusses its development in different parts of the world. In conclusion, the chapter argues that NUPs could be instrumental in guiding the globe towards attaining sustainable and resilient future.