National Urban Policy: Tool for Development

Urbanisation is a significant global trend in the twenty-first century. However, for it to play a transformative role in integrating the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, coherent policies must be put in place to address significant growth and shrinkage challenges in developing and developed world, respectively. To achieve the desired outcomes, a National Urban Policy (NUP) is an important tool available to governments to aid in coordinating management of urbanisation. It provides a vision for urban transformation and harness opportunities while mitigating inevitable challenges. Due to its ability to structure and organise urbanisation and its value as a tool to capitalise on the opportunities, the National Urban Policy 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). The historical evolution and the renewed interest in National Urban Policies are clear evidence of their value in national urbanisation processes. Without adequate National Urban Policies, world cities will continue to face multiple challenges that will aggravate urban inequalities and poverty. Building smarter and sustainable cities is a common agenda among stakeholders including policymakers in the twenty-first century. In this respect, National Urban Policies are an important tool for considering how smart and green principles can be incorporated into urban policies. The inaugural International Conference on National Urban Policy echoed the importance of National Urban Policies as a multi-sectoral process and tool to help achieve compact, integrated, connected and inclusive cities that are resilient to climate change. Furthermore, the Action Framework for Implementation of the New Urban Agenda (AFINUA) identifies National Urban Policies as strong foundational element for achieving sustainable urbanisation.