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The United Nations convened Habitat II, also known as the City Summit, in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 3-14, 1996. The conference was the last in a series of UN conferences held over the past decade to address pressing challenges that will confront the global community in the 21st century. Habitat II, addressing problems associated with urbanization, came 20 years after the first Habitat conference -- focused on urban and rural housing issues -- was held in Vancouver, Canada.
By the year 2025, almost 5 billion people -- 62% of the world's population -- will live in urban areas. The fastest growing cities are in the developing world, where rapid urbanization will exacerbate problems such as the lack of decent housing, inadequate public services and medical facilities, poor sanitation, and environmental pollution. These problems inevitably spill over into the industrialized world. Industrial countries also have their own urbanization challenges to address directly, as the core of urban areas is where compelling social problems -- poverty, homelessness, crime, and unemployment -- take on an especially large and complex dimension.
Habitat II provided an opportunity for nations to share experiences and learn of promising approaches to urbanization and housing challenges. More than 25,000 national and local government officials and private sector experts in housing, construction, finance, urban planning, the environment, and community development from 180 countries participated. The two-week conference featured:
An international conference where participants developed a comprehensive Plan of Action -- "The Habitat Agenda" -- for improving urban life in the 21st century. An exhibition of "best practices" where decision-makers and experts shared innovative and successful examples of ways to improve urban living environments. Roundtable sessions where participants can discuss important housing and urban issues. Partner forums brought together officials from local government, academia, business, non-governmental, and community-based organizations to establish alliances and to share information and ideas. An international trade fair on housing and construction technologies that promoted innovative, low-cost, and environmentally sound products.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of State, the Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) played the central roles in the U.S. Government's participation in Habitat II. The U.S. delegation was led by Henry Cisneros, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, who also chaired the national preparatory committee for Habitat II. HUD focused on Habitat II as a catalyst for improving housing and urban conditions in the U.S. The State Department represented overall U.S. foreign policy concerns and offered expertise as the focal point of U.S. engagement in the numerous agencies and programs of the UN system. USAID's interest stemmed from its experience with sustainable development in developing nations. EPA's focus was on protecting human health and the environment in the context of sustainable development.
The U.S. national preparatory committee was responsible for:
Identifying "best practices" in delivering housing and community development services in the U.S., and in developing ways to share the lessons from the highlighted projects. National Excellence Awards were conferred on 25 outstanding and creative community-building projects in the U.S. Devising a National Plan of Action, with input from all across the country, setting out a strategy to help create livable, cohesive, and economically viable communities. Raising public awareness about the problems as well as the potential of U.S. urban areas. HUD participated in Town Meetings (sponsored by non-governmental organizations interested in Habitat) held across the country with this goal in mind.
The U.S. promoted three overall priorities at Habitat II: sustainability, enablement, and partnership.
Sustainability: In order to make a lasting impact, the Habitat Agenda incorporated a sustainable approach to human settlement development; such an approach entails a balanced consideration of the economic, social and environmental aspects of building communities for the 21st century. There must be environmentally sound solutions to urban problems relating to housing and homelessness, employment, access to financial resources, transportation, energy, and health. Past experience in the U.S. has demonstrated all too plainly that the lack of a sustainable approach to solving shelter and other problems contributes to the deterioration of housing stocks and infrastructure, urban flight, and environmental degradation.
Enablement: The U.S. strongly supports the concept of government at all levels as enabler. Enablement requires transparency, and the opportunity for full and meaningful participation in decision-making by all stakeholders. The U.S. affirms that leadership and participation by women, at all levels of decision-making, are essential. Enablement --whereby governments create conditions to enable the key actors to meet individuals' human settlements needs -- has been embraced by the great majority of countries.
Partnership: The U.S. placed an emphasis on the necessity of a partnership of public and private actors, as well as a partnership among national, state and local government players, so that communities and individuals become genuine stakeholders in addressing their shelter and infrastructure needs. Individuals and communities are most capable of making human settlement decisions for themselves, if they are enabled to do so. We encouraged policies and actions to facilitate the development of markets and to expand the individual's freedom of action.
A Habitat II Clearinghouse established by HUD is a network that serves as a focal point for selected HUD and UN materials, as well as a referral point for other Habitat II information, including the National Plan of Action and the Habitat II Trade Fair. The Clearinghouse distributes information via the internet (http://www.huduser.org/habitat.html) and receives internet e-mail (habitat2@aspensys.com).
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Last Updated: August 13, 1996