Towards a New Urban Governance Observatory

The challenges of urban governance have become a central consideration as part of global development efforts. As the urban level implementation agenda of the SDGs and the Paris Agreement, the NUA centrally positions governance as enabling condition for a more sustainable global future. This UN agenda establishes a range of concrete aspirations for developing urban governance systems, institutional structures and capacities. The establishment of a global urban governance 'observatory' will serve as a platform to encourage reforms on the ground and the achievement of these aspirations.

This Networking Event aims to identify and discuss the key aspects that need to be taken into account when creating an indicator facility for monitoring changes in urban and metropolitan governance over the next 10-20 years, against the main priorities and actions set by the NUA. For example, we know that this would entail the use of established metrics and the development of new indicators that can gauge complex governance dynamics. We also know that this indicator facility would have to be global but also adaptable to different contexts. But what are the priority areas regarding urban governance reform? What data will be more relevant for member states, local governments and local stakeholders?

The event builds on the experience gathered by LSE Cities, UN-Habitat and UCLG during the preparations of the NUA in 2016 together with the preliminary research undertaken since 2014 on the global 'Urban Governance Survey' and the findings of the GOLD IV Report. This will be an opportunity to present key findings and lessons learned with the urban governance survey, as well as to offer a space for stakeholders to engage with and discuss the initial proposal of the project partners for a 'New Urban Governance Observatory'. It will entail presentations by the members of the team and discussion with policy-makers.