Professionals

The Professionals Roundtable shall provide an opportunity to:
• Assess the ongoing contribution of Professionals to the implementation of the New Urban Agenda:
o Review the progress of the existing initiatives and areas of focus
o Share lesson learnt and future plans
• Identify strategic issues and priority areas for professionals to develop and follow up in view of strengthening their contribution to the implementation of the New Urban Agenda (and increase their accountability to the New Urban Agenda vision). Focus will be on:
o The integration agenda: how to enhance integration among professionals’ perspectives (disciplines/sectors) and with other stakeholders
o Professionals’ accountability
• Develop recommendations and action points for the plenary discussion and Kuala Lumpur declaration

The Roundtable targets urban professionals attending WUF9, however the session will welcome all participants and discussants from other stakeholders’ groups with a view to increase possibilities of collaboration and integration.

At WUF7 in Medellin, urban professionals articulated their vison for the New Urban Agenda. Since then, they have played an active role in the discussion and negotiations of leading to the formulation and adoption of the New Urban Agenda.

At Habitat III Professionals Roundtable, discussion focused on the identification of priorities for urban professionals in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, the role of urban professionals in addressing urban crises, informality and exclusion, and the development of commitments to the Quito Implementation Plan. The engagement of professionals in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda is crucial to translate its content into action and actual changes in how cities and territories are planned and managed.

Professionals play a critical role in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda. In particular they operate at the intersection of public and private actors and have the potential, through their professional knowledge and commitment to contribute to inform and guide decision makers and empower communities. In pursuing the vision of the New Urban Agenda, professional advice is essential to steer development towards sustainability, while lessons and developments from practice can enhance the understanding and preparedness of all actors.

The global agenda and its local implementation has several implications for professional practice and the role of professionals. On one side, the New Urban Agenda recognises the need for integration across disciplines and actors in order to achieve sustainable outcomes. On the other hand, while elevating the role of professionals and increasing the demand for professional advice and inputs, the New Urban Agenda generate increased awareness and scrutiny: accountability for the professionals as the quality of urban development becomes a shared priority for development. In this double relation with stakeholders and clients, the professionals can better define their role and contribution.

The session will review experiences, initiatives and issues with a particular focus on capacity building and governance of the profession.

Q1: What are the Professionals doing in support of the New Urban Agenda implementation? What are the key lessons 15 months from Quito?

Q2: With the New Urban Agenda call for integration of dimensions and new planning approaches, how are the professionals translating this into practice?

Q3: How do we recognize and report good results and enhance the process of documenting and scaling them up, particularly when focus is on quality?

Q4: Are the capacities adequate? What is the internal accountability? How can that be increased?

Q5: Would a Code of Conduct at global level be of help for better self-regulation of professionals engaging in urban development? Which elements should be considered?