The 2017 South African Urban Conference

15 Jul The 2017 South African Urban Conference

Liveable, Inclusive, Safe, and Resilient Cities: Implementing SA’s urban agenda.

The South African Cities Network (SACN) hosted the South African Urban Conference in collaboration with the Departments of Human Settlements (DHS) and Cooperative Governance (DCOG), the National Treasury, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), South African Council for Planners (SACPLAN), and the Ethekwini municipality on Monday, 30 October 2017 in Ethekwini. The Urban Conference is an annual event that focuses on implementing a transformative urban agenda. It will provide a platform for learning, experimentation, and knowledge exchange. The 2017 conference is informed by the IUDF vision of building ‘Liveable, safe, integrated, economically inclusive and globally competitive cities’ which is closely aligned to the global SDG Goal 11 ‘Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’.

To strengthen the objectives of our urban agenda, as it relates to SA cities and urban spaces, extensive collaboration is necessary; this requires active and continuing dialogue between a range of urban actors, and needs to be maintained through effective and ongoing debate and learning. We hope this conference will therefore provide a stimulating platform for partners, and stakeholders in the implementation of the urban agenda.

Why you should attend:

The 2017 Urban Conference will bring together officials from the 8 member cities of the SACN, selected secondary cities and targeted stakeholders and will focus on the following objectives:

• Communicating the IUDF to improve common understanding and awareness among government actors of local urban development in South Africa;
• Encouraging coordination through the sharing of strategies, actions and considerations for the co-production of the city with different urban partners;
• Gathering intelligence through sharing info, lessons and insights to support and strengthen the voice and role of cities and urban municipalities on translating and implementing the urban agenda at the local level.