Commonwealth adapts to growing urbanisation

For the first time in history, there are as many people living in urban centres as in rural areas.

A significant challenge to this trend is the rate at which slum settlements are also growing. At the moment there are over 327 million people – one in six Commonwealth citizens – who live in insecure and health-threatening environments.

Consequently, creating sustainable cities – by tackling poverty, ensuring fresh water and sanitation for all, delivering education and working towards a clean and healthy environment – is a significant challenge across the Commonwealth.

Achieving these goals requires steady economic growth and social development as well as good environmental management and protection.

ComHabitat is a partnership which aims to address these environmental, economic and social concerns facing Commonwealth countries.

This partnership is made up of the ministerial Commonwealth Consultative Group on Human Settlements as well as agencies from central and local governments, civil society and the private sector.

The Consultative Group is a forum for the high-level exchange of views and experiences in planning the sustainable development of villages, towns and cities. It also acts as a platform to co-ordinate the Commonwealth’s contribution towards implementing the UN Habitat Agenda on human settlements.

Currently the key partners are the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Commonwealth Foundation, the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, Homeless International – which works with slum communities to reduce poverty - and the UK Government’s Department for International Development.

Its four-year plan is to improve financial investment, including access to essential services; to strengthen leadership and governance in approaches to dealing with slums; and to reduce risks and build community resilience in an urbanising world.

By 2030 more than 60 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities. In order to ensure that this change is managed effectively, ComHabitat is working on the path to “demonstrated progress towards adequate shelter for all with secure tenure and access to essential services in every community by 2015.”

Secretariat Links:

• Sustainability