Laying the groundwork

Laying the groundwork towards a pact for humanity through the #CitiesAreListening experiences

"The choices we make now will lead either to a better future or to a dystopian future, or to a better future: a citopia."

“We need to re-make the case, narrative, and numbers, for local governments. We need to engage with the multilateral system in multilateral settings. Local governments and associations need to be linked with multilateral actors.”

“We propose #CitiesAreListening to become the core group to shape one of the 3 pacts that we are proposing: the pact for people. We need to develop a new generation, to renew the multilateral system based on values.”

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Re-live the Cities are Listening Experience

Background

As Dr Vasu Gounden underlines, the location of decision centres is going to shift away from Europe and North America to Asia and Africa. Twenty of the biggest cities in the world will be located there within the next century. This is mainly due to the combination of demographic explosions and dazzling economic development in the wake of globalisation.

During the 20^th century, we moved from city-states to nation-states, and it is estimated that this movement is starting to reverse itself due to liberalism. In this context, systems of governance are going to be even more unbalanced due to urban hubs that will retain political power because of their financial influence.

Some premises of what a dystopian future could look like are already embodied in our history and our present. This is fascism, destruction of the environment, the annihilation of the other, drastic rise of inequalities across the world, use of military forces to control populations, and so on. In front of increasing inequalities and obsolete lens of analysis, policymakers must find new ways to foresee future governance.

During this session, stakeholders tackled the measures that needed to be taken to ensure a structural shift in the political system. They reflected upon the implementation of a move from the dystopian visions that arise from the pandemic to a Citopia^[1]: a world driven by peaceful cities. In this regard, Emilia Saiz proposed #CitiesAreListening to become the core group to shape the Pact for the People.

^[1] Citopia refers to a way of recovering from the pandemic that leads us towards a world driven by peaceful cities

20

of the biggest cities of the world will be located in Asia and Africa

735

million people are still living in extreme poverty

Challenges

First, cooperation has proven to be the only way forward. This requires all participants to coordinate their actions both in the short-term and long-term. To orchestrate those many bodies, it is also required to imagine a unified version of the future by making spaces and platforms of communication more accessible and transparent.
Secondly, the social current contract is outdated and needs to be renewed. To achieve this ambitious objective, a realistic narrative must replace stories based on capitalistic and exclusivity models. Women, youth, migrants and disabled people are part of a civil society that requires building a common agenda working on green and inclusive solutions.
Thirdly, some argued for the need to look at linkages between health, and mental health and public officials, and showcased the importance of building confidence to ensure that citizens return safely to public spaces.
Finally, values transmitted by mainstream narratives have been designated as powerful tools to raise awareness around urgent challenges cities must take up. This includes ecological catastrophes, arising inequalities, and connecting different levels of governance between them.

Learn more about the challenges being faced by cities and regions

Responses

In Ecuador, the national government delegated its regulatory powers to the cities. As a result, local governments adopted context-specific measures in accordance with the needs of its citizens.
In Bogotá, Colombia, when several indigenous tribes traveled to the capital in 2020 to ask for more consideration and rights from the President, the city provided them not only with food and accommodation but also with greater visibility. These marches showed that cooperation can lead to global repercussions and that minorities can make their voices heard even in a space where they are considered illegitimate.
Partnerships between institutions such as the discussions launched in 2019 by UCLG and UNICEF, as well as NVG’s online debates, helped reshape narratives. They also have been able to support local governments by making concrete recommendations concerning future policies. Different issues such as discrimination, ecology, children’s rights have been addressed during these sessions.

Learn more about other responses and initiatives in terms of Migration:

Towards the Pact

It is necessary to deepen the democratic process and transformation of cities and territories.
UCLG must promote transformative actions to take responsibility for future generations and to leave no one and no place behind.
The co-operative strategy that emerged from this talk is focused on the re-adaptation of a social contract based on co-ordination and inclusivity of vulnerable communities.
Inclusive economic recovery should equally include the youth, women, displaced people, disabled people, and every vulnerable community. To do so, political bodies must agree on who plays which role, but also make themselves accountable to each other.
Institutions and civil society should work hand in hand, therefore local and global agendas must be coordinated and decision-making decentralised.
Societies need to be able to redefine the values they want to prioritise, such as equity, equal access to health, and mental wellbeing among many others.

Resources

From Social Distancing to a World that is driven by communities

For further information on the topic of Public Service Delivery and its impact on cities and regions, please refer to the related resources included below.