The ninth meeting of the
World Urban Forum (WUF9) was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (7–13 February 2018). This session focused on the theme “Cities for all”, with the ambition of localizing and scaling up the implementation of the New Urban Agenda adopted in 2016.
The Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Cities 2030
The Forum culminated in the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, which called for global, regional, national, and local implementation of the New Urban Agenda, “for the deployment of all efforts, means and resources available towards the operationalization of the concept of cities for all, ensuring that all inhabitants, of present and future generations, without discrimination of any kind, are able to inhabit and produce just, safe, healthy, accessible, affordable, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements to foster prosperity and quality of life for all.”The 10
th actionable recommendation also calls stakeholders to: “Adopt accessibility and universal design as core principles into national, subnational and local action plans for implementing the New Urban Agenda through inclusive, accessible and participatory processes and consultations”.
Read the declaration here.
Cities for all
The DIAUD (Disability Inclusive and Accessible Urban Development) network was a key driver for the recognition that accessibility forms a central role in urban development and is fundamental for the success of the New Urban Agenda. The DIAUD network is jointly coordinated by the
Institute on Disability and Public Policy (IDPP),
World Enabled, and the Global Alliance on Technologies and Environments (
GAATES). It takes part to the Persons with Disabilities Partnership Group (PwD-PCG) of the Global Assembly of Partners (GAP), formal platform of the major participating groups and stakeholders in
Habitat 3.
During the forum, World Enabled and DIAUD gathered more than 500 participants from around the world, to create a huge accessibility message calling for inclusion of people with disabilities in all city planning. They formed the shape of the international sign for "I love you", the international accessibility symbol, a large scale human braille spelling out “Inclusion”, and the words “Cities for All”. The event was produced in collaboration with artist John Quigley of Spectra Q.[caption id="attachment_3647" align="alignnone" width="547"]
Cities for All Aerial Art Project[/caption]
HI presence at the WUF9
[caption id="attachment_3648" align="alignright" width="300"]
From bottom up and right to left: Erika Trabucco, HI Accessibility Technical Advisor, Dr. Victor Pineda, co-chair of the DIAUD, Eric Remacle, HI Road Safety Technical Advisor, Benjamin Dard, CBM, Aurélie Beaujolais, HI Info&Publication Advocacy Manager.[/caption]The Forum was attended by a delegation from Humanity & Inclusion (HI), to ensure follow up of streams of work regarding road safety and accessibility.“It is important for road safety NGOs to be a part of the vision for sustainable cities and to find synergy with people and organizations coming from other perspectives,” says Eric Remacle, HI technical Advisor on Road Safety. “We must have a perspective that thinks of road safety not just in terms of reducing road deaths but as part of a systemic approach to sustainable cities.”Eric points to three of the themes of WUF9 that have particular relevance to the road safety agenda—urban planning, accessibility, and gender: “The cities of tomorrow should be inclusive and safe for all. We need to try to think about how to make our cities inclusive in terms of road safety and accessibility.”
Read full interview on the website of the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road safety here.
Cities for All Aerial Art Project[/caption]
From bottom up and right to left: Erika Trabucco, HI Accessibility Technical Advisor, Dr. Victor Pineda, co-chair of the DIAUD, Eric Remacle, HI Road Safety Technical Advisor, Benjamin Dard, CBM, Aurélie Beaujolais, HI Info&Publication Advocacy Manager.[/caption]The Forum was attended by a delegation from Humanity & Inclusion (HI), to ensure follow up of streams of work regarding road safety and accessibility.“It is important for road safety NGOs to be a part of the vision for sustainable cities and to find synergy with people and organizations coming from other perspectives,” says Eric Remacle, HI technical Advisor on Road Safety. “We must have a perspective that thinks of road safety not just in terms of reducing road deaths but as part of a systemic approach to sustainable cities.”Eric points to three of the themes of WUF9 that have particular relevance to the road safety agenda—urban planning, accessibility, and gender: “The cities of tomorrow should be inclusive and safe for all. We need to try to think about how to make our cities inclusive in terms of road safety and accessibility.”Read full interview on the website of the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road safety here.
