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Traffic jam in Bangkok, Thailand

The UNDP launched the platform, titled UNDP4Urban, to coincide with the third preparatory committee for Habitat 3, which kicked off in Indonesia on Monday. The Habitat 3 conference, formally known as the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Development, will be held in Ecuador in October.

Madgy Martínez-Solimán, UN assistant secretary general and director of the UNDP’s bureau for policy and programme support, said: “The online platform will serve as an engagement forum of urban networks and coalitions for the public, the private sector and development experts, to share insights and information on various development issues.”

The public will be able to use the platform to share their views and experiences on innovative urban projects and also any recurring challenges related to urban issues in their cities.

It is hoped the public will use the site to open discussions on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, being finalised in Indonesia this week, and which will be adopted at Habitat 3 in October. Also, discussion is welcomed around the Sustainable Development Goals, including on which areas to target and how to achieve them.

The UNDP said the aim of the platform is to better understand and address the needs of the urban poor, a “critical prerequisite for sustainable development” and key to the SDG aim of ‘leaving no one behind’.