The current Covid 19 pandemic is likely to spread in the next few weeks and months to the South and in particular South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa. The impact may well be of a greater scale than that currently experienced in the North; India was the region with the highest loss of live in the 1918-1919 Spanish flu Pandemic. The experience and historical experience suggests that urban areas will be disproportionately affected.

Droughts, floods, hurricanes, and other disasters displaced over 24 million people in 2016. When people leave their homes behind, land records offer critical protection of their property rights. This is crucial, as land and homes are usually

A revolution is underway. In Latin America, it has likely crested. In Southeast Asia and West Africa, it is moving apace. In East Africa, it is at its most intense.

It is brewing most remarkably not in storied national capitals and megacities, but in the medium sized, second-tier cities, less watched by governments and journalists. Cities that might double in size in 12-15 years, yet already under-resourced.

It is a demographic revolution: significant population growth which drives the epochal growth of city dwelling, as the world becomes ever more urban.

Many of today’s increasingly complex development challenges, from rapid urban expansion to climate change, disaster resilience, and social inclusion, are intimately tied to land and the way it is used. Addressing these challenges while also ensuring individuals and communities are able to make full use of their land depends on consistent, reliable, and accessible identification of land rights.

Major global agreements, such as the Paris climate change agreement, and the SDGs will not come to fruition without local governments

Over a year ago in Quito, after a long negotiation and high involvement of all stakeholders, the atmosphere I could feel in my constituency was that of a promise; a big promise of a different international understanding of the urbanization phenomenon, a new role of cities and local and regional governments in the international governance and a shared vision of the need to rethink models.

By George McCarthy, President and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Blog by: Alyssa Fischer, WRI

Date: October 14, 2016

Source: WRI

Source: NCD Alliance

Public space interventions have the potential to contribute to progress across numerous Agenda 2030 goals and targets, not only SDG11 on Sustainable Cities. Kristie Daniel explores the opportunities public spaces present for different SDGs, and summarises the case for governments and communities to prioritise investing in them.