Municipal Management and Urban Development for sustainability in Arab Cities
Filed under Events, Conferences on 2/7/2012.



Kuwait State Ministry of Municipality and UN-HABITAT, United Nations Human  Settlements Programme, UN-HABITAT, in partnership with Arab Towns Organization  are pleased to invite you to take an active part in the first joint Arab  Regional Conference on Municipal Management and Urban Development in Arab  Cities that will be held in Kuwait from 7 – 9 May, 2012.

The conference organizers wishes to extend their invitation to  all interested institutions, professionals, mayors and urban practitioners from  government, private sector and civil societies from around the globe to share  their experiences, best/good practices debate and discuss as well as the new  challenges of the urban agenda in Arab Cities. As the region is undergoing  profound transformations through the Arab uprisings and given the critical role  of urbanization in this historic process, the conference will contribute to  consolidate an Arab region position for future urban agenda to be presented at  the 6th edition of World Urban Forum (WUF6) that is going to be held in Naples , Italy 1-7 September 2012.

The Arab region is the most urbanized region in  the world, with a total population of 375 million people in 2010. The urban  population account to 56%, but the urban development experiences are diversified  depending on sub-regions and also within the same sub-region and more within  cities of a country. Urban development takes different modes, paths and  approaches between the sub-regions Mashreq (Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine , Jordan and Iraq), Maghreb (Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria), Gulf  Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman  and Qatar) and Southern Tier (Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Mauritius and  Mauritania).
Medium- sized cities are growing more than larger cities . Urbanisation is slowing down in Mashreq, Maghreb and Gulf Cooperation Council  while it is escalating in the southern tier countries. When it comes to  population growth rate, the Gulf Cooperation Council is experiencing the fastest  rate of total population growth. It is expected that the total population in the  region is still projected to double by 2050, by which time the region will be 68  per cent urbanized. This trend will place continued pressure on urban  infrastructure, housing and social services.

High growth rates will put  enormous pressure on the provision of housing, basic services, mobility, and  other public amenities. However, despite of growth disparities, reversals and  problems, the associated benefits of urbanization speak for themselves; improved  living conditions, education, life expectancy, infant mortality, absolute  poverty and deprivation, and other development indicators. Cities are engines of  growth, hubs of opportunities, and places for investments, technological  advancement and quality services, employment and innovation.

The Arab  region faces currently challenges in youth unemployment, social justice , government transparency and inclusiveness, housing affordability and rising food  and energy prices. These challenges will become intensified given the  demographics of the region and anticipated impacts of climate change. There will  be then a need for better governance mechanisms and more innovative strategies  for urban and regional integration to enable cities to become more  sustainable.

Understanding which cities in the region will experience  economic and demographic boom, and which cities will experience economic and  population decline, will be extremely relevant for maximizing gains, locating or  relocating investments and opportunities, as well as planning for more  sustainable and balanced urban and regional development .
For more information please find below the administrative and logistical note:

 Adminisstrative and logistical note



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