How can we build the sort of cities we want to live in 20 years from now?

The author emphasizes the urgent need for affordable housing and infrastructure as global urban populations grow, highlighting that service workers are being priced out of major cities. Using Medellin, Colombia, as a positive example of urban transformation through infrastructure investment, the text calls for the UN Habitat III meeting to produce a measurable 'New Urban Agenda' that prioritizes the poor and integrates housing into global development goals.

• Global urban populations are reaching a critical tipping point, with 54% of the world's 7.3 billion people currently living in urban areas and an expected increase of 2 billion city dwellers by 2045.
• Affordable housing is a crisis affecting both developed and developing nations, exemplified by the fact that full-time minimum wage employees in the U.S. cannot afford one-bedroom apartments anywhere, leading to essential service workers being priced out of their communities.
• The UN Habitat III meeting represents a critical opportunity to establish a "New Urban Agenda" that addresses urban poverty, infrastructure, and social exclusion, building upon Global Goal 11.
• Medellin, Colombia, serves as a model for urban rebirth where the government transformed informal settlements by installing essential infrastructure, such as a cable car system connecting hillside neighborhoods to the subway and business districts.

APA

Reckford, J. T. (2016). How can we build the sort of cities we want to live in 20 years from now? World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/economic-growth/how-can-we-build-the-sort-of-cities-we-want-to-live-in-20-years-from-now/

Chicago

Reckford, Jonathan T.M. How can we build the sort of cities we want to live in 20 years from now? World Economic Forum, 2016. https://www.weforum.org/stories/economic-growth/how-can-we-build-the-sort-of-cities-we-want-to-live-in-20-years-from-now/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Reckford |first1=Jonathan T.M. |title=How can we build the sort of cities we want to live in 20 years from now? |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=5 April 2016 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/economic-growth/how-can-we-build-the-sort-of-cities-we-want-to-live-in-20-years-from-now/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{reckford2016how, author = {Reckford, Jonathan T.M.}, title = {{How can we build the sort of cities we want to live in 20 years from now?}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2016}, month = apr, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/economic-growth/how-can-we-build-the-sort-of-cities-we-want-to-live-in-20-years-from-now/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }