A Decade of the New Urban Agenda

This session will reflect on ten years of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and the central role local and regional governments have played not only in its implementation, but also in its follow-up and review, as well as in shaping global urban narratives.

During the session, we will emphasize how the organized local and regional government (LRG) constituency has contributed to shaping strong narratives, generating evidence from the local level and ensuring that local perspectives are reflected in global policy debates and monitoring processes. The conversation will take stock of the achievements of the NUA and examine its interlinkages with the 2030 Agenda and other development agendas, including its potential to be a lever in the implementation of the mandate of the Pact for the Future. It will also serve to identify pathways to strengthen the implementation of the NUA as discussions on the post-2030 framework advance.

In particular, at the heart of the session will be the efforts of LRGs around localization, in line with the NUA's role as an accelerator of the global goals. The evolution of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments’ annual report to the High-Level Political Forum —with its tenth edition to be published in 2026— will serve to illustrate the role of LRGs as key accountability and knowledge actors within global governance.