During the 9th World Urban Forum, WRI Ross Center, the Coalition for Urban Transitions, and C40 Cities held a high-level event, Thriving Cities, Prosperous Countries: From Agenda to Implementation, that focused on three core areas: housing, infrastructure and financing. This event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, explored critical areas where national and local governments must work together more effectively to deliver cities for all.

Leaders from government and civil society addressed key questions, including: How can they shape urban land use in ways that enhance productivity and ensure inclusion? How can they build infrastructure and deliver services to fast-growing populations? How can they mobilize the resources needed to fill financing gaps? How can national governments build local capabilities and ensure cities are accountable to residents? And above all, what political conditions enable constructive national-local collaboration?

Representatives from national and local governments, civil society, the private sector and multilateral agencies from around the globe debated these themes and brainstormed alternate approaches. The main goal for the panelists and the audience was to explore how cities and countries in different contexts can achieve not only the New Urban Agenda but the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement.

One of the main outcomes of the event was the consensus on the necessity of better coordination to achieve tangible results. National and local policymakers need to improve collaboration and align views and actions with the needs of residents as they identify the steps for necessary urban transformations to build better cities for all. The panels included a mix of representatives including Hardeep Singh Puri, India’s union minister of the housing and urban affairs ministry; Jorge Wolpert, Mexico’s director of the National Housing Commission; Alessandra D’ Avila Vieira, Brasil’s director of the Department of Slum Upgrading; and Rose Molokoane, deputy president of Shack/Slum Dwellers International.

More from WUF9:

• Better Coordination, Engagement Needed to “Bend the Curve” for Cities, Say Experts at World Urban Forum
• WUF9 Beyond the Convention Center: A (Very) Brief Tour of Kuala Lumpur
• Video interviews with panelists

Anjali Mahendra

Director of Research, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Robin King

Director of Knowledge Capture & Collaboration, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Adna Karabegovic

Project Coordinator, Research Tools & Economics Team, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Valeria Lvovna Gelman

Communications Specialist & Program Coordinator II, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Aniruddha Dasgupta

Global Director, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Victoria A. Beard

Fellow, World Resources Report, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Nick Godfrey

Director, Coalition for Urban Transitions

Schuyler Null

Communications Manager, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Anand Mishra

Senior Manager, Global Communications, WRI Ross Center For Sustainable Cities

Emily Kaldjian

Communications Manager, Energy Program

Jessica Seddon

Global Lead, Air Quality, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities