USAID is at Habitat III

Habitat III—the upcoming UN Conference on Housing and Urban Development, held once every 20 years—will take place in Quito, Ecuador next week. USAID will have a robust presence at the conference, hosting a variety of sessions at the U.S. Government booth. We will be tweeting from @USAIDUrban throughout the conference and engaging with partners from the U.S. government, implementers, civil society, and the broader development community. USAID supports the New Urban Agenda, which is intended to help shape and clarify the global agenda for sustainable urban development for years to come. Join us for the following sessions:

Mapping Event: Mapping for Urban Resilience, Cotopaxi Volcano and Latacunga, Ecuador

Take an Open Street Map tutorial and help map areas of Latacunga as part of a disaster risk-reduction project. The global mapping community is also encouraged to participate virtually from anywhere in the world.

Monday, Tue, Wed, and Thurs, 12 -1 PM at D99

Panel Discussion: Refugees, Incremental Housing, and Shelter in the 21st Century

Presenters: Francis Goyes, Sera Tolgay and Valeria Vidal, MIT; Moderator: Tony Piaskowy, USAID

To encourage a new generation of urban policy makers and promote early career research, USAID, Cities Alliance, IHC Global, the World Bank, and the Wilson Center co-sponsored the 7th Annual Reducing Urban Poverty Graduate Student Paper Competition. The three student authors of the winning paper will present their research examining the incremental housing model of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)’s Urban Shelter Program for assisting Syrian refugee families in Northern Jordan cities. Monday, 1-2 PM at D99

Discussion: Municipal Finance: Supporting Sustainable Public Sector and Service Delivery

Steve Matzie from USAID’s Development Credit Office, will discuss the convergence of governance and finance, the financing process, and key areas that investors are most concerned about.

Monday, 2-3 PM at D99

Presentation: Overseas Impacts by the U.S. Government in Urban Places, 2006-2016

Presenter: Cintya Renderos, ICMA

This presentation will highlight USAID, Department of State, Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency supported programs in urban areas in the US and around the world. It will reflect on leading practices in city, municipal, provincial and institutional partnerships, and highlight successful partnerships that have resulted in the uptake and/or replication of new approaches and innovations in the areas of climate change, local economic development and competitiveness, solid waste management, water resource management and urban planning. The presentation will highlight the right conditions for a successful partnership and continued effort to improve the quality of partnership programs – CityLinks and the Professional Fellows Exchange Program.

Tuesday 9-10 AM at D99

Presentation: Lessons Learned from USAID’s Climate Finance Activities in Asia

Presenters: Lee Baker and Nikita Salgaonkar, AECOM

USAID’s Climate Change Adaptation Project Preparation Facility for Asia and the Pacific (USAID Adapt Asia-Pacific) addresses capacity and information needs of target countries in accessing climate change adaptation funds and accelerating investments in initiatives that increase resilience to the negative impacts of climate change. The project has worked with local and national governments to prioritize climate change projects and access funding from international funding sources like the Adaptation Fund and Green Climate Fund. Through a series of trainings and toolkits, the Adapt Asia-Pacific project utilizes a multi-track approach to project preparation and readiness activities (accreditation and strengthening of NIEs/NDAs) that have resulted in 28 bankable climate change adaptation project proposals and leveraged over US$392M investment in climate change adaptation work from international donors.

Tuesday 10-11 AM at D99

Discussion: USAID Policy: Sustainable Service Delivery in an Increasingly Urbanized World

Anthony Piaskowy from USAID’s Land and Urban Office, will discuss USAID’s urban policy components and give a status update on implementation.

Tuesday 11-12 AM at D99

Networking Event: Convergence of Governance and Finance Implementing the New Urban Agenda

Join mayors from diverse cities for a conversation about how governments, the private sector, development agencies, and communities can to work together to mobilize and effectively deploy all sources of finance for inclusive, equitable, and sustainable urbanization.

[Location Change] Tuesday 2-4 PM at R20