Communitas at the 7th World Urban Forum, Medellín, Colombia

Held in the City Changer Room at the 7th World Urban Forum in Medellín, Colombia, in April 2014, the Communitas Coalition held its consultation on first draft urban targets with a Networking Event, “Unpacking Targets for the Urban SDG.” The event aimed to create a bridge between the World Urban Forum and the SDGs Open Working Group (OWG) in New York, effectively connecting leading urban innovators to the OWG’s final formulation of Sustainable Development Goals. In the short-term, the Networking Event helped urban advocates to better understand the SDGs process and the role of “sustainable Cities and Human Settlements” therein. In the medium-term, it helped city changers to shape and anticipate SDG targets in the following months. In the long-term, it served to bolster local and subnational efforts to implement an Urban SDG on the ground. This important event helped pave the way for the Communitas second draft targets towards a standalone SDG on Cities and Human Settlements.