Habitat III Issue Papers - 4: Urban Culture and Heritage

While cities as hubs for migrations have been enriched by a more culturally diverse population, new types of challenges to social cohesion have emerged. Social and spatial segregation, already underlined in Habitat II, have become a key issue in many cities of the world. The historical function of cities as melting pots and catalysts for intercultural dialogue is now jeopardised, as wealth generated by urban growth is unevenly distributed.

This issue paper on "Urban Culture and Heritage" is part of a series of thematic reports offering a comprehensive, expert-level view of the processes of urbanisation that characterise today’s century of cities — and look forward to what could and should come next. The 22 “issue papers” were submitted by a range of multilateral institutions. They will ultimately be used to guide discussion by 10 formal “policy units”, which will focus on the six thematic issues deemed important for the Habitat III process. Made up of independent experts, these units touch on housing, resilience, equity and other issues. Eventually, they will each provide formal input regarding the crafting and, especially, implementation of the New Urban Agenda.