Why must culture be at the heart of sustainable urban development? Culture 21 / Agenda 21 (United Ciies and Local Governments, 2016)

Four decades on from the first Habitat Conference on housing and human settlements, the economic, political, and social dimensions of development have all been acknowledged and, to a greater or lesser extent, understood by the international community. In contrast, the cultural dimension of development is still too often misunderstood or undervalued, or seen as an optional extra to be added when the hard work of ‘real’ development is done. This policy paper provides an overview of the evolving recognition of culture in sustainable development and attempts to bust the myths surrounding what culture is and what it can do. Finally, it gives recommendations on how to operationalize culture at the local level as a contribution to the positioning of local and regional governments at Habitat III through the Global Agenda of Local and Regional Governments for the 21st Century. As the Habitat III issue paper by UNESCO, “Urban culture and heritage”1 notes, the contemporary urban crisis calls for a new model of urban development. In addition to decreasing vulnerability and environmental footprints, this new model must “rehumanize” urban environments, both in terms of scale and in enhancing a sense of belonging. Further, it must increase social cohesion, counter segregation (social and spatial) and uneven distribution of wealth, and aim for more equitable distribution and access to urban resources and more integration and connection among residents. With these goals in mind, the Habitat III issue paper calls for more systematic and comprehensive “culturally sensitive urban development models.”2 This recognizes that culture has historically been a driving force of urban development, that a variety of innovative practices to integrate cultural assets into urban development strategies are now observed throughout the world, and that “culture is now firmly recognized by the international community as a key component of strategic urban planning and a key innovation for

the definition of a New Urban Agenda.”

As many reports have documented, cities and towns are hubs of innovation in the economic, cultural, and social realms. The goal of re-humanizing the city through culture-sensitive urban strategies is underpinned by principles and inclusive processes of access, representation, and participation. In the context of defining a new people-centred and planet-sensitive sustainable development agenda, cities are transformative platforms. However, the transformative potential of cities has not yet been fully harnessed by international agencies, national governments, or local authorities.

To create a new culturally sensitive urban development model, the role of cultural practices and values in sustainable development must be explicitly recognized, supported, and integrated into planning and policy in a systematic and comprehensive way. In the context of Habitat III and the implementation of the Global Sustainable Development Goals, this policy paper proposes ways to integrate and operationalize culture in the sustainable development of cities, and aims to identify pathways to include culture in integrated sustainability planning and implementation processes.