Cllr Richard Kemp, Councillor for Liverpool City Council and Deputy Chair of the European & International Board of the Local Government Association (LGA), delivered the statement of Local and Regional Governments on behalf of the Global Taskforce at the first session of the Preparatory Committee of the Habitat III Conference, held in New York, on 17 September.

Cllr Richard Kemp stressed the commitment of Local and Regional Government organizations “to undertake their full responsibility and assume their role as key partners in the definition and implementation of the Habitat Agenda, ensuring its linkages to the Post-2015 Development Agenda and its localization.” The statement also stressed that a territorial approach would be crucial to the New Urban Agenda: “The territorial focus should take into account the rural-urban continuum as well as the important role of metropolises, peripheral areas, intermediary cities and intermediary levels of governments. Increased accountability and innovative formats of governance will be a fundamental change that should be factored into the outcome of Habitat III. The members of the Global Taskforce call for a Habitat III Agenda that is based on equality and accountability from the bottom up.”

The first Preparatory Committee meeting of Habitat III is a key moment for Local and Regional Governments, as it will be charged with the definition of a shared vision of the New Urban  Agenda, and it will most probably define many of  the implementation mechanisms of the 2015  Summit Resolutions and Sustainable Development Goals.

• Read the full Statement here