UN-Habitat Convenes Expert Group Meeting To Advance Territorial Development Through Global Urban-Rural Agenda

Territorial development:

Aims to integrate urban and rural planning to maximize regional potential and address challenges.

The Mérida Communiqué:

Emphasizes key principles like integrated planning and balanced development.

Global Urban-Rural Agenda (GURA):

Calls for fostering resilience and equitable development worldwide.

MERIDA,SPAIN, 13TH AND 14TH MARCH 2023

Territorial development aims to maximize the potential of regions by promoting integrated planning across urban and rural areas. An urban-rural agenda can help address challenges such as lack of access to infrastructure and services, economic stagnation, social inequity, and environmental degradation. 13th and 14th March 2023, UN-Habitat and the Extremadura regional government, convened an Expert Group Meeting in Merida, Spain, to discuss ways of advancing territorial development through an integrated urban-rural agenda. The meeting brought together 60 experts from research institutions, governments, UN agencies and civil society organizations. The 2-day EGM culminated in the Mérida Communiqué, which explores the urban-rural agenda, a transformative initiative aimed at achieving sustainable livelihoods, resilience, and a balance between urban and rural communities.

Participants acknowledged the detrimental consequences of unchecked urbanization and rural transformation. These challenges encompassed socio-economic inequalities, land degradation, depopulation, demographic imbalances, energy crises, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, vulnerability to climate change, and rising living costs. It was clear that immediate action was necessary to address these issues and create a harmonious relationship between urban and rural areas. The experts then actively engaged in discussing the conceptualization and operationalization of an urban-rural agenda, identifying key principles such as: integrated planning and policies; balanced and polycentric territorial development, connectivity and access to services, synergies between urban and rural economies and participatory governance mechanisms. These key principles formed a central part of the Merida Communique.

The Mérida Communiqué stressed the essential role of regional, subnational, and local governments in mitigating territorial imbalances. Participants recognized that towns and intermediary cities act as vital hubs for communication, transit, partnerships, and economic development. By empowering these local entities, it becomes possible to forge meaningful connections and foster collaboration between urban and rural communities.

Further to the Mérida Communiqué a detailed report of the EGM outcomes and a summary report can be accessed here

Concept Note (Engish)

Concept Note (Spanish)

Read the policy brief here

Read the full report here

RTVE, Noticias Extremadura

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