UN-Habitat Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) 5.0

CCOUC Director Prof Emily Chan was invited as a key speaker during the UN-Habitat Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) 5.0 via Zoom from India on 9 December 2020.

Entitled “Think innovAte aAT For Urban cLimate change (TACTFUL): Towards Implementation of New Urban Agenda in India” and organised by Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology at Nagpur of India, the 3-day event from 9 to 11 December 2020 aimed to explore the issue of climate change in the context of UN-Habitat’s New Urban Agenda (NUA). The event was officiated by Mrs. Mami Mizutori, United Nation Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and was attended by about 40 participants.

Prof Chan delivered a presentation entitled “Urban Health and Health Hazards: Case of Hong Kong” in Urban Lab 1 of UTC: TACTFUL Day-1 sessions, focusing on Hong Kong’s urban heat issues, related health hazard, and the mitigation measures, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. This first lab session on the topic “Challenges for Managing Urban Climate Change” highlighted the major concerns in Asia Pacific with respect to climate change with focus on urban heat mitigation. Existing development scenarios having bearance on urban climate, factors that accentuate Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects, policy implications, further responses and strategies necessary for urban climate change resilience, and emergent concepts like Green Recovery and Urban-Rural Nexus were discussed.

Urban Lab 2 looked into research & practices for managing impacts of urban heat & COVID-19 in urban areas while Urban Lab 3 showcased the urban climate change initiatives in Asia. The event was closed by a plenary session entitled “Taking Action: Comprehensive, innovative, replicable & action-oriented outcomes for implementing SDGs & NUA”.

The Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) is an initiative of the World Urban Campaign driven by UN-Habitat. The UTC is conceived as an open space for critical exchange between urban researchers, professionals, and decision-makers who believe that urbanization is an opportunity and can lead to positive urban transformations. It is also intended as a platform to build consensus between partners engaged in addressing urbanization challenges and proposing solutions to urban futures. Since 2015, about 35,000 people have participated in about 150 Urban Thinkers Campus Sessions worldwide.