Guiding Principles for Urban-Rural Linkages to Advance Integrated Territorial Development

UN-Habitat has partnered with Cities Alliance, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations Centre for Regional Developmet (UNCRD), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO) among others in a participatory process for developing “Guiding Principles for Urban-Rural Linkages” to advance integrated urban and territorial development.

The Guiding Principles will serve as guidance for governments at national and sub-national levels and to other urban and rural stakeholders to collaborate towards a more integrated territorial development while reducing inequalities across the urban-rural continuum.

The process began in February 2018 with a working session and expert consultation parallel to the World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Inputs to a zero draft of the Guiding Principles and Framework for Action led to a first draft shared in April and May with over 125 stakeholders in a global online consultation process. A second draft incorporating inputs from stakeholders was prepared in advance of the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) in La Paz, Bolivia (19-20 June 2018).