"A better city is a better life"
The celebration of World Cities Day will take place in Yekaterinburg during the International Forum of High-rise and Unique Construction 100+ Forum Russia 2019, the main theme of the forum - "The City of the Future" - is consonant with the general theme of World Cities Day.
"A better city means a better life" is the general theme of World Cities Day, established by a resolution of the UN General Assembly designating October 31 as World Cities Day in 2014. World Cities Day has become an integral part of the completion of Urban October events held under the auspices of UN-Habitat in cities and towns around the world. During the month, local, regional and national authorities and partners around the world organize events dedicated to sustainable urban development.
A separate sub-theme for highlighting various aspects of urban issues, as well as the venue for World Cities Day, is chosen every year.
For the first time, the celebration of World Cities Day with the sub-theme "Leading Urban Transformation" took place in 2014 in Shanghai (China). The global event of World Cities Day in 2015 with the sub-theme "Designed for living together" was held on October 31 in Milan (Italy). More than 90 events dedicated to World Cities Day and World Habitat Day, which is held annually on the first Monday of October, were organized by partners in 39 countries around the world in October 2015.
World Cities Day in 2016 was held on October 31 in Quito (Ecuador). The sub-theme is "Inclusive cities, social development". More than 100 events dedicated to World Cities Day and World Habitat Day were organized by partners in 47 countries around the world in October 2016.
On October 31, 2017, Guangzhou (China) hosted World Cities Day, the sub-theme of which was "Innovative Management, Open Cities". More than 100 events dedicated to World Cities Day and World Habitat Day were organized by partners in 44 countries around the world in October 2017.
World Cities Day 2018 was celebrated in 70 cities around the world, and a global event was organized in Liverpool (UK), attended by more than 200 people from 15 countries. Discussions, seminars and presentations were held in accordance with the 2018 sub-theme "Creating sustainable cities".
In 2018, Urban October began with the celebration of World Habitat Day at UN-Habitat Headquarters, for which the theme was "Municipal solid waste management". Moscow joined the celebration of Urban October in 2018. The Moscow Urban Forum (MOUF), together with UN-Habitat, prepared the session "A city with a waste-free economy. The City as an Ecosystem for Green Business", which was held on October 16, 2018, as part of the Open Innovations Forum at the Skolkovo Innovation Center.
More than 358 events dedicated to World Cities Day, Urban October and World Habitat Day were organized by partners in 61 countries and 147 cities around the world, including Russia (Moscow, October 2018).
Yekaterinburg became the first Russian city chosen to host World Cities Day. On October 31, 2019, representatives of state and municipal authorities of foreign countries will visit the capital of the Urals as part of the UN-Habitat event.
A source: UN-Habitat in Russia