It has been an exciting, action-packed first few days of Habitat III in Quito, Ecuador, where discussion ranges from resilience in informal settlements to data metrics for the world’s megacities. Much of the discourse so far has touched on the link between the Paris Agreement and the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many of which have not yet been explored.

Many see the New Urban Agenda as a good start in connecting the two. In separate panels, different speakers discussed the importance of linking the SDGs so that jurisdictions look at projects as meeting multiple goals, rather than just one.

Indeed, jurisdictions play a major role in how cities worldwide take climate action and provide resilient, healthy and sustainable places for populations; in order for nations to meet their stated goals, they will be relying heavily on local government. For this reason, it is crucial for the top-down, bottom-up message to be consistent. As Simon Gaviria Muñoz, director of the Colombian Department of National Planning, stated, “It is in cities where wealth creation occurs and innovation happens.”

Although cities account for 89 percent of the world’s GDP, they also house some of the poorest, most underserved and disadvantaged populations. Efforts to accommodate expanding urban populations must be made with all citizens in mind. George McCarthy, president of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, stated, “Regional collaboration may be tough, but it is necessary for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.” It’s a call to action—going forward, cities must work with their surrounding jurisdictions to provide high quality services to all.

To do this, noted Jean Yves Duclos, the Canadian Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, “politicians must put egos aside and discipline themselves.” It is of such incredible importance that collaboration be interwoven throughout all plans for development, so that the world’s urban areas continue being hubs of business, culture and diversity.

When listening to policymakers from around the world, two of the main issues brought up throughout the conference were term limits and competing political party agendas, which can at times obstruct pathways to progress. During a discussion on innovation, McCarthy said it best: “a real innovation would be something that guarantees effectiveness despite term limits.”

Government cooperation and the New Urban Agenda