Youth at the centre of Urban October 2024

Every year, United Nations Habitat and numerous partners celebrate Urban October as a one-month-long opportunity to draw attention to challenges and opportunities faced by cities and towns all over the world. The occurrence kicks off with World Habitat Day which inaugurates youth engagement as the fil rouge of the month.

Urban October is an annual initiative led by UN-Habitat along with partner organisations from across the globe which focuses attention on urban issues. The observance sheds light on the critical role of cities and towns in advancing the broader agendas of sustainable development and climate action.

Urban areas face unique challenges, yet they possess an incredible potential to boost positive transformations beyond their territories.

Today, more than half of the global population is concentrated in cities. According to widely shared projections, this figure will increase to seven out of ten people living in an urban centre by mid-century. Another staggering figure to complement this is that cities are accountable for over 70% of total CO2 emissions which ultimately affect everyone, everywhere.

Urban October is an opportunity to make sense of these numbers by acknowledging that the transition towards more sustainable, healthy and inclusive societies should look at cities as driving forces. Meetings, discussions and events will be held across continents for 31 days, to detail and concretise this vision, with a special focus on youth as the main architects for a better urban future.

As the leading European network of cities and regions, POLIS is paying special attention to this celebration while it works towards achieving sustainable, safe and inclusive mobility systems—a crucial piece of the urban puzzle.

Youth is the engine of World Habitat Day

Urban October takes off with the celebration of World Habitat Day on the first Monday of the month, hosted by a different country and focusing on a specific topic.

In 2024 the global observance will be sponsored by Querétaro, Mexico, on 7 October under the theme: 'Engaging youth to create a better urban future'.

With urbanisation speeding up at an unprecedented pace, young people are becoming a prominent portion of urban populations. The way youth look at cities and towns is generally free from the mental constriction of 'how things have always been done'. As generations who grow up under the warning that the world cannot afford business as usual anymore, younger citizens are often in a better position to imagine and push for transformations.

Under this theme, World Habitat Day 2024 will reflect on how cities can actively involve their younger citizens in shaping their urban environments through participatory processes and leadership opportunities.

... and a special target of some EU mobility projects

A key notion in innovative urban and mobility planning is that redesigning our public spaces and transport systems through the eyes of younger users and catering to the needs of the most vulnerable groups always delivers the greatest benefits for everyone.

This approach is at the heart of the EU-funded ELABORATOR and SMALL projects.

ELABORATOR serves as a living lab where sustainable urban mobility solutions are planned, designed and implemented holistically with a major focus on comprehensive stakeholder cooperation. The active and direct involvement of vulnerable-to-exclusion user groups ensures that the adopted interventions respond to the needs of all citizens, including youth. Find more information on the project page.

Also focused on inclusiveness, the SMALL project brings together cities, industry, academia, and organisations in the North Sea Region to ensure the benefits of shared mobility services are accessible to everyone, including people with reduced mobility. Among its target groups, the project looks at the specific mobility challenges faced by families with children to engage with them and co-create solutions that will ultimately contribute to a better and safer urban environment. Find more information on the project page.

Looking into youth-specific needs is crucial for better and more sustainable urban mobility, and who could shape new solutions on such needs better than young people themselves?

This is precisely what happens in the hackathons organised within the framework of one of our EU-funded projects, UPPER, in collaboration with the Youth For Public Transport (Y4PT) Foundation. These events gather multinational and multidisciplinary teams of young students, developers and entrepreneurs to brainstorm and develop innovative solutions for delivering the public transport of tomorrow.

What comes next?

POLIS will be actively expanding the spotlight on Urban October and sharing our members' activities on the crucial topic of youth engagement. Keep an eye on our social media channels and events section during this eventful month!

What is already in store?

On 23 October, from 11:00-12:00, our Active Travel & Health Working Group is holding an interactive webinar on the importance of active mobility for all ages. The event will delve into the multiple environmental and social advantages of moving actively, especially for kids, teenagers, and older adults and explore the aspects that are specific to each age group. Ensuring the attractiveness and safety of walking, wheeling, and cycling can foster people's independence, enhance social interactions, and provide them with unhindered access to education, work and leisure activities— all of this while boosting their health. We will bring you examples of successful interventions and studies and engage in a discussion on the way forward.

Find more information on the webinar and register here.

Within the month we will open registrations for an exciting come-back: our Public Transport Lab webinar series. Cities, public transport authorities and operators, urban and regional planners, mobility experts and anyone curious about the crucial role of public transport (PT) in the transition towards sustainable urban mobility will find food for thought in these virtual meetings. The series will kick off in November and accompany you until the first months of 2025 with insights on:
- the work of CCAM on connected and automated mobility;
- the importance of PT for youth and the elderly;
- key lessons from some of our projects such as eBRT2030, UPPER, and SUM;
- and much more!