The city of São Paulo and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) established a cooperation agreement for an inclusive and sustainable urban development, that seeks to foment the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In the document, the partnership between São Paulo´s City Hall, represented by the Municipal Department of International Affairs (SMRI), and UN-Habitat has special focus on the execution of projects related to the management of green public spaces and to the action against climate changes. Another highlight is the intention of implementing projects facing homeless people.

The partnership was celebrated this Wednesday afternoon (15), through an online ceremony. The virtual event had the participation of the Municipal Secretary of International Affairs, Marta Suplicy, the Executive-Secretary of Strategic Projects Management, Alexis Vargas, the Chief of Staff of the Municipal Department of the Environment, Rodrigo Ravena, and the Executive Secretary for Planning and Priority Deliveries, Vivian Satiro. On UN-Habitat´s side, the Regional Representative of Latin America and Caribbean, Elkin Velasquez, and the Senior International Officer for Brazil and Southern Cone, Alain Grimard participated in the proceedings.

During the cerimony’s opening, Secretary Marta Suplicy highlighted the importance to broadcast what are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to guarantee the preservation of natural resources on our planet and the existence of a worthy future for all. She also declared that the partnership is focused at creating projects related to homeless people that will be implemented and executed at the Reeconter Programme, led by the Municipal Government Department.

Executive-Secretary Alexis Vargas then commented on the importance of the partnership to make the city of São Paulo ever fairer and more sustainable. Chief of Staff Rodrigo Ravena addressed how the partnership will be a tool to contribute to sustainable development in the capital of São Paulo. In her speech, Executive Secretary Vivian Satiro highlighted that the 11th SDG, Sustainable Development Goal that guides the cooperation, is present in 24 of the 77 goals of the Goal Programme of the municipality and that the partnership strengthens that performance.

The ceremony also had the speech of the Regional Representative of Latin America and Caribbean, Elkin Velasquez, who considered that the partnership with São Paulo is strategic to make of the municipality a reference, so other Brazilian cities could advance as well. In addition to this, Velasquez also said that this cooperation brings visibility to the environmental and social actions of the capital of São Paulo and can inspirate other cities from Latin America with “good examples and determinations”. The final speech was from the Senior International Officer for Brazil and Southern Cone, Alain Grimard, who pointed to the originality of this cooperation. Grimard asserted that this is the first time that UN-Habitat fulfils a cooperation with São Paulo City Hall for sustainable and inclusive urban development, which demonstrates the municipality’s vanguardism.

About UN-Habitat

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is a UN’s agency that deals with human settlements. In partnership with local and regional governments, it has as its focus to promote the sustainable development for greener, fairer and more egalitarian cities.

Present in more than 90 cities, it has a performance emphasized in areas of local and metropolitan urban planning, informal urban settlements, urban mobility, access to water and basic sanitation, residual management, climate change and resilience, among other themes.

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