This year, the National World Habitat Day activities will take place on October 2 in the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya. Every year on the first Monday in October, World Habitat Day is observed both internationally and locally and this year’s celebration is tagged; Resilient Urban Economies. Cities as Drivers of Growth and Recovery”.
As the second-largest city in Kenya and a key hub for international trade in east and central Africa, Mombasa fits with the topic of resilient urban economies, according to Kenya’s UN-Habitat Permanent Representative Jean W Kimani. “Mombasa’s rich history as a melting pot of diverse cultures along the Indian Ocean coast makes it an apt host for this year’s events,” Kimani said.
According to Kimani, the celebration in Mombasa will demonstrate Kenya’s dedication to improving sustainable urbanization and putting the New Urban Agenda into practice.
She pointed out that in order to fulfill the demands of Mombasa’s expanding population, both the national and county governments have invested significantly in renovating the city, upgrading the infrastructure, and supplying basic services.
The government’s efforts to enhance the land tenure system and establish programs for affordable housing to ease the housing shortage, according to the Permanent Representative, have benefited Mombasa.
“The Kenya Permanent Mission to UN-Habitat is dedicated to collaborating with other stakeholders to promote inclusive multilateralism in addressing urbanization challenges and harnessing the potential of cities as engines of economic development,” she said.
During this year’s celebrations, Kenya will spotlight its efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities, at the local level.
Kimani said UN-Habitat looks forward to galvanizing global collaboration and partnerships to address the sustainable urbanization challenges in the rapidly urbanizing world.
“It is with great pleasure that we join in celebrating World Habitat Day, which is marked on the first Monday of October every year as per the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 40/2020A of December 17, 1985,” she said.
This year, the global celebrations will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan. This day also marks the beginning of urban October, a month dedicated to promoting a better urban future.
Kimani said Kenya, as the headquarters of UN-Habitat and other UN offices, is a center for global discourse on sustainable urbanization and human settlements.
She said this year’s celebration of World Habitat Day holds particular significance as it has been held four months since Kenya hosted the Second Session of the UN-Habitat Assembly in June, during which more than 10 resolutions addressing various sustainable urbanization and human settlements issues were adopted.