Cities Alliance is a global partnership fighting urban poverty and promoting the role of cities. To manage its activities, the Cities Alliance operates a multi-donor fund of which the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is host and Trustee.
Membership is highly diverse and includes national governments, associations of local authorities, multilateral organizations, NGOs, universities, and foundations.
VISION
“The Cities Alliance seeks to improve the lives of 60 million urban poor across 200 cities in 20 countries by 2030 and be a leading agent for urban change by supporting and implementing comprehensive programmes in countries and cities where it matters most. We leverage the collective expertise of our partnerships to catalyse urban transformation at a global level. Successful cities engage meaningfully with their citizens, and they recognize and promote the role of women.”
PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES
We enhance the well-being of urban populations by delivering innovative, multi-sectoral solutions to urban poverty, through:
• Technical assistance and infrastructure delivered through grants to members and partners.
• Direct execution, catalysing State and non-State investments supported by a coordinating presence on the ground.
KEY PROJECTS
• Stronger partnerships: local innovations for new climate realities in cities. Through our competitive call for innovation, we provide small grants to selected grantees in cities of the Greater Horn of Africa and the Bay of Bengal.
• Femmedina. This inclusive city programme in the Medina of Tunis focuses on a women-led participatory planning process, strategic interventions in public spaces, and cityto-city dialogues on gender-sensitive city development.
• Enhancing the resilience of slum communities to overcome the crisis. The purpose of this project is twofold: to strengthen the resilience of communities in informal settlements and support the sustainability of civil society organizations in informal settlements, in cooperation with Slum Dwellers International (SDI); and reinforce the capacities of informal communities to respond to the current pandemic and prepare for future crises.
“Together we need to build sustainable cities by strengthening urban ecosystems, promoting investment in local resilience efforts and advocating for people-centred approaches.”
UN House, Boulevard du Régent 37, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Phone: +32 2 880 40 88