Mayors from some 90 cities adopt commitments on mobility, green cities, resilience, housing, heritage and innovation, and urge States to empower local and regional governments to advance sustainable development.
At the 6th meeting of the UN Forum of Mayors, held in Geneva on 12-13 October, some 90 cities from over 50 countries committed to advancing inclusive, resilient, safe and sustainableurban development. They called on States and international organizations to strengthen the legal, institutional, policy and financial frameworks that enable local and regional governments to deliver a sustainable future and implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
As a unique body within the United Nations system, the UN Forum of Mayors, established by UNECE, enables the formal participation of local and regional governments within a networked and inclusive multilateralism. In the Forum’s outcome document, mayors reaffirmed that the Forum is an effective body for cities worldwide to exchange knowledge, best practices and local solutions and to advance the localization of the SDGs.
Chair of the Forum of Mayors, Eckart Würzner, Mayor of Heidelberg, Germany, stated “As cities play an increasingly important role in advancing national, regional and global objectives, the UN Forum of Mayors offers us the unique opportunity we need to engage in international processes from within the United Nations itself. It is also an important body that brings us, as urban leaders, together to exchange opportunities and solutions to common challenges, and to foster cooperation, solidarity and collective action towards a safe, resilient and sustainable future.”
UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean stated: “Cities are where people experience the major challenges of our time most directly – from housing and access to essential services to mobility, climate impacts, inequality and disaster risks. But cities are also where solutions are being developed every day. This is precisely why the UN Forum of Mayors matters. It provides a space to share what works, learn from one another, build partnerships and bring the voice and experience of cities into global discussions.”
Mayor of Geneva, Christina Kitsos, stated “Multilateralism must take into account the voices and experience of cities, but also those that we do not hear enough, in particular women, young people, children and countries of the global South. While many spaces of exchange between cities exist around the world, there is only one space in which mayors exchange in the presence of states in a formal UN setting, with the SDGs as a backdrop, and that is the Forum of Mayors. As the international community begins to reflect on the future of the sustainable development agenda, cities and regions must be involved from the outset of international negotiations.”
Of the SDGs under in-depth review at the 2026 High-Level Political Forum (SDGs 6, 7, 9 and 11), mayors focused in particular on key targets of SDG 11 on sustainable cities and communities. Their commitments cover six areas:
Sustainable mobility and road safety. Cities committed to reducing road traffic fatalities and injuries through safer street design, lower urban speed limits and investment in walking and cycling infrastructure. They also pledged to integrate land-use and transport planning, prioritize public transport and make mobility accessible for all, including women, children, older persons and persons with disabilities.
Green cities and environmental quality. Mayors committed to expanding equitable access to green and public spaces, protecting urban biodiversity through nature-based solutions, and cutting air and noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. They will also develop ambitious local climate and biodiversity action plans.
Inclusive planning and urban resilience. Cities pledged to promote participatory urban and territorial planning, strengthen resilience to climate change and natural hazards through multi-hazard risk assessments and early warning systems, and address informal settlements and development, including through in-situ upgrading and improved land governance.
Sustainable, adequate and affordable housing. Mayors deplored the persistent and worsening housing crisis across the region and beyond, marked by insufficient affordable supply, homelessness, displacement and the financialization of housing markets. They committed to securing access to adequate, affordable and secure housing for people in vulnerable situations, to climate-resilient and accessible housing, and to integrating housing justice principles into housing and social protection frameworks. They called on States to enable progressive property taxation and anti-speculation measures and to reinvest revenues in social and non-market housing.
Cultural and natural heritage. Cities committed to protecting and restoring cultural and natural heritage, integrating it into urban planning and climate adaptation, and leveraging it for responsible tourism and local livelihoods.
Innovation and creativity. Mayors pledged to integrate culture, creativity and innovation into local development strategies, and to use digital innovation, ethical artificial intelligence and data-driven governance to improve urban services and civic participation while safeguarding human rights and reducing digital divides.
Across all areas, mayors noted that fiscal constraints, fragmented governance and limited local capacities hold back implementation. They called on States to provide coherent legal and policy frameworks, fiscal decentralization, capacity-building and direct access to financing, and encouraged international financial institutions and development partners to step up support for sustainable and resilient urban infrastructure.
The Forum elected its bureau for the 7th meeting of the Forum of Mayors in 2027, with the Mayor of Heidelberg, Germany, as Chair, alongside the Leader of Bristol City Council, UK, and Mayor of Durres, Albania, as Vice Chairs. The Mayor of Geneva will serve as an ex-officio bureau member.
The Forum's outcomes will be presented to the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management at its 87th session (Geneva, 14-16 October 2026), and will inform its work.
The UN Forum of Mayors, first organized by UNECE in 2020, was formally established in 2023 by UNECE member States as a subsidiary body of the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management.
The UN Secretary-General has highlighted the Forum as an effective and scalable mechanism for strengthening institutional engagement between the United Nations and local and regional governments, as called for in the Pact for the Future.
Photo credit: UNECE/Irina Popa