ASIAN-PACIFIC URBAN FORUM CALLS FOR RECOGNITION OF POOR PEOPLE AS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ASSET, NOT LIABILITY
Press Release
ESCAP/252
HAB/114
ASIAN-PACIFIC URBAN FORUM CALLS FOR RECOGNITION OF POOR PEOPLE AS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ASSET, NOT LIABILITY
19960319 BANGKOK, 15 March (UN Information Service) -- Calling for a "re-invention" of the economic structure of cities, participants at the Second Asian-Pacific Urban Forum today said urban policies should recognize the poor as an economic and social asset and not merely as a liability.Among the recommendations made on the last day of the five-day meeting was a call for the provision to the poor of access to education and information in order to create awareness of choices and opportunities. The Forum called for resources and/or credit for the development of income- generating opportunities for them. The informal sectors of cities should focus on wealth generation rather than consumption or trading-driven enterprises.
The Forum brought together policy makers, researchers and key stakeholders from national and local governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and research institutions for a discussion of the paper, "Living in Asian Cities: The Impending Crises". The paper examines the living conditions of the urban poor in a series of chapters dealing with different aspects of city life. The conclusions reached during the meeting will be added to the paper for its presentation as the Asia and Pacific input to the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), scheduled for 3 to 14 June, in Istanbul, Turkey.
Cities had become increasingly important in the economic development of nations and in the new global economy, Forum participants said. The twenty-first century -- "the century of cities" -- would complete the transformation of mankind from a predominantly rural subsistence society into "a new, technologically dependent, spatial society". According to recent studies, by the year 2005, half of the world's population would be living in cities, with seven out of the 10 largest cities in the world located in the Asia and Pacific region.
The Forum urged governments to be more responsive to people's "real concerns" for their cities and non-governmental organizations to enter into "genuine" partnerships with local and central authorities. It called upon the United Nations to respond in a more timely fashion to the needs and ideas of both governments and non-governmental organizations, and to incorporate those ideas into its programmes.
It also recommended increased cooperation on urban issues with regional organizations such as the Association of South-East Asian Nations and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. * *** *