Habitat III is all about cities. The UN should give them a seat at the table

Habitat III will be the UN's first urbanisation conference in 20 years - and some countries are trying to prevent cities from participating. Yet from the global economy to climate change, cities offer our best hope for solutions

UN conferences on urbanisation occur just once every 20 years. The third, Habitat III, will convene in Quito, Ecuador late next year. It is a unique opportunity for the world's nations to debate the future of their cities, as urbanisation becomes the defining social phenomenon of our time.

There's just one problem. It remains possible that the cities of the world - from small metropolises to New York and London and Tokyo - may not get a seat at the table. Even in a world that is now majority urban for the first time in history, the issues of city economies, slums and climate crises may well be discussed without a single mayor or city councilperson able to speak.