UNUnited Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Press Releases 2000

[Index]      

Fighting Social Exclusion in Cities

 Geneva, 19 September 2001

Urban planners and housing experts met in Geneva on Monday, 17 September 2001, under the umbrella of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) to discuss the problems of insecurity and social exclusion in cities and to find ways to overcome them. Their discussion was part of this year’s annual session of the UNECE Committee on Human Settlements (17-19 September).

The recent ‘summer of discontent’ experienced in some British and French cities has again highlighted the need for social cohesion in urban areas. Cities have always been socially and culturally mixed. But if they cannot provide a well-balanced political, economic and social environment and ensure an adequate standard of living and equal opportunities for all their residents, political instability, ethnic conflicts and other social problems can occur.

In countries in transition the problem is exacerbated by the impact of privatization, with the authorities withdrawing wholesale from the housing sector and new owner-occupiers unable to afford the upkeep of their homes.

In the UNECE region in general, the economic slowdown and cutbacks in spending on social programmes have contributed to growing income and social inequalities. Globalization of both communications and markets is also having a profound effect, especially at the bottom of industrialized societies. This inevitably affects the large housing estates built to meet the needs of now-idle factories and their workers, many of whom originally came from former colonies or other less developed regions. The outbreaks of violence among young people, their stand-offs with police and recent attacks on new arrivals, such as refugees, have illustrated the tensions that grip these housing estates.

According to the city planners, the best way to fight exclusion is not by means of isolated action, but by making sure that the need to promote social inclusion figures prominently in spatial planning, housing and land administration policies. It is also important to empower people so that they are motivated to individually influence the outcome of their lives and to collectively modernize their communities.

The city planners and housing experts also referred to the ECE Strategy for a sustainable quality of life in human settlements in the 21st century, adopted by UNECE Housing Ministers in Geneva last year.*

For more information, please contact:

Christina von Schweinichen
Deputy Director
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations, office 340
CH - 1211 Geneva 10

Phone: +41 22 917 23 88
Fax: +41 22 907 01 07
E-mail: [email protected]

 

* Economic Commission for Europe. ECE Strategy for a sustainable quality of life in human settlements in the 21st century. Sales No. E/F/R.01.II.E.10

 

Ref:  ECE/ENV/01/08