In accordance with the UN General Assembly resolution 71/235, UN-Habitat in close collaboration with different stakeholders prepared the 2022 Report of the Secretary-General on progress on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda (Quadrennial Report). This report is the second of a series of five quadrennial reports and an element of the follow-up to and review of the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

The report aims to describe the incremental and inclusive approach made by national governments and other stakeholders on the implementation and monitoring of the New Urban Agenda.

To provide inputs for the Quadrennial Report 2022, UN-Habitat organized a Writeshop on 22 and 23 November 2021 with a wide range of stakeholders. The Writeshop - an intensive, participatory workshop that produces a written output - was attended by over 60 representatives from local and regional governments, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, the United Nations system, professionals, research and academia. In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Writeshop was held virtually.

Creating a ‘knowledge led’ process was critical to report effectively, as was creating a dynamic and engaging online experience for all participants across different time zones. Through engaging presentations and visual capturing, participants were encouraged to share evidence of implementation.

The Writeshop resulted in producing a collaborative document with contributions from over 100 participants, across 33 thematic sessions, during 1000 minutes of virtual discussions: The Quadrennial Report Draft 1 Background paper for the preparation of the Quadrennial Report. A second report summarizes the Writeshop’ approach, process and key findings.

To complement the report, National Reports submitted by various Member States provided a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the progress made in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and internationally agreed goals and targets relevant to sustainable urbanization and human settlements. These Voluntary National Reports are publicly available on this Platform. They are complemented by Regional Reports discussing progress made in the three transformative commitments of the NUA, the effective implementation and means implementation of the NUA in the five main regions. Inputs based on activities of UN entities, the UN Regional Commissions and UN Resident Coordinator’s Offices, the major groups and their collaboration with relevant stakeholders have also been integrated in the report.

Preparation of the first Quadrennial Report 2018

The first of a series of five quadrennial reports were prepared in 2018. It illustrates the progress made by UN entities, national and subnational governments, local authorities and stakeholders in implementing and monitoring the New Urban Agenda during the initial 18 months since its adoption. 

UN-Habitat organized the first Expert Group Meeting (EGM) in Granada, Spain from March 20th-23rd of 2018. This EGM adopted a “Writers’ Workshop” methodology to advance in a collective manner in the preparation of this Report. The contributing Experts were from different regions, disciplines, levels of government, private sector, civil society and academia as well as representatives from the United Nations system. They provided inputs for an initial summary of the steps taken towards the implementation of the NUA, highlight key areas where progress needs to be accelerated and what bottlenecks are currently in place, in addition to examining roles of the various stakeholders. Read the Background paper for the preparation of the Quadrennial Report 2018 “SG Report to ECOSOC on the Progress on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda Report of the Secretary-General” Final version prepared in the Writeshop, Granada here.

The Supplement Document of the Quadrennial Report presents the strategy, roadmap and approach for the preparation of subsequent reports. It is more of a system based approach that integrates some quantitative and qualitative information, as an example of how these best practices and policies will be used in the future.