News

September 21, 2022

G7 MEETING OF URBAN MINISTERS

The first-ever meeting of G7 Ministers for Urban Development took place in Potsdam (Germany) on 13-14 September 2022.

The Urban7 Alliance led by the Global Parliament of Mayors, the Association of German Cities, and ICLEI, and comprises the national city networks of the G7 member states was active in the process of developing the final communique from the meeting.

The Ministers committed to “continuing and intensifying dialogues” with urban partners, including Urban7. The Ministers committed to “increasing the involvement of cities in the development and implementation of urban development policies,” and acknowledged that, “good multi-level and multi-stakeholder cooperation and the participation of all concerned inhabitants at the local level create the preconditions for successfully addressing global challenges.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who was also present, reflected, “It is important that those who are responsible for good urban development everywhere in the world come together and work together, exchange ideas, and learn from each other.”

G7 nations shared mission includes combating climate change and achieving equitable transformation through, for example, sustainable construction, changing mobility and energy supply, and affordable housing.

The final Communiqué of the ministerial meeting highlights the role of resilient, sustainable, climate-friendly, and public good-oriented cities. The Urban7 Mayors’ Declaration and many of our key messages were particularly recognized in the communiqué. 

The U7’s work in 2022 has been supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Service Agency Communities in One World.