What is World Cities Day?

World Cities Day is an annual United Nations observance day that falls on Oct 31.

It was first proposed in a declaration issued on the closing day of the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai in a bid to recall, renew and advance ideas and practices of the Shanghai Expo for future development.

The United Nations General Assembly decided to designate Oct 31 of every year as World Cities Day in Dec 2013.

The day aims to promote the international community's interest in global urbanization, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world.

The observance day ties in with Sustainable Development Goal 11, which is to make cities "inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable".

The general theme of World Cities Day is “Better City, Better Life”, while each year, a different sub-theme and location for its global observance is selected to either promote the successes of urbanization or address specific challenges resulting from urbanization.

Previous World Cities Days

Celebration events have been held worldwide outside the host cities.

This year, a series of events related to World Cities Day 2021 will be held in Shanghai on Oct 31. The sub-theme this year is Adapting Cities for Climate Resilience, as cities worldwide are increasingly suffering the effects of climate-related disasters, such as floods, droughts, sea level rise, heatwaves, landslides and storms.

At least 130 port cities with over one million inhabitants are expected to be affected by coastal flooding and one billion people in urban informal settlements are particularly at risk.

Creating more sustainable, climate-resilient societies involves addressing a range of issues, including poverty reduction, ensuring basic services livelihoods, the provision of accessible, affordable and adequate housing, investing in infrastructure, upgrading informal settlements and managing ecosystems. Successful, well-governed cities greatly reduce climate-related risks for their populations.

China has made remarkable progress in urbanization development since its reform and opening-up in 1978. According to China's plan for the next five years (2021-2025), the country will beef up efforts to boost coordinated regional development and a new type of urbanization.