Empowering the Role of Urban-Rural Linkage Towards Integrated Actions on Localization of SDGs and Climate Goals at City Region

The world has been suffering from a pandemic since 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic brings us into a global economic crisis. It also impacts every aspect of society, including urban health, education, and international trade. Urban 20 (U20), as an official engagement group of the G20, intends to enrich the G20 agenda by exploring the role of the cities in the global recovery actions. In supporting the prime theme of G20: "recover together, recover stronger," U20 will have an official communique.

U20 Communique draft concerns six priority urban issues: economy and social recovery for all, productive and affordable housing, renewable energy transition, equal access to sustainable mobility, mental health and pandemic resilience, and future of works.

In addressing one of the U20 issues note: Social and Economic Recovery for all, it is critical to empower the rural system along with the cities' role as a strategy to recover from the crisis. Cities are the drivers and sufferers of the global climate and pandemic crisis, but it also holds the solution. Rural areas also have an inseparable connection to urban areas. Therefore, making a new mutual relationship between urban and rural is crucial to reducing the urban migrant and harnessing the digital transformation.

In recent years, urban-rural collaboration has received attention in important policy documents in many countries and regions. For example, the government of Japan has incorporated the Circulating and Ecological Sphere approach in its 5th Basic Environmental Plan which is designed to maximize the unique strengths of urban-rural linkages in all regions through sustainable, equitable, and efficient use of natural capital in rural environments (mountainous, wetlands, agricultural and fishing villages) combined with productive capital in cities in an integrated manner, leading to synergistic relationships with each other toward a sustainable and resilient regional sphere.

The key point of this seminar is to explore how the inter-linkages are set up in this digital era and post-pandemic.

Objective

1. Discuss the important role of urban-rural linkage for the six prioritized urban issues, especially for managing risks of climate crises
2. Unpacking the available integrated approach that enhances urban-rural partnerships
3. Prepare inputs for the U20 communique