The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) have announced that four new cities will join the Sport for Sustainable Urban Development Initiative, which aims to promote sports and physical activity in urban environments. The four new cities are from Brazil, Jordan, Egypt and Ghana. The announcement was made by UN-Habitat Executive Director, Anacláudia Rossbach, and IOC President, Thomas Bach, during a meeting alongside the Summit of the Future in New York on Sept. 22, 2024.
The Sport for Sustainable Urban Development Initiative, developed under a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in July 2024, aims to use sport, physical activity and active recreation to make urban environments more sustainable and inclusive. The initiative is part of UN-Habitat’s broader commitment to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in urban areas. Around 25,000 people are expected to be able to access new opportunities for safe and social development-orientated sport through this initiative.
The IOC and UN-Habitat are also collaborating on the development of a technical resource package offering guidance to cities on integrating sport, physical activity and active recreation into sustainable urban development processes. This new technical tool will be presented at the World Urban Forum that will be held in Cairo from Nov. 4-8, 2024.
The two organizations said the percentage of the world’s population living in cities and urban areas is forecast to grow from 55 percent to 70 percent by 2050, making it urgent to enable sustainable development in urban areas.
