SHANGHAI, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Anacláudia Rossbach, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) executive director, has called for closer cooperation among cities in the Global South, saying her organization's collaboration with Shanghai provides a platform for cities to exchange expertise and learn from one another.
Rossbach, also United Nations under-secretary-general, made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the 2026 SDG Cities Global Conference in Shanghai.
"Especially considering the challenges that we have in the Global South, it's very important that we promote this kind of horizontal knowledge transfer," she said.
UN-Habitat is the United Nations agency responsible for promoting sustainable urban development and improving living conditions in cities and human settlements worldwide. It works with governments, international bodies and others to address challenges such as inadequate housing, climate change and unequal access to basic services, while advancing safe, resilient and sustainable cities.
The collaboration between UN-Habitat and Shanghai involves several initiatives, including the Shanghai Manual, the Shanghai Adapted Index and the Global Award for Sustainable Development in Cities, known as the Shanghai Award.
Rossbach said the award has recognized advances in urban transformation around the world, while the manual and index help bring data and evidence into exchanges among cities.
Alongside the conference in Shanghai, these initiatives bring together cities to share experiences and approaches to urban development.
Rossbach said such exchanges were particularly important as international institutions alone could not meet the demand for technical assistance.
"There's no single entity, UN-Habitat or any other development bank that has the capacity to provide technical assistance for all the needs," she said.
She described the collaboration with Shanghai as "a very strong platform" for promoting peer-to-peer exchanges, expanding access to expertise and helping city leaders understand developments elsewhere.
Beyond these initiatives, Rossbach pointed to sponge-city technology as an example of urban expertise being shared across regions. She cited its application along Shanghai's riverbanks and said European countries, including Germany, were also using the technology. UN-Habitat has been helping bring sponge-city approaches to Africa and Latin America.
"It's a very interesting way to create at the same time public spaces but also protect cities from flooding," she said.
Rossbach also highlighted the importance of green spaces and waterways in helping cities cope with climate impacts such as heat waves.
She expressed confidence in the continued development of the partnership. "We have high expectations for the future of this collaboration with Shanghai," she said. ■
