World Cities Day Campaign

PRIA is launching a weeklong campaign starting 31st October in three cities -- Ajmer, Jhansi and Muzaffarpur -- to commemorate World Cities Day. World Cities Day is celebrated every year with the theme Better City, Better Life to help promote successes of urbanization, or address specific challenges resulting from urbanization. This year, the United Nations has selected "Innovative Governance, Open Cities" as the theme to highlight the important role of urbanization as a source of global development and social inclusion.

PRIA's campaign will bring together urban middle class from different neighbourhoods to talk about development issues  of their city and how the lives of urban poor from informal settlements can be improved through effective city governance. Middle class citizens are being  encouraged to learn about their ‘neighbourhood slums’, by participating in slum walks, collaborative wall painting, and discussions in commercial and public places on how Ajmer, Jhansi and Muzaffarpur can become inclusive.

Urban middle classes will become sensitised to the issues of urban poor and their settlements, will learn about Settlement improvement Committees (SICs) and their networks across three cities, and find soultions how everyone can be involved in making their city inclusive and sustainable.