Thematic Round Tables and Parallel Sessions
Thematic Round-Table 2 Strengthening solidarity among territories Urbanization (and structural transformation) implies regions that are no longer defined by political or administrative borders. Cities cannot address urban challenges alone: satisfactory development frameworks must involve new types of collaboration between local, metropolitan, regional and national authorities. The session concluded that: local elected representatives should play a decisive role in inter-territorial cooperation; the international development agencies should be encouraged to commit directly with local and regional governments; national associations of local governments should play a crucial role in the representation of the shared voice of cities, regional and national governments; national urban policies should be addressed in the geographical development framework that recognizes and reinforces the links between the urban and the rural. Participants also concluded that the request for increased decentralization should be accompanied by a more active role for regional and national governments, ensuring that roles are allocated to the most effective levels of government. 25