(03 April 2020) – AEIDL endorses the opinion of Maimunah Mohd Sharif (UN-Habitat) and Emilia Saiz (UCLG): Our response to COVID-19 crisis will be critical to building the cities and communities of tomorrow.
Local and regional governments are on the frontline, dealing with the health emergency, mitigating social and economic real-time impact on the poorest. They must keep basic services going and guarantee food supplies. Regional governments will need to deal with population changes when urban jobs are disrupted and people seek subsistence elsewhere.
They also play a critical role in fostering the solidarity of communities and making it possible for civil society to come together and contribute to the resilience of our communities.
How we respond to the COVID-19 crisis, and what we learn from that response, will be critical to building the cities and communities of the future. It is only through working to build a broad citizenship, that local and regional governments will manage to turn this situation around.
Our response today will directly affect the future of our towns and cities tomorrow.