Displacement in Cities: better evidence for better solutions

In the New Urban Agenda (NUA), leaders have committed to fully respect the rights of refugees, internally displaced persons and people at risk of displacement in urban areas, including guaranteeing their local integration and opportunities to prosper in cities. For this, better evidence is needed to develop effective responses and ensure that assistance needs, protection and inclusion measures are embedded in urban development plans.

This networking event will bring together practitioners, local authorities and leading organisations working to produce evidence on vulnerable and displaced populations in urban areas. The event has been developed in partnership with the Global Alliance for Urban Crises. It will be structured around two group discussions and a panel debate.

First, three leading organisations – the Joint IDP Profiling Service (JIPS), IMPACT Initiatives and UN-Habitat - will share their experiences implementing innovative approaches to understanding displacement in cities and collecting evidence on vulnerable and displaced populations. These methodologies include urban systems and area-based analysis, and people-focused and partnership-building methodologies such as displacement profiling. The discussion will explore the complementarity of these approaches and how these can enhance evidence-based responses, partnership and capacity building.

The exchange on methodologies will be followed by a panel. The guest panellists will represent constituencies related to urban development including national and local government, NGOs, research and civil society sectors. They will share concrete examples from their own practice and urban contexts on how evidence can inform urban development and prosperity for all.

The audience will then have time to reflect on these examples in their own discussion of the challenges and opportunities of creating sound evidence in cities. This will result in suggestions for ensuring this evidence leads to sustainable and inclusive solutions in urban areas.