Bogotá will host the global celebration of World Cities Day on 31 October 2025, a United Nations observance that spotlights the role of cities in driving sustainable development. This year’s theme, “People-centred Smart Cities”, will highlight how innovation and technology can improve lives, strengthen inclusion, and support sustainable urban growth.
The announcement was made at a press conference in Bogotá, with representatives from the city and UN-Habitat. World Cities Day, observed annually, celebrates how cities are addressing global challenges while raising awareness of the opportunities and pressures urbanization brings. Nearly 70 per cent of the world’s population is projected to live in urban areas by 2050, increasing demands on housing, services, infrastructure, and climate resilience while testing social equity and inclusion.
“We are proud to celebrate World Cities Day 2025 in Bogotá, a city that exemplifies how innovation can serve people and communities. This is a moment to come together, recognize urban progress, and reaffirm our shared commitment to inclusive, sustainable, and people-centred cities,” said Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat.
The 2025 global observance will explore how smart city solutions - from digital tools to data-driven approaches - can enhance citizen participation, improve services, and expand access to adequate housing, especially for marginalized communities. “The global celebration in Bogotá will be a unique opportunity to foster international dialogue on people-centred smart cities, where technology and data serve to enhance quality of life, strengthen citizen participation, and bring communities closer to adequate housing,” added Elkin Velásquez, UN-Habitat’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Bogotá was selected for its commitment to integrating inclusion, resilience, and sustainability into urban development. The city has implemented policies promoting social inclusion, housing access, sustainable mobility, and climate action, using citizen participation and open data to improve public services and quality of life.
“For Bogotá, hosting World Cities Day is both an honour and a great responsibility. We’ll welcome the world with a city that puts people at the centre and shows it’s possible to build resilience, sustainability, and inclusion through trust and citizen participation,” said Carlos Fernando Galán, Mayor of Bogotá.
The 2025 event will mark only the second time the global celebration is held in Latin America, following Quito’s commemoration during Habitat III in 2016. Past host cities include Shanghai, Ekaterinburg, Liverpool, Luxor, and Alexandria.
World Cities Day 2025 will bring together national and local government leaders, United Nations agencies, development partners, civil society, academia, and the private sector to share lessons, best practices, and innovative approaches to strengthening cities as engines of sustainable development.
The celebration concludes Urban October , a month-long UN-Habitat campaign mobilizing people and organizations worldwide to promote dialogue and action for sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities.
Source: https://unhabitat.org/news/22-jul-2025/bogota-to-host-global-world-cities-day-2025-celebration
Edited by Peng Siwei
Copyright @ 2014 Urban Planning Society of China
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