Gauteng Declaration Inclusive Metropolitan Cities and City-Regions
The World Association of the Major Metropolises (Metropolis), represented by Governors, Premiers,
Mayors, and public officials from every corner of the globe,
meeting in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa, from 26 to 29 August 2018 for the historic Metropolis
Annual Meeting, taking place during the centenary year of the birth of Nelson Mandela,
jointly with our World Organisation of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and its African section,
United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), as well as with our sister organisation ICLEI (Local
Governments for Sustainability) and all the other partners and associations,
DECLARE THAT:
During this centenary,
We share the willingness to work towards metropolises for and by their citizens, where participatory and
effective metropolitan governance fosters economic development, sustainability, social cohesion and
justice, gender equality and good quality of life;
We are committed to fostering links and exchanges between political leaders, policy makers and
practitioners worldwide; to advocating for metropolitan interests and improving the performance of
metropolises in addressing local and global challenges;
We are dedicated to the transformation of our institutions and the strengthening of governance systems
in order to respond to the aspirations of a rapidly urbanising population; addressing urban sustainability
challenges related to housing, infrastructure, basic services, climate change, food security and migrations;
and ending violations of human rights;
We recognize that metropolitan areas are expanding due to the galvanising power of proximity,
agglomeration and innovation; that targeted transformation of cities and city-regions, which are the cradle
of our heritage, is critical to the vision of a brighter and more inclusive future; and that urbanisation is already bearing fruits by lowering overall poverty, raising household incomes, and creating new
opportunities;
We acknowledge the impact of metropolitan areas on their surrounding territories, hinterland,
peripheral cities and intermediary cities; and that metropolitan priorities and policies need to take into
account these effects on countries as a whole;
We celebrate that the Forum of African Metropolises is convened as an important mechanism to develop
knowledge and know-how among peers in a rapidly urbanising continent;
We understand that the objectives set forth by the international community to meet global challenges
cannot be fulfilled without the involvement and commitment of metropolises and all local governments.
WE CALL FOR:
More means to effectively localise the Sustainable Development Goals, the New Urban Agenda and
Paris Agreement on Climate Change; and to address the environmental, economic, social and governance
dimensions of exclusion in metropolitan areas;
