World Habitat Day 2011
The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day.
This year, World Habitat Day will be celebrated on 3rd October 2011 and the Global Celebration will be hosted by the Government of Mexico.
The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right of all, to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.
The United Nations chose the theme 'Cities and Climate Change' and this was chosen because climate change is fast becoming the pre-eminent development challenge of the 21st century.
Indeed, no-one today can really foresee the predicament in which a town or city will find itself in 10, 20 or 30 years time.
In this new urban era with most of humanity now living in towns and cities, we must bear in mind that the greatest impacts of disasters resulting from climate change begin and end in cities.
Cities too have a great influence on climate change.
Article 25, an operational UK registered charity that designs, builds, and manages projects to provide better shelter wherever there is disaster, poverty, or need, plans to create an event to commemorate World Habitat Day on 3rd October.
The main activity will be a photography competition run on their Facebook page, where they ask their followers to send a picture that best shows the relationship between Cities and Climate Change in their own city.
Other activities are debates and discussions on Facebook, Twitter and RIBA Knowledge Community pages in the following months to explore and create food for thought around this symbiotic relationship between cities and climate change.