Descripció
For more than a decade, the reports of the Global Observatory on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD) have been identifying the trends of our ever-changing world, and helping us to make sense of the transformations that affect our planet and the human beings through the perspective of local and regional governments, the ones which are closest to citizens. Looking back into the five editions of the GOLD reports and seeing that the chapter on metropolitan areas is a common feature to all of them, I see it as one of the most unique features of GOLD, not only because it reflects the diversity and complementarity of the constituency of World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), but also because it shows how our metropolitan world has evolved so far. The GOLD V Report highlights the involvement of local and regional governments in mechanisms of coordination, monitoring and reporting to create a sense of collective responsibility for the achievement of more equitable, fair and sustainable societies. Providing an up-to-date global mapping of the processes of localization of the global agendas, GOLD V indicates how decentralization and multilevel governance, especially in metropolitan areas, can contribute to these processes. Foreword I usually say that metropolitan spaces are the disruptive element in local and regional governance, requiring political will, leadership and generosity. As global and metropolitan challenges converge, sustainable development global agendas applied to large conurbations have a decisive impact on policy making. Consequently, metropolitan areas are the setting where some of the planet’s most pressing problems can be solved. This is the first time that the chapters of GOLD are released as stand-alone publications, and I am particularly grateful for this initiative. Crossing the inputs from different regions, the present publication reflects the collaboration between all the sections of UCLG, and is the result of the strengthened joint work of the teams of the UCLG World Secretariat and of the Metropolis Secretariat General. This year, which marks the fifth anniversary of the Montréal Declaration on Metropolitan Areas, recalls us of the importance to analyze and monitor metropolitan phenomena across the globe. The present publication serves as the first compass for this taskforce, offering Metropolis and our more than 130 members invaluable hints to make the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda a reality.
