Context
Global urbanisation is progressing rapidly. According to United Nations estimates, the urban population will more than double by 2050. Almost 7 out of 10 people will live in cities.
To accommodate and provide for all urban residents, 60 per cent of the infrastructure still needs to be built. This results in high energy and resource consumption as well as greenhouse gas emissions.
However, cities also hold the potential to overcome these challenges. Even small changes in cities can have a big impact and reach many people at the same time. For example, cities could reduce greenhouse gases from buildings, transportation, infrastructure, and waste worldwide by around 90 per cent by 2050 using technologies and measures that are already available today.
Objective
German development cooperation promotes socially equitable, climate-neutral and resilient urban development - especially in rapidly growing small and medium-sized cities.
Approach
The project operates in three areas:
1. It advises the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on how to mainstream sustainable urbanisation and integrated urban development in German development cooperation.
2. It supports the BMZ in strategically positioning prioritised urban development topics and in raising the international profile of contributions made by German development cooperation. It also processes knowledge and develops and disseminates innovative and scalable approaches via the CityTransitions website and the URBANET blog.
3. It organises up to three competitions during the programme’s term to award prizes for successful and innovative measures and approaches that implement objectives of sustainable urban development.
The programme performs important committee work in established partnerships, including UN-Habitat, the Cities Alliance (CA), the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA) and the Gap Fund.
Last update: August 2025