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The statistics are impressive. 30,000 people participated in Habitat III in Quito, Ecuador this year, the bi-decennial conference otherwise known as the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development. Over 500 networking events, panels and other sessions took place, culminating in the plenary session in which delegates of UN member states adopted “without reservation” the outcome document, the “New Urban Agenda.”

For proponents of a more networked, more human-centered urbanism, there is much to applaud in the New Urban Agenda. There are frequent references to diversity, compactness, walkable mixed use, and access to networked resources by all. There are many aspirational references to inclusion of disadvantaged populations, with a clear implication that this networked inclusiveness is good for everyone’s bottom line.

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