Hello 2019.

IFHP’s New Year’s resolution is to take the IFHP Social Cities platform to the next level. 

• to be more for the IFHP community
• to act on the UN Global Goals
• to expand IFHP’s reach and range of activities
• to strengthen IFHP’s fiscal health
• to enhance IFHP’s social intelligence on cities, communities and home
• to map, measure, gauge parameters for social viability of homes, neighbourhoods and cities
• to take the IFHP Social Cities farther afield to more cities and communities
• to make new friends and grow the IFHP community
• to get busy and get to implementing IFHP Social Cities

IFHP Social Cities is our concrete response to the  UN Sustainable Development Goals call to action, where the specific IFHP focus is on Goal 11 and the advancement of sustainable cities and communities, in the cross-section with Goal 3 for health and well-being and Goal 17 for partnerships, just to name a couple of the SDGs more directly relevant to IFHP, and our direct engagement in the World Urban Campaign and our direct contribution to the New Urban Agenda.

Social awareness, engagement, commitment and activity starts “at home”.  First up on this year’s calendar in 2019 is IFHP Social Cities conference being held at IFHP HQ in Copenhagen on 24^th January 2019, where IFHP will be convening the selected Danish municipalities, currently the testbed for IFHP Social Cities together with key partners and stakeholders, including the LSE Cities who will and lead and facilitate the conference.

LSE Cities is a brilliant partner for IFHP on matters of urban research. LSE Cities has long been an inspiration to IFHP and an all-important voice at past IFHP events, e.g. for those of you might remember the opening keynote by Ricky Burdett at IFHP 2007 Copenhagen on “The Futures of Cities: Impacts, Indicators, Implementation.” LSE Cities most recent manifest  is the large yellow tome “Shaping Cities in an Urban Age”, published in September 2018. Shaping Cities is the third in an impressive trilogy by the Urban Age project, sharing authoritative research and insights on the complexities of urbanization, factors impinging on matters of social-equity. Shaping Cities offers data and reflections on patterns of density, built form, mobility, economy, quality of life, social equity plus more, and elaborates on themes of emergence, power, uncertainty, constraints and intervention.  All key factors for the social sustainability of cities and having bearing on IFHP Social Cities

The IFHP Social Cities conference on 24^th January 2019 is by invitation only. But please let us know if YOU have a burning desire and pertinent reason for wanting to participate.

Now in the new year, we IFHP President Jens Kramer-Mikkelsen and IFHP CEO Morten Nielsen would like to get to know YOU. As we are still both relatively new to IFHP, we are keen on getting out and about and engaging with IFHP’s extended network. Please let us know if YOU have upcoming events or activities, where you may want to give IFHP some stage time.

IFHP may not be large, and may not have a lot, but IFHP is an association with resolve to act.

Happy New Year & hope to interact with you soon!

From IFHP

IFHP Social Cities made possible through partnerships with LSE Cities, and empowered by Rambøll and Realdania