1 Introduction

1.1 Relevance of urbanization for sustainable land use

1.2 Challenges of an integrated rural-urban governance: from local to global level

1.3 Objectives and scope of this paper

1.3.1 Caveats

1.4 Acknowledgements

2 Relevant global urban policies for sustainable land use

2.1 ECOSOC: A call for sustainable urbanization

2.2 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio/Agenda 21

2.3 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)

2.4 SDGs and Sustainable Urbanization

2.5 UN Habitat

2.5.1 History, mandate and role in the UN system

2.5.2 Objectives and general activities

2.5.3 Organization and funding

2.5.4 Role of land issues in UN-Habitat’s work

2.6 The Habitat conferences

2.6.1 Habitat I – Vancouver 1976

2.6.2 Habitat II – Istanbul 1996

2.6.3 Habitat III – Quito 2016

2.7 Urban development within other multilateral organizations

2.7.1 UNEP initiatives on the urban environment

2.7.2 FAO: Food for the Cities Initiative; recognition of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) & forestry

2.7.3 UNESCO: Biosphere reserves and the Creative Cities Network

2.7.4 UNISDR: Strategy for Disaster Reduction and Resilient Cities campaign

2.7.5 World Bank: Urban and Local Government Strategy

2.7.6 GEF: Sustainable Cities Programme

3 Summary and conclusion

4 Literature