In response to questions raised during NUP Connect and in parallel with the work of elected representatives participating in the Focus Group – Narrative tasked with developing a clear institutional political overview of the NUP, the General Secretariat will publish a series of institutional articles starting in August 2025 highlighting key elements of the ongoing process.

Since 2022, the OWHC has been strengthening its political dimension and developing its operational capacities, with a view to adopting the New Urban Project in the fall of 2026 at the 18th World Congress in Marrakech.

Since the World Congress in Quebec City, OWHC cities around the world have agreed that:

• Their historic centers face largely the same social, economic, and societal challenges.
• The effects of climate change are multiplying these challenges and accelerating their impact on cities, making them more complex and difficult to address.
• The urban management methods and tools used to date are no longer sufficient to ensure the preservation and adaptation of historic centers.

That is why the member cities of the OWHC insist that it is necessary to act more quickly and more effectively and, therefore, that it is urgent to act differently. This desire, expressed by the mayors, gives the OWHC a clear mandate: to lead a collective reflection and organize the sharing of experiences and cooperation between cities. Each city that adjusts its strategies using the New Urban Project will be part of an international dynamic that will make its local action more effective and better.