Mathare slums, located in the outskirts of the Nairobi city, is home to more than 200,000 people in which children and youth aged 25 years and below constitute 41% of the total population. Established during the Year of Creative Economy, Regent Park and the Mathare informal settlements became the first partners of this programme.

One programme continues this commitment of leaving no one behind is the Sister Neighbourhoods programme which has brought together Regent Park with the Mathare Informal Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. A core partner of the WUP is Regent Park, both as the host neighbourhood of the WUP, but as well as a key partner through the Regent Park & Social Development Plan Stakeholders Table seeks to assure that the voices of marginalized urban residents in Regent Park and globally are heard and meaningfully engaged. Key to the success of the WUP and the SDG Cities programme is to leave no one and no place behind. The Global Hub provides technical backstopping support to participating cities at each stage of the SDG City cycle, strategic partnerships with cities and investors, and recognizes the achievement of cities through SDG Cities Certification. SDG Cities aims to reach 1000 cities and 1 billion lives by 2030 by providing cities with an online bank of tools for data collection and analysis, institutional capacity development, project preparation, and financial matchmaking. UN-Habitat in partnership with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the Urban Economy Forum has established the SDG Cities Global Hub in the World Urban Pavilion to facilitate the role of SDG Cities in Canada and globally.

UN-Habitat's SDG Cities initiative facilitates global collaboration to enable cities to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and improve quality of life. Its mission is to promote transformative change in cities and human settlements through knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance, and collaborative action. UN-Habitat's vision is to create a better quality of life for all in an urbanizing world by building inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities and communities.

Global cities mission initiative