What if our cities were designed to care for us, rather than just move us to and from work? On 8 July 2026, an official United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) side event titled “Rethinking Cities Through Care: People, Planet and the 2030 Agenda” tackled this exact question. Hosted virtually by global advocacy groups including Make Mothers Matter, the webinar challenged traditional urban planning paradigms. It presented a visionary roadmap: transforming our concrete jungles into “Caring Cities.”
Here is a breakdown of why this conversation matters, how it impacts the UN 2030 Agenda, and what a city built on care actually looks like.
The Invisible Engine of Our Cities: Unpaid Care Work
Every day, millions of hours are spent cooking, cleaning, and caring for children and the elderly. This is unpaid care work, and it is overwhelmingly performed by women and mothers.
While this work forms the invisible backbone of our society and economy, it is also a central driver of gender inequality. When a city’s infrastructure fails—whether it is a lack of reliable public transport, inaccessible healthcare, or scarce clean water—it is the caregivers who absorb the shock. They pay with their time, their economic independence, and their well-being.
The HLPF event directly addressed this crisis, grounding its solution in UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 5.4, which explicitly calls for the recognition, reduction, and redistribution of unpaid care work through public services and infrastructure.
From GDP to Well-Being: The “Caring Cities” Shift
For decades, cities have been engineered for economic efficiency—optimising gridlines for peak-hour commutes and prioritising commercial zoning. The “Caring Cities” framework demands a radical paradigm shift: moving away from pure economic growth and towards a “Well-being Economy.”
A Caring City recognises that urban planning is not neutral. A city built on care prioritises:
• The “15-Minute” Neighbourhood: Ensuring healthcare, childcare, green spaces, and grocery stores are within a short walk or transit ride, drastically reducing the time poverty faced by caregivers. • Inclusive Mobility: Designing public transport that accommodates pushchairs, wheelchairs, and off-peak “trip-chaining” (making multiple short stops for errands), rather than just traditional 9-to-5 commuter routes. • Cross-Sectoral Infrastructure: Integrating social services, public housing, and environmental protection so that vulnerable populations are not left behind.
Real-World Pioneers: “Caring Cities” in Action
The panellists addressed that this framework isn’t just academic theory; visionary cities around the world are already proving that urban care works.
1. Bogotá, Colombia: The “Care Blocks” (Manzanas del Cuidado)
Bogotá revolutionised urban planning by mapping out where caregivers live and anchoring municipal services directly around them. In these dedicated “Care Blocks,” a mother can drop her children off at free daycare, leave her laundry at a communal facility, and instead of rushing home, walk down the hall to take professional development classes, access healthcare, or enjoy a yoga session. The city brings the services to the caregiver, directly fighting time poverty.
2. Barcelona, Spain: “Superblocks” and Radical Proximity
Barcelona’s well-known Superblocks reclaim streets once dominated by cars and transform them into pedestrian-first public spaces. By limiting traffic, the city creates safer areas where children can play, and older residents can gather with less exposure to traffic and pollution. This approach brings the “15-minute city” concept to life by keeping essential care infrastructure within a safe walking distance.
Local Governments as the Frontline of Change
While global goals are set at the United Nations, real work happens locally. Municipalities are the direct providers of the essential infrastructure—water, energy, housing, and social facilities—that can either burden or support a caregiver.
By integrating care needs into municipal budgeting and planning, local governments have the power to create immediate, tangible changes. When we design cities that work for mothers, children, and the elderly, we inherently design cities that work better for everyone.
Moving Forward: The 2030 Agenda and Beyond
The “Rethinking Cities Through Care” event highlighted that achieving the 2030 Agenda requires us to look at our streets, buildings, and public policies through a lens of empathy and equity. True sustainability is impossible if we continue to build societies that deplete both our planet’s natural resources and our caregivers’ human resources.
As we look towards the future of urban living, the message from the HLPF is clear: A city is only as resilient as its capacity to care for its people.
To read more about the event organisers and access post-webinar resources, visit the official Make Mothers Matter website.
