Core Cities UK hosts the first G7 U7 Urban Summit

City leaders and mayors from across the globe have gathered for the first G7 U7 conference, ahead of the G7 Summit in Cornwall.

Urban networks from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA as well as the G7 guest countries of Australia and Korea have joined international city networks, including Core Cities and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum, to sign a declaration calling on world leaders to set out a clear vision for the role cities can play in recovery and draw on the expertise of local leaders and mayors.

The letter also calls for national leaders to provide appropriate resources and freedoms for cities and support city-to-city dialogue, including with places that are still gripped by the coronavirus pandemic and have low vaccination rates.

The inaugural G7 U7 summit is the first of its kind and comes at a time when the future of cities is being debated by policy leaders across the world. It aims to establish local-level dialogue, supporting the aims of the G7 and build on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to improve health, economic and environmental resilience and wellbeing for all citizens.

Nick Forbes, chair of Core Cities UK and leader of Newcastle City Council, said: "Core Cities UK is enormously proud to host this first global gathering of city networks of its kind, and we hope it will become a regular part of the G7 Calendar, adding value to the debates between nation states. We come together with a shared belief in the power of urban places to transform economies and society and a mission to make sure national governments recognise the potential of our cities.”