Tuesday, July 15 / 10:30 - 12:00 • Plaza Ballroom - Merivale Side

Session 66
Research Leader Session: Application of the Degree of Urbanisation for Demographic Research and Policy

To tackle the limited comparability of urbanization data across countries and localities, underpinned by different national definitions of urban and rural areas, the UN Statistical Commission endorsed the degree of urbanisation (DEGURBA) as a sound approach for defining urban and rural areas in international statistical comparisons. The roll-out of the methodology is supported by UNFPA in partnership with several other international agencies and research centers. These multi-agency efforts seek to complement national efforts for defining cities, urban and rural areas for global monitoring purposes, rather than aiming to replace existing national definitions that are used for other local purposes. This session will showcase the value of applying the DEGURBA harmonized approach to settlement definition to a better understanding of population dynamics, demonstrating how member states are better able to analyze spatial transformation and urbanization patterns. The objectives include sharing the DEGURBA program progress, promoting the use of the DEGURBA approach for population and urbanization research, and discussing key policy implications. UNFPA will provide a general overview of the approach and its applications. The UN Population Division will illustrate how the DEGURBA methodology is being used for the first time to prepare the UN population estimates and projections for rural and urban areas (World Urbanization Prospects). Researchers will present use cases leveraging the DEGURBA approach to unpack the intersections between urbanization and other megatrends, including climate change. Countries that have advanced in producing disaggregated data across the rural/urban continuum in parallel to national classifications will share experiences on the process, and reflections on its added value for decision-making.

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