A basic tenet of successful KM, knowledge services, and knowledge strategy is knowledge development and knowledge sharing, often referred to with the now-common acronym “KD/KS.”

The stated role of knowledge services professionals and knowledge strategists is to ensure the strength of knowledge development and knowledge sharing in their organizations. Now, thanks to the innovative Information Services Staff at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (popularly known as UN-HABITAT), another new tool has been developed. URBAN GATEWAY – as the new solution is called – can be  expected to go a long way in bringing together the programme’s many diverse communities as they develop and then seek to share the knowledge they require for their work.

URBAN GATEWAY, at http://www.urbangateway.org/, is an online community designed to help the many scholars, development and humanitarian workers, city managers and other urban practitioners across the world unite to share actionable knowledge for sustainable cities in a rapidly urbanizing world. Launched by UN-HABITAT Executive Director Dr. Joan Clos during the twenty-third biennial meeting of governments in the Governing Council which oversees the agency, the website sets a high standard and at the same time – as a user-friendly solution – provides people working in urban sustainability with a valuable knowledge-sharing tool.

As noted in the announcement describing the URBAN GATEWAY launch, the website is the first internet-based platform of its kind for enabling everyone involved in cities, urban planning, and urban management, policy makers, academics, and neighborhoods to keep abreast of developments in their field.

At the same time, as I discovered as I joined this online community and began to explore the various possibilities at URBAN GATEWAY, there is a model here that – it seems to me – can be adapted for a variety of organizations, regardless of subject specialization, and I can see many opportunities for this online community to be replicated in many different types of organizations.

As for myself (full disclosure: I worked with UN-HABITAT in the development of the programme’s knowledge strategy), I’m pretty pleased with the ease of use, and I would be surprised if this tool doesn’t catch on fast at UN-HABITAT. For any employee, whether at the headquarters office in Nairobi, Kenya or in any of the field offices that UN-HABITAT supports around the world, all that’s needed is an internet connection. In addition to employees and contractors, though, any number of other people affiliated with sustainability matters – especially as they relate to sustainable urbanization – will find URBAN HABITAT a valuable and easy-to-use solution.

- Guy St. Clair