ANALYSIS Civil Society`s Participation Towards Habitat III P amela O lmedo A ugust 2016 In October 2016, the city of Quito will host Habitat III, the most important worldwide Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development that takes place every 20 years. Habitat III calls for tens of thousands of people, including Member States of the United Nations, public and private institutions around the world, and citizens who seek to be part of the construction of the New Urban Agenda(NUA) containing the global agreements and commitments to shape future cities. The city’s nomination as host was made in the context of national progress made in land use and urban development. Ecuador has been one of the first countries to speak of an urban revolution and a pioneer in incorporating the right to the city in its Constitution. Civil society has become a major player in the construction of urban public policies. It is a component that improves the management of governance when it serves to absorb growing demand from different sectors of society. Citizen participation must accompany the preparatory process of the Habitat III Conference, mainly based on the thematic discussion of the NUA. In addition to the Habitat III Secretariat, there are groups from civil society and organizations that have a high interest in the Conference and the results of the NUA. These groups have initiated activities to put their voice in the fray. Some of them are not necessarily aligned with the Habitat III Agenda. Civil society stakeholders are called to be active entities in the construction of their cities. They must therefore seek to have an impact on urban public policies and a strategy to reach effective results; they must think not only in speeches but also in concrete actions that allow them to set an agenda and establish milestones that are gradually conquered. In order to do this, some of the challenges that civil society face include achieving a thorough understanding of the interlocutor, finding points of common agreement, making demands but also generating contributions, and seeking outreach through all means, using what can be understood as“the new street”.