The United Nations formally adopted a global road map to grapple with rapid urbanization on Thursday, capping nearly two years of behind-the-scenes international negotiations aimed at designing development priorities for cities and towns over the long term.

The New Urban Agenda, or NUA, sets out a host of general goals such as development of sustainable and compact cities that do not harm the environment and redevelopment of informal settlements with the participation of residents.

The 23-page document was agreed upon at the U.N. Habitat III conference, held every 20 years to discuss the future of the world's cities, by the 193 member nations of the U.N.