Over recent years, UN-Habitat has developed various guides and tools in the context of climate change and urban/human settlements development; however a stocktaking and managing mechanism was lacking. To efficiently and effectively utilize the guides and tools and to maximize the use of limited resources, the importance of a master tool has been pointed out.

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 outlines some significant impacts in many areas that are already apparent. The global extreme poverty rate rose for the first time in over 20 years, and 119 to 124 million people were pushed back into extreme poverty in 2020. There is a risk of a generational catastrophe regarding schooling, where an additional 101 million children have fallen below the minimum reading proficiency level, potentially wiping out two decades of education gains.

Under the guidance of UN-Habitat Lebanon, and as part of the emergency response to the massive explosion at the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, IBI Group was commissioned to provide technical oversight and testing for a small-scale trial on the reuse of construction and demolition waste (CDW) for environmentally sustainable urban-restoration developments.

As recognized by the Paris Agreement, cities play an important role to mitigate and adapt to climate change as cities can mobilize strong and ambitious climate action. To ensure effective climate action, multi-level governance is essential as it calls for all state and non-state actors to act on climate change. Thus, multi-level governance holds immense power to assist urban areas in the Global South to enhance their resilience and grow in climate-friendly ways.

The Kalobeyei Photobook 2 builds upon the foundations of the first Kalobeyei Photobook published in 2016. It traces the progress of urbanization since the inception of the Kalobeyei Settlement in Turkana, Kenya, and captures discussions on thematic areas through the perspective of Turkana and Refugee youth. Like the first time, the youth utilized their skills in Photography and ICT, and contributed to the discussions which practitioners can heed moving forward.

For the blue economy to flourish in coastal cities, service provision challenges must be addressed alongside or as part of specific blue economy investments, as part of holistic programming, integrated with wider resilient urban planning and climate adaptation. It is intended that this report and the accompanying documents within this project portfolio provide a solid foundation for future urban blue economy planning across the region.

WIOMSA and UN Habitat commissioned Arup to prepare a ‘Roadmap for the Development of the Blue Economy in Coastal Cities’, which provides recommendations for cities in current and future blue economy planning, activities and investment. The Roadmap provides strategic and operational blue economy recommendations across case study cities, which stakeholders are encouraged to also read and consider with respect to their city or region.

GEO for Cities aims to inform, engage and support dialogue among city decision makers and other actors involved in urban issues. The GEO-6 report, published in 2019, identified urbanization as one of five main drivers of environmental change and also looked at the impact on cities and city residents of related challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

The publication features 12 case studies from 15 cities in six sectors of environmental sustainability and climate action, providing useful insights on practical and effective solutions to inspire, replicate, and upscale South-South and triangular cooperation at the sub-national level in different context.