Housing and Property Restitution for Refugees and Displaced Persons: Implementing the Pinheiro Principles in the Middle East and North Africa 2025 This handbook is designed to provide practical guidance to national and international actors, institutions, and organizations working to protect the housing, land, and property rights of refugees and displaced persons. It contributes to achieving sustainable solutions by applying the Pinheiro Principles to displacement situations across the Middle East and North Africa region.
Comparative Research on Urban Development and Management Laws: Australia, Brazil, Chile, Kenya, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, South Korea, and the United Kingdom 2025 As part of the Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building project in Vietnam, UN-Habitat conducted a benchmarking legal case study including a comparative analysis from 11 countries (Australia, Brazil, Chile, Kenya, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa, South Korea, and the United Kingdom) to inform Vietnam’s Urban Development and Management Law. The study highlights global inspiring practices across seven themes, including land-value capture, public participation, climate resilience, smart governance, informal settlement upgrading, dispute resolution, and compact urban regeneration.
Assessment report of the impacts of COVID-19 and climate change in vulnerable urban communities in Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Lucia 2025
Including Waste Pickers in Metropolitan Waste Management 2025 This document discusses the inclusion of waste pickers in metropolitan waste management systems, highlighting their roles, challenges, and recommendations for effective integration. Several ways to improve waste management in metropolitan areas are described in this publication, starting with the people who work in this sector. Waste pickers contribute to the circular economy by transforming waste into valuable resources and are key allies in the fight against climate change.
Berdaale Strategic Urban Plan for Durable Solutions to Displacement 2025 The displacement crisis in Somalia is a longstanding problem exacerbated by natural disasters, floods, droughts, and continued conflicts throughout many parts of the country. The persistent influx of displaced persons continues to impose challenges on urban areas while hindering social, economic, and environmental development. The issues extend beyond just humanitarian concerns. Cities and towns in Somalia must quickly absorb large numbers of newcomers, putting pressure on the existing resources and often leading to the creation of informal settlements that only perpetuate displacement and inequality by leaving IDPs in crowded and precarious conditions.


The Berdaale Strategic Urban Plan for Durable Solutions to Displacement was elaborated through a partnership between UN-Habitat and the Danwadaag Consortium, led by IOM. It aims to support cities and local authorities in enabling durable solutions for displaced-affected communities (DACs) and trigger long-term city development through inclusive, displacement-sensitive, and sustainable urban planning processes.


The report is a first step toward challenging the status quo in Somalia by shifting from humanitarian and emergency interventions to more permanent responses to displacement in terms of land tenure, housing provision, livelihood opportunities, infrastructure delivery, and basic services accessibility. Furthermore, it provides a clear roadmap and framework to facilitate decision-making regarding potential urban development actions and attract capital investments to implement specific interventions.
UN-Habitat Technical Assistance Report: Rapid Assessment of the Legal Framework for Urban Development in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 2025 UN-Habitat, in collaboration with the Urban Development Agency under the Ministry of Construction, conducted a rapid assessment of Vietnam’s legal framework for urban development as part of the Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building project. The legislative analysis focussed on planning, housing, land, and local governance which identified key gaps, overlaps, and areas for reform. The assessment offers actionable recommendations to support the drafting of a new Urban Development and Management Law for sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient urbanization.
Building urban resilience and climate adaptation in African small island developing states after the COVID-19 crisis. 2025
Annual Report 2024 2025 UN-Habitat’s 2024 Annual Report, Adequate Housing for All, highlights global efforts to address the housing crisis and advance sustainable urbanization. The report showcases progress in reducing inequality, promoting prosperity, acting for climate change and building resilience. Through case studies and impact data, it details efforts in addressing adequate housing worldwide.
Country Case Studies and Comparative Analysis of Planning Laws in Six (6) Countries: Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, South Korea and Spain (Catalonia Region). 2025 UN-Habitat has conducted an international benchmarking case study of planning laws in five countries and one sub-national region (Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, South Korea and Catalonia Region, Spain) to assess the impact of planning laws in these contexts on sustainable urban development. This has provided a spectrum of regulatory models and schemes for the spatial planning legal reform agenda in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. These case studies reveal that planning legal frameworks should clearly define planning objectives and principles which is part of sound policymaking to articulate the scope of the planning instrument as well as an opportunity to reflect the local needs and challenges. Additionally, for smooth implementation, planning laws should contain robust fiscal mechanisms to support equitable urban growth and development. Effective spatial planning laws promote coordination between institutions at the national level with those at the regional and local levels for the planning, implementation, approval and oversight of development projects, plans and documents.
Stronger women stronger cities: UN-Habitat’s action for change 2020 – 2025 2025 This publication presents a summary of UN-Habitat’s gender equality impact over the past five years, in line with the Beijing reporting cycle. Using examples of UNHabitat’s work across the different regions, from Nepal to Brazil, this document aims to make a clear case of the interconnected and mutually re-enforcing relationship between gender equality, women’s empowerment, and sustainable urban development.