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.

Our City Plans, formerly known as Participatory Incremental Urban Planning (PIUP), is a toolbox that allows local governments and urban actors to implement projects, plans, and planning processes. It guides them through a step-by-step methodology that includes the assessment, planning, operationalisation and implementation phases, organized in blocks and supported by different activities and tools.

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.

In terms of prominence, UN-Habitat is much better positioned within the UN System with the Executive Director returning to the humanitarian cluster as a member of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). UN-Habitat is also contributing as co-Chair of the Local 2030 Task Force and is a member of the Task Force for the Future of Cities. We have been able to convene two highly visible World Urban Forums in Kuala Lumpur and Abu Dhabi respectively.

The Guide to deliver capacity-building using digital tools provides UN-Habitat staff with clear definitions and an overview of digital capacity-building trends and tools applicable to its work and mandate. It aims to support an increased integration of digital capacity-building approaches and tools in UN-Habitat and its partners. Its content is intended primarily for internal use in UN-Habitat.

This Toolkit provides concise, operational, and user-friendly information and tools to support partners to understand how migration can be reflected in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of urban development cooperation interventions. It helps harnessing the development potential of migration and ensures that any related challenges and opportunities are fully assessed.

The paper discusses blockchain’s unique features in relation to urban development and explores potential applications of blockchain in addressing challenges related to sustainable urbanization as well as the risks and challenges associated with its implementation. A key argument of the paper is that, like many technologies, blockchain itself is not a panacea for addressing sustainability challenges in urban areas and must be adopted whilst integrating human-centered approaches and robust busines

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.

Increasingly there is growing acknowledgment from the highest echelons of the United Nations to the most respected scholars and think tanks that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cannot be achieved without the active engagement of local governments.