The transport sector in Lebanon is considered one of the most unsustainable in the Middle East region, due to weak governance structures and regulatory frameworks, the absence of a modern and reliable public transport system, and a car-friendly culture dominated by large old-model polluting cars. Lebanon lacks an integrated and inclusive transport system, with mostly informal public transport services and very limited infrastructure for alternative transport means.

UN-Habitat Lebanon has produced two guides that detail how to mainstream housing and transport–mobility into a future National Urban Policy (NUP) in the country. The making of inclusive and sustainable communities is deeply rooted in the interconnectedness of the housing and transport sectors, along with other sectors.

Access to affordable, adequate and secure housing presents a major challenge in Lebanon, especially in big urban centres. The housing sector is characterized by a persistent housing–income disconnect and supply–demand mismatch. Besides long-standing issues, the sector’s challenges have also exacerbated due to the multiple crises facing the country – protracted Syrian refugee crisis, 2020 Beirut Port explosion, and socioeconomic crisis.

Recognizing the criticality of the transport and mobility sector and its interdependencies with urban planning and policies in Jordan, this guide addresses how to incorporate urban mobility and transportation in urban policies, specifically in the Jordan National Urban Policy, to promote sustainable development, through several recommendations and a road map to initiate the policy process.

This guide addresses how Local Economic Development (LED) can be mainstreamed into urban policies, specifically the Jordan National Urban Policy. It supports the efforts to formulate, implement, and refine the approach to sustainable LED in Jordan by presenting recommendations on how and what LED dimensions could be incorporated into policies under various circumstances.

This guide addresses how housing can be incorporated into policies, specifically the Jordan National Urban Policy, to promote sustainable development. It highlights key issues worth considering and is intended to be utilised as a means of providing direction and guidance to readers through recommendations/checklists to mainstream the several coexisting and consistent housing challenges in Jordan.

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