Since the last issue of the Newsletter issued earlier last year, life has changed for us all. This issue presents the activities that, since then, UN-Habitat and partners have conducted to highlight the role of territories and urban-rural linkages in responding to challenges generated by the pandemic. This edition includes insights from nine global webinars organized between May and December 2020. It also contains short articles on urban-rural linkages, such as an experimental framework for new

Riverbank Filtration is a water provision solution that uses riverbank soil as a natural filter. Having implemented more than 30 units in Egypt, UN-Habitat supported the drafting of the “Guideline on Riverbank Filtration in Egypt” to support effective and accurate institutionalization of the technology in the Egyptian codes and practices. The guideline supports planning, site selection, designing, construction, monitoring and maintenance of RBF units in Egypt.

This bimonthly newsletter by UN-Habitat highlights the programmes being implemented by the Humanitarian-Development Practices workstream of the Agency, in partnership with governments, implementation partners, refugee, migrants and host communities. The work stream addresses commitments within the Global Compact on Refugees, Global Compact for Migration, Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, to contribute a comprehensive response to "Leave No One Behind".

UN-Habitat’s new Brochure - Solutions Start with Cities - illustrates how UN-Habitat draws on over 40 years of experience to unlock the value of cities and work towards a sustainable urban future. It features compelling stories on UN-Habitat’s catalytic role with a wide range of partners and its multi-level impact from global guidelines to local projects.

Final report of the global Expert Group Meeting “Towards a new generation of Voluntary Local Reviews: Connecting VLRs and VNRs” held 23 and 24 February 2021, organized by UN-Habitat, UCLG and the support of Madrid City Council (Spain).

Final report of the Euskal Hiria Kongresua 2020 global Expert Group Meeting “Cities for All: Ageing and Inclusion” held 23 and 24 November 2020, organized by UN-Habitat with the support of the Regional Government of Basque Country (Spain).

On 28th and 29th September 2020, UN-Habitat and Turkana County Government hosted a two-day virtual workshop to receive feedback and facilitate discussions with County officials on the potential land-use proposals based on existing situational analysis as well as proposals provided by stakeholders from previous multi-sector meetings. This plan would also support the County Government for the conferment process of the proposed Kakuma-Kalobeyei Municipality.

In this edition, UN-Habitat Lebanon’s newsletter highlights the programme’s efforts to play an active role in the overall international community’s response to multiple crises facing Lebanon including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut Port explosion – in targeting and responding to the needs of those most affected, regardless of their nationality – while maintaining a longer vision of how good urbanization can play a key role in supporting Lebanon steer towards sustainable development.