The Port of Beirut explosions (4 August 2020) resulted in extensive damage on multiple levels – the loss of life, injury and the destruction of vast tracts of urban fabric within the municipal boundaries of Beirut. Led by the Municipality and Governor of Beirut, UN-Habitat supported a rapid damage assessment at the building level (exterior visual survey).

Across Somalia, a vicious combination of conflict and natural disaster such as draught and flooding have caused 2.6 million persons to leave their home in recent years. Nearly half, 1 million, are displaced in central and southern Somalia, namely in Jubaland, South-West and Hirshabelle.

With the vast majority of Internally Displaced Persons residing and intending to remain in urban areas, the efforts to provide Durable Solutions must be ramped up.

China has good and efficient systems in place to fight against epidemics. China has set in place strict containment measurements which have been proved to reduce the spread of the disease, managed to reduce the public health crisis and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The presented Guidance Papers summarize specific measures for infection prevention and control of the disease from the Wuhan experience.

Beledweyne, the largest city of Hishabelle Sate of Somalia, has constantly suffered from devastating floods. Over the past decade, floods have increased in magnitude and recurrence, reaching alarming levels by 2019, where 68% of the city was flooded.

Students from the Institute for Cooperation in Basic Habitability (ICHaB-ETSAM) and colleagues from UN-Habitat Somalia Programme have jointly developed this working paper. It aims to establish the spatial basis for flood risk…

Nairobi’s Public Open Space ecosystem is a complex tapestry of natural and environmental contrasts. It includes diverse typologies such as urban forests, cemeteries, parks and gardens, squares and courtyards among others. Overall, there are 826 public open spaces in the city county, covering a combined area of 3106.4Ha. This is equiva¬lent to 5.32 percent of the built-up area and translates to 6.56 square metres per capita public open space.

The report assesses the statutory and customary land administration systems in the five Darfur states and provides guidance on how to secure land and property rights of the people voluntarily returning to Darfur and of other vulnerable groups - such as IDPs, refugees, women and youth. The report also looks at the functioning of land administration and how it can be improved in a fit-for-purpose, incremental and feasible manner for the benefit of the whole Darfur’s population. An adequate and…

As part of the stakeholder engagement activities for the Kalobeyei Infrastructure Corridor Development Plan, in Turkana County, Kenya, UN-Habitat and partners organized a workshop on “Mobilizing Investments”, which plays a critical role for the plan to be realised. The findings of the workshop are captured herein.

The UN-Habitat Housing Practices Series is an ongoing publication developed and produced by UN-Habitat in partnership with academic institutions and National Governments. It provides reliable and independent documentation of innovative and large-scale affordable housing programmes in countries around the world.

The “Future Cities Advisory Outlook 2020: Urban Technologies in China” is the first report of the UN-Habitat China Future Cities Council (CFCC), an initiative convened by UN-Habitat China and supported by Chinese private sector companies with an interest on charting out how digital solutions and technologies can create better cities and places leaving no one behind.
The CFCC report reviews China’s emergent smart urbanization policy frameworks as well as the endeavours of private sector…