Under the guidance of UN-Habitat Lebanon, and as part of the emergency response to the massive explosion at the Port of Beirut on August 4, 2020, IBI Group was commissioned to provide technical oversight and testing services for the Rubble to Mountains initiative, a project aimed at reusing construction and demolition waste (CDW) in environmentally sustainable urban-restoration developments.

The State of the Lebanese Cities Report presents primary and secondary data and analysis across themes relevant to sustainable development in Lebanon as an overwhelmingly urban country. Following decades of rapid and unplanned urban expansion resulting in dire inequalities in access to services and infrastructure within and between cities which have been exacerbated by the compound crisis emerging since 2019.

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.

The Beirut City Profile offers an important multisectoral and spatial analysis of the City of Beirut, including a diagnosis of the wide spectrum of challenges that the city has encountered over the past decades, including the most recent and devastating shock, the Beirut Port explosion. The profile aims to help offer a common understanding of how multiple shocks and vulnerabilities manifest across the city.

The Beirut City Profile offers an important multisectoral and spatial analysis about the City of Beirut, including a diagnosis of the wide spectrum of challenges that the city has encountered over the past decades, including the most recent and devastating shock, the Beirut Port explosion. The profile aims to help offer a common understanding of how multiple shocks and vulnerabilities manifest across the city.

The overarching goal of the Lebanon 2021–2023 Habitat Country Programme Document (HCPD) is to contribute to improving the living conditions of children, youth, women and men in Lebanon – regardless of their nationality – by creating liveable urban areas that are effectively planned and managed, environmentally sound, financially viable and competitive, and socially cohesive through good and inclusive governance and equitable distribution of resources.

To promote evidence-based programming and coordination among state and non-state actors, UN-Habitat and UNICEF have jointly completed 28 profiles of disadvantaged neighbourhoods across Lebanon. This collaboration responds to the long-standing need for reliable, multi-sectoral spatial data required to inform sustainable development and humanitarian response by all actors.