The Urban October Report 2025 highlights global discussions and actions on sustainable urbanization held throughout October. The month opened with World Habitat Day in Nairobi under the theme “Urban Crisis Response,” focusing on how cities can address displacement, climate shocks and growing housing needs through inclusive planning, adequate housing and access to basic services. It closed with World Cities Day in Bogotá under the theme “People-centred Smart Cities,” exploring how digital…

Rapid demographic growth and urban expansion are transforming intermediary cities in Kenya and Mozambique. However, limited governance and planning capacity – along with scarce financial resources – are driving these cities towards car-dependent systems, which lock in carbon emissions, reduce accessibility and undermine quality of life. Without timely intervention, current choices risk embedding high emissions and social inequalities for decades to come.

Building on the OECD…

This Toolkit provides planners and city leaders with practical guidance on applying Geospatial Artificial Intelligence (GeoAI) to urban planning and decision-making. It explains key concepts, applications, risks and benefits, and provides step-by-step guidance, case studies and tools to support responsible, data-driven and inclusive planning for sustainable and resilient urban development.

The report provides groundbreaking insights into the current state of smart city developments globally. By analyzing trends, challenges and opportunities, it offers a robust evidence base to foster inclusive, sustainable and people-centred smart cities. With recommendations for policymakers and other actors, it serves as a global reference for advancing digital transformation and innovation in urban areas while addressing regional disparities and digital divides.

World Cities Report 2024: Cities and Climate Action

This edition of the World Cities Report provides a wide and far-reaching analysis of the current and expected climate impacts on different regions and cities, as well as the differing vulnerabilities urban populations face due to factors such as poverty, inequality, ethnicity, gender, disability and other characteristics. Notwithstanding the acute financial and institutional shortfalls many face, the Report shows that cities are…

The Amman Climate Action Plan, in its second iteration, focuses on mainstreaming the climate actions by integrating with its strategy documents, proposing policies and incorporating actions as part of master planning to ensure effective implementation. Apart from GCAP, GAM has collaborated with C40 on several engagements such as C40 Cities-Mayors Migration Council, the Global Mayors Task Force on Climate and Migration and Students Reinventing Cities. Amman has also committed to C40’s Clean Air…

The third edition of the Compendium of Inspiring Practices on Urban-Rural Linkages showcases 17 case studies from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. These cases highlight the application of the Urban-Rural Linkages Guiding Principles and Framework for Action (URL-GP) and emphasize the importance of an integrated territorial approach.

The cases cover a range of dimensions, including design, spatial planning, project implementation, strategy,…

The “Rural Revitalization Under the Net-Zero Carbon Goal, Dinghai, Zhoushan, China” is a practice report under the cooperation of UN-Habitat, Zhoushan Municipal Government and Tongji University. The Dinghai District has pioneered net-zero carbon rural revitalization efforts. This report thoroughly evaluates their planning and development initiatives through a comprehensive investigation and presents exemplary cases to provide a low-carbon solution for rural areas in island regions.

This report is based on a study designed to establish prevailing socio-economic conditions, the nature of businesses and the local economic development in the Dadaab area, and the trends of urbanization in Garissa County, Kenya. This report is focused on Households’ Socio-Economic Conditions, utilities and basic services assessments and Businesses and Local Economic Development (LED) in Dadaab, the report concludes with key recommendations