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…

​This report documents how nine cities across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Arab States, Eastern Europe and Latin America have implemented the New Urban Agenda through integrated planning, multi-level governance, and capacity-building. It captures lessons, mind-shifts, and implementation pathways that accelerate SDG 11 and sustainable urban transformation

Public spaces to play are important to children's health and development and are a core right. Yet with increasing urbanization, access to public spaces to play is shrinking, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This guide, developed by UN-Habitat, WHO and UNICEF, highlights the importance of public spaces for optimizing children's health and well-being, and realizing their comprehensive rights. It provides support for practitioners in developing and improving public…

Natural disasters and extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and intensity globally. Local governments, including intermediary cities, are on the frontline of disaster risk management. Increasing their resilience is critical to protect lives and support economic development. This is particularly true in developing countries where local governments, especially in intermediary cities, lack financing and management capacities to prevent, react and rebuild in an inclusive and…

Projections indicate that by 2050, urban populations will grow by 2.3 billion, challenging the capacity of existing city systems., posing a vital question: Can 10 percent of a city's current resources
support its sustainable high-quality development? “AI + City” provides the answer, transforming fragmented silos into synergistic systems that significantly enhance efficiency. This report delivers the City Intelligence framework, four-phase roadmap, twelve cases and the “AI + City”…