Cities, being home to more than half of the world’s population, consume 60% to 80% of the world’s energy resources and produce 70% of the world’s anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Hence, cities must play a major role in improving energy efficiency, using resources more carefully, transforming urban energy systems, enhancing energy security and national prosperity - while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Sub-Saharan Africa countries – Zimbabwe included – are facing a huge…

This paper is one of nine drafted by national entities in Ukraine as part of a UN-Habitat-commissioned collection entitled Thematic Paper Series Informing Urban Recovery Approaches in Ukraine. The paper examines how urban citizenship, civic participation and community engagement have evolved in Ukraine, and what they mean for inclusive and democratic urban recovery. It explores the influence of Soviet-era governance, post-independence political transformations, decentralisation reforms, the…

​​This paper is one of nine drafted by national entities in Ukraine as part of a UN-Habitat-commissioned collection entitled Thematic Paper Series Informing Urban Recovery Approaches in Ukraine. The paper examines how Ukraine’s decentralization reform has shaped local governance and recovery planning, tracing the evolution from highly centralized Soviet-era governance through post-independence devolution and the formal decentralization reforms initiated after 2014. It finds that the transfer of…

​​This paper is one of nine drafted by national entities in Ukraine as part of a UN-Habitat-commissioned collection entitled Thematic Paper Series Informing Urban Recovery Approaches in Ukraine. Municipal governance is central to Ukraine’s recovery because many of the country’s most important recovery decisions and service-delivery challenges are managed where people live: in territorial hromadas through local self-government bodies (LSGBs). Decentralization reforms since 2014 expanded local…

​​This publication contains the first global database on National Housing Policies; a critical tool for countries to articulate commitments, coordinate action, and set a clear vision for inclusive and sustainable housing systems. It analyzes which countries have National Housing Policies; what elements they contain, how they align with multilateral frameworks, and what themes they cover.​

Produced jointly by UN-Habitat and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Regional Programme Economy Africa, the publication explores the role of urban law in supporting climate-resilient and low-carbon development. Through comparative case studies, it identifies legal and institutional approaches that strengthen nationally determined contributions, urban planning, governance, transport, housing, building standards and financing, offering practical lessons for scaling climate action and advancing…

Two factsheets on the on the HLP Rights in Gaza Strip affected by 2023 War, and two advocacy briefs on displacement crisis in Gaza Strip and West Bank.

This publication demonstrates how urban law, placed at the centre of housing policy, can help ensure that no one and no place is left behind. It examines the role of human rights frameworks, international and regional legal standards, and national laws in ensuring adequate housing, linking legal domains to housing elements from affordability to climate resilience. Drawing on country examples, it explores legal innovations and inspiring practices that translate the right to adequate housing into…

This publication, prepared by UN-Habitat in collaboration with Fordham University Urban Law Center, US, supports Costa Rica in developing an adaptation construction code while offering insights for policymakers, legislators, urban planners, practitioners, researchers, and development partners working to strengthen legal and institutional frameworks for climate-resilient urban development. Drawing on comparative case studies from twelve countries across Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia,…