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…

The Shanghai Manual 2024 Annual Report showcases globally implemented urban best practices that present urban actors with innovative solutions to help cities navigate the complex challenges that they face today. Following the theme of ‘youth leading climate and local action for cities’, the report explores the potential of young people as urban change makers with a particular regard to climate action and urban environmental sustainability.

The Multilayered Vulnerability Assessment (MVA) tool, developed under UN-Habitat's RISE-UP flaghip programme, helps communities and cities assess vulnerabilities by mapping and assessing the intersection of climate risks, urbanization trends, biodiversity loss, and land degradation. It identifies and appraises vulnerability hotspots from spatial overlaps and areas of concentrated vulnerability which helps to better inform planning, resource mobilization and investment for systemic urban…

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…

A robust national urban policy (NUP) facilitates achieving sustainable urban development as a shared responsibility across levels of government and amongst all actors by setting a shared vision, providing adequate coordination mechanisms, and guiding investments to address national and subnational development priorities.

From the analysis of 78 countries across the globe, this edition shows that NUP is increasingly becoming a critical instrument to manage urban challenges and to…

The SDG, Agenda 2063: Africa we want and the New Urban Agenda underscores the need for international cooperation, knowledge sharing, and technology transfer to address the global solid waste challenge. They call for increased investment in waste management infrastructure and capacity building, particularly in developing countries. As representative cities at distinct stages of development, Shanghai, China and Lagos, Nigeria have amassed unique experiences in waste management. These experiences…

Based on a spatially focused and cross-sectoral situational analysis of urban settlements hosting displaced populations, this multi-level profile allows locals, stakeholders, and readers to develop a comprehensive spatial understanding of the existing situation as a basis for evidence-based decision making for long-term urban development strategies and infrastructure investment planning.

The Annual Report 2023 of the Policy, Legislation and Governance Section of UN-Habitat showcases the work done in the past year to work towards and support the achievement of the main goal of sustainable urban development.

Much has been achieved by PLGS: more than 44 activities in over 37 countries globally, that consolidated collaboration with donors, development partners and beneficiary countries along the themes of policy, legislation and governance, metropolitan management,…