Amsterdam, 3 August 2020 – Arcadis, a key partner of UN-Habitat and active member of the UN-Habitat COVID-19 Campaign, has released the Healthy Pandemic Resilient Cities Report which presents a set of guidelines and recommendations for urban actors to better plan and manage cities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report was prepared by experts from Arcadis, which is a global design, engineering and management consulting company, as part of the Shelter Program, a joint partnership between Arcadis and UN-Habitat which was established in 2010.

The Arcadis Shelter Program was commissioned by UN-Habitat to contribute to the conversation on building back better with thought leadership considerations for urban planning, buildings, water, and mobility and provide recommendations for the mid and long term.

Through the Shelter Program, Arcadis has provided pro-bono technical support to some 100 UN-Habitat projects worldwide, supported the annual Shelter Academy to train local government on urban issues and sponsored the World Urban Campaign, a key platform to promote urban solutions.

At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the Shelter Program mobilized its experts to support UN-Habitat in the immediate recovery efforts. Arcadis was also one of the first partners to join the COVID-19 Campaign.

A COVID-19 Helpdesk, providing rapid technical advice on COVID-19 related issues in the areas of water, buildings and mobility, has been established to support UN-Habitat and its partners. Lessons learned have been captured in the Healthy Pandemic Resilient Cities Report that elaborates on planning, design and management solutions for cities and a need for communities to become more resilient to future pandemic outbreaks.

“Together, we will address the challenges during the pandemic and build upon lessons learned to strengthen the resilience of our cities and communities,” said Bert Smolders, Arcadis NV.

For more information contact: Bert Smolders, shelter@arcadis.com