Increasing resilience remains major challenge to achieving and maintaining sustainable development in many of the world’s cities. Urban areas are increasingly becoming centres of risk as a result of climate change, demographic shifts and insufficient and/or ageing infrastructure. Despite growing challenges, a lack of capacity at the local level remains by far the biggest obstacle to protecting more urban residents from disaster. Raising awareness, sharing knowledge and engaging in technical cooperation with cities are the major work areas of this Programme that touches all areas of city planning, management and functionality.