The EUTF Programme entitled ‘Enhancing self-reliance for refugees and host communities in Kenya’ aims to improve the capacity of national and county governments to support the development of all relevant sectors in Garissa and Turkana Counties in refugee management, in addition to the implementation of the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) approaches.

Under the programme, UN-Habitat in collaboration with Garissa County Government has undertaken an exercise of future visioning for the host and refugee communities of Dadaab. 

This Dadaab Future Vision lays out the challenges and opportunities that the area of Dadaab face and proposes a new Vision of what the locality could become in 10-15 years’ time. The Vision was developed in line with a whole-of-society approach, informed by government and transnational policies, community perspectives and sound urban planning principles. The aim of the Vision is to understand how all the spatial, economic, environmental, and social-cultural layers interact and propose a pathway forward to capitalize on the opportunities available while making the most of all existing assets.

Following recent years marked by the compounding factors of protracted displacement, shifting national policies and the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, a plan to enable self-reliance and to chart a path towards a more sustainable future is all the more necessary.

The Dadaab Future Vision will be used to help inform and guide future development and will act as a basis for a detailed regeneration and consolidation plan for Dadaab, which will identify specific action areas and projects through which Dadaab Vision can become a reality.

In 2018, the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR) were adopted by the vast majority of UN Member States.

During the preparatory processes for both Compacts, local authorities, among other stakeholders, were included and actively contributed to the global migration agenda. The Marrakech Mayoral Declaration (MMD, 2018) reaffirmed cities as key actors as they pledged to stand in solidarity, increase inter-city collaboration and play a critical role in shaping a more positive narrative on migration. Both Global Compacts acknowledged the importance of local authorities for shaping and implementation of these international commitments. However, while some local (city-level) authorities are successfully implementing innovative systems and approaches, others, who are also at the forefront of reception, basic service delivery, inclusion and rights protection of migrant populations, struggle and lack comprehensive guidance, resources, and capacity to move their work forward collectively.

The Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) therefore worked together with the Mayors Mechanism of the GMFD (UCLG, MMC and IOM) to support local authorities in advancing the implementation of the Global Compacts.

The contributing organizations developed this guidance document in an attempt to:

1. Provide cities with field-tested guidance to proactively shape their local inclusion measures;
2. Showcase the contribution cities across the world are providing to the implementation of the SDGs, the GCM and GCR;
3. Tap into cutting-edge existing support on the key dimensions contributing to local inclusion.

The report highlights the experience of land readjustment in the Republic of Korea dating back to 1930. Learning from practice, training, and experience offers vital support to local and national governments, urban practitioners, and policymakers. Through the country's experience, physical, social, economic, and cultural parameters of land readjustment in similar contexts can be better understood.

UN-Habitat, UNCTAD (United National Conference on Trade and Development) and IOM (International Organization for Migration) organized the East African Regional Dialogue on Migration and Development in Cities on the 22nd and 23rd October 2019 in Entebbe, Uganda. The two-day Dialogue brought together national and local government authorities from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia, as well as representatives of civil society, private sector, international organizations and development partners to exchange experiences and successful practices for fostering social and economic inclusion of migrants, refugees and IDPs in different local contexts.

This report summarizes the discussions, presentations, conclusions and next steps in the East African context for UN-Habitat’s and UNCTAD’s work in the field of migration and refugee response.

State Liaison Functions (SLF) is an integrated mechanism aims to provide a bridge from peace keeping activities to peacebuilding activities in Darfur within the drawdown of UNAMID. It has started in January 2019 within joint leadership with UNAMID and UNCT in close cooperation with national actors. Under the pillar of rule of law, UN-Habitat developed the capacity of the rural courts to address conflict over lands and natural resources.

Responding the urgent need, UN-Habitat constructed/rehabilitated health and public facilities including hospitals, health units, schools, rural courts, education offices, police stations, prosecutor offices, community buildings, markets and so on. As of January 2020, 81 public facilities have been constructed in 59 villages in five Darfur States with the total contribution of 14,159,284 USD.

Securing land tenure is the fundamental right of every individual. It is particularly important for the vulnerable groups including female-headed households. The project “Strengthening Land Management for Peaceful Co-Existence in Darfur” (2015-2018) was designed to improve current land title system in Darfur and to contributes in the development of evidence-based land policies, laws and regulations.

The 4-page brochure showcases the two projects in Blue Nile funded by the Government of Norway: “Promote Peace building and Stability in the Blue Nile” (2016-2019), and “Strategic Urban Development/Structure Plans for the Towns of Ad-Damazine and Al-Roseiris” (2015-2016) with the project outlines, achievements, and voices from the beneficiaries.

Japan supports UN-Habitat in Sudan to undertake context-specific responses and integrate the principles of the New Urban Agenda into programmes and interventions. This brochure showcases the two Japan-funded projects: “South Sudanese refugees and host communities in Aljabalain Locality, White Nile State (2019)” and “Emergency Support to IDP Return in Alsalam Locality, South Darfur State.”

Global commitment to the inclusive right to adequate housing was renewed at the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development – Habitat III. Housing will hence prove central to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11: ‘Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’.

Across the  Arab region, around 18 % of residents live under each country’s national poverty line, with significant variation between the Gulf countries, which have an average per capita income of USD 29,000, and the Southern Tier countries (not including Somalia), which have an average per capita income of USD 1,300. Also significant disparities continue to exist between rural and urban areas. Informal Settlements have become the reflection of the mirror of poverty and lack of access to adequate housing.

Slums versus informal settlements: the term 'slum' is a "general context to describe a wide range of low-income settlements and/or poor human living conditions". Different criteria are used to define slums include physical, spatial, social and behavioral criterion. Informal or spontaneous settlements are settlements whereby persons, or squatters, assert land rights or occupy for exploitation of land which is not registered in their names, or government land, or land legally owned by other individuals. Squatters are people who occupy land or buildings without the explicit permission of the owner. The structures and location of the informal settlements of the region are characterized by two different patterns: substandard or makeshift structures in central slums, hazardous, and unsafe locations or suburban areas lacking access to basic services; and unplanned urban expansion mostly through the subdivision of agricultural land in violation of existing codes.

At this stage of the analysis, the data collection process was limited. It is based on two elements:

• A questionnaire filled by National focal points in some countries with variable quality and comprehensiveness of the information provided.
• Data based on literature review and research networks.
• Two-days Consultation workshop with representation from most Arab countries, development partners and civil society organizations where the data prepared was presented, discussed and further information was gathered in parallel thematic groups.

This report provides an overview of the status of informal settlements in the main Arab countries where data was accessible; explores the reasons of emergence, national definitions and forms of informality, national responding approaches and strategies; in addition to highlighting some useful case studies from these countries. This overview provides guidance to national governments by offering a preliminary framework for the preparation of national or local informal settlement upgrading strategies grounded in international and regional best practices and recognizing approaches and regional and national challenges.

The analysis of the different countries focused on the potential lessons learned through highlighting the  advancement level of their public policies responding to informal settlements, the mapping processes of their informal settlements, their physical state and socio-economic situations, the presence of pilot projects, and the involvement of the private sector or innovative finance mechanisms in the upgrading process.

Despite the data limitation, the review and analysis presented by country  conducted in this report enabled some observations on the common and specific challenges, the importance of social and economic aspects of informality, the need for innovative financial and governance mechanisms, and the importance of participation for sustainable strategies and programmes. The review of all approaches that have been addressed in different Arab countries and the examples of the different projects could be concluded in such in some main items as follows: The investment, financial and environmental impacts in most of cases not been tackled and there was concentration on the physical, and sometime social, aspects only. The sustainability of development aspects (financial, social, environmental) of projects has not been addressed in most of cases and there will be risks of sustainability of the development of the projects in future. This would emphasize the need for an integrated development approach to be embraced in development of informal settlement.

The overview also shows large possibility of cross learning among the region, specifically between comparable countries, or those whose political or governance situations are similar. The conclusion also highlights key cross cutting issues that have to be mainstreamed in upgrading approaches and programmes, namely: environment, migration and displacement, finance, gender, participation and local government.

Finally, the report lays out the way forward towards the formulation of the new programme -to be launched in WUF 10- “Towards Arab Cities without Informal areas” where this report and analysis present the first step, followed by the launch of a call for Arab cities to join the first phase of the programme supported by UN-Habitat in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank. The regional programme will continue to learn from early implementation phases to support progressing of Arab cities that are inclusive, resilient and productive; integrating various sustainable goals and programs to ensure leaving no one, and nowhere behind.

Currently, in Latin America, 78.0% of the population lives in cities, mainly in the capitals. This trend is also experienced by Colombia, with the great advantage that said population concentration is distributed in a system of 64 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, being Bogotá, in addition to the country's capital, the most important agglomeration. The effects of rapid urbanization in the country and the continent have made it possible to improve the coverage and access of large majorities to the goods and services of economic and social development, but it has also created new challenges, particularly for large metropolises. That is why the right to the city today acquires great relevance to guide public policies and the different forms of citizen participation.

The consideration that adequate housing as a basic unit for habitat construction represents an essential element of the right to the city and invites emphasis on its transformative attributes of quality of life and sustainable and inclusive urban development. The concept of habitat becomes more important because it addresses housing not only as an individual or family right but as a collective right of those who inhabit and enjoy cities.

The common challenge today is how to produce a habitat that helps "build a city." For this, it is necessary to move from housing policies to habitat policies, which consider the environments, plan the territory and the equipment and break the barriers of socio-spatial segregation.

For this reason, UN-Habitat proposes to return the “Housing at the centre” which should be understood not only as the centre of public policies, but also as the physical centre of cities, since construction in the peripheries not only does not responds adequately to the needs of the most disadvantaged groups, but the dispersion decreases, among others, the same productivity of the cities and their cohesion. Linked to this, the quality of housing and cities also depends on the ability to massively introduce alternatives to ways of building and the use of new materials. Eco-efficiency and eco-sustainability in the production of housing and habitat infrastructure not only improves the quality of life of urban dwellers and the resilience of cities but also generates new economic, work and innovation opportunities.

In all these areas, Bogotá represents a reference for the rest of Colombia. Not surprisingly, in the capital, about 2.7 million homes demand services with coverage and quality, being a huge challenge primarily for rulers and decision-makers. Therefore, the importance of a robust habitat policy by 2030, which undoubtedly contributes to providing conditions that boost housing supply and other habitat attributes, as well as access and opportunity in a context of equity, inclusion and prosperity.

This publication is a contribution to the formulation of this policy, under the leadership of the Habitat District Secretariat - SDHT. The results of the interdisciplinary work between UN-Habitat and the SDHT reveal disparities in the coverage and quality of housing, equipment and general habitat conditions between different areas of the city, so the achievements to come must translate into conditions of equity, cohesion, and prosperity for all citizens, taking into account the context of Bogotá and its metropolitan environment.