Kabul, 21 February 2018 – The prosperity of nations is closely related to the prosperity of their cities. Cities worldwide account for more than 80% of global GDP. In Afghanistan, a country affected by longstanding conflict which has led to large numbers of internally displaced persons and returning refugees, cities play a key role as hubs for employment, especially youth, innovation and peace. Indeed, the Afghan population is expected to double within the next 15 years with the urban population reaching 50% of the total population.

Kuala Lumpur, 20 February 2018 – Public space was one of the key areas at the recent World Urban Forum 9 in Kuala Lumpur, focused on improving the quality of urban life and wellbeing, safety and microclimate.

20 February 2018 - UN-Habitat and Dubai Municipality are pleased to jointly announce the winners of the 2017 edition of the Dubai International Award for Best Practices. The Award recognizes outstanding initiatives that are making valuable contribution to sustainable urban development along the priority areas of the New Urban Agenda.

Kuwait City 19 February 2018—As part of events marking 10 years of its work in Kuwait, UN-Habitat has signed an agreement with the Boulevard which is under the Al Salmiya Group for Enterprise Development Company which to host celebratory event on Public Space March 15th and 16th in Kuwait City.

The Executive Director of UN-Habitat conveys to you her wishes of a Happy Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dog, celebrated today on 16th February.

May this year bring good fortune and strong collaboration as we join efforts to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and New Urban Agenda

After one week, hundreds of events, the World Urban Forum 9 (WUF9), held in Kuala Lumpur from 7-13 February 2018, has drawn to a close. WUF9 welcomed about 23,000 people from 165 countries to discuss the implementation of the New Urban Agenda (NUA). It was the best attended and most diverse WUFs since it was established in 2002. Roughly half of the participants were under 32, and 49% were women.

Focus put on youth livelihoods and participation in decision-making   

Investing in informal settlements and slum upgrading can leverage the socio-economic potential of sustainable urbanization and transformation leading to “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable communities and cities” worldwide.

Kuala Lumpur, 9 February 2018 –The UN-Habitat Executive Director today announced the theme of World Cities Day 2018: Building Sustainable and Resilient Cities.