Brussels 27 April 2017-- The “Expert Group Meeting on Geospatial Definitions for Human Settlements Indicators of the SDGs” organized by UN-Habitat brings together leading experts on the detection of built-up areas and on the identification and classification of what is urban and what is rural. A standard definition of the city for purposes of global reporting is a requirement for monitoring the SDGs and will assist to explore implications of the urban extents on land indicators including those based on rural definitions.

Ha Noi, 26 April 2017-- UN Habitat, OECD and the Viet Nam’s Ministry of Construction recently held a one day Policy Dialogue on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda through National Urban Policies.

Qazvin, Iran, 26 April 2017—At the latest World Assembly of Islamic Cities UN-Habitat had the opportunity to brief the delegates present on some of the work it is engaged in globally.

Urban India is currently facing a wide gap between the demand and supply of housing, not only in terms of quantity but also in terms of quality. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA) currently estimates the urban housing shortage at 18.78 million units, more than 95 per cent of which pertains to homes for low-income groups.

Chengdu, 13 April 2017 – UN-Habitat and UN-Environment, in collaboration with the Chengdu Municipal People’s Government, have started working on an assessment of the development plans for the city’s Greenbelt and Shaocheng District.

Turkana – 12 April 2017. In 2016 UN-Habitat, supported by the Japanese government, began working on developing a Local Advisory Spatial Plan for the new KALOBEYEI Settlement. This was in close collaboration with UNHCR, Ministry of Land, Shelter and Urban Development and through participatory processes including workshops, focus groups and participatory meetings with the host and refugee commuters.

New York, 10 March 2017 - At the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York (13-24 March 2017), the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Ms Amina Mohamed and other keynote speakers, reaffirmed the catalytic role that women and girls play in development. Importantly, the Deputy Secretary General and other speakers called for participatory approaches, such as slum upgrading, to be used as tools to deliver the sustainable development goals, especially urban goal 11 “making cities inclusive” as well as the New Urban Agenda.

Berlin – 5 April 2017. The first Capacity Development based on the UN-Habitat MetroHUB methodology was held in Berlin, Germany for 19 Ugandan government officials.  The capacity development and learning exchange visit to Berlin was a tailor made programme for the participants from 14 Ugandan municipalities and the Uganda Ministry for Urban Development.  The Ugandan Minister of State for Urban Development, Hon. Isaac Isanga Musumba, also took part in the Capacity Development, linking the projects and presentations to national and presidential priorities.

Nairobi, 27 March 2017-- The capital of United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, will host the Tenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF10) in 2020. UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, as the convener of WUF, announced the decision on Thursday 23 March 2017 concluding the bidding process for WUF10.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UN-Habitat Executive Director, Dr. Joan Clos, has informed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, of the decision.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands 24 March 2017-- The government of Solomon Islands has formally launched the Honiara Urban Resilience and Climate Action Plan (HURCAP) to enhance the capital’s resilience to climate change.