The overall aim of this HCPD is to promote the New Habitat Agenda: ensuring the sustainability of urban growth as a driving force as well as a source of equitable development with the power to change and improve lives. UN-Habitat plays an active role in urban development and urban policy. Through partnerships with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD), UN-Habitat has assisted in identifying key urban issues and areas needing support to improve urban development in Uganda.

Due to a more stable phase in the prolonged conflict of the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, UN-Habitat recommends the initiation of permanent reconstruction and moving away from an emergency shelter in the area. The reconstruction process is recommended to reflect the local political, socio-cultural and physical context of the area and build on sustainable use of local building materials. In addition, generation of employment and local economic development through participatory processes and capacity building of community members is a key objective

The profile offers a comprehensive in-depth analysis of the country’s urban housing sector. The Profile contributes to the creation of a policy framework that enables the provision of adequate housing for all. It builds a comprehensive understanding of the functioning of the urban housing sector that can serve as an authoritative reference point for all actors involved in the direct provision or enablement of housing

Smart City Masterplan provides a framework to guide Rwandan cities and towns in their efforts to harness ICTs to provide a higher quality of life to their citizens, businesses and visitors. The document lays out a vision for cities of the future that embed technology and data across city functions to make them more efficient, competitive and innovative.

The objective of the Urban Sector Profiles is to contribute to the development of the urban poverty reduction policy at the national level in Cape Verde.

The objective of this study is to outline a profile of the urban sector of the Republic of Cape Verde with the aim of contributing to the development of policies to reduce urban poverty at the national level in Cabo Verde.

The report consists of a multi-sectoral tool providing a detailed assessment of the urban functionality and services, and the population dynamics with a focus on the conflict implications in terms of demographic changes, infrastructure damage, socio-economic landscape and coping mechanisms adopted by the population.

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Iraq has published a comprehensive urban analysis on Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and the focus of an international military campaign to liberate it from occupation by the terrorist group that calls itself “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).”

The report includes a comprehensive mapping assessment of the city’s infrastructure, housing, social services, and demographics to help in planning humanitarian and development assistance in the highly sensitive and volatile context of ISIL’s conflict with the Government of Iraq.

The report underlines the factors that contributed to ISIL’s occupation of Mosul in June 2014. It shows how decades of neglect, migration, and frustration with slums and poor services created a situation where popular animosity was so great that, for all intents and purposes, Mosul fell to insurgents long before 10 June 2014.

Informal settlements increased significantly after 2003 due to a shortage of affordable land allocated for housing, lack of services and infrastructure investment, corruption, and poor governance. Some of these settlements became “self-ruled zones,” incubators for extremism and radicalism.

A post-liberation outlook

The city profile also describes the further deterioration of conditions in Mosul after ISIL occupation and allied air attacks as new families migrated into the city from Syria and other parts of Iraq. Facilities for education, health care, water, sanitation, electricity, and communications services were damaged or severely restricted by ISIL.

New environmental and health hazards, along with the remaining cultural and archaeological sites, are also mapped in the study to advise humanitarian and development actors planning to enter the city after liberation.

It is estimated that between 50 and 75 per cent of the city’s governmental buildings are destroyed; these include public directorate, university, and public utility buildings. This will place additional burdens on stabilization, reconstruction and developmental responses in Mosul. The report warns about other potential sources of post-liberation conflict due to the displacement of rightful property owners. It is feared that “property mafias” will emerge to take advantage of the situation. Given this, property ownership issues could create flash points between individuals and communities in the early liberation period in Mosul.

Given the importance of stabilizing Mosul after liberation, this report is an important guide for UN agencies, programmes, and funds working with the Government and donors to develop and implement targeted programmes that will address the most critical short- and long-term gaps and grievances in a city with an estimated population of 1.4 million.

The assessment includes several recommendations that could be elaborated when the full extent of damage and needs are known after liberation. UN-Habitat has just signed an agreement with UNDP to continue monitoring the urban changes during and after campaign to liberate Mosul, and will continue to update the information through UN-Habitat Urban Data, its global web portal featuring city data and urban trends.