The “Housing, Land and Property Issues of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon from Homs City” project was launched in 2017 in partnership with UNHCR and with the support of the Ford Foundation. The aim of the study is to analyze the housing arrangements that refugees coming from Homs city have secured, seven years into the crisis, in addition to their living conditions, the implications of their legal status on their presence in Lebanon, and the role/influence of social networks - characteristic of this community coming from the city of Homs - on their access to shelter and trajectories. The project contributes to the knowledge about refugee trajectories in the context of a protracted refugee crisis particularly in relation to shelter acquisition. The results reported in this study can promote public awareness about the implications of the absence of affordable housing programs and the current restrictions that refugees in Lebanon face to access adequate shelter. They can further inform policymakers and other actors in the shelter sector about the current operations of the housing market.

Partners: UN-Habitat and UNHCR

Locations: Lebanon, Syrian Arab Republic, Homs

Donors: Ford Foundation

Unsustainable migration trends in Zambia have led to high population growth in the urban areas without the accompanying improvement in infrastructure for service provision.

Towns and cities have continued to attract large numbers of people from rural areas. High levels of migration into the cities can be attributed to a diversified economy, relatively better access to social services and employment opportunities.

Livingstone, the capital of Northern Rhodesia before independence and before Lusaka became the capital, is the largest town in Zambia’s Southern Province and the tourist capital of Zambia. It is also the main administrative centre for the southern region of Zambia and the main entry point into the country by road from southern African countries such as Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa.

However, Livingstone as a district has a number of development gaps: unequal distribution of infrastructure development, inadequate provision of social services, high poverty levels, degradation of the environment and natural resources, unemployment, and, for much of the city, underdevelopment.

This report examines the economic role of cities. It illustrates the important contributions of cities to national economic development and poverty reduction. It looks at the agglomeration economies, city clusters, city regions and mega city regions.