Города продолжают выполнять важную роль в обеспечении экономического развития страны и организации обслуживания, как в пригородах, так и в сельской глубинке.

В докладе приводится анализ произошедших перемен в городской экономике и дается оценка различных типов городов с выделением сокращающихся, развивающихся и вновь возникающих городов и региональных центров.

Рассматривается вопрос о постоянно возрастающем значении инновационных разработок, образования и научных исследований как движущих факторов экономического развития.

также доступны в английской версии

The purpose of this report is to provide an assessment of land disputes in Crimea. The report highlights the principal weaknesses and gaps in institutional capacities of the authorities in the region. It also makes recommendations for addressing deficiencies and ensuring equitable and transparent administration of housing, land and property in Crimea.

The report recommends a UN-HABITAT presence in Crimea to assist the domestic institutions in developing a response to the problems identified. Although these do not flow from a post-conflict or natural disaster situation, disputes over land could lead to considerable inter-ethnic tension between the majority of the Russian population and the Crimean Tatars, which could generate instability. The report, therefore, proposes the development of a preventive approach to avoid the aggravation of these disputes.

In the closing decade of this century, as the world strives for a better quality of life, millions of poor are fighting for life itself. Already more than 600 million people in cities and towns throughout the world are homeless or live in dilapidated houses. Unless a revolution takes place in solving the shelter problem, this shocking statistic will triple by the year 2025. Providing decent shelter for this huge number of people will no doubt be the major challenge of the construction sector well into the next century.

Traditionally, technological development in the construction sector has always influenced social and economic development, including human settlements development. Technological advancement has contributed to the higher productivity and lower cost of construction and has even reduced the adverse effects of construction on the environment in some countries. But the benefits of technology has yet to be fully harnessed by developing countries to enable them meet the increasing demand of shelter for their low-income population.