More than half of the World’s population live in cities and that figure is expected to increase to almost 5 billion by 2030. This increase in urban population and changing understandings around how people experience urban living, and thus how planning and governance arrangements must be operationalized, calls on urban policy makers to recognize and respond to the emerging and different needs, concerns and interests of urban women, men, boys and girls.

Urbanisation affects women and men in fundamentally different ways given the social differences or roles allotted to women and to men. Since these roles are not equally valued they further create inequities between women, girls, boys and men. For urban women and girls, these different experiences and ways of experiencing urban life give rise to consequences that undermine their capabilities and aspirations.

This issue guide focuses attention on Urban Legislation, Land and Governance in order to highlight the “where and how” of gender responsive interventions that strengthen gender equality and women’s empowerment in urban development.

Cities experience large and small scale disasters that can pose great challenges to sustainable development, for natural and human-made disasters have enormous economic, social and political impacts on human lives. “Cities, where half of humanity currently resides and much of the world’s assets are concentrated, are fast becoming the locus for much of [the] destruction and loss from disasters.”  These risks will increase as urban populations continue to grow.

Disasters can present opportunities for transformative change to begin and advance more quickly because the vulnerabilities that emerge as a result of crisis or disaster are clearer and consensus may be obtained more quickly to mitigate vulnerabilities. Population displacements as a result of disasters further create new settlements that present opportunities for planning how municipalities or cities will be managed and planned to cope, in equitable ways, with population changes.

This issue guide focuses attention on Urban Risk Reduction and Rehabilitation in order to broadly outline the where and how of gender responsive interventions to strengthen planned and future actions to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Women, men, girls and boys are differentially affected by the conditions of urbanization. For instance, women are ???invariably disadvantaged compared to men in cities in terms of equal access to employment and shelter, health and education, transport, asset ownership, experiences of urban violence and ability to exercise their rights. These disadvantages are especially marked for poor urban women???1 These gendered dimensions of cities require continual examination if inequalities are to be understood and addressed for equitable and sustainable development. The Research unit can potentially help enhance understanding of this human-urban environment interface from gender perspectives.

This issue guide focuses attention on urban basic services in order to illuminate the effects of gender on equality of access and inclusion in the areas of urban energy, urban transport and water and sanitation. This issue guide further seeks to broadly outline the where and how of gender responsive interventions in order to strengthen planned and future actions that can go a long way to reduce poverty and overcome obstacles to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Access to adequate housing is a fundamental human right and is enshrined in numerous international agreements and conventions. Yet millions of women and men continue to live in towns and cities without security of tenure and with inadequate housing and related services. This guide’s objectives are:

• To increase understanding of gender concerns and needs in housing and slum upgrading 
• To develop capacity to address gender issues in this area 
• To encourage the integration of a gender perspective into policies, projects, and programmes for sustainable urban development 
• To support the institutionalization of the culture of gender mainstreaming and gender equality, the implementation of gender-sensitive projects and programmes, and the monitoring of gender-mainstreaming progress.

While many cities are hubs of economic growth, employment, and cultural life, urbanization has resulted in pronounced socioeconomic inequalities, exclusion, and segregation. The objective of this gender issue guide on urban planning and design is to:

• Increase understanding of gender concerns and needs in urban planning and design;
• Develop capacity to address gender issues in select human settlement areas 
• Encourage integration of gender perspectives into policies, projects, and programmes for sustainable urban development 
• Support institutionalization of the culture of gender mainstreaming and gender equality through the implementation of gender-sensitive projects/programmes and the monitoring of gender mainstreaming progress

Urbanisation has created gender and class-differentiated impacts. UN-Habitat seeks to support city, regional and national authorities to implement improved urban planning policies and strategies that will promote inclusive and equitable economic development; enhance municipal finances; and support the creation of decent jobs and livelihoods, particularly for youth and women.