Event: Are Slum-Free Cities Achievable?
On 31 January join a discussion about surging city populations and slums co-hosted by the Global Development Professionals Network and the [...]
The Guardian
Slum Transformation: A Project to Put Temporary Dwellings on the Map
Giving each home in the slums a postal address will help achieve the sustainable development goal to improve housing.
After Habitat III: A Stronger Urban Future Must Be Based on the Right to the City
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Innovative and agile cities are better placed to solve major global challenges than national governments – in thrall to the momentum [...]
The World Is in Quito to Discuss Cities – But Are Local Voices Heard at Habitat III?
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
As many as 45,000 people are gathered in Ecuador’s capital for the UN’s future of cities summit. Inside the [...]
‘Jane Jacobs’ Eyes’: Habitat III Chief Joan Clos Recalls Meeting His Hero
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Dr Joan Clos, driving force behind the Habitat III summit and probably the busiest person in Quito this week, paused [...]
A Bus in a Traffic Jam? It’s as Unjust as it Once Was Not to Allow Women to Vote
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
For Bogotá’s mayor, the way cities are planned is fundamental to their residents’ future happiness. As the UN’s [...]
Milan Leads Fight Against Food Waste with Ugly Fruit and Michelin-Starred Soup Kitchens
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
On a Saturday afternoon, as soon as the market is drawing to a close, traders bring their boxes of unsold [...]
Science, Cities and Innovation in The Human Age
Over the next week, leaders from around the world will take part in a historic summit on the future of [...]
Global Sea Levels are Rising Fast, so Where Does that Leave the Cities Most at Risk?
The severe risk of climate change and rising sea levels on urban areas has not been addressed in the UN’ [...]
I Dream of a Utopian Lagos – But Here’s What African Cities Really Need to Prosper
Around the world, our cities are not the idealised open, accessible and cosmopolitan spaces of our dreams. More often than [...]
The Importance of Urban Forests: Why Money Really Does Grow on Trees
The American elm was once America’s most beloved and abundant city tree. It liked urban soil, and its branches [...]
Hell on Earth: The Great Urban Scandal of Family Life Lived on a Rubbish Dump
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Countless communities around the world scavenge on open dumps – with terrible health consequences. As the UN convenes city leaders for [...]
Right to the City: Can This Growing Social Movement Win Over City Officials?
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
From the Taksim Square and Nuit Debout protests to bank takeovers in Barcelona and women’s workshops in Delhi, the [...]
‘We Have Lost the Science of Building cities’ – Meet Joan Clos, the Unofficial World Leader for Cities
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Unaffordable housing, corruption, the lack of public space … can UN-Habitat improve the lot of the billions of people living in [...]
Your Comprehensive Guide to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Summit
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
After nearly three years of open global consultations, fraught negotiations and some high jinks, the proposed sustainable development goals (SDGs) [...]
I’m a Black Gentrifier in Harlem – and It’s Not a Good Feeling
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The other day, I was walking back to my Harlem apartment when I stumbled upon a very shocking sign in [...]
Habitat III Is All About Cities
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
UN conferences on urbanisation occur just once every 20 years. The third, Habitat III, will convene in Quito, Ecuador late next [...]
IOM, UN-Habitat Cooperate on the New Urban Agenda in Latin America and Caribbean
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
As a deal was struck on funding the poverty battle at the development finance summit in Addis Ababa, the UN [...]
There’s a Global Housing Crisis and Politicians Must Do More to Tackle It
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The official figure for the number of people who live in slums is 863 million people, but that number is more [...]
Why Smart Cities Need to Get Wise to Security and Fast
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The smart city is an alluring vision of the future, in which civic technology such as traffic lights, smart meters [...]