United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN HABITAT)

UN-HABITAT was originally established in 1978 as main outcome of the United Nations Conference on human settlements (Habitat I) held in Vancouver, Canada in 1976. It was also the secretariat for the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 1996. Dubbed the “City Summit”, this conference formulated the Habitat Agenda and the Istanbul Declaration. Known as the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) since 1978, UN-HABITAT was elevated in status to become the United Nations Human Settlements Programme on 1 January 2002.

The headquarters of UN-HABITAT are located in Nairobi, Kenya, and its current Executive Director is Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka. Every two years, UN-HABITAT's work and relationships with its partners are examined in detail by a Governing Council composed of 58 member states. It is a high-level forum of governments at the ministerial level during which policy guidelines and the organisation's budget are established for the next two-year period. UN-HABITAT work is currently guided by the Medium Term Strategic Institutional Plan (MTSIP) that was adopted in 2007 by the 21st Governing Council of UN-HABITAT.

Main documents outlining the mandate of UN-HABITAT:

• Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements
• Habitat Agenda
• Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements
• Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements
• Resolution 56/206

To learn more: www.unhabitat.org

The challenge
Towns and cities are growing today at unprecedented rates setting the social, political, economical, cultural and environmental trends of the world, both good and bad.  In 1950, one-third of the world's people lived in cities. Just 50 years later, this rose to one-half and will continue to grow to two-thirds, or 6 billion people, by 2050. Cities are now home to half of humankind. Cities are the hubs of much national production and consumption - economic and social processes that generate wealth and opportunity. On the other hand, cities are increasingly confronted with immediate problems such as disease, crime, pollution, poverty and social unrest. In addition, the problem of climate change – which is largely caused by cities – and the effects – in the form of natural disasters primarily experienced in cities – is increasingly an urban challenge for all cities in the world. In many cities, especially in developing countries, slum dwellers number more than 50 per cent of the population and have little or no access to shelter, water, and sanitation, education or health services.

UN-HABITAT's programmes are designed to help policy-makers and local communities get to grips with urban issues and find workable, lasting solutions. The agency’s flagship publications, such as the biannual ‘State of the World’s Cities Report’, have become key references in understanding the contemporary urban condition. Simultaneously, the World Urban Forum, organized every two years by UN-HABITAT, has turned into the world's premier conference on cities. Since the first meeting in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002, the Forum has grown in size and stature as it travelled to Barcelona in 2004, Vancouver 2006, and Nanjing in 2008. The Fifth Session of the World Urban Forum, held in Rio de Janeiro from 22-26 March 2010, was centred around The Right to the City-Bridging the Urban Divide, recognizing the rights of the urban poor and aiming to promote their inclusion and equal access to the city. The event also featured the launching of the World Urban Campaign. This Campaign is a platform designed for public, private and civil society actors to work in the true spirit of partnership so as to elevate policies, share practical tools and raise awareness for sustainable urbanization. Sustainable urbanisation is one of the most pressing challenges facing the global community in the 21st century.

UN-HABITAT's work is furthermore directly related to the Millennium Development Goals, particularly the goals of member States to improve the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2020, Target 11, Millennium Development Goal No. 7, and Target 10 which calls for the reduction by half of the number without sustainable access to safe drinking water. And although Target 11 has already been achieved by improving worldwide the living conditions of 227 million slum dwellers between 2000 and 2010, greater efforts still are needed since the absolute number of slum dwellers has actually increased from 776.7 million in 2000 to some 827.6 million in 2010.


Click here to download the UN-HABITAT brochure

UN-HABITAT Representation Office to the European Union and Belgium

The UN-HABITAT Representation Office to the European Union and Belgium was established in Brussels in 2001. It aims to provide an added value to the overall work of UN-HABITAT in its relations with European Union (EU) entities and bodies, the network of Member State Permanent Representations, the Government of Belgium, the Northern European bilateral donors, the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Institutions, civil society organisations and think tanks that have established themselves around the EU.

The Brussels Office’s main objectives are:

• Undertaking, maintaining and addressing policy dialogue with European Partners.
• Contributing to UN-HABITAT advocacy and communication campaigns.
• Mobilizing funds and programme support.
• Coordinating UN-HABITAT’s common action with other UN-HABITAT Offices in Europe and UN Agencies based in Brussels.

In February 2010, the UN-HABITAT’s Brussels office facilitated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between UN-HABITAT and the Committee of the Regions and has taken further steps to enhance the relationship with the European Commission. Furthermore, the UN-HABITAT Brussels Office will play a key role in the newly founded Urban Intergroup of the European Parliament and is strengthening its policy dialogue with European Civil Society Organisations.

Upcoming events:

World Habitat Day (WHD) 2010: The Global Observance of World Habitat Day at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 on 4 October 2010. The European Celebration of World Habitat Day will be held Brussels on the same date. Further details can be obtained from the UN-HABITAT Representation Office to the European Union and Belgium.

Click here to find out more about other upcoming events.

Recent Publications

• State of the World's Cities 2010/2011 - Cities for All: Bridging the Urban Divide
• State of the Urban Youth 2010/2011; Leveling the Playing Field
• Urban World: inform yourself on current urban topics, recent developments in the field of sustainable urbanisation and the worldwide activities of UN-HABITAT in our quarterly magazine, which can be downloaded for free.
• The 2009 Annual Report

Visit unhabitat.org for more information on UN-HABITAT programmes, work areas, publications and events.

Contact UN-HABITAT:

Headquarters
UN-HABITAT
P.O. Box 30030, GPO,
Nairobi, 00100, Kenya
Tel: (254-20) 7621234 (Operator) / 7 623120 (Information Services Section)
Tel: (254-20) 762 3151/3153 (Media and Press Relations)
Fax: (254-20) 7624266/7624267/
7624264/7623477/624060
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: www.unhabitat.org

Representation Office with the European Union and Belgium
Rue Montoyer 14, 2nd Floor
B-1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32-2-503-3572
Fax: +32-2-503-4624
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Regional offices
UN-HABITAT Regional Office for Africa and the Arab States
UN-HABITAT Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
UN-HABITAT Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

Liaison offices
UN-HABITAT New York Office
UN-HABITAT Geneva Office
UN-HABITAT Warsaw Office

Information offices
UN-HABITAT Information Office Hungary
UN-HABITAT Information Office India
UN-HABITAT Information Office China
UN-HABITAT Information Office Moscow