UN-Habitat Urban Lab

🌍💧 Join us at #COP16 in Riyadh for the session on "Leveraging Water as an Opportunity for Green and Resilient Urban Development." 🗓 Date: Wednesday, 4 December 2024 ⏰ Time: 10:30 – 13:00 📍 Venue: Auditorium in Water and Agriculture (Green Zone) This session, convened by UN-Habitat, will discuss how urban water planning and management can transform challenges like floods, droughts, and land degradation into opportunities for creating resilient and inclusive cities. 💡 Key Highlights: Explore the potential of green and blue infrastructure, from wetlands to rainwater harvesting, as tools for climate adaptation and ecological restoration. Learn from inspiring examples, such as Saudi Arabia’s Green Initiative and the Netherlands’ national greening measures. Discover actionable strategies for urban water resilience, from neighbourhood projects to regional watershed management. Hear from leading experts across MENA and beyond on addressing urban water challenges through integrated and inclusive planning approaches. 🔑 Why It Matters: With over 1.8 billion people at risk of flooding and 1.5 billion facing drought, cities need urgent action to ensure water resilience. This session aligns with COP16’s focus on sustainable land and resource management, emphasizing how water can drive transformative urban development while combating desertification and climate impacts. 🗣 Speakers Include: Meike van Ginneken, Dr.Yousry Mattar Nadine Bitar Chahine, Deema Abu Thiab Anton Earle,  Together, let’s advocate for water as a catalyst for greener, more resilient urban futures. 🌱 Åsa Jonsson, Naomi Hoogervorst, Emrah Engindeniz, Laure Garel, Alina Koschmieder, Laura Petrella Joy Mutai, Jane Muriuki UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) Global Water Operators' Partnerships Alliance/UN-Habitat (GWOPA) Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) | Partner in Sustainable Development ICLEI UNDP #UrbanResilience #WaterManagement #SustainableCities #GreenInfrastructure #droughts #floods #combatdesertification #SDG11 #SDG11 #SDG15 #SDG13 #urbanplanning #urbanfinance

How can local fiscal capacity, strategic readiness and financial innovation build climate-resilient, sustainable cities? Find out today at our Preparatory Committee for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) side event on: Building Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Cities: Strategies for Unlocking Urban Finance. 📅 Tuesday, Dec 3rd 🕚 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM EST 💻 Join virtually: https://lnkd.in/drMaMQ8F Let's explore solutions to unlock urban finance! UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) Avril Bundale Laura Petrella Lennart Fleck Kate Cotty #UrbanSDGFinance #UrbanLab #Urbanplanning #UrbanFinance #PlanningFinanceEconomySection

🌍 Thrilled to share my recent mission with UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) and OIM - ONU Migración to Mogadishu, Somalia, to develop the Baardheere Strategic Urban Plan for Durable Solutions to Displacement. By 2035, the city is projected to receive more than half a million IDPs. With Baardheere set to grow 6x its size in the next decade due to climate change and conflict, this plan focuses on the following: ✅ Increasing the city´s capacity for housing provision. ✅ Comprehensive needs assessment. ✅ Managing the current and future land demand effectively. ✅ Ensuring access to housing, basic services, and infrastructure for IDPs and the Hosting Community. ✅ Promoting inclusive integration of IDPs into the city’s economy and social fabric. There is a critical need to support local governments in Somalia in planning for migratory inflows and internal displacement. This will open several opportunities for integrating communities and preventing conflict over land and resources. #UrbanDevelopment #DisplacementSolutions #Baardheere #UNHabitat #IOM

The Kafr El Battikh Spatial Profile is now available! 🎉https://lnkd.in/d-DW4pep. As part of the UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) Urban Planning and Infrastructure in Migration Contexts (UPIMC) programme, in partnership with the SECO Economic Cooperation and Development , this initiative aims to improve access to reliable services and socio-economic opportunities for migrants and host communities in urban settlements. The programme operates in three countries: Cameroon, Egypt, and Jordan.The Spatial Profile of Kafr El Battikh city in Egypt provides critical insights into the migration dynamics and urban development challenges, laying the foundation for long-term, informed urban planning decisions. A big thank you to #SECO, our donors, and partners for their continued support. Herman Pienaar Jia Cong Ang Niina Rinne Salma Yousry Rowaida Dweik Nada Hossam  #UNHabitat #SECO #UrbanPlanning #Infrastructure #Migration #Egypt  #UrbanLab

📢 New Publication Alert: Douala 3 Spatial Profile – Cameroon   Over 2 million people are on the move in Cameroon, including more than 1 million internally displaced persons #IDPs Douala has become a major hosting city for displaced populations, particularly in Douala 3, where urban challenges like unequal access to services, housing, and infrastructure are pressing.   📖 UN-Habitat, with funding from SECO, developed the Douala 3 Spatial Profile under the Urban Planning and Infrastructure in Migration Contexts (UPIMC) Programme to address these challenges. This comprehensive analysis was created through a multilevel and cross-sectoral approach, involving local authorities, IDP groups, international organizations, and academia. 👉Access the report in English & Français: https://lnkd.in/dASsRKvT    💡Why is this important? The profile identifies critical gaps in urban services and maps opportunities for sustainable urban development. It serves as a foundation for informed decision-making and investment planning infrastructure investment planning that #LeaveNoOneBehind. Building on the spatial profile, next steps include the action plan for the pilot neighborhood, Ndogpassi Plage identified as  one of the most vulnerable areas.   Learn more about the UPIMC Programme: https://lnkd.in/d7Ve-66y    UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) SECO Economic Cooperation and Development #urbanlab #planningfinance #unhabitat #UPIMC

#WUF12 RECAP UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) and The World Bank co-hosted an insightful event titled, "Spatially Informed Infrastructure Investment Prioritisation to Finance Resilient and Sustainable Cities." This session focused on the critical role of spatial data in making high-impact investment decisions for urban infrastructure.   🌍 Key Highlights: 🔑 Participants engaged in a hands-on exercise applying the spatially informed infrastructure prioritisation methodology, gaining practical insights into its principles. 🔑 Discussions revolved around how infrastructure projects can be strategically assessed and prioritised to meet service investment needs and align with spatial planning goals. 🔑 A joint guideline and manual on this innovative methodology is in the pipeline, marking a strengthened collaboration between UN-Habitat and the World Bank. 🔑The urgency of adopting spatially informed approaches to effectively channel resources and achieve sustainable resilient urban outcomes was emphasised. This collaboration aims to drive transformative urban development by empowering cities with the tools they need to make impactful decisions. Pinar Caglin, Herman Pienaar, Sara Vargues, Gayatri Singh, Daniela Evia Duarte Surge, SECO Economic Cooperation and Development #URBANLAB #PlanningFinanceEconomy #urbaninfrastructure #sustainablecities #capitalinvestmentplanning

We are proud to announce that the Madrid Metropolitan Forest, led by Tulane School of Architecture Dean Iñaki Alday and Professor Margarita Jover of aldayjover, has been recognized by UN Habitat as one of four global winners of the Water as Leverage City Champion Challenge! This award honors innovative urban initiatives that enhance water resilience and climate action. The award will be presented at the 12th World Urban Forum in Cairo on November 6th, where Dean Alday and Professor Jover will deliver a lecture and conduct workshops focused on collaborative solutions for urban water challenges. This recognition highlights the critical work being done to advance sustainable urban environments. #TulaneArch #ClimateChange #UrbanSustainability

In Bangladesh’s secondary cities, rapid growth is both an opportunity and a challenge. Yet amidst the challenge, the "Bangla" model of Local Economic Development successfully helped secondary cities increase their economic performance.    At our recent session on Local Economic Development in Secondary Cities, at #WUF12, we explored how the model helped overcome Bangladesh's economic development challenges.    The PRABRIDDHI project showcased a powerful approach to local economic development, creating Local Economic Development Committees, where local businesses, informal entrepreneurs, and governments come together to design targeted economic strategies. From improving market safety to empowering youth entrepreneurs, the results speak for themselves.   Participants at the session reflected on these achievements and discussed the broader implications. We wrapped up the session with a focus on understanding the applicability of the Bangla model to other contexts.   The session brought clarity on the power of community-led transformation, even in areas with limited resources . It’s evident that when local voices are heard, sustainable solutions can flourish. Avril Bundale, Georgina Gomez, Markus Ehmann, Rukhen Azad, Jan Fransen, Kate Cotty,Vivian Muchiri, Lennart Fleck IHS, Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam | Swisscontact | Institute of Social Studies, Bangladesh| Local Government Division| Ministry of Local Government | Rural Development and Co-operatives. #UrbanLab #PlanningFinance #urbanplanning #unhabitat #WUF12 #ItAllStartsAtHome,#ItAllStartsLocally, #ItAllStartsTogether, #ItAllStartsNow

New Tool Launched at #WUF12! UN-Habitat, has released the Migration-Informed Urban Planning: A 3-Step Guidebook, a comprehensive resource developed under the Urban Lab team's- Urban Planning and Infrastructure in Migration Contexts (UPIMC) Programme. The guidebook was recently launched during #WUF12 and provides a practical framework to integrate migrants, displaced persons, and host communities into evidence-based and participatory urban planning processes. Download the Guidebook: LINK: https://lnkd.in/dCDwCwYF Available in English, French and Arabic ! Learn more about the Programme: https://lnkd.in/d7Ve-66y The guidebook offers a three-phase methodology: 🔍 Understand the City 📝 Planning the City 🔄 Transforming the City 💡 By leveraging experiences from Cameroon, Egypt, and Jordan, this resource equips urban planners, policymakers, and local governments with practical tools and best practices to address the challenges and harness the opportunities of #migration and #displacement in #urbanareas, promoting #socialcohesion and sustainable development. SECO Economic Cooperation and Development | BASE Foundation #UNHabitat #PlanningFinance #UPIMC #UrbanLab

“Today, we put cities on the ‘MAP’!” excitedly said by my colleague Jessica Jones-Langley 📌🗺️🙌🏻 By hosting the largest Ministerial Meeting on #Urbanization and #ClimateChange at #COP29 yesterday, UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) marked a significant milestone, bringing together over 50 countries and many local leaders. Big announcements came out of the event, including the Multisectoral Actions Pathways (MAP) Declaration to #Resilient and #Healthy Cities and the signing of the #Baku Continuity Coalition on #Urban and #Multilevel Climate Action, amongst others. An informal evening reception closed the day as we heard reflections from our ED Anacláudia Rossbach on key takeaways and learnings from #COP29 expanding from #G20 and also the need to work closely and better together 🙏 As negotiations enter their final stretch this week, the focus on #climatefinance 🏦 remains critical. With discussions still entrenched in debates over the trillion-dollar challenge of financing climate action, many see the forthcoming draft as a crucial opportunity to provide direction. There is cautious optimism that solutions are within reach, and delegates remain hopeful for meaningful progress… Over the last days, I also had the privilege to showcase the work that our #Planning #Finance and #Economy section is doing on designing resilience in response to climate-induced #displacement and #migration. Thank you to colleagues at the Climate Mobility Pavilion (Global Centre for Climate Mobility), Humanitarian Hub (United Nations OCHA), and Multi-level Action and Urbanization Pavilion (ICLEI) for these opportunities! It has been great to discuss how #urbanplanning, #data, and #collaboration can drive integrated solutions for displaced populations and build resilient, inclusive cities. Elisabeth du Parc Locmaria IOM - UN Migration Laura Basco Carrera, PhD Sarah Rosengaertner Patrizia Gragnani Liveson Manguwo Meremiya Hussein Oxfam Syddansk Universitet - University of Southern Denmark Irakli Malania Silvia Testi Jessica Valerani Nkateko Jennet Chauke Find more information on UN-Habitat’s engagement click here 👉🏻: https://lnkd.in/g_UkuWkh A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to these vital conversations and processes so far, in person or remote. I look forward to continuing these discussions in the next days and beyond COP29 🌸 Bernhard Barth Cerin K. Lea Ranalder Martine D. Anna Soave Anna Mandorli Naomi Hoogervorst Alina Koschmieder Francine Melchioretto Shiho Jinno Annesofie Misiani Runze Wang Katja Schäfer Katerina Bezgachina Habin Park Hirotaka Koike Sonja Hahn-Tomer Elaine Tan Hussien Muhsen