About us

A better quality of life for all in an urbanizing world

OUR VISION

The UN-Habitat’s vision of “a better quality of life for all in an urbanizing world” is bold and ambitious. UN-Habitat works with partners to build inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities. UN-Habitat promotes urbanization as a positive transformative force for people and communities, reducing inequality, discrimination and poverty.

OUR MISSION

UN-Habitat works in over 90 countries to promote transformative change in cities and human settlements through knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance and collaborative action.

UN-Habitat’s new strategic plan 2020-2023 adopts a more strategic and integrated approach to solving the challenges and opportunities of twenty-first century cities and other human settlements.

Our mission embodies the four main roles of the organization, which can be summarized as: think, do, share and partner.

THINK: UN-Habitat’s normative work, including groundbreaking research and capacity-building, sets standards, proposes norms and principles, shares good practice, monitors global progress and supports formulation of policies related to sustainable cities and human settlements.

DO: UN-Habitat’s operational work takes various forms of technical assistance, drawing on its unique expertise in sustainable urbanization and crisis response. UN-Habitat implements projects to provide value-added and tailored support to countries.

SHARE: Through advocacy, communication and outreach, UN-Habitat mobilizes public, political and financial support and collaborative action to inspire qualitative change in national development plans, policy frameworks, development practice and investment choices for sustainable urban development at the local, national and global level.

PARTNER: UN-Habitat collaborates with governments, intergovernmental, UN agencies, civil society organizations, foundations, academic institutions and the private sector to achieve enduring results in addressing the challenges of urbanization.

A new focus for UN-Habitat

UN-Habitat promotes transformative change in cities and human settlements through knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance and collaborative action to leave no one and no place behind.

Reduced spatial inequality and poverty in communities across the urban-rural continuum

Enhanced shared prosperity for cities and regions

Strengthened climate action and improved urban environment

Effective urban crises prevention and response

UN-Habitat’s Solutions Start with Cities

UN-Habitat’s new Brochure - Solutions Start with Cities - illustrates how UN-Habitat draws on over 40 years of experience to unlock the value of cities and work towards a sustainable urban future. It features compelling stories on UN-Habitat’s catalytic role with a wide range of partners and its multi-level impact from global guidelines to local projects.  The Brochure describes how core funding enables UN-Habitat to utilize its experts, systems, knowledge and capacity to deliver norms, guidance and solutions in an urbanizing world.

The New Urban Agenda

The New Urban Agenda represents a shared vision for a better and more sustainable future

- one in which all people have equal rights and access to the benefits and opportunities that cities can offer, and in which the international community reconsiders the urban systems and physical form of our urban spaces to achieve this. UN-Habitat is the focal point on sustainable urbanization and human settlements in the United Nations system and plays an important role in implementing the New Urban Agenda.

UN-Habitat Secretariat

The UN-Habitat Secretariat designs, implements, manages and monitors initiatives for sustainable urbanization. It is also mandated to carry out research activities and to facilitate the exchange of information, knowledge and best practices on global trends, effective approaches and new technologies regarding urbanization.

Governing Bodies

UN-Habitat’s governance structure is a three-tier structure made up of the UN-Habitat Assembly, the Executive Board and the Committee of Permanent Representatives. The three governing bodies together strengthen the accountability and transparency of UN-Habitat, and provide an effective oversight mechanism for UN-Habitat to enhance its normative and operational activities.