19/09/2025
🚰 Without reliable access to clean water and sanitation,
🛑 without protection from eviction, and
🧱 without durable homes, people remain trapped in cycles of vulnerability - disproportionately impacted by climate shocks, economic instability, and displacement.
As cities face the twin challenges of rapid urbanisation and climate change, prioritising inclusive housing policies and infrastructure is more urgent than ever.
🔍 The Facts:
🌆 The number of slum dwellers has increased by 130 million since 2015.
🔥 Informal areas face disproportionate impacts from climate hazards like flooding, heatwaves, and landslides.
🚫 Many residents lack legal protection from eviction, preventing them from investing in or improving their homes.
🛠️ The Solutions:
- Community-led upgrading: Involving residents in planning ensures solutions are inclusive, affordable, and context-specific.
- Legal frameworks for secure tenure: Simple, incremental tenure recognition policies reduce eviction risks and unlock investment in home improvements.
- Basic service investment: Expanding access to water, sanitation, and electricity is foundational for dignity and resilience.
- Climate-smart housing policies: Promoting energy-efficient, disaster-resistant construction helps cities adapt to future risks.
- Integrating informal areas into city plans: Formal inclusion unlocks access to infrastructure, finance, and public services.
These are powerful policies: climate action, poverty reduction, and human rights strategies rolled into one.
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As World Habitat Day approaches - on 6 October - we reflect on the state of towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter.
Find out how you can get involved in sharing and learning about new urban solutions, search "2025 World Habitat Day"
