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The coronavirus has shown the importance of adequate housing for the health and wellbeing of the population. The housing affordability challenge became especially acute in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic when Governments throughout the world requested people to “stay home”. According to Ms…
Informal settlements are a significant problem for Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek. According to the estimates shared by the city government, between eighteen and twenty-five percent of almost one million inhabitants of the city live in the forty-seven informal settlements around Bishkek. These…
From nature-based solutions for urban development in Tirana, a smart urban development online platform in Prague, and the Carbon-neutral Helsinki 2035 action plan to Torino’s “Climathon” citizen engagement initiative – all over the UNECE region cities are stepping up to combat the challenges of…
Major industrial accidents can have far-reaching, transboundary and long-term impacts on populations and the environment. Without adequate coordination between land-use planning and industrial safety communities to ensure, for example, appropriate land use zoning and safety distances, the…
Today, more than half of the world population lives in cities – a number expected to grow to 70% by 2030. The concern about the pressure a growing urban population will put on cities in the future is unmistakably reflected in the distinctly urban component of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable…
Sustainable urban development is a fundamental dimension of the ambitious 2030 Agenda. Coinciding with World Habitat Day, UNECE is organizing “Urban Week 2018” with a series of events exploring challenges and solutions for sustainable urban development, held from 1-5 October at the Palais des…
In 2015, it was estimated that 1.6 billion people worldwide lacked adequate housing. While levels of homelessness vary considerably across UNECE countries, finding sustainable solutions to ensure access to housing for all members of society remains a significant challenge across the region.…
Severe accidents remind us time and time again of the need to invest in their prevention, and to mitigate their consequences, which can be far-reaching and transboundary. The cyanide spill in Baia Mare, Romania in 2000 demonstrated the devastating effects that an accident at a mining company can…
In the UNECE region, buildings are responsible for approximately one third of total energy consumption and account for almost 40 percent of CO2 emissions from combustion. Standards are an effective instrument for addressing energy efficiency in buildings and supporting the achievements of the…
Globally, more people live in urban areas than in rural areas, with 54 per cent of the world’s population residing in urban areas in 2014. In 1950, 30 per cent of the world’s population was urban, and by 2050, 66 per cent of the world’s population is projected to be urban. 73 per cent of the…
Improving energy efficiency overall is impossible without concerted measures in the buildings sector. Buildings are responsible for approximately one third of total energy consumption and account for almost 40 per cent of CO2 emissions from combustion in the UNECE region. Achieving related…
World Habitat Day 2017 is the occasion to raise awareness of the theme of “housing policies: affordable homes”, underscoring the importance of ensuring adequate, affordable and decent housing for all as a key feature of sustainable cities. This year’s celebration also coincides with the 70th…
Cities are amongst the biggest consumers of energy in the world, representing almost two-thirds of global primary energy demand. Cities also account for 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector. Through innovative integrated approaches including spatial planning…
Land resources strengthen and support global efforts towards sustainable development and ensuring property rights is critical for sustainable land management. Sustainable land management is a key element in the work to end poverty, food insecurity, climate change, and to reduce disaster risks.…
Adequate, affordable housing is the foundation upon which humans can build healthy lives, strong and resilient cities, and thriving national economies. Despite this, however, studies suggest that housing remains one of the least affordable human rights. Housing provision and land management are…
What are the key urban development and housing issues in our region? How to define the housing policies of the future in order to address them? And how to make these work sustainably? Just one month ahead of the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development -…
UNECE and ITU organized the First Meeting of the U4SSC initiative on 21-22 July 2016 in Geneva, Switzerland. Under the eyes of stakeholders from all over the world and several UN entities, the leading team of the initiative was appointed and the Terms of Reference of the team and of the joining…
Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)  chose largely different models of political and economic reforms in the transition from a planned to a market economy over the period 1996- 2014. This led to the emergence of different demographic and urbanisation dynamics, with…
How to ensure access to decent, adequate, affordable and healthy housing for all? How to reduce the impact of the housing sector on the environment? How to make the most of technological developments to make cities really “smart” and improve the quality of life of their inhabitants? What are the…
As Europe’s housing crisis continues to deepen, Europe’s leading government officials, private sector representatives and NGOs will seek new solutions at the 3rd Europe Housing Forum, 18-20 November 2015 in Berlin.  They will address the region’s three most critical housing issues—…
By 2050, almost three quarters of the world’s population will call urban areas home. We are clearly living in a Century of Cities. There are striking urban and housing challenges, in both developed and developing countries. To draw attention to these, UNECE, in cooperation with the Cittadellarte…
From 24 to 27 February, UNECE will host the Sustainable Land Management Week at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The series of events held during the week will highlight the needs and priorities of land administration in the UNECE region in support of the post-2015 development agenda and the…