habitat

The city of Quito, Ecuador, which was declared a World Heritage Site by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in the late 1970s.
© UNESCO/Francesco Bandarin

HABITAT III: UN conference agrees new urban development agenda creating sustainable, equitable cities for all

20 October 2016
A major conference on the future of the world’s cities and towns, known as Habitat III, has wrapped up in Quito, Ecuador, with delegations adopting a new framework that will set the world on a course towards sustainable urban development by rethinking how cities are planned, managed and inhabited.
A hazy day in Beijing increases the urgency of air pollution control. World Bank/
Wu Zhiyi

Protecting people and planet from ‘invisible killer’ is focus of UN health campaign to tackle air pollution

20 October 2016
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the Coalition for Climate and Clean Air (CCAC) and the Government of Norway has launched a global awareness campaign on the dangers of air pollution – especially ‘invisible killers’ such as black carbon, ground-level ozone and methane – for the health of individuals and the planet.
Culture gives cities social and economic power.
UNESCO

HABITAT III: ‘A human-centred city is a culture-centred space’ says UNESCO report

18 October 2016
With top diplomats and urban development experts gathered this week in Quito, Ecuador, for a major United Nations conference on green, clean urban spaces, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has released a new report spotlighting the power of culture as a strategic asset for creating cities that are more inclusive, creative and sustainable.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (on wide screens) addresses the opening of the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III).
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

HABITAT III: Sustainable, inclusive cities ‘can transform our world for the better,’ Ban tells UN conference

17 October 2016
Opening today the United Nations Habitat III conference in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, Secretary-General Ban-Ki-Moon told the gathered delegations that “transforming our world for the better” means re-making towns and cities through sustainable development.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the opening of the Second World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments, ahead of the UN Conference on Housing Sustainable Urban Development in Quito, Ecuador.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

HABITAT III: 'Take strong ownership' of vital new agenda to create cities of the future, Ban urges world's mayors

16 October 2016
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged Mayors across the world to “take strong ownership” of a new global agenda for sustainable development in the towns and cities they represent.
A view of Busan, the Republic of Korea’s second largest city after Seoul.
UN Photo/Kibae Park

HABITAT III: UN conference to set new urban development agenda creating sustainable, equitable cities for all

14 October 2016
SDGs

A major global conference, aiming to set a ‘New Urban Agenda,’ which, in the words of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, will “help us to rethink how we plan, manage and live in cities,” begins this weekend, in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito.

Yasuni National Park in Ecuador is arguably the most biologically diverse spot on Earth.
<a href=http://bit.ly/1OHbnVk>UNEP GRID Arendal/Peter Prokosch</a>

World needs ‘new vision for urbanization,’ says UN chief

12 April 2016
Welcoming Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa to the United Nations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said the world needs a new vision for urbanization – a “New Urban Agenda” – to help protect the environment and limit climate change.
Urban sprawl - a view of old Lijian city in China.
UN-HABITAT

On World Habitat Day, UN calls for 'new urban agenda'

6 October 2014
Urgent action is needed to refocus urban planning and to provide safe, affordable housing that is appropriate and adequate for our citizens' growing needs, senior United Nations officials said marking World Habitat Day, which is observed annually on the first Monday of October.
A settlement of displaced Iraqis

UN aims to help Iraq improve housing for its poor

2 June 2011
The United Nations well help the Iraqi Government to improve housing for the poor under an agreement announced today by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).
UN-HABITAT Executive Director Joan Clos

UN official outlines challenges facing cities amid rapid urbanization

3 November 2010
The new head of the United Nations agency tasked with promoting sustainable cities today outlined the challenges facing urban centres around the world, saying they were hosting increasingly large populations but had limited resources for critical services