Why in news?
On 7 May 2026 the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN‑Habitat) unveiled the Catalogue of Solutions 2026‑2029 during the second UN‑Habitat Assembly in Nairobi. The catalogue compiles 81 proven tools and advisory services to help governments and cities address urgent urban challenges such as housing shortages, land management, access to basic services and environmental sustainability. It forms part of UN‑Habitat’s Strategic Plan 2026‑2029.
Background
UN‑Habitat was created after the first UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat I) held in Vancouver in 1976. The Vancouver Declaration recommended establishing the UN Commission on Human Settlements and a secretariat called the UN Centre for Human Settlements. In 2018 the UN General Assembly restructured the programme by creating the UN‑Habitat Assembly, granting it universal membership. Today UN‑Habitat works to promote adequate shelter for all and sustainable, socially just cities.
Governance
- UN‑Habitat Assembly: Meets every four years and sets the organisation’s strategic direction. The assembly elects a 36‑member Executive Board and approves the budget.
- Executive Board: Comprising representatives elected by the assembly, it meets three times a year to oversee operations, ensure accountability and approve work programmes.
- Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR): Serves as an intersessional body, reviewing reports and providing advice to the Executive Board. Each organ has a bureau consisting of a president, three vice‑presidents and a rapporteur.
Highlights of the catalogue
- Strategic focus: Solutions address four pressing areas: affordable housing and informal settlements, land and territorial planning, urban basic services such as water and waste, and climate resilience.
- Impact areas: The catalogue emphasises equitable prosperity, youth empowerment, social inclusion and gender equality.
- Means of implementation: It proposes tools for effective urban planning, digital innovation, municipal finance and participatory governance. Cities can choose solutions that fit their specific needs and adapt them to local contexts.
- Urban challenges: UN‑Habitat notes that nearly 3 billion people may need adequate housing by 2030, one in four urban residents lacks safely managed drinking water, more than a billion people live in informal settlements, and the world produces about 2.4 billion tonnes of municipal waste annually—45 % of which is mismanaged.
Significance
By collating practical tools and advisory services into one catalogue, UN‑Habitat hopes to help cities and governments quickly implement proven solutions. The programme emphasises that no single approach fits every city; instead, success requires local adaptation, long‑term commitment and international cooperation. The catalogue complements the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 11 (sustainable cities and communities).