From favelas to informal settlements, new UN report points to housing solutions that work
A major new UN report says such efforts are more than isolated successes. With the right tools, it argues, easing the global housing crisis – affecting billions – may be within reach.
Released by UN-Habitat and launched on Tuesday at the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13), in Baku, Azerbaijan, the report also points to a broader role for the UN system in helping countries move beyond short-term fixes towards long-term housing solutions rooted in human rights, climate resilience and community participation.
Held every two years, the forum brings together policymakers, practitioners and community leaders, offering a space to connect local experience with global decision-making – from slum upgrading and affordable housing finance to climate adaptation and post-conflict reconstruction.
The World Cities Report 2026: The Global Housing Crisis – Pathways to Action paints a stark picture.
Up to 3.4 billion people worldwide lack access to adequate housing, while more than 1.1 billion live in informal settlements and slums. Yet across its 300-plus pages, the report emphasises not only the scale of the challenge but also examples of what works.
UN as coordinator, advocate and partner
UN-Habitat says the role of the United Nations is not simply to sound the alarm, but to help governments, cities and communities build practical solutions.
The report describes housing as central to sustainable development and calls for greater political priority through the New Urban Agenda, an action-oriented framework adopted in 2016 that sets global standards for urban planning and helps advance the urban dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Housing should be seen as more than a market commodity, says UN-Habitat Executive Director Anacláudia Rossbach, “Adequate housing represents one of the most powerful entry points for accelerating sustainable and inclusive development.”
The UN’s role includes:
- helping governments develop housing policies,
- promoting housing as a human right,
- coordinating international cooperation,
- supporting climate-resilient urban planning,
- backing community-led upgrading projects.
Rather than top-down solutions, the report emphasizes partnership with local communities, illustrating the approach through case studies from different regions.
In the ‘Green Room’ at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, models of green cities and other climate solutions-based exhibits are on display.
Thailand: community-driven upgrading
One of the flagship examples is Thailand’s Baan Mankong programme, widely seen as a model for participatory housing development. Instead of relocating residents from informal settlements, it provides infrastructure funding and supports collective land agreements, allowing communities to improve housing in place.
UN-Habitat presents this as evidence that informal settlements should not automatically be viewed as failures of urban development. At the same time, the report notes challenges: reliance on community savings groups can lead to uneven progress, with poorer communities struggling to meet requirements.
Jordan: inclusive urban spaces
In Amman, interventions have included the rehabilitation of a large open space near the Al-Hussein refugee camp into a climate-resilient, age-responsive park.
Such projects aim to ease tensions between displaced people and host communities while improving living conditions for all, with attention to the needs of women and girls. The report urges cities to treat displaced populations not as temporary outsiders, but as urban residents entitled to services, jobs and safe housing.
It also situates the example within a broader global context: by the end of 2024, more than 123 million people had been forcibly displaced by conflict, violence and persecution, alongside millions uprooted by disasters. In this context, the UN sees its role as bridging the gap between humanitarian response and long-term urban development.
Brazil: upgrading instead of eviction
Brazil’s favela programmes illustrate a shift away from eviction and slum clearance, policies the report says often deepened poverty and social exclusion.
Instead, UN-Habitat promotes “in situ upgrading” – improving roads, sanitation, drainage and housing conditions without displacing residents. The approach allows solutions to be tailored to each area, from housing improvements in São Paulo to drainage projects in Recife and the construction of a cable car in Rio de Janeiro’s Complexo do Alemão.
Public green space has a positive effect on biodiversity, climate, wellness and air quality.
Climate-resilient housing
The report places housing at the centre of the climate crisis. Buildings account for around 37 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, while climate-related hazards could destroy 167 million homes by 2040. In 2023 alone, natural disasters caused $280 billion in economic losses, most of them uninsured.
UN-Habitat argues that climate-resilient housing must become a global priority. Examples highlighted in the report include community-led upgrading projects in Cambodia and innovative governance initiatives in the Philippines, where residents collectively plan and build their homes.
In Tanzania, rapid electrification has more than doubled access – from 15 per cent in 2020 to 40 per cent in 2022 – providing an alternative to polluting fuels such as charcoal and opening the way for cleaner practices like eCooking. To support the transition, the national electricity provider has introduced financing schemes for appliances, while project partners have developed recipe guides tailored to electric cooking.
The report also warns that climate adaptation must not come at the expense of low-income communities through forced relocation or “green gentrification.”
Housing as a human right
The UN frames housing not only as an economic issue, but as a matter of human rights. The report calls on governments to strengthen protections against forced evictions, recognize diverse forms of land tenure and involve communities more closely in decision-making.
Even in developed countries, segregation remains entrenched. In Europe, many first- and second-generation immigrants remain concentrated in low-income neighbourhoods, while in the United States housing segregation increased in most cities between 1990 and 2014, a divide laid bare again during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report argues that housing policy must move beyond narrow models of homeownership to include rental housing, cooperatives and community-led approaches. For UN-Habitat, there is no single global solution; progress depends on cooperation between governments, international organizations and residents themselves.
As Executive Director Anacláudia Rossbach writes in the foreword, “the actions we take now will determine whether housing becomes a foundation for stability and growth, or a source of acute vulnerability.”
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