The Habitat Agenda Goals and
Principles, Commitments and the
Global Plan of Action
Chapter I - Preamble
1. We recognize the imperative need to improve the quality of human settlements, which profoundly
affects the daily lives and well-being of our peoples. There is a sense of great opportunity and hope that
a new world can be built, in which economic development, social development and environmental
protection as interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development can be
realized through solidarity and cooperation within and between countries and through effective
partnerships at all levels. International cooperation and universal solidarity, guided by the purposes and
principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and in a spirit of partnership, are crucial to improving
the quality of life of the peoples of the world.
2. The purpose of the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) is to
address two themes of equal global importance: "Adequate shelter for all" and "Sustainable human
settlements development in an urbanizing world". Human beings are at the centre of concerns for
sustainable development, including adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements, and they
are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
3. As to the first theme, a large segment of the world's population lacks shelter and sanitation,
particularly in developing countries. We recognize that access to safe and healthy shelter and basic
services is essential to a person's physical, psychological, social and economic well-being and should be
a fundamental part of our urgent actions for the more than one billion people without decent living
conditions. Our objective is to achieve adequate shelter for all, especially the deprived urban and rural
poor, through an enabling approach to the development and improvement of shelter that is
environmentally sound.
4. As to the second theme, sustainable development of human settlements combines economic
development, social development and environmental protection, with full respect for all human rights
and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, and offers a means of achieving a world
of greater stability and peace, built on ethical and spiritual vision. Democracy, respect for human rights,
transparent, representative and accountable government and administration in all sectors of society, as
well as effective participation by civil society, are indispensable foundations for the realization of
sustainable development. The lack of development and the existence of widespread absolute poverty can
inhibit the full and effective enjoyment of human rights and undermine fragile democracy and popular
participation. Neither of them, however, can be invoked to justify violations of human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
5. Recognizing the global nature of these issues, the international community, in convening Habitat II,
has decided that a concerted global approach could greatly enhance progress towards achieving these
goals. Unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, particularly in industrialized countries,
environmental degradation, demographic changes, widespread and persistent poverty, and social and
economic inequality can have local, cross-national and global impacts. The sooner communities, local
governments and partnerships among the public, private and community sectors join efforts to create
comprehensive, bold and innovative strategies for shelter and human settlements, the better the prospects
will be for the safety, health and well-being of people and the brighter the outlook for solutions to global
environment and social problems.
6. Having considered the experience since the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements,
held at Vancouver, Canada, in 1976, Habitat II reaffirms the results from relevant recent world
conferences and has developed them into an agenda for human settlements: the Habitat Agenda.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development - the Earth Summit - held at Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, produced Agenda 21. At that Conference, the international community agreed
on a framework for the sustainable development of human settlements. Each of the other conferences,
including the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, 1995), World Summit for Social
Development (Copenhagen, 1995), the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo,
1994), the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
(Barbados, 1994), the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction (Yokohama, 1994) and the
World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993), as well as the World Summit for Children
(New York, 1990) and the World Conference on Education for All (Jomtien, Thailand, 1990), also
addressed important social, economic and environmental issues, including components of the sustainable
development agenda, for which successful implementation requires action at the local, national and
international levels. The Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, adopted in 1988, which
emphasizes the need for improved production and delivery of shelter, revised national housing policies
and an enabling strategy, offers useful guidelines for the realization of adequate shelter for all in the next
century.
7. During the course of history, urbanization has been associated with economic and social progress, the
promotion of literacy and education, the improvement of the general state of health, greater access to
social services, and cultural, political and religious participation. Democratization has enhanced such
access and meaningful participation and involvement for civil society actors, for publicprivate
partnerships, and for decentralized, participatory planning and management, which are important
features of a successful urban future. Cities and towns have been engines of growth and incubators of
civilization and have facilitated the evolution of knowledge, culture and tradition, as well as of industry
and commerce. Urban settlements, properly planned and managed, hold the promise for human
development and the protection of the world's natural resources through their ability to support large
numbers of people while limiting their impact on the natural environment. The growth of cities and
towns causes social, economic and environmental changes that go beyond city boundaries. Habitat II
deals with all settlements - large, medium and small - and reaffirms the need for universal improvements
in living and working conditions.
8. To overcome current problems and to ensure future progress in the improvement of economic, social
and environmental conditions in human settlements, we must begin with a recognition of the challenges
facing cities and towns. According to current projections, by the turn of the century, more than
three billion people - one half of the world's population - will live and work in urban areas. The most
serious problems confronting cities and towns and their inhabitants include inadequate financial
resources, lack of employment opportunities, spreading homelessness and expansion of squatter
settlements, increased poverty and a widening gap between rich and poor, growing insecurity and rising
crime rates, inadequate and deteriorating building stock, services and infrastructure, lack of health and
educational facilities, improper land use, insecure land tenure, rising traffic congestion, increasing
pollution, lack of green spaces, inadequate water supply and sanitation, uncoordinated urban
development and an increasing vulnerability to disaster. All of these have seriously challenged the
capacities of Governments, particularly those of developing countries, at all levels to realize economic
development, social development and environmental protection, which are interdependent and mutually
reinforcing components of sustainable development - the framework for our efforts to achieve a higher
quality of life for all people. Rapid rates of international and internal migration, as well as population
growth in cities and towns, and unsustainable patterns of production and consumption raise these
problems in especially acute forms. In these cities and towns, large sections of the world's urban
population live in inadequate conditions and are confronted with serious problems, including
environmental problems, that are exacerbated by inadequate planning and managerial capacities, lack of
investment and technology, and insufficient mobilization and inappropriate allocation of financial
resources, as well as by a lack of social and economic opportunities. In the case of international
migration, migrants have needs for housing and basic services, education, employment and social
integration without a loss of cultural identity, and they are to be given adequate protection and attention
within host countries.
9. In the process of globalization and growing interdependence, rural settlements represent a great
challenge and opportunity for renewed developmental initiatives at all levels and in all fields. Many
rural settlements, however, are facing a lack or an inadequacy of economic opportunities, especially
employment, and of infrastructure and services, particularly those related to water, sanitation, health,
education, communication, transportation and energy. Appropriate efforts and technologies for rural
development can help to reduce, inter alia, imbalances, unsustainable practices, poverty, isolation,
environmental pollution and insecure land tenure. Such efforts can contribute to improving the linkage
of rural settlements with the mainstream of economic, social and cultural life, to assuring sustainable
communities and safe environments, and to reducing pressures on urban growth.
10. Cities, towns and rural settlements are linked through the movements of goods, resources and
people. Urbanrural linkages are of crucial importance for the sustainability of human settlements. As
rural population growth has outpaced the generation of employment and economic opportunities,
ruraltourban migration has steadily increased, particularly in developing countries, which has put
enormous pressure on urban infrastructure and services already under serious stress. It is urgent to
eradicate rural poverty and to improve the quality of living conditions, as well as to create employment
and educational opportunities in rural settlements, regional centres and secondary cities. Full advantage
must be taken of the complementary contributions and linkages of rural and urban areas by balancing
their different economic, social and environmental requirements.
11. More people than ever are living in absolute poverty and without adequate shelter. Inadequate shelter
and homelessness are growing plights in many countries, threatening standards of health, security and
even life itself. Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their
families, including adequate food, clothing, housing, water and sanitation, and to the continuous
improvement of living conditions.
12. The rapidly increasing number of displaced persons, including refugees, other displaced persons in
need of international protection and internally displaced persons, as a result of natural and humanmade
disasters in many regions of the world, is aggravating the shelter crisis, highlighting the need for a
speedy solution to the problem on a durable basis.
13. The needs of children and youth, particularly with regard to their living environment, have to be
taken fully into account. Special attention needs to be paid to the participatory processes dealing with the
shaping of cities, towns and neighbourhoods; this is in order to secure the living conditions of children
and of youth and to make use of their insight, creativity and thoughts on the environment. Special
attention must be paid to the shelter needs of vulnerable children, such as street children, refugee
children and children who are victims of sexual exploitation. Parents and other persons legally
responsible for children have responsibilities, rights and duties, consistent with the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, to address these needs.
14. In shelter and urban development and management policies, particular attention should be given to
the needs and participation of indigenous people. These policies should fully respect their identity and
culture and provide an appropriate environment that enables them to participate in political, social and
economic life.
15. Women have an important role to play in the attainment of sustainable human settlements.
Nevertheless, as a result of a number of factors, including the persistent and increasing burden of
poverty on women and discrimination against women, women face particular constraints in obtaining
adequate shelter and in fully participating in decision-making related to sustainable human settlements.
The empowerment of women and their full and equal participation in political, social and economic life,
the improvement of health and the eradication of poverty are essential to achieving sustainable human
settlements.
16. Encountering disabilities is a part of normal life. Persons with disabilities have not always had the
opportunity to participate fully and equally in human settlements development and management,
including decisionmaking, often owing to social, economic, attitudinal and physical barriers, and
discrimination. Such barriers should be removed and the needs and concerns of persons with disabilities
should be fully integrated into shelter and sustainable human settlement plans and policies to create
access for all.
17. Older persons are entitled to lead fulfilling and productive lives and should have opportunities for
full participation in their communities and society, and in all decisionmaking regarding their wellbeing,
especially their shelter needs. Their many contributions to the political, social and economic processes
of human settlements should be recognized and valued. Special attention should be given to meeting the
evolving housing and mobility needs in order to enable them to continue to lead rewarding lives in their
communities.
18. Although many countries, particularly developing countries, lack the legal, institutional, financial,
technological and human resources to respond adequately to rapid urbanization, many local authorities
are taking on these challenges with open, accountable and effective leadership and are eager to bring
people into the sustainable development process. Enabling structures that facilitate independent initiative
and creativity, and that encourage a wide range of partnerships, including partnership with the private
sector, and within and between countries, should be promoted. Furthermore, empowering all people,
especially those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, in particular people living in
poverty, to participate equally and effectively in all activities related to human settlements is the basis
for civic engagement and should be facilitated by national authorities. Indeed, the Habitat Agenda
provides a framework to enable people to take responsibility for the promotion and creation of
sustainable human settlements.
19. Human settlements problems are of a multidimensional nature. It is recognized that adequate shelter
for all and sustainable human settlements development are not isolated from the broader social and
economic development of countries and that they cannot be set apart from the need for favourable
national and international frameworks for economic development, social development and
environmental protection, which are indispensable and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable
development.
20. There are critical differences regarding human settlements in different regions and countries and
within countries. The differences, specific situations and varying capacities of each community and
country need to be taken into account in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. In this context,
international, regional, subregional, national and local cooperation and partnerships, institutions such as
the Commission on Human Settlements and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat),
as well as resources, are central to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.
21. The Habitat Agenda is a global call to action at all levels. It offers, within a framework of goals and
principles and commitments, a positive vision of sustainable human settlements - where all have
adequate shelter, a healthy and safe environment, basic services, and productive and freely chosen
employment. The Habitat Agenda will guide all efforts to turn this vision into reality.
Chapter II - Goals and Principles
22. The objectives of the Habitat Agenda are in full conformity with the purposes and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations and international law.
23. While the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and
religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of all States to promote and protect all
human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development.
24. Implementation of the Habitat Agenda, including implementation through national laws and
development priorities, programmes and policies, is the sovereign right and responsibility of each State
in conformity with all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, and
taking into account the significance of and with full respect for various religious and ethical values,
cultural backgrounds, and philosophical convictions of individuals and their communities, contributing
to the full enjoyment by all of their human rights in order to achieve the objectives of adequate shelter
for all and sustainable human settlements development.
25. We, the States participating in the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II),
are committed to a political, economic, environmental, ethical and spiritual vision of human settlements
based on the principles of equality, solidarity, partnership, human dignity, respect and cooperation. We
adopt the goals and principles of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development
in an urbanizing world. We believe that attaining these goals will promote a more stable and equitable
world that is free from injustice and conflict and will contribute to a just, comprehensive and lasting
peace. Civil, ethnic and religious strife, violations of human rights, alien and colonial domination,
foreign occupation, economic imbalances, poverty, organized crime, terrorism in all its forms, and
corruption are destructive to human settlements and should therefore be denounced and discouraged by
all States, which should cooperate to achieve the elimination of such practices and all unilateral
measures impeding social and economic development. At the national level we will reinforce peace by
promoting tolerance, nonviolence and respect for diversity and by settling disputes by peaceful means.
At the local level, the prevention of crime and the promotion of sustainable communities are essential to
the attainment of safe and secure societies. Crime prevention through social development is one crucial
key to these goals. At the international level, we will promote international peace and security and make
and support all efforts to settle international disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with the Charter
of the United Nations.
26. We reaffirm and are guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and
we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring the full realization of the human rights set out in international
instruments and in particular, in this context, the right to adequate housing as set forth in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and provided for in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, taking into account that the right to adequate housing, as included in the
above-mentioned international instruments, shall be realized progressively. We reaffirm that all human
rights civil, cultural, economic, political and social - are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated. We subscribe to the principles and goals set out below to guide us in our actions.
I
27. Equitable human settlements are those in which all people, without discrimination of any kind as to
race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth
or other status, have equal access to housing, infrastructure, health services, adequate food and water,
education and open spaces. In addition, such human settlements provide equal opportunity for a
productive and freely chosen livelihood; equal access to economic resources, including the right to
inheritance, the ownership of land and other property, credit, natural resources and appropriate
technologies; equal opportunity for personal, spiritual, religious, cultural and social development; equal
opportunity for participation in public decision-making; equal rights and obligations with regard to the
conservation and use of natural and cultural resources; and equal access to mechanisms to ensure that
rights are not violated. The empowerment of women and their full participation on the basis of equality
in all spheres of society, whether rural or urban, are fundamental to sustainable human settlements
development.
II
28. The eradication of poverty is essential for sustainable human settlements. The principle of poverty
eradication is based on the framework adopted by the World Summit for Social Development and on the
relevant outcomes of other major United Nations conferences, including the objective of meeting the
basic needs of all people, especially those living in poverty and disadvantaged and vulnerable groups,
particularly in the developing countries where poverty is acute, as well as the objective of enabling all
women and men to attain secure and sustainable livelihoods through freely chosen and productive
employment and work.
III
29. Sustainable development is essential for human settlements development, and gives full
consideration to the needs and necessities of achieving economic growth, social development and
environmental protection. Special consideration should be given to the specific situation and needs of
developing countries and, as appropriate, of countries with economies in transition. Human settlements
shall be planned, developed and improved in a manner that takes full account of sustainable
development principles and all their components, as set out in Agenda 21 and related outcomes of the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Sustainable human settlements
development ensures economic development, employment opportunities and social progress, in harmony
with the environment. It incorporates, together with the principles of the Rio Declaration on
Environment and Development, which are equally important, and other outcomes of the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development, the principles of the precautionary approach, pollution
prevention, respect for the carrying capacity of ecosystems, and preservation of opportunities for future
generations. Production, consumption and transport should be managed in ways that protect and
conserve the stock of resources while drawing upon them. Science and technology have a crucial role in
shaping sustainable human settlements and sustaining the ecosystems they depend upon. Sustainability
of human settlements entails their balanced geographical distribution or other appropriate distribution in
keeping with national conditions, promotion of economic and social development, human health and
education, and the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components, and
maintenance of cultural diversity as well as air, water, forest, vegetation and soil qualities at standards
sufficient to sustain human life and wellbeing for future generations.
IV
30. The quality of life of all people depends, among other economic, social, environmental and cultural
factors, on the physical conditions and spatial characteristics of our villages, towns and cities. City
layout and aesthetics, landuse patterns, population and building densities, transportation and ease of
access for all to basic goods, services and public amenities have a crucial bearing on the liveability of
settlements. This is particularly important to vulnerable and disadvantaged persons, many of whom face
barriers in access to shelter and in participating in shaping the future of their settlements. People's need
for community and their aspirations for more liveable neighbourhoods and settlements should guide the
process of design, management and maintenance of human settlements. Objectives of this endeavour
include protecting public health, providing for safety and security, education and social integration,
promoting equality and respect for diversity and cultural identities, increased accessibility for persons
with disabilities, and preservation of historic, spiritual, religious and culturally significant buildings and
districts, respecting local landscapes and treating the local environment with respect and care. The
preservation of the natural heritage and historical human settlements, including sites, monuments and
buildings, particularly those protected under the UNESCO Convention on World Heritage Sites, should
be assisted, including through international cooperation. It is also of crucial importance that spatial
diversification and mixed use of housing and services be promoted at the local level in order to meet the
diversity of needs and expectations.
V
31. The family is the basic unit of society and as such should be strengthened. It is entitled to receive
comprehensive protection and support. In different cultural, political and social systems, various forms
of the family exist. Marriage must be entered into with the free consent of the intending spouses, and
husband and wife should be equal partners. The rights, capabilities and responsibilities of family
members must be respected. Human settlements planning should take into account the constructive role
of the family in the design, development and management of such settlements. Society should facilitate,
as appropriate, all necessary conditions for its integration, reunification, preservation, improvement, and
protection within adequate shelter and with access to basic services and a sustainable livelihood.
VI
32. All people have rights and must also accept their responsibility to respect and protect the rights of
others including future generations and to contribute actively to the common good. Sustainable human
settlements are those that, inter alia, generate a sense of citizenship and identity, cooperation and
dialogue for the common good, and a spirit of voluntarism and civic engagement, where all people are
encouraged and have an equal opportunity to participate in decisionmaking and development.
Governments at all appropriate levels, including local authorities, have a responsibility to ensure access
to education and to protect their population's health, safety and general welfare. This requires, as
appropriate, establishing policies, laws and regulations for both public and private activities,
encouraging responsible private activities in all fields, facilitating community groups' participation,
adopting transparent procedures, encouraging publicspirited leadership and publicprivate partnerships,
and helping people to understand and exercise their rights and responsibilities through open and
effective participatory processes, universal education and information dissemination.
VII
33. Partnerships among countries and among all actors within countries from public, private, voluntary
and communitybased organizations, the cooperative sector, nongovernmental organizations and
individuals are essential to the achievement of sustainable human settlements development and the
provision of adequate shelter for all and basic services. Partnerships can integrate and mutually support
objectives of broadbased participation through, inter alia, forming alliances, pooling resources, sharing
knowledge, contributing skills and capitalizing on the comparative advantages of collective actions. The
processes can be made more effective by strengthening civil organizations at all levels. Every effort
must be made to encourage the collaboration and partnership of all sectors of society and among all
actors in decisionmaking processes, as appropriate.
VIII
34. Solidarity with those belonging to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, including people living in
poverty, as well as tolerance, nondiscrimination and cooperation among all people, families and
communities are foundations for social cohesion. Solidarity, cooperation and assistance should be
enhanced by the international community as well as by States and all other relevant actors in response to
the challenges of human settlements development. The international community and Governments at all
appropriate levels are called upon to promote sound and effective policies and instruments, thereby
strengthening cooperation among Governments and nongovernmental organizations, as well as to
mobilize complementary resources to meet these challenges.
IX
35. To safeguard the interests of present and future generations in human settlements is one of the
fundamental goals of the international community. The formulation and implementation of strategies for
human settlements development are primarily the responsibility of each country at the national and local
levels within the legal framework of each country, inter alia, by creating an enabling environment for
human settlements development, and should take into account the economic, social and environmental
diversity of conditions in each country. New and additional financial resources from various sources are
necessary to achieve the goals of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements
development in an urbanizing world. The existing resources available to developing countries - public,
private, multilateral, bilateral, domestic and external - need to be enhanced through appropriate and
flexible mechanisms and economic instruments to support adequate shelter for all and sustainable human
settlements development. These should be accompanied by concrete measures for international technical
cooperation and information exchange.
X
36. Human health and quality of life are at the centre of the effort to develop sustainable human
settlements. We therefore commit ourselves to promoting and attaining the goals of universal and equal
access to quality education, the highest attainable standard of physical, mental and environmental health,
and the equal access of all to primary health care, making particular efforts to rectify inequalities relating
to social and economic conditions, including housing, without distinction as to race, national origin,
gender, age, or disability, respecting and promoting our common and particular cultures. Good health
throughout the life-span of every man and woman, good health for every child, and quality education for
all are fundamental to ensuring that people of all ages are able to develop their full capacities in health
and dignity and to participate fully in the social, economic and political processes of human settlements,
thus contributing, inter alia, to the eradication of poverty. Sustainable human settlements depend on the
interactive development of policies and concrete actions to provide access to food and nutrition, safe
drinking water, sanitation, and universal access to the widest range of primary health-care services,
consistent with the report of the International Conference on Population and Development; to eradicate
major diseases that take a heavy toll of human lives, particularly childhood diseases; to create safe
places to work and live; and to protect the environment.
Chapter III - Commitments
37. Embracing the foregoing principles as States participating in this Conference, we commit ourselves
to implementing the Habitat Agenda, through local, national, subregional and regional plans of action
and/or other policies and programmes drafted and executed in cooperation with interested parties at all
levels and supported by the international community, taking into account that human beings are at the
centre of concerns for sustainable development, including adequate shelter for all and sustainable human
settlements development, and that they are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with
nature.
38. In implementing these commitments, special attention should be given to the circumstances and
needs of people living in poverty, people who are homeless, women, older people, indigenous people,
refugees, displaced persons, persons with disabilities and those belonging to vulnerable and
disadvantaged groups. Special consideration should also be given to the needs of migrants. Furthermore,
special attention should be given to the specific needs and circumstances of children, particularly street
children.
A. Adequate shelter for all
39. We reaffirm our commitment to the full and progressive realization of the right to adequate housing,
as provided for in international instruments. In this context, we recognize an obligation by Governments
to enable people to obtain shelter and to protect and improve dwellings and neighbourhoods. We commit
ourselves to the goal of improving living and working conditions on an equitable and sustainable basis,
so that everyone will have adequate shelter that is healthy, safe, secure, accessible and affordable and
that includes basic services, facilities and amenities, and will enjoy freedom from discrimination in
housing and legal security of tenure. We shall implement and promote this objective in a manner fully
consistent with human rights standards.
40. We further commit ourselves to the objectives of:
(a) Ensuring consistency and coordination of macroeconomic and shelter policies and strategies as a
social priority within the framework of national development programmes and urban policies in order to
support resource mobilization, employment generation, poverty eradication and social integration;
(b) Providing legal security of tenure and equal access to land to all people, including women and those
living in poverty; and undertaking legislative and administrative reforms to give women full and equal
access to economic resources, including the right to inheritance and to ownership of land and other
property, credit, natural resources and appropriate technologies;
(c) Promoting access for all people to safe drinking water, sanitation and other basic services, facilities
and amenities, especially for people living in poverty, women and those belonging to vulnerable and
disadvantaged groups;
(d) Ensuring transparent, comprehensive and accessible systems in transferring land rights and legal
security of tenure;
(e) Promoting broad, non-discriminatory access to open, efficient, effective and appropriate housing
financing for all people, including mobilizing innovative financial and other resources - public and
private - for community development;
(f) Promoting locally available, appropriate, affordable, safe, efficient and environmentally sound
construction methods and technologies in all countries, particularly in developing countries, at the local,
national, regional and subregional levels that emphasize optimal use of local human resources and
encourage energy-saving methods and are protective of human health;
(g) Designing and implementing standards that provide accessibility also to persons with disabilities in
accordance with the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities;
(h) Increasing the supply of affordable housing, including through encouraging and promoting
affordable home ownership and increasing the supply of affordable rental, communal, cooperative and
other housing through partnerships among public, private and community initiatives, creating and
promoting market-based incentives while giving due respect to the rights and obligations of both tenants
and owners;
(i) Promoting the upgrading of existing housing stock through rehabilitation and maintenance and the
adequate supply of basic services, facilities and amenities;
(j) Eradicating and ensuring legal protection from discrimination in access to shelter and basic services,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status; similar protection should be ensured against
discrimination on the grounds of disability or age;
(k) Helping the family,* in its supporting, educating and nurturing roles, to recognize its important
contribution to social integration, and encouraging social and economic policies that are designed to
meet the housing needs of families and their individual members, especially the most disadvantaged and
vulnerable members, with particular attention to the care of children;
(l) Promoting shelter and supporting basic services and facilities for education and health for the
homeless, displaced persons, indigenous people, women and children who are survivors of family
violence, persons with disabilities, older persons, victims of natural and man-made disasters and people
belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, including temporary shelter and basic services for
refugees;
(m) Protecting, within the national context, the legal traditional rights of indigenous people to land and
other resources, as well as strengthening of land management;
(n) Protecting all people from and providing legal protection and redress for forced evictions that are
contrary to the law, taking human rights into consideration; when evictions are unavoidable, ensuring, as
appropriate, that alternative suitable solutions are provided.
41. Providing continued international support to refugees in order to meet their needs and to assist in
assuring them a just, durable solution in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions and
international law.
B. Sustainable human settlements
42. We commit ourselves to the goal of sustainable human settlements in an urbanizing world by
developing societies that will make efficient use of resources within the carrying capacity of ecosystems
and take into account the precautionary principle approach, and by providing all people, in particular
those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, with equal opportunities for a healthy, safe and
productive life in harmony with nature and their cultural heritage and spiritual and cultural values, and
which ensures economic and social development and environmental protection, thereby contributing to
the achievement of national sustainable development goals.
43. We further commit ourselves to the objectives of:
(a) Promoting, as appropriate, socially integrated and accessible human settlements, including
appropriate facilities for health and education, combating segregation and discriminatory and other
exclusionary policies and practices, and recognizing and respecting the rights of all, especially of
women, children, persons with disabilities, people living in poverty and those belonging to vulnerable
and disadvantaged groups;
(b) Creating an enabling international and domestic environment for economic development, social
development and environmental protection, as interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of
sustainable development, that will attract investments, generate employment, contribute to the
eradication of poverty and provide revenues for sustainable human settlements development;
(c) Integrating urban planning and management in relation to housing, transport, employment
opportunities, environmental conditions and community facilities;
(d) Providing adequate and integrated environmental infrastructure facilities in all settlements as soon as
possible with a view to improving health by ensuring access for all people to sufficient, continuous and
safe freshwater supplies, sanitation, drainage and waste disposal services, with a special emphasis on
providing facilities to segments of the population living in poverty;
(e) Promoting integrated water use planning with a view to identifying effective and cost-efficient
alternatives for mobilizing a sustainable supply of water for communities and other uses;
(f) Implementing the social and development goals already agreed to by the international community in
the areas of basic education, primary health care and gender equality;
(g) Acknowledging, harnessing and enhancing the efforts and potential of productive informal and
private sectors, where appropriate, in creating sustainable livelihoods and jobs and increasing incomes,
while providing housing and services for people living in poverty;
(h) Promoting, where appropriate, the upgrading of informal settlements and urban slums as an
expedient measure and pragmatic solution to the urban shelter deficit;
(i) Promoting the development of more balanced and sustainable human settlements by encouraging
productive investments, job creation and social infrastructure development in small and medium-sized
cities, towns and villages;
(j) Promoting changes in unsustainable production and consumption patterns, particularly in
industrialized countries, population policies and settlement structures that are more sustainable, reduce
environmental stress, promote the efficient and rational use of natural resources - including water, air,
biodiversity, forests, energy sources and land - and meet basic needs, thereby providing a healthy living
and working environment for all and reducing the ecological footprint of human settlements;
(k) Promoting, where appropriate, the creation of a geographically balanced settlement structure;
(l) Giving priority attention to human settlements programmes and policies to reduce urban pollution
resulting especially from inadequate water supply, sanitation and drainage, poor industrial and domestic
waste management, including solid waste management, and air pollution;
(m) Encouraging dialogue among public, private and nongovernmental interested parties to develop an
expanded concept of the "balance-sheet", which recognizes that the economic, environmental, social and
civic consequences for directly and indirectly affected parties, including future generations, should be
taken into account in making decisions on the allocation of resources;
(n) Improving access to work, goods, services and amenities, inter alia, by promoting effective and
environmentally sound, accessible, quieter and more energy-efficient transportation systems and by
promoting spatial development patterns and communications policies that reduce transport demand,
promoting measures, as appropriate, so that the polluter bears the cost of pollution, taking into account
special needs and requirements of developing countries;
(o) Promoting more energy-efficient technology and alternative/renewable energy for human
settlements, and reducing the negative impacts of energy production and use on human health and on the
environment;
(p) Promoting optimal use of productive land in urban and rural areas and protecting fragile ecosystems
and environmentally vulnerable areas from the negative impacts of human settlements, inter alia,
through developing and supporting the implementation of improved land management practices that deal
comprehensively with potentially competing land requirements for agriculture, industry, transport, urban
development, green space, protected areas and other vital needs;
(q) Addressing population issues affecting human settlements and fully integrating demographic
concerns into human settlements policies;
(r) Protecting and maintaining the historical, cultural and natural heritage, including traditional shelter
and settlement patterns, as appropriate, of indigenous and other people, as well as landscapes and urban
flora and fauna in open and green spaces;
(s) Protecting holy places and places of cultural and historic significance;
(t) Promoting the redevelopment and reuse of already serviced but poorly utilized commercial and
residential land in urban centres in order to revitalize them and reduce development pressures on
productive agricultural lands on the periphery;
(u) Promoting education about, and training on, environmentally sound technologies, materials and
products;
(v) Promoting equal access and full participation of persons with disabilities in all spheres of human
settlements and providing adequate policies and legal protection against discrimination on grounds of
disabilities;
(w) Developing and evaluating policies and programmes to reduce the undesired adverse effects and
improve the positive impact of structural adjustment and economic transition on sustainable human
settlements development, especially on those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, and
women, inter alia, through reviewing the impact of structural adjustment on social development by
means of gender-sensitive social impact assessments and other relevant methods;
(x) Formulating and implementing programmes that contribute to maintaining and strengthening the
vitality of rural areas;
(y) Ensuring that the importance of coastal areas is recognized in the national development effort and
that all efforts are made to ensure their sustainable use;
(z) Preventing man-made disasters, including major technological disasters, by ensuring adequate
regulatory and other measures to avoid their occurrence, and reducing the impacts of natural disasters
and other emergencies on human settlements, inter alia, through appropriate planning mechanisms and
resources for rapid, people-centred responses that promote a smooth transition from relief, through
rehabilitation, to reconstruction and development, taking into account cultural and sustainable
dimensions; and rebuilding disaster-affected settlements in a manner that reduces future disaster-related
risks and makes the rebuilt settlements accessible to all;
(aa) Taking appropriate action to manage the use of heavy metals, particularly lead, safely and
effectively and, where possible, eliminating uncontrolled exposure in order to protect human health and
the environment;
(bb) Eliminating as soon as possible the use of lead in gasoline;
(cc) Developing housing that can serve as a functional workplace for women and men.
C. Enablement and participation
44. We commit ourselves to the strategy of enabling all key actors in the public, private and community
sectors to play an effective role - at the national, state/provincial, metropolitan and local levels - in
human settlements and shelter development.
45. We further commit ourselves to the objectives of:
(a) Enabling local leadership, promoting democratic rule, exercising public authority and using public
resources in all public institutions at all levels in a manner that is conducive to ensuring transparent,
responsible, accountable, just, effective and efficient governance of towns, cities and metropolitan areas;
(b) Establishing, where appropriate, favourable conditions for the organization and development of the
private sector, as well as defining and enhancing its role in sustainable human settlements development,
including through training;
(c) Decentralizing authority and resources, as appropriate, as well as functions and responsibilities to the
level most effective in addressing the needs of people in their settlements;
(d) Supporting progress and security for people and communities, whereby every member of society is
enabled to satisfy his or her basic human needs and to realize his or her personal dignity, safety,
creativity and life aspirations;
(e) Working in partnership with youth in order to develop and enhance effective skills and provide
education and training to prepare youth for current and future decision-making roles and sustainable
livelihoods in human settlements management and development;
(f) Promoting gender-sensitive institutional and legal frameworks and capacitybuilding at the national
and local levels conducive to civic engagement and broadbased participation in human settlements
development;
(g) Encouraging the establishment of community-based organizations, civil society organizations, and
other forms of non-governmental entities that can contribute to the efforts to reduce poverty and improve
the quality of life in human settlements;
(h) Institutionalizing a participatory approach to sustainable human settlements development and
management, based on a continuing dialogue among all actors involved in urban development (the
public sector, the private sector and communities), especially women, persons with disabilities and
indigenous people, including the interests of children and youth;
(i) Fostering capacitybuilding and training for human settlements planning, management and
development at the national and local levels that includes education, training and institutional
strengthening, especially for women and persons with disabilities;
(j) Promoting institutional and legal enabling frameworks at the national, subnational and local levels for
mobilizing financial resources for sustainable shelter and human settlements development;
(k) Promoting equal access to reliable information, at the national, subnational and local levels, utilizing,
where appropriate, modern communications technology and networks;
(l) Ensuring the availability of education for all and supporting research aimed at building local capacity
that promotes adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development, given that the
challenges make it necessary to increase the application of science and technology to problems related to
human settlements;
(m) Facilitating participation by tenants in the management of public and community-based housing and
by women and those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in the planning and
implementation of urban and rural development.
D. Gender equality*
46. We commit ourselves to the goal of gender equality in human settlements development. We further
commit ourselves to:
(a) Integrating gender perspectives in human settlements related legislation, policies, programmes and
projects through the application of gender-sensitive analysis;
(b) Developing conceptual and practical methodologies for incorporating gender perspectives in human
settlements planning, development and evaluation, including the development of indicators;
(c) Collecting, analysing and disseminating gender-disaggregated data and information on human
settlements issues, including statistical means that recognize and make visible the unremunerated work
of women, for use in policy and programme planning and implementation;
(d) Integrating a gender perspective in the design and implementation of environmentally sound and
sustainable resource management mechanisms, production techniques and infrastructure development in
rural and urban areas;
(e) Formulating and strengthening policies and practices to promote the full and equal participation of
women in human settlements planning and decision-making.
* Statement on the commonly understood meaning of the term "gender"
i. During the 19th meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women, acting as the preparatory body
for the Fourth World Conference on Women, an issue arose concerning the meaning of the word
"gender" in the context of the Platform for Action of the Conference. In order to examine the matter, the
Commission decided to form a contact group in New York, with the Commission Rapporteur, Ms.
Selma Ashipala (Namibia), as Chairperson. The Commission mandated the informal contact group to
seek agreement on the commonly understood meaning of "gender" in the context of the Platform for
Action and to report directly to the Conference in Beijing.
ii. Having considered the issue thoroughly, the contact group noted that: (1) the word "gender" had been
commonly used and understood in its ordinary, generally accepted usage in numerous other United
Nations forums and conferences; (2) there was no indication that any new meaning or connotation of the
term, different from accepted prior usage, was intended in the Platform for Action.
iii. Accordingly, the contact group reaffirmed that the word "gender" as used in the Platform for Action
was intended to be interpreted and understood as it was in ordinary, generally accepted usage. The
contact group also agreed that the present report should be read by the President of the Conference as a
president's statement and that the statement should be part of the final report of the Conference.
E. Financing shelter and human settlements
47. While recognizing that the housing and shelter sector is a productive sector and should be eligible,
inter alia, for commercial financing, we commit ourselves to strengthening existing financial
mechanisms and, where appropriate, developing innovative approaches for financing the implementation
of the Habitat Agenda, which will mobilize additional resources from various sources of finance -
public, private, multilateral and bilateral - at the international, regional, national and local levels, and
which will promote the efficient, effective and accountable allocation and management of resources,
recognizing that local institutions involved in micro-credit may hold the most potential for housing the
poor.
48. We further commit ourselves to the objectives of:
(a) Stimulating national and local economies through promoting economic development, social
development and environmental protection that will attract domestic and international financial
resources and private investment, generate employment and increase revenues, providing a stronger
financial base to support adequate shelter and sustainable human settlements development;
(b) Strengthening fiscal and financial management capacity at all levels, so as to fully develop the
sources of revenue;
(c) Enhancing public revenue through the use, as appropriate, of fiscal instruments that are conducive to
environmentally sound practices in order to promote direct support for sustainable human settlements
development;
(d) Strengthening regulatory and legal frameworks to enable markets to work, overcome market failure
and facilitate independent initiative and creativity, as well as to promote socially and environmentally
responsible corporate investment and reinvestment in, and in partnership with, local communities and to
encourage a wide range of other partnerships to finance shelter and human settlements development;
(e) Promoting equal access to credit for all people;
(f) Adopting, where appropriate, transparent, timely, predictable and performance-based mechanisms for
the allocation of resources among different levels of government and various actors;
(g) Fostering the accessibility of the market for those who are less organized and informed or otherwise
excluded from participation by providing subsidies, where appropriate, and promoting appropriate credit
mechanisms and other instruments to address their needs.
F. International cooperation
49. We commit ourselves - in the interests of international peace, security, justice and stability - to
enhancing international cooperation and partnerships that will assist in the implementation of national
plans of action and the global plan of action and in the attainment of the goals of the Habitat Agenda by
contributing to and participating in multilateral, regional and bilateral cooperation programmes and
institutional arrangements and technical and financial assistance programmes; by promoting the
exchange of appropriate technology; by collecting, analysing and disseminating information about
shelter and human settlements; and by international networking.
50. We further commit ourselves to the objectives of:
(a) Striving to fulfil the agreed target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product of the developed
countries for official development assistance as soon as possible and to increase, as necessary, the share
of funding for adequate shelter and human settlements development programmes, commensurate with
the scope and scale of activities required to achieve the objectives and goals of the Habitat Agenda;
(b) Using resources and economic instruments in an effective, efficient, equitable and nondiscriminatory
manner at the local, national, regional and international levels;
(c) Promoting responsive international cooperation between public, private, non-profit, nongovernmental
and community organizations.
G. Assessing progress
51. We commit ourselves to observing and implementing the Habitat Agenda as a guide for action
within our countries and will monitor progress towards that goal. Quantitative and qualitative indicators
at the national and local levels, which are disaggregated to reflect the diversity of our societies, are
essential for planning, monitoring and evaluating progress towards the achievement of adequate shelter
for all and sustainable human settlements. In this regard, the wellbeing of children is a critical indicator
of a healthy society. Age and gender-sensitive indicators, disaggregated data and appropriate
datacollection methods must be developed and used to monitor the impact of human settlements policies
and practices on cities and communities, with special and continuous attention to the situation of those
belonging to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. We recognize the need for an integrated approach
and concerted action to achieve the objective of adequate shelter for all and to sustainable human
settlements development and will strive for coordinated implementation of international commitments
and action programmes.
52. We further commit ourselves to assessing, with a view to its revitalization, the United Nations
Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), whose responsibilities, inter alia, include coordination and
assisting all States in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.
Chapter IV - Global Plan of Action: Strategies For Implementation
A. Introduction*
53. Twenty years ago in Vancouver, at the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, the
world community adopted an agenda for human settlements development. Since then, there have been
remarkable changes in population and social, political, environmental and economic circumstances that
affect the strategic outlook. These changes have led many Governments to adopt and promote enabling
policies to facilitate actions by individuals, families, communities and the private sector to improve
human settlements conditions. However, it is estimated that at least one billion human beings still lack
adequate shelter and are living in unacceptable conditions of poverty, mostly in developing countries.
* Whenever the term "Governments" is used, it shall be deemed to include the European Community
within its areas of competence.
54. While the rate of population growth is on the decline, during the past 20 years world population has
increased from about 4.2 billion to about 5.7 billion, with nearly one third under 15 years of age and an
increasing number of people living in cities. By the turn of the century, humankind will be crossing a
threshold where over 50 per cent of the population lives in urban areas. Meeting the needs of the nearly
two billion more people expected in the coming two decades and managing human settlements towards
sustainability will be a daunting task. In developing countries, in particular, rapid urbanization and the
growth of towns, cities and megacities, where public and private resources tend to concentrate, represent
new challenges and at the same time new opportunities: there is a need to address the root causes of
these phenomena, including rural to urban migration.
55. In the economic sphere, the increasing globalization of the economy means that people in
communities are trading in broader markets, and investment funds are more often available from
international sources. As a result, the level of economic development has increased in many countries.
At the same time, the gap between poor and rich _ countries as well as people - has widened, hence the
continuing need for partnerships to create a more favourable international economic environment. New
communications technology makes information much more widely accessible and accelerates all
processes of change. In many societies, new issues of social cohesion and personal security have
emerged and the issue of solidarity has become central. Unemployment, environmental degradation,
social disintegration and largescale populations displacements, as well as intolerance, violence, and
violation of human rights, have also emerged as critical factors. We must keep these new conditions in
view as we draw up human settlements strategies for the first two decades of the twenty-first century.
56. While Habitat II is a conference of States and there is much that national Governments can do to
enable local communities to solve problems, the actors who will determine success or failure in
improving the human settlements condition are mostly found at the community level in the public,
private and non-profit sectors. It is they, local authorities and other interested parties, who are on the
front line in achieving the goals of Habitat II. Although the structural causes of problems have often to
be dealt with at the national and sometimes the international level, progress will depend to a large degree
on local authorities, civic engagement and the forging of partnerships at all levels of government with
the private sector, the cooperative sector, nongovernmental and community-based organizations,
workers and employers and civil society at large.
57. Habitat II is one in an extraordinary series of world conferences held under the auspices of the
United Nations over the past five years. All addressed important issues of peoplecentred sustainable
development, including sustained economic growth and equity, for which successful implementation
requires action at all levels, particularly the local level. Strategies on social, economic, environmental,
disaster reduction, population, disability and gender issues will have to be implemented in urban and
rural areas - in particular, where the problems are acute and generate tension.
58. At Habitat II, Governments at all levels, the community and the private sector have considered how
the achievement of the two principal goals of "Adequate shelter for all" and "Sustainable human
settlements development in an urbanizing world" can be furthered at the local level through an enabling
process in which individuals, families and their communities play a central role. This is what is special
about the global plan of action of Habitat II and the strategies for its implementation. Implementation of
these measures will need to be adapted to the specific situation of each country and community.
59. The strategy of the global plan of action is based on enablement, transparency and participation.
Under this strategy, government efforts are based on establishing legislative, institutional and financial
frameworks that will enable the private sector, nongovernmental organizations and community groups to
fully contribute to the achievement of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements
development and enable all women and men to work with each other and in their communities with
Governments at all levels to determine their future collectively, decide on priorities for action, identify
and allocate resources fairly and build partnerships to achieve common goals. Enablement creates:
(a) A situation in which the full potential and resources of all actors in the process of producing and
improving shelter are mobilized;
(b) The conditions for women and men to exercise their individual rights and responsibilities equally and
to engage their abilities effectively in activities that will improve and sustain their living environments;
(c) The conditions for organizations and institutions to interact and network, building partnerships for
the objectives of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development;
(d) The conditions for selfimprovement by all;
(e) The conditions for enhancing international cooperation.
B. Adequate shelter for all
1. Introduction
60. Adequate shelter means more than a roof over one's head. It also means adequate privacy; adequate
space; physical accessibility; adequate security; security of tenure; structural stability and durability;
adequate lighting, heating and ventilation; adequate basic infrastructure, such as water-supply, sanitation
and waste-management facilities; suitable environmental quality and health-related factors; and adequate
and accessible location with regard to work and basic facilities: all of which should be available at an
affordable cost. Adequacy should be determined together with the people concerned, bearing in mind the
prospect for gradual development. Adequacy often varies from country to country, since it depends on
specific cultural, social, environmental and economic factors. Gender-specific and age-specific factors,
such as the exposure of children and women to toxic substances, should be considered in this context.
61. Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the right to adequate
housing has been recognized as an important component of the right to an adequate standard of living.
All Governments without exception have a responsibility in the shelter sector, as exemplified by their
creation of ministries of housing or agencies, by their allocation of funds for the housing sector and by
their policies, programmes and projects. The provision of adequate housing for everyone requires action
not only by Governments, but by all sectors of society, including the private sector, nongovernmental
organizations, communities and local authorities, as well as by partner organizations and entities of the
international community. Within the overall context of an enabling approach, Governments should take
appropriate action in order to promote, protect and ensure the full and progressive realization of the right
to adequate housing. These actions include, but are not limited to:
(a) Providing, in the matter of housing, that the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all
persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status;
(b) Providing legal security of tenure and equal access to land for all, including women and those living
in poverty, as well as effective protection from forced evictions that are contrary to the law, taking
human rights into consideration and bearing in mind that homeless people should not be penalized for
their status;
(c) Adopting policies aimed at making housing habitable, affordable and accessible, including for those
who are unable to secure adequate housing through their own means, by, inter alia:
(i) Expanding the supply of affordable housing through appropriate regulatory measures and market
incentives;
(ii) Increasing affordability through the provision of subsidies and rental and other forms of housing
assistance to people living in poverty;
(iii) Supporting community-based, cooperative and non-profit rental and owner-occupied housing
programmes;
(iv) Promoting supporting services for the homeless and other vulnerable groups;
(v) Mobilizing innovative financial and other resources - public and private - for housing and
community development;
(vi) Creating and promoting market-based incentives to encourage the private sector to meet the need for
affordable rental and owner-occupied housing;
(vii) Promoting sustainable spatial development patterns and transportation systems that improve
accessibility of goods, services, amenities and work;
(d) Effective monitoring and evaluation of housing conditions, including the extent of homelessness and
inadequate housing, and, in consultation with the affected population, formulating and adopting
appropriate housing policies and implementing effective strategies and plans to address those problems.
62. Because it leads to the full mobilization of all potential indigenous resources, a shelter strategy that
is based on an enabling approach greatly contributes to the sustainable development of human
settlements. The management of such resources must be people-centred and must be environmentally,
socially and economically sound. This can occur only if policies and actions in the shelter sector are
integrated with policies and actions that are intended to promote economic development, social
development and environmental protection. A fundamental objective of this chapter, therefore, is to
integrate shelter policies with policies that will guide macroeconomic and social development and sound
environmental management.
63. A second fundamental objective of this chapter is to enable markets - the primary housing delivery
mechanism - to perform their function with efficiency. Actions to achieve this objective and at the same
time contribute to social goals, including, where appropriate, market-based incentives and compensatory
measures, are recommended. Further objectives and recommended actions address the components of
shelter-delivery systems (land, finance, infrastructure and services, construction, building materials,
maintenance and rehabilitation) in the private, community and public rental sectors, and ways of making
them serve all people better. Finally, special attention is given to all those, including women, who are at
considerable risk because they lack security of tenure or are inhibited from participation in shelter
markets. Actions are recommended to reduce their vulnerability and enable them to obtain adequate
shelter in a just and humane way.
64. International and national cooperation at all levels will be both necessary and beneficial in
promoting adequate shelter for all. This is especially needed in areas that are affected by war or by
natural, industrial or technological disasters, and in situations in which reconstruction and rehabilitation
needs surpass national resources.
2. Shelter policies
65. The formulation and periodic evaluation and revision, as necessary, of enabling shelter policies, with
a view to creating a framework for efficient and effective shelter delivery systems, are the cornerstone
for the provision of adequate shelter for all. A fundamental principle in formulating a realistic shelter
policy is its interdependence with overall macroeconomic, environmental and social development
policies. Shelter policies, while focusing on the increasing demand for housing and infrastructure,
should also emphasize the increased use and maintenance of existing stock through ownership, rental
and other tenure options, responding to the diversity of needs. These policies should also encourage and
support the people who, in many countries, particularly developing countries, individually or
collectively act as important producers of housing. Policies should respond to the diverse needs of those
belonging to disadvantaged and vulnerable groups as set out in subsection 4 below (paras. 93 to 98).
Actions
66. Governments should strive to decentralize shelter policies and their administration to subnational
and local levels within the national framework, whenever possible and as appropriate.
67. To integrate shelter policies with macroeconomic, social, demographic, environmental and cultural
policies, Governments, as appropriate, should:
(a) Establish and implement consultative mechanisms among the governmental authorities that are
responsible for economic, environmental, social, human settlements and shelter policies, and the
organization of civil society and the private sector so as to coordinate the shelter sector in a coherent
manner, which should include identifying the market and precise criteria for allocations, subsidies and
other forms of assistance;
(b) Constantly monitor the impact of macroeconomic policies on shelter delivery systems, considering
their specific linkages and taking into account their possible effects on vulnerable and disadvantaged
groups;
(c) Strengthen the linkages between shelter policies, employment generation, environmental protection,
preservation of cultural heritage, resource mobilization and the maximization of resource efficiency, and
strengthen the stimulation of and support for sustainable economic development and social development
activities;
(d) Apply public policies, including expenditure, taxation, monetary and planning policies, to stimulate
sustainable shelter markets and land development;
(e) Integrate land and shelter policies with policies for reducing poverty and creating jobs, for
environmental protection, for preservation of cultural heritage, for education and health, for providing
clean water-supply and sanitation facilities, and for empowering those belonging to disadvantaged and
vulnerable groups, particularly people without shelter;
(f) Strengthen shelter-related information systems, and make use of relevant research activities in policy
development, including genderdisaggregated data;
(g) Periodically evaluate and, as appropriate, revise shelter policies, taking into consideration the needs
of people without shelter and the impact of such policies on the environment, economic development
and social welfare.
68. To formulate and implement policies that promote the enablement approach to the development,
maintenance and rehabilitation of shelter in both rural and urban areas, Governments at all levels, as
appropriate, should:
(a) Employ broad-based participatory and consultative mechanisms that involve representatives from
public, private, non-governmental, cooperative and community sectors, including representatives of
groups that are considered to be living in poverty, at all levels in the policy development process;
(b) Establish appropriate processes for coordination and decentralization that define clear local-level
rights and responsibilities within the policy development process;
(c) Develop and support adequate institutional frameworks, especially for facilitating investment in the
supply of both rural and urban shelter by the private sector;
(d) Consider establishing priorities for the allocation of natural, human, technical and financial
resources;
(e) Establish and adopt a regulatory framework, and provide institutional support for facilitating
participation and partnership arrangements at all levels;
(f) Review and adjust, when necessary, the legal, fiscal and regulatory framework to respond to the
special needs of people living in poverty and lowincome people;
(g) Promote the supply of affordable rental houses and the legal rights and obligations of both tenants
and owners.
69. To adopt and implement a cross-sectoral approach to policy development, Governments at the
appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Coordinate and integrate shelter and human settlements policies with other related policies, such as
population and human resource development policies, environment, cultural, land and infrastructure
policies, and urban and rural planning, as well as private and/or public employment initiatives;
(b) Take full account of the need for economic development, social development and environmental
protection, and the objectives of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development
principles and of the basic needs for human development and health;
(c) Adopt policies ensuring that persons with disabilities have access to new public buildings and
facilities, public housing and public transport systems. Furthermore, during renovation of existing
buildings, similar measures should be adopted whenever feasible;
(d) Encourage the development of environmentally sound and affordable construction methods and the
production and distribution of building materials, including strengthening the indigenous building
materials industry, based as far as possible on locally available resources;
(e) Promote the free exchange of information on the entire range of the environmental health aspects of
construction, including the development and dissemination of databases on the adverse environmental
effects of building materials, through the collaborative efforts of the private and public sectors.
70. To improve shelter delivery systems, Governments at the appropriate levels should:
(a) Adopt an enabling approach to shelter development, including the renovation, rehabilitation,
upgrading and strengthening of the existing housing stock in both rural and urban areas;
(b) Establish priorities for the allocation of natural, human, technical and financial resources;
(c) Develop adequate institutional frameworks for the public, community and private sectors, especially
for facilitating investments in the supply of both rural and urban shelter by the private and non-profit
sectors;
(d) When necessary, review and adjust the legal, fiscal and regulatory framework to respond to the
special needs of those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, in particular, people living in
poverty and low-income people;
(e) Periodically evaluate and, as necessary, revise policies and systems for financing shelter, taking into
consideration the impact of such policies and systems on the environment, economic development and
social welfare, especially their different effects on vulnerable and disadvantaged groups;
(f) Promote and adopt, where appropriate, policies that coordinate and encourage the adequate supply of
the key inputs required for the construction of housing and infrastructure, such as land, finance and
building materials;
(g) Encourage the development of environmentally sound and affordable construction methods and the
production and distribution of building materials, including strengthening the local building materials
industry, based as far as possible on locally available resources;
(h) Promote, in those countries where it may be appropriate, the use of labour-intensive construction and
maintenance technologies that generate employment in the construction sector for the underemployed
labour force found in most large cities, at the same time promoting the development of skills in the
construction sector.
3. Shelter delivery systems
(a) Enabling markets to work
71. In many countries, markets serve as the primary housing delivery mechanism, hence their
effectiveness and efficiency are important to the goal of sustainable development. It is the responsibility
of Governments to create an enabling framework for a well-functioning housing market. The housing
sector should be viewed as an integrating market in which trends in one segment affect performance in
other segments. Government interventions are required to address the needs of disadvantaged and
vulnerable groups that are insufficiently served by markets.
Actions
72. To ensure market efficiency, Governments at the appropriate levels and consistent with their legal
authority should:
(a) Assess housing supply and demand on a gender-disaggregated basis and collect, analyse and
disseminate information about housing markets and other delivery mechanisms, and encourage the
private and non-profit sectors and the media to do the same, while avoiding duplication of efforts;
(b) Avoid inappropriate interventions that stifle supply and distort demand for housing and services, and
periodically review and adjust legal, financial and regulatory frameworks, including frameworks for
contracts, land use, building codes and standards;
(c) Employ mechanisms (for example, a body of law, a cadastre, rules for property valuation and others)
for the clear definition of property rights;
(d) Permit the exchange of land and housing without undue restriction, and apply procedures that will
make property transactions transparent and accountable in order to prevent corrupt practices;
(e) Undertake legislative and administrative reforms to give women full and equal access to economic
resources, including the right to inheritance and the ownership of land and other property, credit, natural
resources and appropriate technologies;
(f) Apply appropriate fiscal measures, including taxation, to promote the adequate supply of housing and
land;
(g) Periodically assess how best to satisfy the requirement for government intervention to meet the
specific needs of people living in poverty and vulnerable groups for whom traditional market
mechanisms fail to work;
(h) Develop, as appropriate, flexible instruments for the regulation of housing markets, including the
rental market, taking into account the special needs of vulnerable groups.
(b) Facilitating community-based production of housing
73. In many countries, particularly developing countries, more than half the existing housing stock has
been built by the owner-occupiers themselves, serving mainly the lower-income population. Self-built
housing will continue to play a major role in the provision of housing into the distant future. Many
countries are supporting self-built housing by regularizing and upgrading programmes.
Actions
74. To support the efforts of people, individually or collectively, to produce shelter, Governments at the
appropriate levels should, where appropriate:
(a) Promote self-built housing within the context of a comprehensive land-use policy;
(b) Integrate and regularize self-built housing, especially through appropriate land registration
programmes, as a holistic part of the overall housing and infrastructure system in urban and rural areas,
subject to a comprehensive land-use policy;
(c) Encourage efforts to improve existing self-built housing through better access to housing resources,
including land, finance and building materials;
(d) Develop the means and methods to improve the standards of selfbuilt housing;
(e) Encourage community-based and non-governmental organizations in their role of assisting and
facilitating the production of self-built housing;
(f) Facilitate regular dialogue and gender-sensitive participation of the various actors involved in
housing production at all levels and stages of decision-making;
(g) Mitigate the problems related to spontaneous human settlements through programmes and policies
that anticipate unplanned settlements.
(c) Ensuring access to land
75. Access to land and legal security of tenure are strategic prerequisites for the provision of adequate
shelter for all and for the development of sustainable human settlements affecting both urban and rural
areas. It is also one way of breaking the vicious circle of poverty. Every Government must show a
commitment to promoting the provision of an adequate supply of land in the context of sustainable landuse
policies. While recognizing the existence of different national laws and/or systems of land tenure,
Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, should nevertheless strive to remove
all possible obstacles that may hamper equitable access to land and ensure that equal rights of women
and men related to land and property are protected under the law. The failure to adopt, at all levels,
appropriate rural and urban land policies and land management practices remains a primary cause of
inequity and poverty. It is also the cause of increased living costs, the occupation of hazard-prone land,
environmental degradation and the increased vulnerability of urban and rural habitats, affecting all
people, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, people living in poverty and low-income
people.
Actions
76. To ensure an adequate supply of serviceable land, Governments at the appropriate levels and in
accordance with their legal framework should:
(a) Recognize and legitimize the diversity of land delivery mechanisms;
(b) Decentralize land management responsibilities and provide local capacity-building programmes that
recognize the role of key interested parties, where appropriate;
(c) Prepare comprehensive inventories of publicly held land and, where appropriate, develop
programmes for making them available for shelter and human settlements development, including,
where appropriate, development by non-governmental and community-based organizations;
(d) Apply transparent, comprehensive and equitable fiscal incentive mechanisms, as appropriate, to
stimulate the efficient, accessible and environmentally sound use of land, and utilize land-based and
other forms of taxation in mobilizing financial resources for service provision by local authorities;
(e) Consider fiscal and other measures, as appropriate, to promote the efficient functioning of the market
for vacant land, ensuring the supply of housing and land for shelter development;
(f) Develop and implement land information systems and practices for managing land, including land
value assessment, and seek to ensure that such information is readily available;
(g) Make full use of existing infrastructure in urban areas, encouraging optimal density of the occupation
of available serviced land in accordance with its carrying capacity, at the same time ensuring the
adequate provision of parks, play areas, common spaces and facilities, and plots of land for home
gardening, as appropriate;
(h) Consider the adoption of innovative instruments that capture gains in land value and recover public
investments;
(i) Consider the adoption of innovative instruments for the efficient and sustainable assembly and
development of land, including, where appropriate, land readjustment and consolidation;
(j) Develop appropriate cadastral systems and streamline land registration procedures in order to
facilitate the regularization of informal settlements, where appropriate, and simplify land transactions;
(k) Develop land codes and legal frameworks that define the nature of land and real property and the
rights that are formally recognized;
(l) Mobilize local and regional expertise to promote research, the transfer of technology and education
programmes to support land administration systems;
(m) Promote comprehensive rural development through such measures as equal access to land, land
improvement, economic diversification, the development of small and medium-scale cities in rural areas
and, where appropriate, indigenous land settlements;
(n) Ensure simple procedures for the transfer of land and conversion of land use within the context of a
comprehensive policy framework, including the protection of arable land and the environment.
77. To promote efficient land markets and the environmentally sustainable use of land, Governments at
the appropriate levels should:
(a) Re-evaluate and, if necessary, periodically adjust planning and building regulatory frameworks,
taking into consideration their human settlements and economic, social and environmental policies;
(b) Support the development of land markets by means of effective legal frameworks, and develop
flexible and varied mechanisms aimed at mobilizing lands with diverse juridical status;
(c) Encourage the multiplicity and diversity of interventions by both the public and private sectors and
other interested parties, men and women alike, acting within the market system;
(d) Develop a legal framework of land use aimed at balancing the need for construction with the
protection of the environment, minimizing risk and diversifying uses;
(e) Review restrictive, exclusionary and costly legal and regulatory processes, planning systems,
standards and development regulations.
78. To eradicate legal and social barriers to the equal and equitable access to land, especially the access
of women, people with disabilities and those belonging to vulnerable groups, Governments at the
appropriate levels, in partnership with the private sector, non-governmental organizations,
the cooperative sector and community-based organizations, should:
(a) Address the cultural, ethnic, religious, social and disabilitybased causes that result in the creation of
barriers that lead to segregation and exclusion, inter alia, by encouraging education and training for
peaceful conflict resolution;
(b) Promote awareness campaigns, education and enabling practices regarding, in particular, legal rights
with respect to tenure, land ownership and inheritance for women, so as to overcome existing barriers;
(c) Review legal and regulatory frameworks, adjusting them to the principles and commitments of the
Global Plan of Action and ensuring that the equal rights of women and men are clearly specified and
enforced;
(d) Develop regularization programmes and formulate and implement such programmes and projects in
consultation with the concerned population and organized groups, ensuring the full and equal
participation of women and taking into account the needs differentiated by gender, age, disability and
vulnerability;
(e) Support, inter alia, community projects, policies and programmes that aim to remove all barriers to
women's access to affordable housing, land and property ownership, economic resources, infrastructure
and social services, and ensure the full participation of women in all decision-making processes, with
particular regard to women in poverty, especially female heads of households and women who are sole
providers for their families;
(f) Undertake legislative and administrative reforms to give women full and equal access to economic
resources, including the right to inheritance and the ownership of land and other property, credit, natural
resources and appropriate technologies;
(g) Promote mechanisms for the protection of women who risk losing their homes and properties when
their husbands die.
79. To facilitate access to land and security of tenure for all socioeconomic groups, Governments at the
appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Adopt an enabling legal and regulatory framework based on an enhanced knowledge, understanding
and acceptance of existing practices and land delivery mechanisms so as to stimulate partnerships with
the private business and community sectors, specifying recognized types of land tenure and prescribing
procedures for the regularization of tenure, where needed;
(b) Provide institutional support, accountability and transparency of land management, and accurate
information on land ownership, land transactions and current and planned land use;
(c) Explore innovative arrangements to enhance the security of tenure, other than full legalization, which
may be too costly and time-consuming in certain situations, including access to credit, as appropriate, in
the absence of a conventional title to land;
(d) Promote measures to ensure that women have equal access to credit for buying, leasing or renting
land, and equal protection for the legal security of tenure of such land;
(e) Capitalize on the potential contribution of key interested parties in the private formal and informal
sectors, and support the engagement of nongovernmental organizations, community organizations and
the private sector in participatory and collective initiatives and mechanisms appropriate to conflict
resolution;
(f) Encourage, in particular, the participation of community and nongovernmental organizations by:
(i) Reviewing and adjusting legal and regulatory frameworks in order to recognize and stimulate the
diverse forms of organization of the population engaged in the production and management of land,
housing and services;
(ii) Considering financial systems that recognize organizations as credit holders, extend credit to
collective units backed by collective collateral and introduce financial procedures that are adapted to the
needs of housing production by the people themselves and to the modalities through which the
population generates income and savings;
(iii) Developing and implementing complementary measures designed to enhance their capabilities,
including, where appropriate, fiscal support, educational and training programmes, and technical
assistance and funds in support of technological innovation;
(iv) Supporting the capacity-building and accumulation of experience of non-governmental
organizations and peoples' organizations in order to make them efficient and competent partners in the
implementation of national housing plans of action;
(v) Encouraging lending institutions to recognize that communitybased organizations may act as
guarantors for those who, because of poverty or discrimination, lack other sources of equity, giving
particular attention to the needs of individual women.
(d) Mobilizing sources of finance
80. Housing finance institutions serve the conventional market but do not always respond adequately to
the different needs of large segments of the population, particularly those belonging to vulnerable and
disadvantaged groups, people living in poverty and low-income people. In order to mobilize more
domestic and international resources for housing finance and extend credit to more households, it is
necessary to integrate housing finance into the broader financial system and to use existing instruments
or develop new instruments, as appropriate, to address the financial needs of people having limited or no
access to credit.
Actions
81. To improve the effectiveness of existing housing finance systems, Governments at the appropriate
levels should:
(a) Adopt policies that increase the mobilization of housing finance and extend more credit to people
living in poverty, while maintaining the solvency of credit systems;
(b) Strengthen the effectiveness of existing housing finance systems;
(c) Enhance the accessibility of housing finance systems and eradicate all forms of discrimination
against borrowers;
(d) Promote transparency, accountability and ethical practices in financial transactions through support
from effective legal and regulatory frameworks;
(e) Establish, where necessary, a comprehensive and detailed body of property law and property rights,
and enforce foreclosure laws to facilitate privatesector participation;
(f) Encourage the private sector to mobilize resources to meet varying housing demands, including rental
housing, maintenance and rehabilitation;
(g) Support the competitiveness of mortgage markets and, where appropriate, facilitate the development
of secondary markets and securitization;
(h) Decentralize, as appropriate, the lending operations of mortgage markets and encourage the private
sector to do the same in order to provide greater physical access to credit, especially in rural areas;
(i) Encourage all lending institutions to improve their management and the efficiency of their operations;
(j) Encourage community mortgage programmes that are accessible to people living in poverty,
especially women, in order to increase their productive capacity by providing them with access to
capital, resources, credit, land, technology and information so that they can raise their income and
improve their living conditions and status within the household.
82. To create new housing finance mechanisms, as necessary, Governments at the appropriate levels
should:
(a) Harness the potential of nontraditional financing arrangements by encouraging communities to form
housing and multipurpose community development cooperatives, especially for the provision of lowcost
housing;
(b) Review and strengthen the legal and regulatory framework and institutional base for mobilizing
nontraditional lenders;
(c) Encourage, in particular by removing legal and administrative obstacles, the expansion of savings
and credit cooperatives, credit unions, cooperative banks, cooperative insurance enterprises and other
nonbank financial institutions, and establish savings mechanisms in the informal sector, particularly for
women;
(d) Support partnerships between such cooperative institutions and public and other financing
institutions as an effective means of mobilizing local capital and applying it to local entrepreneurial and
community activity for housing and infrastructure development;
(e) Facilitate the efforts of trade unions, farmers', women's and consumers' organizations, organizations
of people with disabilities and other associations of the populations concerned to set up their own
cooperatively organized or local financial institutions and mechanisms;
(f) Promote the exchange of information on innovations in housing finance;
(g) Support nongovernmental organizations and their capacity to foster the development, where
appropriate, of small savings cooperatives.
83. To facilitate access to housing for those not served by existing finance mechanisms, Governments
should review and rationalize, where appropriate, systems of subsidies through policies that will ensure
their viability, equity and transparency, thus allowing many people without access to credit and land to
enter the market.
(e) Ensuring access to basic infrastructure and services
84. Basic infrastructure and services at the community level include the delivery of safe water,
sanitation, waste management, social welfare, transport and communications facilities, energy, health
and emergency services, schools, public safety, and the management of open spaces. The lack of
adequate basic services, a key component of shelter, exacts a heavy toll on human health, productivity
and the quality of life, particularly for people living in poverty in urban and rural areas. Local and state/
provincial authorities, as the case may be, have the primary responsibility to provide or enable delivery
of services, regulated by appropriate legislation and standards. Their capacity to manage, operate and
maintain infrastructure and basic services must be supported by central Governments. There are,
however, a host of other actors, including the private sector, communities and nongovernmental
organizations, that can participate in service provision and management under the coordination of
Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities.
Actions
85. To safeguard the health, safety, welfare and improved living environment of all people and to
provide adequate and affordable basic infrastructure and services, Governments at the appropriate levels,
including local authorities, should promote:
(a) The supply of and access to adequate quantities of safe drinking water;
(b) Adequate sanitation and environmentally sound waste management;
(c) Adequate mobility through access to affordable and physically accessible public transport and other
communications facilities;
(d) Access to markets and retail outlets for selling and purchasing basic necessities;
(e) The provision of social services, especially for underserved groups and communities;
(f) Access to community facilities, including places of worship;
(g) Access to sustainable sources of energy;
(h) Environmentally sound technologies and the planning, provision and maintenance of infrastructure,
including roads, streets, parks and open spaces;
(i) A high level of safety and public security;
(j) The use of a variety of planning mechanisms that provide for meaningful participation to reduce the
negative impacts on biological resources, such as prime agricultural land and forests, that may arise from
human settlements activities;
(k) Planning and implementation systems that integrate all of the above factors into the design and
operation of sustainable human settlements.
86. To ensure more equitable provision of basic infrastructure and service delivery systems,
Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Work with all interested parties in providing serviced land and in allocating adequate space for basic
services as well as for recreational and open spaces in the development of new schemes and the
upgrading of existing ones;
(b) Involve local communities, particularly women, children and persons with disabilities, in
decisionmaking and in setting priorities for the provision of services;
(c) Involve, encourage and assist, as appropriate, local communities, particularly women, children and
persons with disabilities, in setting standards for community facilities and in the operation and
maintenance of those facilities;
(d) Support the efforts of academic and professional groups in analysing the need for infrastructure and
services at the community level;
(e) Facilitate the mobilization of funds from all interested parties, especially the private sector, for
increased investment;
(f) Establish support mechanisms to enable people living in poverty and the disadvantaged to have
access to basic infrastructure and services;
(g) Remove legal obstacles, including those related to security of tenure and credit, that deny women
equal access to basic services;
(h) Promote dialogue among all interested parties to help provide basic services and infrastructure.
87. To ensure the efficiency of infrastructure and the provision of services and their operation and
maintenance practices, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Create mechanisms to promote autonomous, transparent and accountable management of services at
the local level;
(b) Create an enabling environment to encourage the private sector to participate in the efficient and
competitive management and delivery of basic services;
(c) Promote the application of appropriate and environmentally sound technologies for infrastructure and
delivery of services on a costeffective basis;
(d) Promote partnerships with the private sector and with nonprofit organizations for the management
and delivery of services; where necessary, improve the regulatory capacity of the public sector; and
apply pricing policies that ensure economic sustainability and the efficient use of services as well as
equal access to them by all social groups;
(e) Where appropriate and feasible, establish partnerships with community groups for the construction,
operation and maintenance of infrastructure and services.
(f) Improving planning, design, construction, maintenance and rehabilitation
88. With rapid urbanization, population growth and industrialization, the skills, materials and financing
for the planning, design, construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation of housing, infrastructure and
other facilities are often not available or are of inferior quality. Public policy and private investment
should, together, facilitate an adequate supply of costeffective building materials, construction
technology and bridging finance to avoid the bottlenecks and distortions that inhibit the development of
local and national economies. By improving quality and reducing the cost of production, housing and
other structures will last longer, be better protected against disasters, and be affordable to lowincome
populations and accessible to persons with disabilities, which will provide a better living environment.
The potential for job creation and other positive external socioeconomic impacts of the construction
industry should be harnessed; its activity should be brought into harmony with the environment, and its
contribution to overall economic growth should be exploited, all to the advantage of society at large.
Institutional support should also be provided in the form of industrial standards and quality control, with
particular attention to energy efficiency, health, accessibility, and consumer safety and protection.
89. Meeting the actual needs of individuals, families and their communities cannot be achieved by
looking at shelter in isolation. The provision of adequate social services and facilities, the improvement
and rationalization of urban planning and shelter design to cope firmly with the actual needs of
communities, and the provision of technical and other relevant assistance to the inhabitants of unplanned
settlements are essential for the improvement of living conditions.
Actions
90. To respond effectively to the requirements for appropriate planning, design, construction,
maintenance and rehabilitation of shelter, infrastructure and other facilities, Governments at the
appropriate levels should:
(a) Encourage and support research and studies to promote and develop indigenous planning and design
techniques, norms and standards to match the actual needs of local communities;
(b) Encourage public participation in assessing real user needs, especially gender needs, as an integrated
action of the planning and design process;
(c) Encourage the exchange of regional and international experience of best practices and facilitate the
transfer of planning, design and construction techniques;
(d) Strengthen the capacities of training institutions and nongovernmental organizations to increase and
diversify the supply of skilled workers in construction and promote apprenticeship training, particularly
for women;
(e) Make use of contracts with community-based organizations and, where applicable, the informal
sector for the planning, design, construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of housing and local
services, especially in low-income settlements, with an emphasis on enhancing the participation and,
thus, short- and long-term gains of local communities;
(f) Strengthen the capacity of both the public and private sectors for infrastructure delivery through costeffective,
employment-intensive methods, where appropriate, thereby optimizing the impact on the
creation of employment;
(g) Promote research, exchange of information and capacity-building with respect to affordable and
technically and environmentally sound building, maintenance and rehabilitation technologies;
(h) Provide incentives for engineers, architects, planners and contractors and their clients to design and
build accessible energy-efficient structures and facilities by using locally available resources and to
reduce energy consumption in buildings in use;
(i) Provide training to professionals and practitioners in the construction and development sector to
update their skills and knowledge in order to promote the development of shelter programmes that serve
the interests and needs of women, persons with disabilities and disadvantaged groups and that ensure
their participation at all stages of the shelter development process;
(j) Adopt and ensure the enforcement of appropriate standards relating to planning, design, construction,
maintenance and rehabilitation;
(k) Support private-sector initiatives to provide bridging loans to builders at reasonable interest rates;
(l) Support professional groups in offering technical assistance in planning, design, construction,
maintenance, rehabilitation and management to community-based organizations, non-governmental
organizations and others engaged in self-help and community-based development;
(m) Strengthen and make more transparent government regulatory and inspection systems;
(n) Join with professional societies to review and revise building codes and regulations based on current
standards of engineering, building and planning practices, local conditions and ease of administration,
and adopt performance standards, as appropriate;
(o) Support non-governmental organizations and other groups to ensure full and equal participation of
women and persons with disabilities in the planning, design and construction of houses to suit their
specific individual and family requirements.
91. To promote and support an adequate supply of locally produced, environmentally sound, affordable
and durable basic building materials, Governments at the appropriate levels, in cooperation with all
other interested parties, should:
(a) Where appropriate, encourage and support the establishment and expansion of environmentally
sound, small-scale, local building materials industries and the expansion of their production and
commercialization through, inter alia, legal and fiscal incentives and the provision of credit, research
and development, and information;
(b) As required, provide policies and guidelines to facilitate fair market competition for building
materials with enhanced participation of local interested parties and establish a public mechanism to
enforce them;
(c) Promote information exchange and the flow of appropriate environmentally sound, affordable and
accessible building technologies and facilitate the transfer of technology;
(d) With adequate attention to safety needs, reformulate and adopt building standards and by-laws,
where appropriate, to promote and permit the use of low-cost building materials in housing schemes, and
use such materials in public construction works;
(e) Where appropriate, promote partnerships with the private sector and non-governmental organizations
to create mechanisms for the commercial production and distribution of basic building materials for selfhelp
construction programmes;
(f) Evaluate on a regular basis the progress made in the pursuit of the above objectives.
92. To enhance the local capacity for environmentally sound production of building materials and
construction techniques, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in
cooperation with all interested parties, should:
(a) Intensify and support research efforts to find substitutes for or optimize the use of non-renewable
resources and to reduce their polluting effects, paying special attention to recycling, reuse of waste
materials and increased reforestation;
(b) Encourage and promote the application of low-energy, environmentally sound and safe
manufacturing technologies backed by appropriate norms and effective regulatory measures;
(c) Adopt mining and quarrying policies and practices that ensure minimum damage to the environment.
4. Vulnerable groups and people with special needs
93. Vulnerability and disadvantage are often caused by marginalization in and exclusion from the socioeconomic
mainstream and decision-making processes and the lack of access on an equal basis to
resources and opportunities. If vulnerability and disadvantage are to be reduced, there is a need to
improve and ensure access by those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups to shelter,
finance, infrastructure, basic social services, safety nets and decision-making processes within national
and international enabling environments. It is understood that not all those belonging to vulnerable
and disadvantaged groups are vulnerable and disadvantaged at all times. Vulnerability and disadvantage
are mainly caused by circumstances, rather than inherent characteristics. Recognizing that vulnerability
and disadvantage are affected, inter alia, by conditions in the housing sector and the availability,
enforcement and effectiveness of legal protection guaranteeing equal access to resources and
opportunities, some members of certain groups are more likely to be vulnerable and experience
disadvantage with regard to shelter and human settlements conditions. Those belonging to vulnerable
and disadvantaged groups are especially at risk when they have no security of tenure or where they lack
basic services or face disproportionately adverse environmental and health impacts, or because they may
be excluded, either inadvertently or deliberately, from the housing market and services.
94. Adequate shelter must be recognized as an important component of the particular care and assistance
to which children and their families, as well as children living outside or without families, have a right.
Special consideration must be given to the needs of children living in difficult circumstances.
95. Inadequate shelter or lack of shelter contributes to a loss of dignity, security and health in the lives of
refugees, other displaced persons in need of international protection and internally displaced persons.
There is a need to strengthen the support for the international protection of and assistance to refugees,
especially refugee women and children, who are particularly vulnerable.
Actions
96. To remove barriers and eradicate discrimination in the provision of shelter, Governments at the
appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Review and revise legal, fiscal and regulatory frameworks that act as barriers within the shelter
sectors;
(b) Support, through legislation, incentives and other means, where appropriate, organizations of
vulnerable and disadvantaged groups so that they may promote their interests and become involved in
local and national economic, social and political decision-making;
(c) Establish laws and regulations aimed at preventing discrimination and barriers and, where such laws
and regulations already exist, ensure their enforcement;
(d) Work with private sector cooperatives, local communities and other interested parties to raise
awareness of the need to eliminate prejudice and discrimination in housing transactions and the
provision of services;
(e) Consider becoming parties to the relevant instruments of the United Nations system that, inter alia,
deal with the specific and special needs of those belonging to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, such
as the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the Protocol Relating to the Status of
Refugees, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women, the International Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Convention on the
Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, and abiding by the
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities;
(f) Promote systems of public transport that are affordable and accessible in order to make a wider range
of housing and jobs available to vulnerable groups;
(g) Provide vulnerable and disadvantaged groups with access to information and with opportunities to
participate in the local decision-making process on community and shelter issues that will affect them;
(h) Provide increased coverage of water supply and sanitation services to ensure that vulnerable and
disadvantaged groups have access to adequate quantities of safe water and to hygienic sanitation.
97. To provide for the shelter needs of those belonging to vulnerable groups, Governments at the
appropriate levels, including local authorities, in cooperation with all interested parties, as appropriate,
should:
(a) Provide, where appropriate, targeted and transparent subsidies, social services and various types of
safety nets to the most vulnerable groups;
(b) Work with the private and non-profit sectors, community-based organizations and other actors to
provide adequate shelter for people belonging to vulnerable groups, making special efforts to remove all
physical constraints to the independent living of persons with disabilities and of older persons;
(c) Strive to provide special living facilities and shelter solutions for people belonging to vulnerable
groups, as appropriate, such as shelters for women subjected to violence, or shared living arrangements
for persons with mental or physical disabilities;
(d) Provide an environment that enables people belonging to vulnerable groups to participate in the
social, economic and political life of their community and country.
98. To reduce vulnerability, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Work with non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations to assist members
of vulnerable groups to obtain secure tenure;
(b) Protect all people from and provide legal protection and redress for forced evictions that are contrary
to the law, taking human rights into consideration; when evictions are unavoidable, ensure that, as
appropriate, alternative suitable solutions are provided;
(c) Promote and support self-help housing programmes and initiatives;
(d) Promote, where appropriate, compliance with and enforcement of all health and environmental laws,
especially in low-income areas with vulnerable groups;
(e) Facilitate actions aimed at, inter alia, ensuring legal security of tenure, capacity-building and
improving access to credit, which, apart from subsidies and other financial instruments, can provide
safety nets that reduce vulnerability;
(f) Pursue policies that will provide information to and consultation with vulnerable groups;
(g) Facilitate the availability of legal information and assistance to vulnerable groups;
(h) Promote the use of tools for disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness in order to reduce the
vulnerability of populations to natural, man-made and technological disasters.
C. Sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world
1. Introduction
99. Rapid urbanization, the concentration of the urban population in large cities, the sprawl of cities into
wider geographical areas and the rapid growth of megacities are among the most significant
transformations of human settlements. By the year 2005 the majority of the world's population will live
in urban areas, and approximately 40 per cent of them will be children. Urban areas will strongly
influence the world of the twentyfirst century, and urban and rural populations will be increasingly
interdependent for their economic, environmental and social wellbeing. Among the economic and social
factors influencing this process are population growth and voluntary and involuntary migration, real and
perceived employment opportunities, cultural expectations, changing consumption and production
patterns and serious imbalances and disparities among regions.
100. Given the magnitude of the challenges that human settlements pose, society must value and take
advantage of the wisdom, knowledge and skills of every person. Sustainable human settlements
development requires cooperative and complementary actions among interested parties. The mix of
interested parties appropriate for participation may be different in each instance, depending on who has
responsibility for or is affected by the topic being addressed. As a general matter, interested parties
include women and men of all ages, Governments at the appropriate level, nongovernmental
organizations, community-based organizations, business, labour and environmental organizations.
101. The sustainability of the global environment and human life will not be achieved unless, among
other things, human settlements in both urban and rural areas are made economically buoyant, socially
vibrant and environmentally sound, with full respect for cultural, religious and natural heritage and
diversity. Urban settlements hold a promise for human development and for protection of the world's
natural resources through their ability to support large numbers of people while limiting their impact on
the natural environment. Yet many cities are witnessing harmful patterns of growth, of production and
consumption, of land use, of mobility and of degradation of their physical structure. Such problems are
often synonymous with soil, air and water pollution, waste of resources and destruction of natural
resources. Some human settlements are also subject to limited water supply, sanitation and drainage and
to dependency upon toxic and nonrenewable energy fuel sources and irreversible loss of biodiversity.
Many of these trends are aggravated or accelerated by high population growth and the magnitude of
ruraltourban migration. Demographic factors, combined with poverty and lack of access to resources and
unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, particularly in industrialized countries, can cause
or exacerbate problems of environmental degradation and resource depletion and thus inhibit sustainable
development. Therefore, a largely urbanized world implies that sustainable development will depend
very largely on the capacity of urban and metropolitan areas to manage the production and consumption
patterns and the transport and waste disposal systems needed to preserve the environment.
102. The municipal level of government can be an effective partner in making human settlements viable,
equitable and sustainable, since its level of administration is closest to the people. Governments must
recognize the essential role of local authorities in providing services and empowering people to secure
economic development, social welfare and environmental protection for their communities, and the role
of international cooperation among local authorities. Local authorities can construct, operate and
maintain economic, social and environmental infrastructure, oversee planning processes, establish local
environmental policies and assist in implementing national and subnational environmental policies.
They play a vital role in educating and mobilizing people and in responding to public demands to
promote sustainable development.
103. At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the international community
agreed on a set of objectives and actions aimed at promoting sustainable human settlements
development. In chapter 7 of Agenda 21, the concept of an "enabling approach" in the human
settlements sector was developed, whereby a partnership among the public, private and community
sectors sought to improve the social, economic and environmental quality of human settlements and the
living and working environments of all people, in particular people living in poverty in urban and rural
areas. Particular emphasis was given to participation in the decision-making process by community
groups, women, indigenous people, the elderly and people with disabilities. The local Agenda 21
framework emphasizes the need for local authorities to work in cooperation with all interested parties,
including individuals, social groups and the private sector, to promote and implement effective strategies
for sustainable development.
104. In the process of urbanization, policies and programmes for the sustainable development of human
settlements in both rural and urban areas require strong subnational governmental institutions working in
partnership with all interested parties. Such institutions are still weak in many countries, and their
effectiveness is threatened by increasing problems of political regionalism and ethnic strife. All these
concerns and demands require a regional and cross-sectoral approach to human settlements planning,
which places emphasis on rural/urban linkages and treats villages and cities as two ends of a human
settlements continuum in a common ecosystem.
105. Increasingly, cities have a network of linkages that extends far beyond their boundaries. Sustainable
urban development requires consideration of the carrying capacity of the entire ecosystem supporting
such development, including the prevention and mitigation of adverse environmental impacts occurring
outside urban areas. The unsafe disposal of waste leads to the degradation of the natural environment:
aquifers, coastal zones, ocean resources, wetlands, natural habitats, forests and other fragile ecosystems
are affected, as are the homelands of indigenous people. All transboundary movements of hazardous
waste and substances should be carried out in accordance with relevant international agreements by
parties to those agreements. Rapid urbanization in coastal areas is causing the rapid deterioration of
coastal and marine ecosystems.
106. The diversity of types of human settlements is a key component to creating just and sustainable
societies. The living and working conditions in all human settlements, including regional urban centres,
rural service centres, rural hamlets, rural communities, market towns and villages, must be improved,
with particular emphasis on shelter, social and physical infrastructure, and services. The maintenance
and the development of rural settlements require sustainable agriculture and forestry activities and
improved agricultural technologies, economic diversification, and expanded employment opportunities
created by encouraging appropriate and environmentally sustainable investment in industry and related
economic production and service activities.
107. In order to mitigate the unbalanced geographical development of human settlements, and to
effectively reinforce the creation of a dynamic economy, Governments at the appropriate levels should
create partnerships with relevant interested parties to encourage the sustainable development and
management of cities of all sizes and should create conditions that ensure that these different cities
provide employment opportunities and services in the process of securing economic development, social
welfare and environmental protection. They should devise strategies and support measures that address
the issues relating to the movement of population which leads to extreme population concentration in
some areas, pressure on fragile ecosystems such as coastal areas, and loss of population in other areas.
108. International cooperation, including citytocity cooperation, is both necessary and mutually
beneficial in promoting sustainable human settlements development. Depending on the context and the
needs of the cities, towns and villages in each country and region, special attention should be paid to the
most critical issues, such as changing production and consumption patterns; energy efficiency;
sustainable resource and land-use management; poverty eradication; population and health; water
supply, sanitation and waste management; disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and
management; cultural, natural and historical heritage; environmental protection; industry; infrastructure;
and basic services such as health and education facilities and services. Habitat II provides an opportunity
to focus on the effect that current patterns of human settlements development will have on the ability to
achieve the objectives established at recent United Nations conferences. Close attention to trends in
urban development is essential to the viability of sustainable human settlements development in rural
and urban areas alike.
2. Sustainable land use
109. Land is essential for the provision of food, water and energy for many living systems, and is critical
to human activity. In rapidly growing urban areas, access to land is rendered increasingly difficult by the
potentially competing demands of housing, industry, commerce, infrastructure, transport, agriculture and
the need for open spaces and green areas, and the protection of fragile ecosystems. The rising costs of
urban land and other factors prevent persons living in poverty and members of other vulnerable and
disadvantaged groups from gaining access to suitable land, the location of which does not pose
economic, environmental or health risks to the residents for such reasons as its proximity to polluting
industrial facilities, inappropriate geographical conditions or its susceptibility to natural disasters.
Bringing the development of urban areas into harmony with the natural environment and the overall
system of settlements is one of the basic tasks to be undertaken in achieving a sustainable urbanized
world. The tools for achieving a physically more balanced development include not only specific urban
and regional policies and legal, economic, financial, cultural and other measures, but also innovative
methods of urban planning and design and of urban development, revitalization and management.
National, subnational and local policies and programmes need to be integrated. In this regard, the
principle of the precautionary approach, stipulated in the Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development, should be widely applied by Governments according to their capabilities, and the use of
environmental and social impact assessments is desirable.
110. Land use is closely related to water resource management because of the critical need to protect
aquifers and other fresh-water resources from the harmful effects of human settlements. Special
attention should be paid to guiding potentially hazardous activities away from the fragile areas. Oceans
and coastal areas should be protected from land-based sources of pollution.
111. Many cities are using peripheral land for urbanrelated purposes in a wasteful manner while existing
serviced land and infrastructure may not be adequately developed and used. To avoid unbalanced,
unhealthy and unsustainable growth of human settlements, it is necessary to promote landuse patterns
that minimize transport demands, save energy and protect open and green spaces. Appropriate urban
density and mixed landuse guidelines are of prime importance for urban development. National,
subnational and local policies and development plans must be carefully reexamined to ensure optimal
land use and geographically better balanced economic development, including the protection of
indispensable agricultural land; land that sustains biodiversity, water quality and groundwater recharge;
fragile areas, including coastal areas; and other sensitive areas in need of protection.
112. Green spaces and vegetation cover in urban and peri-urban areas are essential for biological and
hydrological balance and economic development. Vegetation creates natural habitats and permits better
absorption of rainwater by natural means, which implies savings in water management. Green areas and
vegetation also play an important part in reducing air pollution and in creating more suitable climatic
conditions, thereby improving the living environment in cities. Healthy and environmentally sound
agricultural activities and the provision of common land should be integrated into the planning of urban
and peri-urban areas.
Actions
113. Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities and other interested parties, with
the support of the relevant international and regional institutions, should support the efforts of human
settlements to establish sustainable urban land-use patterns and planning and, to that end, should:
(a) Establish, as appropriate, legal frameworks to facilitate the development and implementation, at the
national, subnational and local levels, of public plans and policies for sustainable urban development
and rehabilitation, land utilization, housing and the improved management of urban growth;
(b) Promote efficient and accessible land markets that are responsive to demand and meet community
needs;
(c) Develop, where appropriate, fiscal incentives and land-use control measures, including land-use
planning solutions for more rational and sustainable use of limited land resources;
(d) Focus greater attention on meeting the capital investment requirements of human settlements through
resource mobilization strategies and policies that facilitate greater flows of private investment in urban
development in locations that contribute to sustainable land-use patterns;
(e) Encourage partnerships among the public, private and voluntary sectors and other interested parties
in managing land resources for sustainable urban development;
(f) Promote urban planning, housing and industrial siting initiatives that discourage the siting of
hazardous industrial facilities in residential areas;
(g) Prevent or minimize pollution and exposure to pollution from industrial facilities, while also
promoting urban planning, housing and industrial siting initiatives that discourage the disproportionate
siting of polluting industrial facilities in areas inhabited by people living in poverty or those belonging to
vulnerable and disadvantaged groups;
(h) Develop and support the implementation of improved land-management practices that deal
comprehensively with competing urban land requirements for housing, industry, commerce,
infrastructure, transport, green spaces and forested areas, taking into account the need for spaces for
everyday activities - for playgrounds, parks, sports and recreation areas and areas suitable for gardening
and urban agriculture;
(i) Promote the integration of land-use, communications and transport planning to encourage
development patterns that reduce the demand for transport;
(j) Develop and implement integrated coastal zone management plans to ensure the proper development
and conservation of coastal resources;
(k) Promote the use of tools and the development of capacities for transparent urban monitoring and
reporting activities based on appropriate indicators for the environmental, social and economic
performance of cities;
(l) Institutionalize a participatory approach to sustainable human settlements through the development
and support of strategies and mechanisms that encourage open and inclusive dialogue among all
interested parties, with special attention to the needs and priorities of women, minorities, children,
youth, people with disabilities, older persons and persons living in poverty and exclusion;
(m) Promote best practices for community-based land management in human settlements;
(n) Strengthen capacities in integrated environmental management.
114. To develop and support improved and integrated land management, Governments at the appropriate
levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Develop integrated land information and mapping systems;
(b) Establish, as appropriate, structures for the enforcement of land management laws and regulations in
order to make enforcement and appeals more efficient and effective;
(c) Develop the land market through the establishment of an effective legal framework that incorporates
environmental concerns and encompasses the diversity of tenure systems;
(d) Develop, with the participation of all interested parties, comprehensive and environmentally sound
land-use strategies at the local level.
3. Social development: eradication of poverty, creation of productive employment and social
integration
115. Promoting equitable, socially viable and stable human settlements is inextricably linked to
eradicating poverty. The concerns of the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty and the
International Decade for the Eradication of Poverty are shared by the international community, which
also acknowledges the feminization of poverty. Poverty has various manifestations, including
homelessness and inadequate housing. The eradication of poverty requires, inter alia, sound
macroeconomic policies aimed at creating employment opportunities, equal and universal access to
economic opportunities (and special efforts to facilitate such access for the disadvantaged); education
and training that will promote sustainable livelihoods through freely chosen productive employment and
work; and basic social services, including health facilities. However, there are no universal solutions that
can be fairly applied. People living in poverty must be empowered through freely chosen participation in
all aspects of political, economic and social life. Other key elements of a poverty eradication strategy
include policies geared to reducing inequalities, increasing opportunities, improving and providing, as
appropriate, access to resources, employment and income; promoting rural development and measures to
improve economic, social and environmental conditions in rural areas; providing social protection for
those who cannot support themselves; recognizing the needs and skills of women; developing human
resources; improving infrastructure, including communication facilities, and making it more accessible;
and promoting domestic policies for meeting the basic needs of all.
Actions
116. To promote equal access to and fair and equitable provision of services in human settlements,
Governments at the appropriate level, including local authorities, should:
(a) Formulate and implement human settlements development policies that ensure equal access to and
maintenance of basic services, including those related to the provision of food security; education;
employment and livelihood; basic health care services; safe drinking water and sanitation; adequate
shelter; and access to open and green spaces, giving priority to the needs and rights of women and
children, who often bear the greatest burden of poverty;
(b) Where appropriate, redirect public resources to encourage community-based management of services
and infrastructure and promote the participation of the private sector and local residents, including
people living in poverty, women, people with disabilities, indigenous people and members of
disadvantaged groups, in the identification of public service needs, spatial planning and the design,
provision and maintenance of urban infrastructure and open and green spaces.
117. To promote social integration, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities,
recognizing the importance of volunteer contributions and in close cooperation with non-governmental
organizations, community-based organizations, the cooperative sector and public and private
foundations, should:
(a) Prohibit discriminatory, exclusionary practices related to shelter, employment and access to social
and cultural facilities;
(b) Offer opportunities and physical space to encourage positive interaction among culturally diverse
groups;
(c) Involve marginalized and/or disadvantaged groups and individuals in the planning, decision-making,
monitoring and assessment related to human settlements development;
(d) Encourage, in cooperation with relevant interested parties, including parents with respect to their
children's education, the development of school curricula, education programmes and community-based
centres aimed at developing understanding and cooperation among members of diverse cultures.
118. Urban and rural poverty and unemployment represent severe constraints for human settlements
development. In order to combat poverty, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local
authorities, in partnership with all relevant interested parties, including workers' and employers'
organizations, should:
(a) Stimulate productive employment opportunities that generate income sufficient to achieve an
adequate standard of living for all people, while ensuring equal employment opportunities and wage
rates for women and encouraging the location of employment opportunities near and in the home,
particularly for women living in poverty and people with disabilities;
(b) Pursue the goal of ensuring quality jobs, and safeguard the basic rights and interests of workers and,
to this end, freely promote respect for relevant conventions of the International Labour Organization,
including those on the prohibition of forced and child labour, freedom of association, the right to
organize and bargain collectively, and the principle of nondiscrimination;
(c) Improve policies that reduce environmental health hazards, and provide the informal sector and all
workers with accessible information on how to enhance occupational safety and reduce health risks;
(d) Promote, where appropriate, costeffective and labourintensive investments and methods to provide,
rehabilitate and maintain settlement infrastructure and services;
(e) Promote contracting and procurement that, as appropriate, facilitate the involvement of the local
private sector, including small businesses and contractors, and, when appropriate, the informal sector
and the community sector in the provision of basic public goods and services;
(f) Ensure that people living in poverty have access to productive resources, including credit, land,
education and training, technology, knowledge and information, as well as to public services, and that
they have the opportunity to participate in decisionmaking in a policy and regulatory environment that
would enable them to benefit from employment and economic opportunities;
(g) Promote access to credit and innovative banking alternatives with flexible guarantees and collateral
requirements for women and people living in poverty, including those who work in the informal sector,
family enterprises and smallscale enterprises;
(h) Promote community-based cooperative banking and responsible corporate reinvestment in local
communities;
(i) Promote and strengthen productive enterprises, including microenterprises and smallscale private and
cooperative sector enterprises and expand market and other employment and training opportunities for
women, men and youth, including people with disabilities and, where appropriate, strengthen the
linkages between the informal and formal sectors;
(j) Promote, where appropriate, timely access of the unemployed, particularly persons living in poverty,
to education and vocational training;
(k) Link independent small businesses through flexible manufacturing networks;
(l) Establish and strengthen programmes designed to improve project management skills for
communitybased and nongovernmental organizations, including youth organizations, at the community
and local levels, including needs assessment, project setting and design, financial management, project
implementation and impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation;
(m) Encourage the establishment of communitybased organizations, private voluntary organizations and
other nongovernmental organizations that contribute to efforts to eradicate poverty;
(n) Explore the creation of quasi-public support structures that encourage interrelated community-based
enterprises by providing assistance with development, marketing and distribution of communitymanufactured
products;
(o) Promote public awareness of job opportunities through the mass media.
119. In order to promote gendersensitive planning and management of human settlements, Governments
at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in collaboration with women's groups and other
interested parties, should:
(a) Adopt, where appropriate, bylaws, standards and norms and develop planning guidelines that take
into consideration the needs and situations of women and men and girls and boys in relation to human
settlements planning, development and decisionmaking, and in the provision of and access to basic
services, including public transportation, health and educational facilities;
(b) Consider in the planning process the fact that women are often involved in the informal sector and
use their homes for business or market activities;
(c) Promote representative structures, while ensuring women's full and equal participation;
(d) Develop policy guidelines and programmes that encourage and actively pursue the involvement of
women's groups in all aspects of community development related to environmental infrastructure and the
provision of basic urban services, and encourage women's own cooperatives, as well as their
membership in other cooperatives;
(e) Promote changes in attitudes, structures, policies, laws and other practices relating to gender in order
to eliminate all obstacles to human dignity and equality in family and society and promote full and equal
participation of women and men, including persons with disabilities, in social, economic and political
life, including in the formulation, implementation and follow-up of public policies and programmes;
(f) Foster economic policies that have a positive impact on the employment and income of women
workers in both the formal and informal sectors and adopt specific measures to address women's
unemployment, in particular their longterm unemployment;
(g) Eliminate legal and customary barriers, where they exist, to women's equal access to and control of
land and finance;
(h) Promote equal access to all levels of education for girls and women;
(i) Establish programmes that address the absolute poverty found among rural women, focusing on their
need for adequate shelter and employment;
(j) Generate and disseminate gender disaggregated data, while ensuring that such statistics are collected,
compiled, analysed and presented by age and sex; set up monitoring mechanisms in government
structures; and integrate the results into mainstream policies for sustainable human settlements
development;
(k) Enhance community awareness of issues facing women living in poverty, the homeless, migrants,
refugees, other displaced women in need of
international protection, and internally displaced women, especially those issues related to physical and
sexual abuse, and design appropriate community responses;
(l) Ensure equal access to housing, land and public services in the urban and rural areas in line with the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
120. In order to develop the full potential of young people and prepare them to take a responsible role in
the development of human settlements, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local
authorities, in partnership with the private sector, nongovernmental youth organizations and other nongovernmental
organizations as well as community-based organizations, should:
(a) Integrate youth concerns into all relevant national, subnational and local policies, strategies,
programmes and projects;
(b) Enable youth by supporting and valuing their ability to play an active and creative role in building
sustainable communities;
(c) Provide equal access to basic education, paying special attention to people living in poverty and to
youth living in rural areas and addressing constraints created by distance, lack of educational facilities
and social or economic barriers;
(d) Take special action to reduce the dropout rate at all levels of education through increased relevance
and quality education, and to facilitate the access of school leavers to a sustainable livelihood;
(e) Utilizing both formal and non-formal educational and training activities and programmes, promote -
in partnership with youth - employment programmes and vocational skills development that enhance
youth's capacity to participate fully in the social, economic and political processes of human settlements;
(f) Eliminate the sexual and economic exploitation of young women and children, improving their
quality of life and increasing their contribution to sustainable human settlements development;
(g) Encourage awarenessraising campaigns and other actions developed and implemented by youth that
are aimed at promoting the appreciation by youth of their historical, natural, religious, spiritual and
cultural heritage and at increasing their consciousness of environmental values and the environmental
implications of their production, consumption, behavioural and ethical choices, especially those related
to adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development.
121. In order to promote disability-sensitive planning and management of human settlements,
Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Promote the adoption of laws, bylaws, standards and norms and develop planning guidelines and
programmes that take into consideration the specific needs of persons with disabilities, including the
chronically ill, in all planning, development and decisionmaking in relation to human settlements;
(b) Encourage the adoption of laws and policies ensuring persons with disabilities full access to all new
public buildings and facilities, public housing and public transport systems; and also encourage access to
existing public buildings and facilities, housing and transport, wherever feasible, especially by taking
advantage of renovation;
(c) Promote representative structures, while ensuring the full and equal participation of persons with
disabilities;
(d) Eliminate communication barriers to reduce the social and physical isolation faced by persons with
disabilities by measures such as the production and dissemination of information, especially public
information, in appropriate formats;
(e) Promote equal access to all levels of education and skills development for persons with disabilities;
(f) Prepare and disseminate disaggregated data presented by age, sex and work status, set up monitoring
mechanisms in government structures and integrate the results into mainstream policies for sustainable
human settlements development;
(g) Recognize that people with disabilities can provide expertise in their own housing and community
requirements, that they should be decision makers with regard to housing appropriate for them and that
they should be included as designers and implementers of such housing;
(h) Enhance community awareness of health-care issues facing persons with disabilities and design
appropriate community responses;
(i) Provide persons with disabilities affordable and quality health care;
(j) Develop policies and guidelines and provide services that enable persons with disabilities to be
housed in communitybased settings;
(k) Develop and implement programmes that enable people with disabilities to have an equal
opportunity to realize an income sufficient to attain an adequate standard of living;
(l) Consider in the planning process the fact that persons with disabilities often use their homes for
business or market activities;
(m) Promote sports, recreational and cultural activities for persons with disabilities.
122. In order to promote the continuing progress of indigenous people and to ensure their full
participation in the development of the rural and urban areas in which they live, with full respect for
their cultures, languages, traditions, education, social organizations and settlement patterns,
Governments and leaders of indigenous communities, within the national context, should:
(a) Take particular actions to enhance their productive capacities, ensuring their full and equal access to
social and economic services and their participation in the elaboration and implementation of policies
that affect their development;
(b) Support the economic activities of indigenous people in order to improve their conditions and
development and to secure their safe interaction with larger economies;
(c) Integrate indigenous women, their perspectives and knowledge, on an equal basis with men, in
decisionmaking regarding human settlements, including sustainable resource management and the
development of policies and programmes for sustainable development, including, in particular, those
designed to address and prevent environmental degradation of land;
(d) Address the particular needs of indigenous children and their families, especially those living in
poverty, thereby enabling them to benefit fully from economic and social development programmes.
123. To prevent, reduce and eliminate violence and crime, Governments at the appropriate levels,
including local authorities, in partnership with all interested parties, should:
(a) Design, create and maintain liveable human settlements that encourage the use of public spaces as
centres of community life so that they do not become places for criminal activity;
(b) Promote awareness and provide education in an effort to mitigate crime and violence and strengthen
society;
(c) Promote crime prevention through social development by finding ways to help communities deal
with underlying factors that undermine community safety and result in crime by addressing such critical
problems as poverty, inequality, family stress, unemployment, absence of educational and vocational
opportunities, and lack of health care, including mental health services;
(d) Encourage youth and children, in particular street children, to become interested parties in their own
future and in their community's future through education, recreation, and job training and counselling
that can attract private-sector investment and support from nonprofit organizations;
(e) Enhance women's safety in communities through the promotion of a gender perspective in crime
prevention policies and programmes by increasing in those responsible for implementing those policies
the knowledge and understanding of the causes, consequences and mechanisms of violence against
women;
(f) Establish programmes designed to improve the skills of local leadership in group facilitation, conflict
resolution and intervention;
(g) As appropriate, promote personal security and reduce fear by improving police services, making
them more accountable to the communities they serve, and by encouraging and facilitating, whenever
appropriate, the formation of lawful communitybased crime prevention measures and systems;
(h) Provide accessible, affordable, impartial, prompt and humane local systems of justice by, inter alia,
facilitating and strengthening, where appropriate, existing traditional institutions and procedures for the
resolution of disputes and conflicts;
(i) Encourage the establishment of programmes and projects based on voluntary participation, especially
of children, youth and older persons, to prevent violence, including violence in the home, and crime;
(j) Take concerted and urgent action to dismantle international and national sex trafficking networks.
124. To protect vulnerable and disadvantaged people, Governments at the appropriate levels, in
partnership with all interested parties, should work together to:
(a) Adopt integrated, transparent and gender-sensitive environmental, social and economic policies and
programmes for distressed areas and areas characterized by social exclusion;
(b) Facilitate the participation of local organizations, including elder councils, women's groups, people's
movements, youth groups, children's groups and organizations of people with disabilities and other
organizations based in the community, in the decision-making processes concerning social welfare
programmes;
(c) Promote and establish operational partnerships with social welfare and community development
initiatives;
(d) Improve the planning and design of human settlements so as to respond specifically to the needs of
vulnerable and disadvantaged people, especially people with disabilities.
4. Population and sustainable human settlements development
125. The quality of life and the activities of all human beings within human settlements are closely
interrelated with population change, demographic patterns, including growth, structure and distribution
of population, and development variables such as education, health and nutrition, the levels of use of
natural resources, the state of the environment and the pace and quality of economic and social
development.
126. Population movements within and among countries, including the very rapid growth of some cities
and the unbalanced regional distribution of population in some areas need to be considered to ensure the
sustainability of human settlements.
Actions
127. In order to address population issues affecting human settlements and to fully integrate
demographic concerns into sustainable human settlements development policies, Governments at the
appropriate levels, including local authorities and other interested parties, should:
(a) Ensure that population/demographic issues are appropriately addressed within decision-making
processes, especially those dealing with urban and regional planning and management, basic
infrastructure and services provision or other related policies;
(b) Where necessary, set up or enhance databases, including, inter alia, data disaggregated by gender
and age, and conduct data collection and analysis to provide baseline information that can be used to
better plan for population growth in cities, towns and villages;
(c) Increase the awareness, knowledge and understanding of the impact of population change and
development variables on human settlements at all levels of society through public information
campaigns and communication efforts centred on the significance and relevance of population-related
issues and the responsible actions necessary to address such issues, including health, family planning
and consumption and production patterns consistent with sustainable development;
(d) Consider the need to plan, design and build sustainable new human settlements, taking into account
the environmental impact, to relieve present and obviate future population and development pressures on
urban and rural areas.
5. Environmentally sustainable, healthy and liveable human settlements
128. Sustainable human settlements depend on the creation of a better environment for human health
and well-being, which will improve the living conditions of people and decrease disparities in the
quality of their lives. The health of the population depends at least as much on the control of
environmental causes of poor health as on clinical responses to disease. Children are particularly
vulnerable to harmful urban environments and must be protected. Measures to prevent ill health and
disease are as important as the availability of appropriate medical treatment and care. It is therefore
essential to take a holistic approach to health, whereby both prevention and care are placed within the
context of environmental policy, supported by effective management systems and plans of action
incorporating targets that reflect local needs and capacities.
129. Health problems related to adverse environmental conditions, including a lack of access to safe
water and sanitation, inadequate waste management, poor drainage, air pollution, and exposure to
excessive noise levels, as well as ineffective and inadequate health services, exact a heavy toll on the
quality of life and the overall contribution to society of millions of people. They may also aggravate
social tension and inequity and increase the vulnerability of people to the effects of disasters. An
integrated approach to the provision of environmentally sound infrastructure in human settlements,
particularly for people living in poverty in rural and urban areas, is an investment in sustainable human
settlements development that can enhance the quality of life, reduce negative impacts on the
environment, improve the overall health of a population, and reduce the burden of investment in curative
health and poverty alleviation.
130. Many pollution-related risks to health are particularly high in urban areas, as well as in low-income
areas, because of higher concentrations of pollutants from, inter alia, industry, traffic, fumes from
cooking and heating devices, overcrowding and inadequate solid and liquid waste management.
Environmental risks in the home and the workplace may have a disproportionate impact on the health of
women and children because of their different susceptibilities and rates of exposure to the toxic effects
of various chemicals and given the nature of the tasks that women frequently undertake. Environmental
risks may also have a disproportionate impact on children.
131. Many environmental contaminants, such as radioactive materials and persistent organic pollutants,
work their way into the food chain and eventually into human beings, thus compromising the health of
present and future generations.
132. Exposure to heavy metals, including lead and mercury, may have persistent and harmful effects on
human health and development and on the environment. Children and people living in poverty are often
particularly vulnerable, and it is of special concern that the effects of high lead levels on children's
intellectual development are irreversible. Effective and affordable alternatives to many of the uses of
these metals are available. Appropriate alternatives should be sought for those products where exposure
to lead can be neither controlled nor managed.
133. Unsustainable and wasteful production and consumption patterns also lead to increasing problems
in waste management. It is essential to intensify efforts aimed at minimizing the production and
discharge of waste, and at recycling and reuse as much as possible and disposing of the remainder in an
environmentally sound manner. This will require changes in attitudes and consumption patterns and in
the design of buildings and neighbourhoods, as well as innovative, efficient and sustainable modalities
for waste management.
134. The design of the built environment is recognized as having an impact on people's well-being and
behaviour and, thereby, on people's health. Good design in new housing and in upgrading and
rehabilitation is important for the creation of sustainable living conditions. The design of highrise
housing should complement the context of the neighbourhood in which it will be located. In particular,
the large-scale development of high-rise housing can bring social and environmental disadvantages;
therefore special attention should be paid to the quality of its design, including the scale and height,
proper maintenance, regular technical inspection and safety measures.
135. The liveability of the built environment has an important bearing on the quality of life in human
settlements. Quality of life implies those attributes catering for the diversified and growing aspirations of
citizens that go beyond the satisfaction of basic needs. Liveability refers to those spatial, social and
environmental characteristics and qualities that uniquely contribute to people's sense of personal and
collective wellbeing and to their sense of satisfaction in being the residents of that particular settlement.
The aspirations for liveability vary from place to place, and evolve and change in time; they also differ
among the diverse populations that make up communities. Therefore, conditions for liveable human
settlements presuppose a working democracy in which processes of participation, civic engagement and
capacitybuilding mechanisms are institutionalized.
Actions
136. To improve the health and well-being of all people throughout their lifespan, particularly people
living in poverty, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in partnership with
other interested parties, should:
(a) Develop and implement national, subnational and local health plans or strategies and strengthen
environmental health services to prevent, mitigate and respond to diseases and ill health resulting from
poor conditions in living and working environments and the conditions of people living in poverty, and
continue work towards the Agenda 21 objective of achieving a 10 to 40 per cent improvement in health
indicators by the year 2000;
(b) Adopt measures to prevent and control air, water and soil pollution and to reduce noise levels, where
appropriate, and develop and ensure access to appropriate preventive and curative health-care systems in
order to tackle related health problems;
(c) Ensure adequate research to assess how and to what extent women and children are particularly
susceptible or exposed to environmental degradation and hazards, including, as necessary, research and
data collection on specific groups of women and children, particularly women with low incomes,
indigenous women and women belonging to minorities;
(d) Improve shelter conditions so as to mitigate those health and safety risks, particularly risks to
women, older persons, children and people with disabilities, that are associated with activities in the
home;
(e) Build capacity at all levels for effective environmental health management;
(f) Develop and implement programmes to ensure universal access for women throughout their life-span
to a full range of affordable health-care services, including those related to reproductive health care,
which includes family planning and sexual health, consistent with the report of the International
Conference on Population and Development;
(g) Develop, where appropriate, criteria for maximum permitted and safe levels of noise exposure and
promote noise assessment control as part of environmental health programmes;
(h) Raise awareness of the interdependencies between the environment and health and develop within
communities the knowledge, attitudes and practices needed to improve personal and community health,
with special attention to hygiene;
(i) Promote, where appropriate, planning and good design in human settlements, both in new
developments and in upgrading and rehabilitation, while emphasizing aesthetic qualities as well as
sound and sustainable technical and functional qualities, enriching and enlightening the overall quality
of life of people;
(j) Establish processes to increase the exchange of information, experience and technical assistance
among national, subnational and local Governments, including among Governments at the same level,
and across sectors for environmental health improvements;
(k) Ensure that due priority is given and adequate resources made available from all sources, at the
national, regional and international levels, to combat the threat to individuals and public health posed by
the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS globally and by the re-emergence of major diseases, such as tuberculosis,
malaria, onchocerciasis (river blindness) and diarrhoeal diseases, in particular cholera;
(l) Promote safe and healthy workplace conditions for men and women.
137. To improve environmental conditions and reduce industrial and domestic waste and other forms of
health risks in human settlements, Governments at the appropriate levels and in partnership with all
interested parties should:
(a) Develop and implement national and local plans, policies and specific cross-sectoral programmes
addressing all relevant chapters of Agenda 21;
(b) Develop laws and policies that specify appropriate ambient environmental quality levels and set
targets for environmental improvements and identify instruments for their achievement appropriate to
national and subnational priorities and conditions;
(c) Establish, equip and build capacity for monitoring and evaluating compliance with environmental
regulations and effectiveness of enforcement at all levels;
(d) Set environmental standards so as to facilitate the selection and development of appropriate
technologies and their appropriate use;
(e) Identify and address the disproportionately high and adverse effects of policies and programmes on
the human health or the environment of people living in poverty and those belonging to vulnerable and
disadvantaged groups;
(f) Provide incentives and disincentives to promote the use of clean production and energy- and watersaving
processes and technologies that, among other things, can increase economic opportunities in the
areas of environmental technology, environmental cleanup and environmentally friendly products and
can improve the attractiveness and competitiveness of human settlements for economic investments;
(g) Provide guidelines and training for the application of procedures for the assessment of environmental
health impacts;
(h) Undertake environmental assessments and environmental impact assessments for development plans
and projects, respectively, that may significantly affect the quality of the environment;
(i) Support mechanisms for consultations and partnerships among interested parties to prepare and
implement local environmental plans and local Agenda 21 initiatives and specific cross-sectoral
environmental health programmes;
(j) Raise awareness of environmental issues and develop within communities the knowledge, attitudes
and practices needed for sustainable human settlements development;
(k) Take appropriate action to manage the use of heavy metals, particularly lead, safely and effectively
and, where possible, to eliminate uncontrolled exposure in order to protect human health and the
environment;
(l) Eliminate as soon as possible the use of lead in gasoline;
(m) In cooperation with the international community, promote the protection of the living environment
and strive to restore contaminated land, air and water to levels acceptable for sustainable human
settlements.
138. Recognizing the need for an integrated approach to the provision of those environmental services
and policies that are essential for human life, Governments at the appropriate levels, in partnership with
other interested parties, should:
(a) Incorporate the principles and strategies contained in Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration on
Environment and Development in an integrated manner: the precautionary principle approach, the
polluter pays principle, the pollution prevention principle, the ecosystem approach, including strategies
pertaining to carrying capacity, and environmental and social impact assessments;
(b) Promote practices and patterns of production and consumption that will conserve and protect
freshwater and saltwater resources and topsoil, as well as air and soil quality;
(c) Ensure that clean water is available and accessible to all human settlements as soon as possible
through, inter alia, the adoption and improvement of technology, and ensure that environmental
protection and conservation plans are designed and implemented to restore polluted water systems and
rebuild damaged watersheds;
(d) Dispose as soon as possible, within both rural and urban areas, of sewage, waste waters and solid
wastes, including hazardous wastes, in a manner that conforms with national or international
environmental quality guidelines;
(e) Promote environmental protection and public health by proper treatment and the recycling and reuse
of environmentally compatible sanitation and treatment/disposal of waste water and solid waste;
(f) Make a concerted effort to reduce the generation of wastes and waste products by, inter alia, setting
national and local goals for the reduction of packaging;
(g) Develop criteria and methodologies for the assessment of environmental impacts and resource
requirements at the local level throughout the life cycle of products and processes;
(h) Develop and implement legal, fiscal and administrative mechanisms to achieve integrated ecosystem
management;
(i) Establish mechanisms to ensure transparent, accountable and costeffective management and
maintenance of infrastructure.
139. In order to promote a healthy environment that will continue to support adequate shelter for all and
sustainable human settlements for current and future generations, Governments at the appropriate levels,
in partnership with all relevant interested parties, should:
(a) Promote the conservation and sustainable use of urban and periurban biodiversity, including forests,
local habitats and species biodiversity; the protection of biodiversity should be included within local
sustainable development planning activities;
(b) Protect existing forest resources and promote, where possible, afforestation around and within human
settlements in order to fulfil basic needs relating to energy, construction, recreation and food security;
(c) Encourage, where appropriate, the establishment of productive and recreational green belts around
urban and rural agglomerations in order to protect their environment and contribute to the provision of
food products;
(d) Reduce significantly the degradation of the marine environment emanating from landbased activities,
including municipal, industrial and agricultural wastes and runoff, which have a pernicious impact on
the productive areas of the marine environment and coastal areas;
(e) Ensure that children have access to the natural world on a daily basis through free play outdoors, and
establish education programmes to help children investigate their community environments, including
natural ecosystems;
(f) Ensure adequate opportunity for public participation by all interested parties at all levels of
environmental decisionmaking.
140. Water resources management in human settlements presents an outstanding challenge for
sustainable development. It combines the challenge of securing for all the basic human need for a
reliable supply of safe drinking water and meeting the competing demands of industry and agriculture,
which are crucial to economic development and food security, without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their water needs.
141. Meeting this challenge requires an integrated approach to water resources management that takes
cognizance of the links between water, sanitation and health, between the economy and the environment,
and between cities and their hinterland, and harmonizes landuse planning and housing policies with
water sector policies and ensures a comprehensive and coherent approach to setting and enforcing
realistic standards. A strong political commitment, cooperation across disciplines and sectors, and an
active partnership of all interested parties is essential to integrated water resources management. To this
end, Governments at the appropriate levels, in partnership with other interested parties, should:
(a) Pursue policies for water resources management that are guided by the broader consideration of
economic, social and environmental sustainability of human settlements at large, rather than by sectoral
considerations alone;
(b) Establish strategies and criteria (biological, physical and chemical water quality) to preserve and
restore aquatic ecosystems in a holistic manner, giving consideration to entire drainage basins and the
living resources contained therein;
(c) Manage supply and demand for water in an effective manner that provides for the basic requirements
of human settlements development, while paying due regard to the carrying capacity of natural
ecosystems;
(d) Promote the forging of partnerships between the public and private sectors and between institutions
at the national and local levels so as to improve the allocative efficiency of investments in water and
sanitation and to increase operational efficiency;
(e) Support responsible agencies in developing their capacity for assessing the demand of communities
and incorporating such demand in the planning of environmental infrastructure services;
(f) Implement the institutional and legal reforms necessary to remove unnecessary overlaps and
redundancies in the functions and jurisdictions of multiple sectoral institutions and to ensure effective
coordination among those institutions in the delivery and management of services;
(g) Introduce economic instruments and regulatory measures to reduce wastage of water and encourage
recycling and reuse of waste water;
(h) Develop strategies to reduce the demand for limited water resources by increasing efficiencies in the
agricultural and industrial sectors;
(i) Carry out tenure regularization, as appropriate, in informal settlements to achieve the minimum level
of legal recognition required for the provision of basic services;
(j) Promote the development and use of efficient and safe sanitary systems, such as dry toilets, for the
recycling of sewage and organic components of municipal solid waste into useful products such as
fertilizers and biogas;
(k) Take into consideration the needs of women in making technological choices in respect of the level
of and access to basic services;
(l) Ensure the full and equal participation of women in all decisionmaking relating to water resource
conservation, management and technological choice.
142. To improve the liveability of human settlements, Governments at the appropriate levels and in
partnership with other interested parties should promote:
(a) The full participation of all interested parties in spatial planning, design and practices that contribute
to sustainability, efficiency, convenience, accessibility, safety, security, aesthetics, diversity and social
integration in human settlements;
(b) Interaction between and among different social groups through the development and maintenance of
cultural facilities and communications infrastructure;
(c) An adequate supply of affordable housing for all;
(d) Legislation to safeguard the rights and interests of workers, to enhance consumer rights and to ensure
security of tenure;
(e) An economic environment capable of generating employment opportunities, as well as offering a
diversity of goods and services;
(f) Capacitybuilding, institutional development and civic engagement to contribute to integration and an
overall productivity increase in human settlements.
143. In a globalizing economy, the increasing occurrence of transboundary pollution and the transfer
across national borders and regions of technologies hazardous to the environment can represent a serious
threat to the environmental conditions of human settlements and the health of their inhabitants.
Governments should therefore cooperate to develop further international legal mechanisms to implement
principle 13 of the Rio Declaration regarding liability and compensation for adverse effects of
environmental damage caused by activities within their jurisdiction or control to areas beyond their
jurisdiction. The international community, international organizations and Governments should also
seek appropriate preventive measures in cases of clear risk of major environmental accidents with
transboundary effects. Furthermore, States should be guided by principle 16 of the Rio Declaration,
which encourages the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution.
144. In seeking to prevent transboundary pollution and minimize its impact on human settlements when
it does occur, Governments should cooperate to develop appropriate mechanisms for assessing the
environmental impact of proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the
environment, including an evaluation of relevant comments provided by other potentially affected
countries. Governments should also cooperate to develop and implement mechanisms for prior and
timely notification, exchange of information and consultation in good faith, and mitigation of the
potential adverse effects regarding those activities, taking into account existing international agreements
and instruments.
6. Sustainable energy use
145. The use of energy is essential in urban centres for transportation, industrial production, and
household and office activities. Current dependence in most urban centres on nonrenewable energy
sources can lead to climate change, air pollution and consequent environmental and human health
problems, and may represent a serious threat to sustainable development. Sustainable energy production
and use can be enhanced by encouraging energy efficiency, by such means as pricing policies, fuel
switching, alternative energy, mass transit and public awareness. Human settlements and energy policies
should be actively coordinated.
Actions
146. In order to promote efficient and sustainable energy use, Governments at the appropriate levels, in
partnership with the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, communitybased organizations and
consumer groups, should, as appropriate:
(a) Promote urban and rural planning and design solutions that are conducive to the efficient use of
energy and that pay due attention to end users and their attitudes and practices;
(b) Introduce appropriate measures to promote the use of renewable and safe sources of energy and to
improve the efficiency of energy use in human settlements, while ensuring that people living in poverty
and their families are not disadvantaged;
(c) Promote energyefficient systems, for example, by introducing or supporting innovative
energyefficient measures in the generation, distribution and use of energy, such as combined heating and
cooling systems that utilize waste heat recovery, and cogeneration of heating and electricity;
(d) Encourage research, development and use of nonmotorized or lowenergy transport systems and the
use of renewable energy sources and technologies, such as solar, wind and biomass energy;
(e) Encourage countries, in particular developing countries, to cooperate in exchanging knowledge,
experience and knowhow in the phasing out of lead gasoline, through, inter alia, the use of biomass
ethanol as an environmentally sound substitute;
(f) Introduce or amend user charges and/or other measures to promote the efficient use of household
energy;
(g) Stimulate, through fiscal incentives or other measures, and adopt energyefficient and
environmentally sound technologies in the rehabilitation of existing industries and services and in the
construction of new ones;
(h) Support programmes for the reduction and neutralization of emissions of polluting gases originating
in the generation, transportation and use of energy;
(i) Encourage and promote public education and media campaigns to encourage recycling, reuse and
reduced energy consumption;
(j) Encourage the use of solar heating and cooling and electric technologies, energy efficient design,
ventilation and improved insulation of buildings to reduce the consumption of energy in buildings;
(k) Encourage the use of safe industrial and agricultural waste products and other types of lowenergy
and recycled building materials in construction;
(l) Encourage and promote the development and dissemination of new and environmentally sound
technologies, including the reduction of metal compounds as part of transportation fuels, and good
practices in the use of energy.
7. Sustainable transport and communication systems
147. Transport and communication systems are the key to the movement of goods, people, information
and ideas, and to access to markets, employment, schools and other facilities and land use, both within
cities and between cities, and in rural and other remote areas. The transportation sector is a major
consumer of nonrenewable energy and of land and is a major contributor to pollution, congestion and
accidents. Integrated transport and landuse policy and planning can reduce the ill effects of current
transport systems. People living in poverty, women, children, youth, older persons and people with
disabilities are particularly disadvantaged by the lack of accessible, affordable, safe and efficient public
transport systems.
148. Developments in communications technologies can have a significant impact on economic activity
and human settlements patterns. It is important for the potential impacts to be addressed so as to ensure
that maximum benefits accrue to the community and to reduce any adverse outcomes in relation to
access to services.
149. Managing transport in human settlements should be done in a way that promotes good access for all
to places of work, social interaction and leisure and facilitates important economic activities, including
obtaining food and other necessities of life. This should be done while reducing the negative effects of
transport on the environment. Transportsystem priorities should be given to reducing unnecessary travel
through appropriate landuse and communication policies, developing transport policies that emphasize
mobility alternatives other than the automobile, developing alternative fuels and alternative fuel
vehicles, improving the environmental performance of existing modes of transport, and adopting
appropriate pricing and other policies and regulations.
150. Nonmotorized transport is a major mode of mobility, particularly for lowincome, vulnerable and
disadvantaged groups. One structural measure to counteract the socioeconomic marginalization of these
groups is to foster their mobility by promoting affordable, efficient and energysaving modes of
transport.
Actions
151. In order to achieve sustainable transport in human settlements, Governments at the appropriate
levels, in partnership with the private sector, the community sector and other relevant interested parties,
should:
(a) Support an integrated transport policy approach that explores the full array of technical and
management options and pays due attention to the needs of all population groups, especially those
whose mobility is constrained because of disability, age, poverty or any other factor;
(b) Coordinate landuse and transport planning in order to encourage spatial settlement patterns that
facilitate access to such basic necessities as workplaces, schools, health care, places of worship, goods
and services, and leisure, thereby reducing the need to travel;
(c) Encourage the use of an optimal combination of modes of transport, including walking, cycling and
private and public means of transportation, through appropriate pricing, spatial settlement policies and
regulatory measures;
(d) Promote and implement disincentive measures that discourage the increasing growth of private
motorized traffic and reduce congestion, which is damaging environmentally, economically and socially,
and to human health and safety, through pricing, traffic regulation, parking and landuse planning and
traffic abatement methods, and by providing or encouraging effective alternative transport methods,
particularly to the most congested areas;
(e) Provide or promote an effective, affordable, physically accessible and environmentally sound public
transport and communication system, giving priority to collective means of transport with adequate
carrying capacity and frequency that support basic needs and the main traffic flows;
(f) Promote, regulate and enforce quiet, useefficient and lowpolluting technologies, including
fuelefficient engine and emissions controls and fuel with a low level of polluting emissions and impact
on the atmosphere and other alternative forms of energy;
(g) Encourage and promote public access to electronic information services.
8. Conservation and rehabilitation of the historical and cultural heritage
152. Historical places, objects and manifestations of cultural, scientific, symbolic, spiritual and religious
value are important expressions of the culture, identity and religious beliefs of societies. Their role and
importance, particularly in the light of the need for cultural identity and continuity in a rapidly changing
world, need to be promoted. Buildings, spaces, places and landscapes charged with spiritual and
religious value represent an important element of stable and humane social life and community pride.
Conservation, rehabilitation and culturally sensitive adaptive reuse of urban, rural and architectural
heritage are also in accordance with the sustainable use of natural and humanmade resources. Access to
culture and the cultural dimension of development is of the utmost importance and all people should be
able to benefit from such access.
Actions
153. To promote historical and cultural continuity and to encourage broad civic participation in all kinds
of cultural activities, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Identify and document, whenever possible, the historical and cultural significance of areas, sites,
landscapes, ecosystems, buildings and other objects and manifestations and establish conservation goals
relevant to the cultural and spiritual development of society;
(b) Promote the awareness of such heritage in order to highlight its value and the need for its
conservation and the financial viability of rehabilitation;
(c) Encourage and support local heritage and cultural institutions, associations and communities in their
conservation and rehabilitation efforts and inculcate in children and youth an adequate sense of their
heritage;
(d) Promote adequate financial and legal support for the effective protection of the cultural heritage;
(e) Promote education and training in traditional skills in all disciplines appropriate to the conservation
and promotion of heritage;
(f) Promote the active role of older persons as custodians of cultural heritage, knowledge, trades and
skills.
154. To integrate development with conservation and rehabilitation goals, Governments at the
appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Recognize that the historical and cultural heritage is an important asset, and strive to maintain the
social, cultural and economic viability of historically and culturally important sites and communities;
(b) Preserve the inherited historical settlement and landscape forms, while protecting the integrity of the
historical urban fabric and guiding new construction in historical areas;
(c) Provide adequate legal and financial support for the implementation of conservation and
rehabilitation activities, in particular through adequate training of specialized human resources;
(d) Promote incentives for such conservation and rehabilitation to public, private and nonprofit
developers;
(e) Promote communitybased action for the conservation, rehabilitation, regeneration and maintenance
of neighbourhoods;
(f) Support public and private sector and community partnerships for the rehabilitation of inner cities
and neighbourhoods;
(g) Ensure the incorporation of environmental concerns in conservation and rehabilitation projects;
(h) Take measures to reduce acid rain and other types of environmental pollution that damage buildings
and other items of cultural and historical value;
(i) Adopt human settlements planning policies, including transport and other infrastructure policies, that
avoid environmental degradation of historical and cultural areas;
(j) Ensure that the accessibility concerns of people with disabilities are incorporated in conservation and
rehabilitation projects.
9. Improving urban economies
155. Urban economies are integral to the process of economic transformation and development. They
are a prerequisite for the creation of a diversified economic base capable of generating employment
opportunities. Many new jobs will need to be created in urban areas. Cities currently generate more than
half of national economic activities worldwide. If other factors, such as growth of the population of
cities and migration to cities, are addressed effectively through, inter alia, urban planning and control of
the negative impacts of urbanization, cities could develop the capacity to maintain their productivity, to
improve the living conditions of their residents and to manage natural resources in an ecologically
sustainable way. Industry, together with trade and services, provides the main impetus to this process.
156. Cities have traditionally served as economic centres and have become the primary providers of
services. As engines of economic growth and development they function within a network of supporting
economic activities located in their periurban and surrounding rural areas. For this reason, specific
actions also need to be taken to develop and maintain efficient and affordable transport, information and
communications systems and linkages with other urban centres and with rural areas and to seek
reasonably balanced patterns of development, both geographically and economically. Rapid changes in
production technologies and in trade and consumption patterns will lead to changes in urban spatial
structures that, notwithstanding their nature, need to be addressed.
157. Economic development and the provision of services can be enhanced through improved human
settlements activities, such as urban revitalization, construction, upgrading and maintenance of
infrastructural facilities, and building and civil works. These activities are also important growth factors
in the generation of employment, income and efficiency in other sectors of the economy. In turn, in
combination with appropriate environmental protection policies, they result in the sustainable
improvement of the living conditions of city residents as well as of the efficiency and productivity of
countries.
Actions
158. To establish an effective financial base for urban development, Governments at the appropriate
levels, including local authorities, in cooperation with trade unions, consumer organizations, business,
industry, trade organizations and the financial sector, including the cooperatively organized business
sector and nongovernmental organizations, as appropriate, should:
(a) Formulate and implement financial policies that stimulate a broad range of urban employment
opportunities;
(b) Encourage the formation of new publicprivate sector partnerships for institutions that are privately
owned and managed but public in their function and purpose, and promote transparency and
accountability of their operations.
159. To provide opportunities for productive employment and private investment, Governments at the
appropriate levels, including local authorities, in consultation with workers' and employers'
organizations, chambers of commerce, industry, trade and consumer organizations, professional
associations and the financial sector, including the cooperative sector, and in the context of
comprehensive urban planning, should:
(a) Implement sustainable urban development policies that take account of and respond effectively to the
needs of locally owned enterprises, and are not detrimental to the natural and human environment;
(b) Facilitate access to all levels of education and training;
(c) Promote an adequate supply and the environmentally sound allocation of sufficiently serviced land
for the needs of the business community, with due regard to the needs of small and mediumsized
enterprises;
(d) Offer opportunities for urban economic activities by facilitating the access of new and emerging
businesses, and small and mediumsized enterprises, including the informal sector, to credit and finance,
and by streamlining legal and administrative procedures;
(e) Facilitate, where appropriate, the opportunity for urban horticulture;
(f) Assist informal sector enterprises to become more productive and progressively integrated into the
formal economy;
(g) Consider designating select areas for redevelopment within urban centres by providing packages of
fiscal and financial incentives along with appropriate regulatory arrangements and the development of
partnerships.
160. To provide opportunities for small businesses and for the microenterprise and cooperative sectors,
Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in consultation with nongovernmental
organizations, communitybased organizations, and financial and vocational training institutions, should,
as appropriate:
(a) Facilitate the extension to the informal sector of the protection of human rights in the field of labour,
and promote respect for the relevant conventions of the International Labour Organization, including
those on the prohibition of forced and child labour, freedom of association, the right to organize and
bargain collectively, and the principle of nondiscrimination;
(b) Promote and strengthen, as appropriate, programmes that integrate credit, finance, vocational
training and technological transfer programmes in support of small and microenterprises and enterprises
in the cooperative sector, particularly those developed and utilized by women;
(c) Encourage fair treatment of the informal sector, promote the use of environmentally sound practices
and encourage links between financial institutions and nongovernmental organizations that support the
informal sector, where it exists;
(d) Integrate, where appropriate, the needs of the growing informal sector within planning, design and
management systems by, inter alia, promoting its participation in the planning and decisionmaking
process and by strengthening its linkages with the formal economy;
(e) Promote training for small and microenterprises and enterprises in the cooperative sector and support
them in their efforts to improve their products, services, technology and distribution networks and to
identify new market opportunities.
161. To strengthen urban economies so that they may be competitive in a globalizing economy,
Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in consultation with all interested
parties, should, inter alia:
(a) Improve education and enhance job training in order to improve the quality of the local workforce;
(b) Support the restructuring of local industries, where appropriate, develop urban infrastructure and
services, promote a reliable, efficient and environmentally sound supply of energy and enhance
telecommunication networks;
(c) Review and revise, as appropriate, the regulatory framework in order to attract private investment;
(d) Prevent crime and enhance public safety in order to make urban areas more attractive for economic,
social and cultural activities;
(e) Encourage sound financial practices at all levels of government;
(f) Promote legislative action that may be necessary to implement the above.
162. To alleviate the adverse impacts of measures for structural and economic transition, Governments
at the appropriate levels, including, where appropriate, local authorities, should:
(a) Promote an integrated approach by addressing the social, economic and environmental consequences
of reforms on the development needs of human settlements;
(b) Promote the integrated functioning of housing markets so as to avoid segregation of the social
housing sector;
(c) Implement appropriate basic social programmes and adequate resource allocation, in particular those
measures affecting people living in poverty, people with disabilities, other vulnerable segments of
society, microenterprises and other small businesses;
(d) Review the impact of structural adjustment on social development by paying particular attention to
gendersensitive assessments;
(e) Design policies to promote more equitable and enhanced access to income and resources;
(f) Support, as appropriate, public and private enterprises in their efforts to adapt to the changing
requirements of technological and human resources development.
10. Balanced development of settlements in rural regions
163. Urban and rural areas are interdependent economically, socially and environmentally. At the turn of
the century, a substantial proportion of the world's population will continue to live in rural settlements,
particularly in developing countries. In order to achieve a more sustainable future for the Earth, these
rural settlements need to be valued and supported. Insufficient infrastructure and services, lack of
environmentally sound technology, and pollution resulting from the adverse impacts of unsustainable
industrialization and urbanization contribute significantly to the degradation of the rural environment.
Additionally, the lack of employment opportunities in rural areas increases ruraltourban migration and
results in a loss of human capacity in rural communities. Policies and programmes for the sustainable
development of rural areas that integrate rural regions into the national economy require strong local and
national institutions for the planning and management of human settlements that place emphasis on
ruralurban linkages and treat villages and cities as two ends of a human settlements continuum.
164. In many countries, rural populations, including indigenous people, play an important role in
ensuring food security and in sustaining the social and ecological balance over large tracts of land and
thus contribute significantly to the task of protecting biodiversity and fragile ecosystems and to the
sustainable use of biological resources.
Actions
165. To promote the sustainable development of rural settlements and to reduce ruraltourban migration,
Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Promote the active participation of all interested parties, including those in isolated and remote
communities, in ensuring the integrated consideration of the environmental, social and economic
objectives of rural development efforts;
(b) Take appropriate measures to improve the living and working conditions in regional urban centres,
small towns and rural service centres;
(c) Foster a sustainable and diversified agricultural system in order to have vibrant rural communities;
(d) Provide infrastructure, services and incentives for investment in rural areas;
(e) Promote education and training in rural areas to facilitate employment and the use of appropriate
technology.
166. To promote the utilization of new and improved technologies and appropriate traditional practices
in rural settlements development, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in
cooperation with the private sector, should:
(a) Improve access to information on agricultural production, marketing and pricing in rural and remote
areas by using, inter alia, advanced and accessible communication technologies;
(b) In cooperation with farmers' organizations, women's groups and other interested parties, promote
research and the dissemination of research findings in traditional, new and improved technologies for,
inter alia, agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and agroforestry.
167. In establishing policies for sustainable regional development and management, Governments at the
appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Promote education and training programmes and establish procedures for the full participation of
rural and indigenous people in the setting of priorities for balanced and ecologically viable regional
development;
(b) Make full use of geographic information systems and environmental assessment methods for the
preparation of environmentally sound regional development policies;
(c) Implement regional and rural development plans and programmes based on needs and economic
viability;
(d) Establish an efficient and transparent system for the allocation of resources to rural areas based on
people's needs.
168. To strengthen sustainable development and employment opportunities in impoverished rural areas,
Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, should:
(a) Stimulate rural development by enhancing employment opportunities, providing educational and
health facilities and services, improving housing, strengthening technical infrastructure and encouraging
rural enterprises and sustainable agriculture;
(b) Establish priorities for regional infrastructure investments based on opportunities for economic
return, social equity and environmental quality;
(c) Encourage the private sector to develop and strengthen contractbased wholesale markets and
marketing intermediaries for rural products so as to improve and/or establish a cashflow and futures
contract economy in rural areas;
(d) Promote equitable and efficient access to markets as well as, where appropriate, pricing and payment
systems for rural products, especially of food items consumed in urban areas;
(e) Promote products from rural areas in urban markets and rural service centres by improving access to
market information and distribution centres and networks;
(f) Reduce significantly or eliminate environmentally harmful subsidies and other programmes, such as
those that stimulate the excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers, and price control or subsidy
systems that perpetuate unsustainable practices and production systems in rural and agricultural
economies.
169. An integrated approach is required to promote balanced and mutually supportive urbanrural
development. To achieve this objective, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local
authorities, with the support of the relevant international and regional institutions, should:
(a) Provide an appropriate legal, fiscal and organizational framework that is suitable for strengthening
the networks of small and mediumsized settlements in rural areas;
(b) Facilitate the development of an efficient communication and distribution infrastructure for the
exchange of information, labour, goods, services and capital between urban and rural areas;
(c) Promote broad cooperation among local communities to find integrated solutions for landuse,
transport and environmental problems in an urbanrural context;
(d) Pursue a participatory approach to balanced and mutually supportive urbanrural development, based
on a continuous dialogue among the interested parties involved in urbanrural development.
11. Disaster prevention, mitigation and preparedness, and postdisaster rehabilitation
capabilities
170. The impact on people and human settlements of natural and humanmade disasters is becoming
greater. Disasters are frequently caused by vulnerabilities created by human actions, such as
uncontrolled or inadequately planned human settlements, lack of basic infrastructure and the occupation
of disasterprone areas. Armed conflicts also have consequences that affect human settlements and the
country as a whole. Accordingly, both disasters and armed conflicts call for specific involvement and
rehabilitation and reconstruction processes that may necessitate international involvement, at the request
of the Government of the country concerned. The impact of such disasters and emergencies is especially
severe in countries where prevention, preparedness, mitigation and response capacities are ineffective in
dealing with such situations.
171. The most efficient and effective disaster preparedness systems and capabilities for postdisaster
response are usually provided through volunteer contributions and local authority actions at the
neighbourhood level. These can operate independently, irrespective of reduced, damaged or destroyed
infrastructure or capacity elsewhere. Specific actions are also required at the appropriate levels of
government, including local authorities, in partnership with the private sector and in close coordination
with all community groups, to put into place disaster preparedness and response capacities that are
coordinated in their planning but flexible in their implementation. The reduction of vulnerability, as well
as the capacity to respond, to disasters is directly related to the degree of decentralized access to
information, communication and decisionmaking and the control of resources. National and international
cooperation networks can facilitate rapid access to specialist expertise, which can help to build
capacities for disaster reduction, to provide early warning of impending disasters and to mitigate their
effects. Women and children are the most affected in situations of disaster, and their needs should be
considered at all stages of disaster management. Women's active involvement in disaster planning and
management should be encouraged.
Actions
172. In improving natural and humanmade disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation and response,
Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, and in close consultation and
cooperation with such entities as insurance companies, nongovernmental organizations,
communitybased organizations, organized communities, and the academic, health and scientific
community, should:
(a) Develop, adopt and enforce appropriate norms and bylaws for landuse, building and planning
standards that are based on professionally established hazard and vulnerability assessments;
(b) Ensure the participation in disaster planning and management of all interested parties, including
women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities, in recognition of their particular vulnerability
to humanmade and natural disasters;
(c) Encourage continued mobilization of domestic and international resources for disaster reduction
activities;
(d) Promote and disseminate information on disasterresistant construction methods and technologies for
buildings and public works in general;
(e) Devise programmes to facilitate, where possible, voluntary relocation and access by all people to
areas that are less disasterprone;
(f) Develop training programmes on disaster-resistant construction methods for designers, contractors
and builders. Some programmes should be directed particularly towards small enterprises, which build
the great majority of housing and other small buildings in the developing countries;
(g) Take measures to upgrade, where necessary, the resistance of important infrastructure, lifelines and
critical facilities, in particular where damage can cause secondary disasters and/or constrain emergency
relief operations.
173. Consideration should be given by all Governments and international organizations that have
expertise in the field of cleanup and disposal of radioactive contaminants to providing appropriate
assistance as may be requested for remedial purposes in adversely affected areas.
174. With respect to the mitigation of disasters, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local
authorities, in partnership with all interested parties, should, as appropriate:
(a) Establish a comprehensive information system that identifies and assesses the risks involved in
disasterprone areas and integrate it into human settlements planning and design;
(b) Promote and support lowcost, attainable solutions and innovative approaches to addressing critical
risks of vulnerable communities through, inter alia, riskmapping and communityfocused vulnerability
reduction programmes;
(c) Encourage, promote and support lowcost, attainable solutions, innovative approaches and appropriate
building standards to address critical risks of valuable communities, through, inter alia, riskmapping and
communityfocused vulnerability reduction programmes;
(d) Introduce a clear delineation of the roles and responsibilities of, and communication channels
among, the various key functions and actors in preevent disaster management, mitigation and
preparedness activities, such as hazard and risk assessment, monitoring, prediction, prevention, relief,
resettlement and emergency response;
(e) Promote and encourage all parts of society to participate in disaster preparedness planning in such
areas as water and food storage, fuel and firstaid, and in disaster prevention through activities that build
a culture of safety;
(f) Strengthen and/or develop global, regional, national and local earlywarning systems to alert
populations to impending disasters.
175. In order to prevent technological and industrial disasters, Governments at the appropriate levels,
including local authorities, as appropriate, should:
(a) Pursue the objectives of preventing major technological accidents and limiting their consequences
through, inter alia, landuse policies and the promotion of safe technology;
(b) Take the necessary measures to control the siting of new developments surrounding dangerous
industrial activities that may be liable to increase the risk of the effects of a major accident through
appropriate consultation procedures to facilitate the implementation of the policies established under
subparagraph (a) above;
(c) Introduce a clear definition of roles and responsibilities and of communication channels between the
various key functions of disaster preparedness and prevention, including assessment, monitoring,
prediction, prevention, relief, resettlement and emergency response;
(d) Promote and encourage broadbased participation in disaster preparedness activities by giving to the
population living in the vicinity of a dangerous activity adequate and regular information on the
potential hazards;
(e) Strengthen and/or develop global, regional and local earlywarning systems to alert populations in
case of a major technological accident.
176. In preparing for and implementing postdisaster relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and
resettlement, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in partnership with all
interested parties, should:
(a) Establish or strengthen disaster preparedness and response systems that clearly define the roles and
responsibilities of, and communication channels between, the various functions and actors in disaster
preparedness, and in postevent disaster management, including emergency management, relief and
rehabilitation;
(b) Devise exercises to test emergency response and relief plans, promote research on the technical,
social and economic aspects of postdisaster reconstruction and adopt effective strategies and guidelines
for postdisaster reconstruction;
(c) Establish reliable communications, and response and decisionmaking capabilities at the national,
local and community levels;
(d) Establish contingency plans, management and assistance systems, and arrangements for
rehabilitation, reconstruction and resettlement;
(e) Strengthen scientific and engineering capacities for damage assessment and monitoring and for
special rehabilitation and reconstruction techniques;
(f) Support all relevant interested parties in carrying out relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction
activities;
(g) Identify and support approaches to cope with the urgent shelter requirements of returnees and
internally displaced persons, including as appropriate, the construction of temporary housing with basic
facilities, taking into account genderspecific needs;
(h) Identify approaches to minimize interruption to attendance in schools;
(i) Support work for immediate removal of antipersonnel landmines following the cessation of armed
conflict;
(j) Ensure that the particular needs of women, children, persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups
are considered in all communications, rescue efforts, relocation, rehabilitation and reconstruction;
(k) Promote a cultural dimension in postdisaster rehabilitation processes;
(l) Recognize, support and facilitate the role of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies and their member national societies in disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation
and response at the local, national and international levels;
(m) Encourage the International Committee of the Red Cross to take action in periods of armed conflict
in order to reduce the suffering of the victims of conflicts and displaced persons.
D. Capacity-building and institutional development
1. Introduction
177. Economic and social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually
reinforcing components of sustainable human settlements development. Economically buoyant, socially
vibrant and environmentally sound human settlements under conditions of continuing and rapid
urbanization will increasingly depend on the capacity of all levels of government to reflect the priorities
of communities, to encourage and guide local development and forge partnerships between the private,
public, voluntary and community sectors. This can be achieved through the effective decentralization of
responsibilities, policy management, decision-making authority, and sufficient resources, including
revenue collection authority, to local authorities, closest to and most representative of their
constituencies, as well as through international cooperation and partnerships, setting in motion a
strategic and participatory urban management process rooted in a shared vision while ensuring and
protecting human rights. This process of decentralization and the envisaged urban management process
will place great demands on institutions, particularly in developing countries and countries with
economies in transition. Capacity-building is thus to be directed towards supporting decentralization and
the participatory urban management process.
178. An enabling strategy, capacity-building and institutional development should aim at empowering
all interested parties, particularly local authorities, the private sector, the cooperative sector, trade
unions, nongovernmental organizations and community-based organizations, to enable them to play an
effective role in shelter and human settlements planning and management. Concerted efforts in human
resources and leadership development, institutional reform, organizational and management
development and continuous training and retooling are necessary at all levels. This can best be achieved
by national and international local authority associations/networks and by other national and subnational
capacity-building institutions, although they themselves may first require strengthening. In developing
countries and countries with economies in transition, Governments should accord a high priority to
implementing a comprehensive policy for capacity-building. The international community should help
them to develop their capacity, identify and assess their institution-building priorities and strengthen
their management capacity.
179. Empowerment and participation contribute to democracy and sustainable human settlements
development. Policy formulation and implementation by Governments should be guided by the
principles of accountability, transparency and broad-based public participation. Accountability and
transparency are imperative in order to prevent corruption and ensure that the available resources are
used to the benefit of all people. Each Government should ensure the right of all members of its society
to take an active part in the affairs of the community in which they live, and ensure and encourage
participation in policy-making at all levels.
2. Decentralization and strengthening of local authorities and their associations/networks
Actions
180. To ensure effective decentralization and strengthening of local authorities and their associations/
networks, Governments at the appropriate levels should:
(a) Examine and adopt, as appropriate, policies and legal frameworks from other States that are
implementing decentralization effectively;
(b) Review and revise, as appropriate, legislation to increase local autonomy and participation in
decision-making, implementation, and resource mobilization and use, especially with respect to human,
technical and financial resources and local enterprise development, within the overall framework of a
national, social, economic and environmental strategy, and encourage the participation of the inhabitants
in decision-making regarding their cities, neighbourhoods or dwellings;
(c) Develop education in citizenship to emphasize the role of individuals as actors in their communities;
(d) Support local authorities reviewing revenue-generating mechanisms;
(e) Strengthen, as necessary, the capacity of educational, research and training institutions to provide
continuous training to local elected officials, managers and professionals on urban-related issues, such as
planning, land and resource management techniques, and municipal finance;
(f) Facilitate the exchange of technology, experience and management expertise vertically and
horizontally between government and local authorities in the delivery of services, expenditure control,
resource mobilization, partnership-building and local enterprise development, inter alia, through
technical twinning and exchange of experience programmes;
(g) Enhance the performance of local authorities by undertaking data collection, disaggregated by
gender, age and income, and comparative analyses of, and by disseminating information on innovative
practices in, the delivery, operation and maintenance of public goods and services, in providing for the
needs of their populations and in exploiting the fiscal and other potential of their cities;
(h) Encourage institutionalization of broad-based participation, including consultative mechanisms, in
decision-making and management processes at the local level;
(i) Strengthen the capacity of local authorities to engage the local private and community sectors in goalsetting
and in establishing local priorities and environmentally sound standards for infrastructure
development, services delivery and local economic development;
(j) Promote policy dialogue among all levels of government and the private and community sectors and
other representatives of civil society to improve planning and implementation;
(k) Within the framework of governance, establish public-private citizens' partnerships for urban
innovation, and analyse, evaluate and disseminate information on successful partnerships;
(l) Collect, analyse and disseminate, as appropriate, comparative data, disaggregated by gender, age and
income, on the performance of local authorities in providing for the needs of their populations;
(m) Reinforce measures to eradicate corruption and ensure greater transparency, efficiency,
accountability, responsiveness and community participation in the management of local resources;
(n) Enable local authorities and their associations/networks to take initiatives in national and
international cooperation and, in particular, to share good practices and innovative approaches to
sustainable human settlements management;
(o) Strengthen the capacities of both central and local government through training courses on urban
finance and management for elected government officials and managers;
(p) Develop and/or strengthen, as appropriate, in cooperation with relevant United Nations bodies,
within their respective mandates, as well as associations/networks of local authorities and other
international associations and organizations, global and easily accessible information networks to
facilitate the exchange of experience, knowhow and expertise.
3. Popular participation and civic engagement
181. Sustainable human settlements development requires the active engagement of civil society
organizations, as well as the broad-based participation of all people. It equally requires responsive,
transparent and accountable government at the local level. Civic engagement and responsible
government both necessitate the establishment and strengthening of participatory mechanisms, including
access to justice and community-based action planning, which will ensure that all voices are heard in
identifying problems and priorities, setting goals, exercising legal rights, determining service standards,
mobilizing resources and implementing policies, programmes and projects.
Actions
182. To encourage and support participation, civic engagement and the fulfilment of governmental
responsibilities, national Governments, local authorities and/or civil society organizations should put
into effect, at appropriate levels, institutional and legal frameworks that facilitate and enable the broadbased
participation of all people and their community organizations in decision-making and in the
implementation and monitoring of human settlements strategies, policies and programmes; these
institutional and legal frameworks would be specifically aimed at, inter alia:
(a) Protecting the human right to hold and express opinions and to seek, receive and impart ideas and
information without interference;
(b) Facilitating the legal recognition of organized communities and their consolidation;
(c) Permitting, facilitating and protecting the formation of independent non-governmental community,
local, national and international organizations;
(d) Providing full, timely and comprehensible information, without undue financial burden to the
applicant;
(e) Undertaking civic and human rights education and training programmes, using all forms of the media
and education and information campaigns, to promote a civic spirit and an awareness of civil rights and
responsibilities and the means of exercising them, of the changing roles of women and men and of issues
relating to sustainable human settlements development and the quality of life;
(f) Establishing regular and broad-based consultative mechanisms for involving civil society in decisionmaking
in order to reflect the diverse needs of the community;
(g) Removing legal barriers to participation in public life by socially marginalized groups and promoting
non-discrimination legislation;
(h) Establishing agenda-setting participatory mechanisms enabling individuals, families, communities,
indigenous people and civil society to play a proactive role in identifying local needs and priorities and
formulating new policies, plans and projects;
(i) Fostering an understanding of contractual and other relationships with the private and nongovernmental
sectors to acquire the skills for negotiating effective partnerships for project
implementation, development and management that will maximize benefits for all people;
(j) Promoting equality and equity, incorporating gender considerations and the full and equal
participation of women, and involving vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, including people living in
poverty and other low-income groups, through institutional measures to ensure that their interests are
represented in policy- and decision-making processes and through such techniques as advocacy training
and seminars, including those that develop mediating and consensus-building skills that will facilitate
effective networking and alliance formation;
(k) Providing access to effective judicial and administrative channels for affected individuals and groups
so that they can challenge or seek redress from decisions and actions that are socially and
environmentally harmful or violate human rights, including legal mechanisms to ensure that all State
bodies, both national and local, and other civil organizations remain accountable for their actions, in
accordance with their social, environmental and human rights obligations;
(l) Broadening the procedural right of individuals and civil society organizations to take legal action on
behalf of affected communities or groups that do not have the resources or skills to take such action
themselves;
(m) Promoting the representation of intergenerational interests, including those of children and future
generations in decision-making processes, while strengthening families;
(n) Promoting the full potential of youth as key partners for the achievement of adequate shelter for all
and sustainable human settlements through various forms of education, quality training and skillbuilding,
taking into account the diverse abilities, realities and experiences of youth;
(o) Facilitating access to decision-making and planning structures and legal services by people living in
poverty and other low-income groups through the provision of such facilities as legal aid and free legal
advice centres;
(p) Strengthening the capacity of local authorities and civil society to review social, economic and
environmental policies affecting their communities and to set local priorities and contribute to the setting
of local standards for services in such areas as basic education, child care, public health, public safety,
drug-abuse awareness and environmental management;
(q) Promoting the use of new information technologies and the media, including the local media, to
facilitate dialogue, to exchange relevant information, experiences and practices concerning human
settlements and to form constructive partnerships among civil society and decision makers.
4. Human settlements management
183. Local authorities and others involved in human settlements management need to draw on the skills
and resources of a diversity of people and institutions at many levels. The scarcity of suitably qualified
personnel and the weakness of institutional systems and technical capacity are among the main obstacles
to the improvement of human settlements in many countries, particularly in developing countries.
Capacity-building and institutional development strategies must form an integral part of human
settlements development policies at the national and local levels. In addition, the use of new skills, knowhow
and technology in all aspects of human settlements planning and management will be necessary. In
countries where changes in human settlements patterns are rapid, resulting in socio-economic and
environmental challenges, there is a need for Governments and the international community to ensure
effective and efficient development and transfer of leadership skills, planning and management
expertise, know-how and technology.
Actions
184. To facilitate capacity-building and institutional development for the improvement of human
settlements planning and management, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities
and their associations, should:
(a) Support training programmes for administrators and civic officials at all levels, and for all other key
actors, as appropriate, to enhance leadership qualities and promote the inclusion of women and young
people in staff structures and decision-making;
(b) Consider establishing private-public, community sector, business and economic forums to exchange
management know-how and experience;
(c) Promote comprehensive training, education and human resources development policies and
programmes that are gender-sensitive and involve local authorities and their associations/networks, as
well as academic, research, training and educational institutions, community-based organizations and the
private sector, focusing on:
(i) The development of a multisectoral approach to human settlements development that includes the
unique contributions and institutions of indigenous and immigrant people;
(ii) The training of trainers to develop a core capacity for institution-strengthening and capacity-building
that includes gender awareness and the needs of children, youth and the elderly as integral components;
(iii) The development of local capacity to define needs and undertake or commission applied research,
particularly with regard to age and gender-sensitive analysis, social and environmental impact
assessments, shelter strategy formulation, local economic growth and job creation, and to incorporate the
findings in management systems;
(d) Develop information systems for networking, for accessing resources in a timely manner and for the
exchange, transfer and sharing of experience, expertise, know-how and technology in human settlements
development;
(e) When appropriate, encourage, within the context of transparency and accountability, as appropriate,
the involvement of private-sector authorities, including non-governmental organizations, in improving
public-sector management and administration and the formation of entities that are public in their
function, private in their management and public-privately funded;
(f) Consider developing mediation programmes to resolve conflicts, including those between competing
actors over access to and distribution and use of resources in human settlements and train civil society in
their use;
(g) Be encouraged to increase their knowledge about the eco-cycles involving their cities so as to
prevent environmental damage;
(h) Integrate gender-sensitive policies and standards in each of the categories above, if not already
specifically indicated.
5. Metropolitan planning and management
185. Although the managers of human settlements face many common challenges, those responsible for
the management and development of metropolitan areas and mega-cities face unique problems caused
by the size and complexity of their tasks and responsibilities. Among the characteristics of metropolitan
areas that require special skills are increasing global competitiveness; their ethnically and culturally
diverse populations; large concentrations of urban poverty; extensive infrastructure networks and
transport and communications systems; their strategic role in national, regional and international
production and consumption patterns; economic development, trade and finance; and their potential for
severe environmental degradation. Large metropolitan areas and mega-cities also represent the largest
potential risks of human, material and production-capacity loss in the case of natural and human-made
disasters. In some countries, the lack of a metropolitan-wide authority or effective metropolitan-wide
cooperation creates difficulties in urban management.
Actions
186. To address the special needs of metropolitan areas and the needs of all people living in those areas,
Governments at the appropriate level, including local authorities, should:
(a) Promote metropolitan-wide and/or regional planning, development and management strategies that
address all aspects of urban activities in an integrated manner and that are based on agreed outcomes for
the metropolitan area;
(b) Incorporate a gender perspective in policy, planning and management strategies;
(c) Adopt and apply metropolitan management guidelines in the areas of land, environment and
infrastructural management, as well as finance and administration;
(d) Monitor and analyse the effectiveness and efficiency of metropolitan structures and administrative
systems and incorporate the results in policies for dealing with macroeconomic, social and
environmental issues;
(e) Create a legislative framework and adopt organizational structures that ensure coordinated, efficient
and equitable service delivery, resource mobilization and sustainable development throughout
metropolitan areas;
(f) Strengthen, as appropriate, the capacity and mandates of metropolitan authorities to deal effectively
with, or respond to, issues of regional and national importance, such as land and property rights of
women, land management, energy and water resources management, environmental management,
transport and communications, trade and finance, adequate social services and infrastructure and access
to them, and social integration;
(g) Develop or, where necessary, create a core of professional staff that includes women, trained in the
areas of urban planning, environmental management, engineering, transportation, communications,
social services, development of primary infrastructure, and emergency planning, and with the skills to
work together to address major planning issues in an integrated way;
(h) Facilitate and promote policy dialogue, both nationally and internationally, and the exchange of
experience, expertise, know-how and technology among metropolitan authorities in such areas as
transport and communications, water management and waste-water treatment, waste management,
energy conservation, environmental management, and social welfare that recognizes women and
marginalized groups;
(i) Look for value-driven solutions to urban problems that extend out of ethnically and culturally diverse
populations, rather than relying on new technologies alone.
6. Domestic financial resources and economic instruments
187. Funds to finance shelter and settlements development mainly come from domestic sources.
Significant additional finance is also available from international sources, increasingly from investment
funding. The largest impact on the financial base will derive, therefore, from improvements in economic
development, sound financial practice and the capacity to mobilize domestic resources, control
expenditures and manage budgets efficiently.
188. Financing the future of urban development and sustaining the economic viability of cities
represents a particular challenge, which will require innovative systems of finance at the national and
local levels. Effective partnerships between the public and private sectors should be promoted,
combining local taxes on production and consumption with fiscal incentives for investment by industry,
commerce, trade and other private sector services. New forms of municipal finance are needed to meet
the future needs of urban economic development and the costs of supporting infrastructure and services.
189. To strengthen national and local economies and their financial and economic base with a view to
addressing the needs of sustainable human settlements, Governments at the appropriate levels, including
local authorities, should seek to provide an enabling framework which aims to:
(a) Strengthen, as appropriate, the capacity of local authorities to attract investments;
(b) Adopt macroeconomic policies and frameworks that encourage increased domestic savings and
facilitate their use in housing, basic infrastructure and other aspects of the social and economic
development of human settlements;
(c) Develop efficient, fair, equitable and buoyant sources of national and local revenue, including
taxation, user charges, tariffs and betterment levies, to promote national and local capacity for capital
investment in housing, infrastructure and basic services, and devise, as appropriate, new fiscal
instruments that penalize environmental damage from both production and consumption activities;
(d) Enhance national and local tax collection capabilities and expenditure control to contain costs and
enhance revenues;
(e) Strive for full-cost recovery for urban services, with the exception of public safety services, through
user charges, while at the same time addressing the needs of the poor, inter alia, through pricing policies
and, where appropriate, transparent subsidies;
(f) Support local efforts to encourage voluntary private and community sector partnerships and
participation in the building, operating and maintaining of open green spaces and basic infrastructure
and of services that, inter alia, are gender-sensitive, empower women and address the needs of
marginalized groups;
(g) Facilitate and rationalize, where appropriate, local authorities' access to national, regional and
international capital markets and specialized lending institutions, including, inter alia, through measures
to establish independent municipal credit rating and credit systems, bearing in mind the borrowers'
capacity to repay the debt in accordance with relevant domestic laws and regulations;
(h) Facilitate the role of local authorities in forming partnerships with the private, voluntary, community
and cooperative sectors and institutions for local enterprise development;
(i) Institutionalize budget mechanisms, where appropriate, and accounting to enable local authorities to
engage in medium- and long-term investment programmes;
(j) Establish transparent systems and procedures to ensure financial accountability;
(k) Institutionalize, where appropriate, transparent intergovernmental transfer mechanisms that are
timely, predictable and performance- and needbased;
(l) Attract private and community investment to urban development.
7. Information and communications
190. Recent developments in information and communications technology, in conjunction with the
liberalization of trade and the free flow of capital on a global scale, will change the roles and functions
of cities and their decision-making and resource allocation processes. Societies that make the necessary
investments in information technology and infrastructure and enable and empower their citizens to make
effective use of such technology can expect to foster significant productivity gains in industry, trade and
commerce. This improved information technology should be appropriately and optimally utilized to
preserve and share cultural and moral values and enhance and improve education, training and public
awareness of the social, economic and environmental issues affecting the quality of life, and to enable
all interested parties and communities to exchange information on habitat practices, including those that
uphold the rights of children, women and disadvantaged groups in the context of growing urbanization.
Actions
191. To improve the capacity to exploit these innovations to enhance their public good, Governments at
all levels, including local authorities, should, as appropriate:
(a) Develop, upgrade and maintain information infrastructure and technology and encourage their use by
all levels of government, public institutions, civil society organizations and community-based
organizations, and consider communications as an integral part of human settlements policy;
(b) Promote the training of all key actors in the use, ways and means of information technology;
(c) Develop methods of sharing experience of local initiatives through electronic means, such as the
Internet, networks and libraries, and of disseminating information on best practices, including those that
utilize gender policies;
(d) Implement programmes that encourage the use, especially by children, youth and educational
institutions, of public libraries and communication networks;
(e) Facilitate the learning process through the dissemination of both successful and unsuccessful
experiences in human settlements taken from the governmental, public, private and community sectors;
(f) Encourage policies that make information technology and services available and more accessible to
the general public, in particular through the wide use of the media;
(g) Give special attention to providing access to these new technologies for persons with disabilities;
(h) Encourage the development of programming for local and national media that acknowledges the
diversity of race and culture in larger cities and promotes an understanding of differing points of view;
(i) Promote the free flow of, and access to, information in the areas of public policy, decision-making,
resource allocation and social development that have an impact on women and children in particular;
(j) Assure market competition and broad public access in the provision of communication and
information technology through a public role in maintaining access to communication and information
technology.
192. The dissemination of experiences that contribute to facilitating access to adequate housing for all
and the development of sustainable human settlements is helpful in the formulation of public policies on
human settlements development. National Governments, in partnership with social actors, should:
(a) Promote the selection of urban management practices that stand out because of their positive impact
on improving habitat, their use of participatory modes of organization and operation, their sustainable
and lasting character and their tendency to become universal;
(b) Set up structures for the selection of best practices, with the participation of non-governmental
organizations active in the urban development field;
(c) Promote the dissemination of best practices, selected locally, nationally, regionally and
internationally, in an integrated manner.
193. To increase the knowledge and strengthen the information base, Governments and local authorities,
together with research institutions, statistical offices and other interested parties, should:
(a) Promote research on economic, social and environmental aspects related to urbanization, human
settlements and shelter development, focusing on research priorities identified on the basis of national
requirements and the need for systematic monitoring and assessment of development, including
environmental and social impacts of human settlements policies, programmes and projects, and paying
attention to gender specificities;
(b) Strengthen existing human settlements related information systems by adopting efficient and
sustainable methodologies and institutional arrangements, by systematically incorporating research
results and by compiling, analysing and updating data for human settlements and shelter statistics and
policy-sensitive indicators;
(c) Disseminate research indicators and other information widely, mainstream their results in policymaking
at all levels and ensure a two-way flow of information between producers and users of
information.
E. International cooperation and coordination
1. Introduction
194. The goals of ensuring adequate shelter for all and making human settlements and communities
more productive, healthy, safe, nondiscriminatory, equitable and sustainable contribute to achieving
world peace, development, stability, justice and human solidarity. International cooperation takes on
added significance and importance in the light of recent trends in the globalization and interdependence
of the world economy. There is an urgent need to redefine and resuscitate the existing processes and
structure of cooperation and to evolve new and innovative forms of cooperation with a view to enabling
humankind to face the challenges posed by the development of rural and urban areas. Thus there is a
need for the political will of all States and for specific action at the international level to establish,
inspire and encourage new forms of cooperation, partnership, coordination at all levels and investment
from all sources, including the private sector, in order to contribute effectively to the provision and
improvement of shelter conditions in human settlements, especially in developing countries, taking into
account the diversity of the human settlements needs and opportunities among countries.
195. The formulation and implementation of strategies for human settlements development are the
primary responsibility of each country at the national and local levels, within the legal framework of
each country, and should take into account the economic, social and environmental diversity of
conditions in each country. The overall decline in official development assistance, however, is a serious
cause for concern. In some countries, this trend has also been accompanied by considerable increases in
international flows of capital and by increasing private sector involvement in infrastructure and services
development and management. The trend towards a shift from aid to trade clearly points to the need for
the participation of the private sector in the shaping of international cooperation. The international
community, including multilateral and bilateral assistance agencies, international financial institutions
and the private sector, has an important role to play in providing additional resources to reinforce
national efforts to foster an enabling environment so as to achieve the objectives of adequate shelter for
all and the sustainable development of human settlements.
196. Globalization of the world economy presents opportunities and challenges for the development
process as well as risks and uncertainties. In this context, international cooperation assumes added
significance and importance in the wake of recent trends in the globalization of the world economy, on
the one hand, and the continued deterioration of the plight of developing countries, on the other.
Problems resulting from poverty, urbanization, lack of adequate shelter, including social housing, rapid
population growth, ruralurban migration, economic stagnation and social instability are especially acute.
197. Innovative approaches and frameworks for international cooperation in the development and
management of human settlements must be sought and developed to include the active participation of
all levels of government, the private and cooperative sectors, nongovernmental organizations and
communitybased organizations in decisionmaking, policy formulation and resource allocation,
implementation and evaluation. These approaches and frameworks should also include new and
improved forms of cooperation and coordination between and among countries, multilateral and bilateral
assistance agencies, international financial institutions, international organizations, and various organs
and bodies of the United Nations system, including SouthSouth, NorthSouth and South-North exchanges
of best practices, and the continuous development of tools and instruments for policy, planning and
management, such as the application of shelter and urban indicators, human resources development and
institutional capacitybuilding.
198. These innovative approaches should not only promote international cooperation but also include
new forms of partnerships and cooperation involving civil society organizations, the private sector and
local authorities. This implies recognition of complementary forms of decentralized cooperation and
relations between and among local authorities and of their participation in international cooperation
within the legal framework of each country, as well as their contribution to the process of defining
human settlements policies. Governments, as well as bilateral and multilateral aid agencies, should
commit themselves to encouraging cooperation between local authorities and to strengthening networks
and associations of local authorities.
199. International economic imbalances, poverty and environmental degradation, combined with the
absence of peace and security, human rights violations and the varying degrees of development of
judicial and democratic institutions, are all factors affecting international migration. Orderly
international migration can have positive impacts on both the communities of origin and the
communities of destination, providing the former with remittances and the latter with needed human
resources. International migration also has the potential of facilitating the transfer of skills and
contributing to cultural enrichment. However, international migration entails the loss of human
resources from many countries of origin and may give rise to political, economic or social tensions in
countries of destination. These factors have a profound impact on the spatial distribution of city
populations.
2. An enabling international context
200. The provision of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development are
increasingly influenced by the global economy. The process of urbanization is linked to economic
development, social development and environmental protection, which are interdependent and mutually
reinforcing components of sustainable development. In this context, it is imperative to enable all
countries, especially developing countries, to improve living and working conditions in human
settlements. This calls for an enabling international environment and for integrated approaches at the
national and international levels that take account of the efforts of countries to implement programmes
of economic reform or economic transition. Furthermore, technological developments are leading to
major changes in the structure of employment. It should be recognized that in social and economic terms
housing is a productive sector. Achievement of the goals of adequate shelter for all and sustainable
human settlements development at the global level would be facilitated by, inter alia, positive actions on
the issues of finance, external debt, international trade and transfer of technology.
201. The international community should support Governments in their efforts to cope with the impact
of these changes on human settlements within a framework of enabling strategies. The international
community should promote:
(a) The establishment of an open, equitable, cooperative and mutually beneficial international economic
environment;
(b) The coordination of macroeconomic policies at all levels to achieve an international financial system
that is conducive to economic development, social development and environmental protection, as
components of sustainable development;
(c) An international financial system that is more conducive to stable and sustainable human settlements
development through, inter alia, a higher degree of stability in financial markets, a reduction of the risk
of financial crises, and lower real interest rates;
(d) An environment in all countries that attracts foreign direct investment and encourages savings and
domestic investment;
(e) Enterprise development, productive investment and expanded access to open and dynamic markets in
the context of an open, equitable, secure, nondiscriminatory, predictable, transparent and multilateral
rulebased international trading system and access to appropriate technologies and knowhow for all
people, especially those living in poverty and the disadvantaged, as well as for the least developed
countries;
(f) Capacity-building in all developing countries, particularly African countries and the least developed
countries, and in countries with economies in transition;
(g) The strengthening and improvement of technical and financial assistance to developing countries to
promote sustainable development and to facilitate their full and effective participation in the world
economy.
202. With specific reference to sustainable human settlements development and the provision of shelter,
the international community should:
(a) Ensure that the benefits of global economic growth improve people's quality of life in all countries,
whether they live in urban or rural areas;
(b) Mobilize national and international financial resources from all sources for shelter provision and
sustainable human settlements development;
(c) Facilitate increased access by all levels of government and the private sector in developing countries
and in countries with economies in transition to international financial resources so as to enable them to
attract investment in shelter and infrastructure for sustainable human settlements development;
(d) In a manner consistent with national legislation, strive to promote the ability of local authorities, the
private sector and relevant organizations to link with global capital markets and to have access to
financial markets, in accordance with prudent safeguards in those markets as well as national monetary
policies, in order to finance shelter and infrastructure programmes, mechanisms and instruments to
facilitate risksharing and credit enhancement;
(e) Encourage the adoption of policies for the creation and development of the private sector and
promote strategies for substantial and welldirected public and private investment in the construction and
development of shelter, infrastructure, health, education and other basic services through, inter alia, the
provision of appropriate technical and financial assistance; in addition, encourage Governments to
promote strategies to ensure that the private sector, including transnational corporations, complies with
national laws and codes, social security regulations, applicable international agreements, instruments
and conventions, including those related to the environment, and other relevant laws, and to adopt
policies and establish mechanisms to grant contracts on a non-discriminatory basis; recruit women for
leadership, decision-making and management and provide training programmes, all on an equal basis
with men; and observe national labour, environment, consumer, health and safety laws, particularly
those that affect women and children;
(f) Encourage international cooperation in order to address relevant impacts of international migration
through, inter alia, technical assistance, management knowhow and exchange of information;
(g) In consultation with Governments, continue to provide support to displaced persons, including
refugees, other displaced persons in need of international protection and internally displaced persons, in
order to meet their needs, bearing in mind the recommendations emanating from regional meetings on
international migration, internally displaced persons and returning refugees, and assist in assuring them a
just, durable solution in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions and international law,
noting, with due regard to the principle of voluntary repatriation, that sustainable human settlements
should preferably be established for them in their land of origin;
(h) Facilitate access to international financial resources for all developing countries, particularly those in
Africa and the least developed countries, so that they may benefit from the growing international
financial markets in order to promote investments in shelter, including social housing, and infrastructure
for sustainable human settlements;
(i) Facilitate access to growing international financial markets for countries with economies in transition
in order to promote investments and to support the implementation of housing reforms as part of the
realization of the goals of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development in
those countries.
3. Financial resources and economic instruments
203. The demand for shelter and infrastructural services in human settlements is continuously
increasing. Communities and countries, especially developing countries, have difficulty in mobilizing
adequate financial resources to meet the rapidly rising costs of shelter, services and physical
infrastructure. New and additional financial resources from various sources are necessary to achieve the
goals of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world.
The existing resources available to developing countries _ public, private, multilateral, bilateral,
domestic and external _ need to be enhanced through appropriate and flexible mechanisms and
economic instruments to support adequate shelter and sustainable human settlements development.
204. The full and effective implementation of the Habitat Agenda, in particular in all developing
countries, especially those in Africa and the least developed countries, will require the mobilization of
additional financial resources from various sources at the national and international levels and more
effective development cooperation in order to promote assistance for shelter and human settlements
activities. This will require, inter alia:
(a) Raising the priority of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development
among multilateral and bilateral donors and mobilizing their support for the national, subregional and
regional plans of action of developing countries;
(b) Striving to fulfil the agreed target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product of the developed
countries for official development assistance as soon as possible and to increase, as necessary, the share
of funding for adequate shelter and human settlements development programmes commensurate with the
scope and scale of activities required to achieve the objectives and goals of the Habitat Agenda;
(c) Striving to fulfil, consistent with commitments in international agreements, such as and in particular
the Paris Declaration and Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries in the 1990s (para.
23), the target, where agreed, of 0.15 per cent of the gross national product of the developed countries
for assistance to the least developed countries as soon as possible and to increase, as necessary, the share
of funding for adequate shelter and sustainable human settlements development programmes
commensurate with the scope and scale of activities required to achieve the objectives and goals of the
Habitat Agenda;
(d) Striving to ensure that structural adjustment programmes are consistent with the economic and social
conditions, concerns, objectives and needs of each country, including the need for adequate shelter for
all and sustainable human settlements development, and protect basic social programmes and
expenditures, in particular those benefiting people living in poverty, women and vulnerable groups, from
budget reductions; and also striving to ensure that corresponding investment programmes take account
of human settlements development priorities, including local, urban and rural priorities;
(e) Inviting the international financial institutions to examine innovative approaches to assisting
lowincome countries with a high proportion of multilateral debt, with a view to alleviating their debt
burden;
(f) Inviting multilateral development institutions and bilateral donors to support countries, particularly
developing countries, in their efforts to pursue enabling strategies through which national Governments,
local authorities, non-governmental organizations, communities and the private and cooperative sectors
can form partnerships to participate in the provision of adequate shelter and the development of
sustainable human settlements;
(g) Exploring ways and means to strengthen, support and expand SouthSouth cooperation, including
through triangular cooperation, and partnership between developing and developed countries;
(h) Consolidating the solidarity of the international community and its organizations to provide adequate
shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development for people living under foreign
occupation;
(i) Promoting, in a manner consistent with the legal framework of each country, the decentralized
development assistance programmes of local authorities and their associations which transfer financial
and other resources directly from a donor local authority to their partner local authority in a developing
country;
(j) Enhancing the effectiveness of official development assistance and other external financial flows
through improving coordination between and among donors and United Nations operational activities,
and through better integration of those flows into national sustainable human settlements development
strategies;
(k) Supporting programmes that increase the effectiveness and transparent utilization of public and
private resources, reduce wasteful and untargeted expenditure and increase access to housing and
services for all people, particularly those living in poverty;
(l) Recognizing the negative effect of excessive military expenditures and trade in arms, especially of
arms that are particularly injurious or have indiscriminate effects, and excessive investment for arms
production and acquisition, while acknowledging legitimate national defence needs;
(m) Giving preference, wherever possible, to the utilization of competent national experts in developing
countries or, where necessary, of competent experts from within the subregion or region or from other
developing countries in project and programme design, preparation and implementation, and to the
building of local expertise where it does not exist;
(n) Maximizing the efficiency of projects and programmes by keeping overhead costs to a minimum;
(o) Integrating practical measures for reducing disaster vulnerability in development programmes and
projects, in particular in the construction of buildings, infrastructure and communication systems
accessible to persons with disabilities, including those financed by the international community, and
ensuring that such measures become an integral part of feasibility studies and project identification;
(p) Developing and devising appropriate measures to implement economic policies to promote and
mobilize domestic savings and attract external resources for productive investments, and seeking
innovative sources of funding, both public and private, for adequate shelter and sustainable human
settlements development programmes, while ensuring effective utilization of those resources;
(q) Strengthening financial and technical assistance for communitybased development and selfhelp
programmes, and strengthening cooperation among Governments at all levels, community organizations,
cooperatives, formal and informal banking institutions, private enterprises and international institutions,
with the aim of mobilizing local savings, promoting the creation of local financial networks, promoting
socially responsible corporate investment and reinvestment in local communities, and increasing the
availability of credit and market information to lowincome individuals, women, and vulnerable and
disadvantaged groups for shelter and human settlements development;
(r) Facilitating access to global finances for those Governments and local authorities that are initiating or
are involved in publicprivate partnership programmes;
(s) Establishing and supporting linkages of informal credit mechanisms to the global pool of resources
and increasing the access of the majority of the population to housing finance through participatory
processes involving communities, nongovernmental organizations, credit unions, international financial
institutions and other relevant actors;
(t) Attracting international flows of public and private finances for shelter provision and settlements
development through appropriate economic instruments;
(u) Considering means of facilitating foreign private sector investment in sustainable human settlements
projects, including public-private joint ventures or partnerships, particularly in the areas of infrastructure
and transportation;
(v) Implementing effective and equitable pricing mechanisms for adequate shelter and sustainable
human settlements, infrastructure and services and assisting countries, in particular developing
countries, for that purpose in order to induce greater flows of private, domestic and global funds, while
ensuring transparent and targeted subsidies for people living in poverty;
(w) Examining appropriate debtequity swapping measures in favour of shelter and infrastructure
development in human settlements;
(x) Developing innovative sources of funding, both public and private, for human settlements
development and creating a supportive environment for the mobilization of resources by civil society,
including beneficiary and individual voluntary contributions;
(y) Promoting assistance for activities in the field of shelter and human settlements development in
favour of people living in poverty, particularly women, and vulnerable groups, such as refugees,
internally displaced persons, people with disabilities, street children, migrants and the homeless, through
specific targeted grants;
(z) Recognizing the need for adequate shelter for all and human settlements development in order to
address the special conditions of some countries experiencing natural and humanmade disasters and the
urgent need to reconstruct their economies and human settlements;
(aa) Giving high priority to the critical situation and needs of African countries and the least developed
countries in implementing the objectives of the provision of adequate shelter for all and sustainable
human settlements development;
(bb) Implementing the commitments of the international community to the special needs and
vulnerabilities of human settlements in small island development States, in particular by providing
effective means, including adequate, predictable, new and additional resources, for human settlements
programmes, in accordance with the Declaration of Barbados and on the basis of the relevant provisions
of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Development States;
(cc) Providing international support and assistance to the landlocked developing countries and
supporting these countries and their neighbour transit developing countries in their efforts to implement
the outcome of Habitat II, taking into account, as appropriate, the challenges and problems characteristic
of those countries;
(dd) Agreeing on a mutual commitment between interested developed and developing country partners
to allocate, on average, 20 per cent of official development assistance and 20 per cent of the national
budget, respectively, to basic social programmes.
4. Technology transfer and information exchange
205. The use and transfer of environmentally sound technologies that have a profound impact on
consumption and production patterns are prerequisites for sustainable human settlements development.
Advanced and appropriate technologies and the knowledgebased systems that support their application
offer new opportunities for more efficient use of human, financial and material resources, more
sustainable industrial practices and new sources of employment. International organizations have an
important role to play in disseminating and facilitating access to information on technologies available
for transfer. It is understood that the transfer of technology will take into account the need to protect
intellectual property rights.
206. The international community should promote and facilitate the transfer of technology and expertise
in support of the implementation of plans of action for adequate shelter for all and sustainable human
settlements development, inter alia, through:
(a) Encouraging the establishment or reinforcement, as appropriate, of global networks among all
interested parties to facilitate the exchange of information on environmentally sound technologies,
particularly those related to shelter and human settlements;
(b) Seeking to ensure that the process of technology transfer avoids the dumping of environmentally
unsound technologies on the recipients and that the transfer of environmentally sound technologies and
corresponding know-how, in particular to developing countries, is on favourable terms, as mutually
agreed, taking into account the need to protect intellectual property rights;
(c) Facilitating, developing and/or intensifying, as appropriate, technical cooperation with and among all
regions, including SouthSouth cooperation, in order to exchange experiences, particularly on best
practices, foster the development of technology and technical skills and increase the efficiency of shelter
and human settlements policies and management, with the backing of coordinated and complementary
support from multilateral and bilateral arrangements;
(d) Encouraging and supporting the use of appropriate building technology and the production of local
building materials, as well as supporting the development of international, subregional and regional
networks of institutions involved in research, production, dissemination and commercialization of
locally produced building materials;
(e) Placing special emphasis on the funding and promotion of applied research and the dissemination of
the results thereof, and on innovation in all areas that could contribute to enhancing the capabilities of all
developing countries, particularly those in Africa and the least developed countries, to provide shelter,
basic services, infrastructure and amenities to their communities;
(f) Enhancing the identification and dissemination of those new and promising technologies related to
human settlements that generate employment, especially those that can lower the cost of infrastructure,
make basic services more affordable and minimize detrimental environmental impacts; and identifying
specific roles for existing United Nations organizations which would promote those goals.
5. Technical cooperation
207. To face the challenges of a rapidly urbanizing world, there is need to ensure that international,
regional, national and local networks facilitate more effectively the exchange and transfer of knowledge
and experience on institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks and disseminate best practices on
sustainable human settlements in rural and urban areas, including, inter alia, those reflected in the
outcome of the Dubai International Conference on Best Practices for Improving the Living
Environment, held in November 1995. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat)
should, within its mandate, act as a catalyst in the mobilization of technical cooperation. Opportunities
for improved dissemination and exchange of ideas on technical cooperation at the national and
international levels could be explored.
208. More specifically, the international community should:
(a) Taking into account existing networks, examine the establishment of cost-effective and accessible
global information networks on human settlements, in the form of permanent and "electronic"
conferences, which should contain updated information on the Habitat Agenda and on best practices, as
well as progress reports on the implementation of national plans of action;
(b) Through global human settlements information networks, assist Governments at all levels, all major
groups of actors and international development agencies in assessing gender-disaggregated information
on the social and environmental impacts of policies, strategies, programmes and projects on sustainable
human settlements development and the provision of shelter;
(c) With a view to supporting and facilitating national and local efforts in human settlements
management, develop and strengthen capacitybuilding programmes and promote the exchange of
experiences and policy responses to urbanization and integrated regional development within the
framework of national development strategies;
(d) Enhance the capabilities of national and local authorities to identify and analyse critical human
settlements issues, to formulate and effectively implement policies and programmes in response to them,
and to manage efficiently the process of settlements development at the local level, including through
the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), within its mandate;
(e) Continue to support technical cooperation programmes aimed at preventing and mitigating the effects
of natural and humanmade disasters and at reconstruction activities in affected countries;
(f) Facilitate the provision of technical, legal and institutional assistance to Governments at the
appropriate levels, upon request, in closer cooperation with the capacity-building efforts of relevant
organizations of the United Nations system, including through the United Nations Centre for Human
Settlements (Habitat), within its mandate and existing resources.
6. Institutional cooperation
209. The task of pursuing the goals of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements
development in the face of increasing global economic interaction necessitates international cooperation
of public and private institutions operating in the area of human settlements development, whereby
resources, information and capacities are pooled for a more effective response to human settlements
problems.
210. The Habitat Agenda adds new elements to the agenda for national actions and international
cooperation and strengthens a common perception of human settlements priorities. Implementation of
the Habitat Agenda should take place within a coordinated framework which ensures that all
United Nations conferences receive comprehensive followup and that the agreed programmes of action
are fully implemented, monitored and reviewed, together with the results of other major United Nations
conferences where they are related to human settlements.
211. Organizations of the United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions, regional and
subregional development banks and funds, and bilateral support, where appropriate and in accordance
with the legal framework of each country, should:
(a) Establish and/or strengthen cooperative mechanisms to integrate commitments and actions
concerning adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development into their policies,
programmes and operations, particularly those commitments and actions contained in the Habitat
Agenda, building on the results of other recent United Nations conferences where they are related to
human settlements;
(b) Establish and/or strengthen partnerships with international associations of local authorities, non
governmental organizations and community-based organizations and with all other interested parties to
achieve the goals of the Conference;
(c) Develop activities aimed at strengthening the capacity of local authorities;
(d) Intensify their cooperation with associations and networks of local authorities, nongovernmental
organizations, voluntary groups and community associations, and the private and cooperative sectors in
adequate shelter and sustainable human settlements development;
(e) Support publicprivate partnerships in shelter delivery, service provision and other development
activities for adequate shelter and sustainable human settlements;
(f) Encourage public-private partnerships in socially and environmentally responsible community
investment and reinvestment in shelter and sustainable human settlements programmes and make
publicly available and accessible the data and best practices developed through them;
(g) Encourage the involvement of all interested parties at the locallevel in the formulation of local
measures, programmes and actions necessary to implement and monitor the Habitat Agenda, and
national plans of action through, inter alia, local Agenda 21 processes, as mandated by the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
F. Implementation and followup of the Habitat Agenda
1. Introduction
212. The longterm impact of the commitments made by Governments and the international community,
together with local authorities and nongovernmental organizations, at Habitat II will depend on the
implementation of actions agreed upon at all levels, including the local, national, regional and
international levels. National plans of action and/or other relevant national programmes and actions to
achieve the goals of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development will need to
be developed or strengthened, where appropriate, and their implementation will need to be monitored
and evaluated by Governments in close cooperation with their partners in sustainable development at the
national level. Similarly, progress in implementing the Habitat Agenda needs to be assessed with a view
to encouraging and enabling all interested parties to improve their performance and to strengthen
international cooperation.
2. Implementation at the national level
213. Governments have the primary responsibility for implementing the Habitat Agenda. Governments
as enabling partners should create and strengthen effective partnerships with women, youth, the elderly,
persons with disabilities, vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, indigenous people and communities,
local authorities, the private sector and nongovernmental organizations in each country. National
mechanisms should be established or improved, as appropriate, to coordinate actions at all relevant
government levels that have an impact on human settlements and to assess this impact prior to
governmental actions. Local authorities should be supported in their efforts towards implementing the
Habitat Agenda inasmuch as local action is required. All appropriate participatory mechanisms,
including local Agenda 21 initiatives, should be developed and employed. Governments may wish to
coordinate the implementation of their national plans of action through enhanced cooperation and
partnerships with subregional, regional and international organizations, inter alia, the United Nations
system, including the Bretton Woods institutions, which have a very important role to play in a number
of countries.
3. Implementation at the international level
214. In the context of international cooperation and partnership, the effective implementation of the
outcome of the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) should take into
account the integration of adequate shelter and sustainable human settlements development with broader
environmental, social and economic considerations. The main intergovernmental actors at the global
level for the implementation and followup of the Habitat Agenda will continue to be all States, the
United Nations General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and in particular the Commission
on Human Settlements, according to its mandate and role as contained in General Assembly resolution
32/162 of 19 December 1977 and in all other relevant resolutions of the Assembly. Other relevant bodies
and organizations of the United Nations system also have an important role to play in the
implementation of the Habitat Agenda. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) and
all relevant bodies and organizations of the United Nations system should take into account the
Habitat Agenda with a view to implementing it in their respective fields of competence.
215. All States should exert concerted efforts to achieve the implementation of the Habitat Agenda
through bilateral, subregional, regional and international cooperation, as well as through the
United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions. States may also convene bilateral,
subregional and regional meetings and take other appropriate initiatives to contribute to the review and
assessment of the progress made in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.
216. With regard to the consideration of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements
development at the intergovernmental level, special consideration should be given to the roles of the
General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.
217. The General Assembly, as the highest inter-governmental body, is the principal policymaking and
appraisal organ on matters relating to the followup of Habitat II. At its fiftyfirst session, the Assembly
should include the followup to the Conference in its agenda as an item entitled "Implementation of the
outcome of the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II)". At the special
session of the General Assembly to be convened in 1997 for the purpose of an overall review and
appraisal of Agenda 21, due attention should be given to the issue of human settlements in the context of
sustainable development. At its fiftysecond session, the Assembly should review the effectiveness of the
steps taken to implement the outcome of the Conference.
218. The General Assembly should consider holding a special session in the year 2001 for an overall
review and appraisal of the implementation of the outcome of Habitat II and should consider further
actions and initiatives.
219. The Economic and Social Council, in accordance with its role under the Charter of the
United Nations and with the relevant General Assembly and Economic and Social Council resolutions
and decisions, would oversee systemwide coordination in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda and
make recommendations in this regard. The Economic and Social Council should be invited to review the
followup of the Habitat Agenda at its substantive session of 1997.
220. The Economic and Social Council may convene meetings of highlevel representatives to promote
international dialogue on the critical issues pertaining to adequate shelter for all and sustainable human
settlements development as well as on policies for addressing them through international cooperation. In
this context, it may consider dedicating one highlevel segment before 2001 to human settlements and the
implementation of the Habitat Agenda with the active involvement and participation of, inter alia, the
specialized agencies, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
221. The General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council should, where appropriate, promote
subregional and regional cooperation in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. In this regard, the
regional commissions, within their mandates and in cooperation with regional intergovernmental
organizations and banks, could consider convening highlevel meetings to review progress made in
implementing the outcome of Habitat II, to exchange views on their respective experiences, particularly
on best practices, and to adopt appropriate measures. Such meetings could involve, as appropriate, the
participation of the principal financial and technical institutions. The regional commissions should report
to the Council on the outcome of such meetings.
222. The Commission on Human Settlements, under the Economic and Social Council, should have,
inter alia, the following objectives, functions and responsibilities, particularly in view of its role in
promoting, reviewing, monitoring and assessing the progress made in implementing the goals of
adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development in all countries, in accordance
with the Habitat Agenda:
(a) To promote integrated and cohesive policies at all levels, aiming at achieving the goals of adequate
shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development in all countries, with due regard to the
carrying capacity of the environment, in accordance with the Habitat Agenda;
(b) To track progress in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, inter alia, through the analysis of
relevant inputs from Governments, local authorities and their associations, relevant nongovernmental
organizations and the private sector;
(c) To assist countries, particularly developing countries, subregions and regions, in increasing and
improving their own efforts to solve shelter and human settlements problems, including through
promotion of vocational training;
(d) To promote, for effective national followup plans and activities, greater international cooperation in
order to increase the availability of resources to all developing countries, especially those in Africa and
the least developed countries, and promote the effective contribution of the private sector and local
authorities and their associations;
(e) To provide appropriate recommendations to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social
Council on the basis of an analysis and synthesis of the information received and to inform the
Commission on Sustainable Development;
(f) To facilitate cooperation and partnerships among all countries and regions to achieve the goals of
adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development;
(g) To continue to develop and promote policy objectives, priorities and guidelines regarding existing
and planned programmes of work of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) in the
fields of adequate shelter and sustainable human settlements development, in accordance with the
Habitat Agenda;
(h) To track the progress of the activities of the United Nations system, to cooperate with other
international organizations in the fields of adequate shelter and sustainable human settlements
development and to propose, when appropriate, ways and means by which the overall policy objectives
and goals in those fields within the United Nations system might best be achieved;
(i) To promote adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development in harmony with
the recommendations made by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
particularly chapter 7 of Agenda 21, taking into account, as appropriate, the relevant outcomes of other
major United Nations conferences and summits;
(j) To promote the full and effective implementation of the Habitat Agenda at the national and
international levels;
(k) To study in the context of the Habitat Agenda new issues and problems with a view to developing
solutions for adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development, including those of
a regional or international character;
(l) To continue to give overall policy guidance to and carry out supervision of the operations of the
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), including the United Nations Habitat and
Human Settlements Foundation;
(m) To review and approve periodically the utilization of funds at its disposal for carrying out shelter
and human settlements development activities at all levels;
(n) To monitor and evaluate the progress made towards and obstacles encountered in achieving the goals
of the Habitat Agenda and recommend appropriate measures and alternative actions as deemed
necessary to enhance the dynamic nature of the Habitat Agenda.
223. Taking into account the recommendations of the General Assembly at its fiftyfirst session, the
Commission on Human Settlements should, at its forthcoming session, review its programme of work in
order to ensure the effective followup and implementation of the outcome of the Conference, in a
manner consistent with the functions and contributions of other relevant organs of the United Nations
system, and make recommendations thereon to the Economic and Social Council within the framework
of its review of the activities of its subsidiary bodies. The Commission should also review its working
methods in order to involve in its work the representatives of local authorities and the relevant actors of
civil society, particularly the private sector and nongovernmental organizations, in the field of adequate
shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development, taking into account its rules of procedure.
224. The General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, in accordance with their respective
mandates, are invited to review and strengthen the mandate of the Commission on Human Settlements,
taking into account the Habitat Agenda as well as the need for synergy with other related commissions
and Conference followup, and for a systemwide approach to its implementation.
225. As a standing committee assisting the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Human
Settlements should have a central role in monitoring, within the United Nations system, the
implementation of the Habitat Agenda and advising the Council thereon. It should have a clear mandate
and sufficient human and financial resources, through the reallocation of resources within the regular
budget of the United Nations, to carry out that mandate.
226. The Commission on Human Settlements should assist the Economic and Social Council in its
coordination of the reporting on the implementation of the Habitat Agenda with the relevant
organizations of the United Nations system. The Commission should draw upon inputs from other
organizations of the United Nations system and other sources, as appropriate.
227. The Commission on Human Settlements, in developing its work programme, should examine the
Habitat Agenda and consider how to integrate in its programme of work the followup to the second
United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II). In this context, the Commission on
Human Settlements could consider how it could further develop its catalytic role in promoting adequate
shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development.
228. Within its mandate, and considering the necessity for it to focus on welldefined objectives and
strategic issues, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) shall have, inter alia, the
following responsibilities:
(a) To monitor, with a view to ensuring the harmonization, at the intersecretariat level, of adequate
shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development programmes planned and carried out by
the United Nations system;
(b) To assist the Commission on Human Settlements in formulating recommendations for coordinating
adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development activities in the United Nations
system, to keep them under review and to assess their effectiveness;
(c) To promote, facilitate and execute adequate shelter and human settlements development programmes
and projects;
(d) To facilitate the global exchange of information on adequate shelter for all and sustainable human
settlements development by, inter alia, exchanging information on best practices and encouraging
research activities on sustainable approaches and methods concerning building materials and
construction technology;
(e) To deal with interregional issues relating to adequate shelter for all and sustainable human
settlements development in full cooperation with the regional commissions as well as the principal
financial and technical institutions and other relevant partners at the regional levels;
(f) To supplement regional expertise in formulating and implementing adequate shelter for all and
sustainable human settlements development programmes and projects when so required, paying due
attention to regional institutions of cooperation;
(g) To promote and consolidate collaboration, within the legal framework of each country, with all
partners, including local authorities, and private sector and nongovernmental organizations, in the
implementation of the Habitat Agenda;
(h) To maintain and update a global directory of consultants and advisers to supplement the skills
available within the United Nations system and, where necessary, to assist in the recruitment of experts
at the global level, including those belonging to developing countries and countries with economies in
transition;
(i) To initiate public information activities on adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements
development in cooperation with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations
Secretariat;
(j) To promote increased use of audiovisual and information technology relating to adequate shelter and
sustainable human settlements development;
(k) To carry out any additional responsibilities and functions assigned to it by the General Assembly and
the Economic and Social Council;
(l) To continue to execute the Global Strategy for Shelter to the Year 2000, taking into consideration the
Habitat Agenda;
(m) To analyse and monitor major trends in urbanization and the impact of policies for urban and rural
settlements, to track progress in the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, and to continue its
publications programme, including, inter alia, publication of the Global State of Human Settlements
report;
(n) To provide assistance in establishing guidelines for national and local monitoring and evaluation of
the implementation of the Habitat Agenda through the use of housing and human settlements indicator
programmes;
(o) To promote human settlements management and communitybased development, in particular aiming
at achieving transparent, representative and accountable governance through institutional development,
capacitybuilding and partnership.
229. The primary function of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), located in
Nairobi, Kenya, is to provide substantive servicing to the Commission on Human Settlements and other
intergovernmental bodies concerned with adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements
development. It should be designated as a focal point for the implementation of the Habitat Agenda. In
the light of the review of the mandate of the Commission on Human Settlements, requested in
paragraph 224 above, the functions of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) will
also need to be assessed with a view to its revitalization. The SecretaryGeneral is requested to ensure
more effective functioning of the Centre by, inter alia, providing sufficient human and financial
resources within the regular budget of the United Nations.
230. Within their mandates, subsidiary bodies of the Economic and Social Council, such as the
Commission on Sustainable Development, the Commission for Social Development, the Commission on
the Status of Women, the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on Population and
Development, should give due regard to human settlements issues, as set out in the Habitat Agenda.
231. The SecretaryGeneral is invited to ensure effective coordination of the implementation of the
Habitat Agenda and adequate consideration of human settlements needs in all activities of the
United Nations system. The Administrative Committee on Coordination should review its procedures at
the interagency level to ensure systemwide coordination and full participation of its entities in the
implementation of the Habitat Agenda. These entities should examine their programmes to determine
how they can best contribute to the coordinated implementation of the Habitat Agenda. The
SecretaryGeneral is requested to include the implementation of the Habitat Agenda in the mandates of
the existing interagency task forces of the Administrative Committee on Coordination to facilitate
integrated and coordinated implementation of the Habitat Agenda.
232. The SecretaryGeneral is invited to continue to ensure effective functioning of the United Nations
Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) so as to enable it to fully discharge its mandate.
233. The important role of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in monitoring those
aspects of the Habitat Agenda that relate to States parties' compliance with the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights should be emphasized.
234. To strengthen their support for actions at the national level and to enhance their contributions to an
integrated and coordinated followup by the United Nations, the specialized agencies and other
organizations of the United Nations system should be urged to consider and identify the specific actions
they will undertake to meet the priorities identified in the Habitat Agenda.
235. In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of United Nations organizations in providing
support to the efforts for the provision of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements
development at the national level, and to enhance their capacity to achieve the objectives of Habitat II,
there is a need to renew, reform and revitalize the various parts of the United Nations system, in
particular its operational activities. All relevant specialized agencies and related organizations of the
United Nations system are invited to strengthen and adjust their activities, programmes and mediumterm
strategies within their mandates, as appropriate, to take into account the followup to Habitat II,
particularly at the field level. Relevant governing bodies should examine their policies, programmes,
budgets and activities in this regard.
236. International financial institutions should contribute to the mobilization of resources for the
implementation of the Habitat Agenda. To this end, the relevant institutions are invited to take the
following measures:
(a) The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the regional and subregional development banks
and funds and all other international finance organizations should be invited to integrate adequate shelter
for all and sustainable human settlements development goals in their policies, programmes and
operations, for example by giving higher priority to those goals, where applicable, in their lending
programmes;
(b) The Bretton Woods institutions and other organizations and bodies of the United Nations system
should be invited to work together with concerned countries, particularly developing countries, to
improve policy dialogues and develop new initiatives to ensure that structural adjustment programmes
promote adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development, giving particular
attention to people living in poverty and other vulnerable groups;
(c) The United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions and other United Nations
specialized agencies, should be invited to expand and improve their cooperation in the field of adequate
shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development to ensure that efforts are complementary
and, where possible, should combine resources in joint initiatives for adequate shelter for all and
sustainable human settlements development built around the objectives of Habitat II.
4. Involvement of local authorities and civil society, including the private sector
237. The effective implementation of the Habitat Agenda requires strengthening local authorities,
community organizations and nongovernmental organizations in the spheres of education, health,
poverty eradication, human rights, social integration, infrastructure and improvement of the quality of
life, and relief and rehabilitation, enabling them to participate constructively in policymaking and
implementation. This will require:
(a) Establishing legislative and regulatory frameworks, institutional arrangements and consultative
mechanisms for involving organizations in the design, implementation and evaluation of human
settlements strategies and programmes;
(b) Supporting capacitybuilding programmes for such organizations in critical areas such as
participatory planning, programme design, implementation and evaluation, economic and financial
analysis, credit management, research, information and advocacy;
(c) Providing resources through such measures as grant programmes, and technical and other
administrative support for initiatives taken and managed at the community level;
(d) Strengthening networking and exchange of expertise and experience among such organizations.
238. The contribution of local authorities and civil society, including the private sector, to development
can be enhanced by:
(a) Developing planning and policymaking procedures that facilitate partnership and cooperation
between Governments and civil society in human settlements development;
(b) Encouraging business enterprises to pursue investment and other policies, including noncommercial
activities that will contribute to human settlements development, especially in relation to the generation
of work opportunities, basic services, access to productive resources and construction of infrastructure;
(c) Enabling and encouraging trade unions to participate in the generation of work opportunities under
fair conditions, the provision of training, health care and other basic services, and the development of an
economic environment that facilitates the achievement of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human
settlements development;
(d) Supporting academic and research institutions, particularly in the developing countries, in their
contribution to human settlements development programmes, and facilitating mechanisms for
independent, detached, impartial and objective monitoring of human settlements progress, especially
through collecting, analysing and disseminating information and ideas about adequate shelter for all and
sustainable human settlements development;
(e) Encouraging educational institutions, the media and other sources of public information and opinion
to give special attention to the challenges of human settlements development and to facilitate widespread
and wellinformed debate about policies throughout the community.
5. Performance evaluation, indicators and best practices
239. It is essential to evaluate the impact of policies, strategies and actions on the provision of adequate
shelter and the achievement of sustainable human settlements development. The results of these
evaluations will be considered by the relevant United Nations organs and bodies, including the
Commission on Human Settlements. The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat),
together with other relevant organizations, will be responsible for establishing an appropriate process for
analysing and monitoring major trends in urbanization and the impact of urban policies. In particular,
age and genderdisaggregated information on the impact of urbanization on vulnerable and disadvantaged
groups, including children, should be collected, taking into account other relevant work in this field.
240. All partners of the Habitat Agenda, including local authorities, the private sector and communities,
should regularly monitor and evaluate their own performances in the implementation of the Habitat
Agenda through comparable human settlements and shelter indicators and documented best practices.
The Centre's responsibilities will include providing assistance to establish guidelines for national and
local monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda through the use of housing
and human settlements indicator programmes. The data collection and analysis capabilities of all these
partners should be strengthened and assisted, where appropriate, at all levels, especially the local level.
241. As part of their commitment to strengthening their existing shelter and settlementsrelated data
collection and analysis capabilities, Governments at all levels, including local authorities, should
continue to identify and disseminate best practices, and should develop and apply shelter and human
settlements development indicators, including those that reflect the rights and wellbeing of children. The
key indicators, augmented by policyoriented national and subnational level indicators specific to the
different regions, and other relevant information, as appropriate, will be used by Governments for
assessing national implementation of the Habitat Agenda. The indicators should cover key areas of the
Habitat Agenda, such as shelter, health, transport, energy, water supply, sanitation, employment and
other aspects of urban sustainability, empowerment, participation and local responsibility, and should be
genderspecific where possible. Such information, which should be available and accessible to all, will be
provided to the United Nations, taking into account the different reporting procedures in the economic,
social and environmental fields, and the need for reporting procedures to reflect diversity in regional,
national, subnational and, in particular, local characteristics and priorities.
