The
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (
UN–HABITAT) is the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
agency for human settlements. It was established in 1978 and has its headquarters at the UN office in
NairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"...
,
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
. It is mandated by the
United Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:*General Assembly members*General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.
Its regional centres are called 'United Nations Centre for Human Settlements' (Habitat)/(UNCHS) , and are situated at
NairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"...
,
Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America. The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1822 during the Portuguese colonial era, and...
, and
Fukuokais the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyūshū in Japan, across the Korea Strait from South Korea's Busan....
.
According to its 2006 Annual Report, sometime in the middle of 2007, the majority of people worldwide will be living in towns and cities, for the first time in history; this is referred to as the arrival of the "urban millennium".
The
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (
UN–HABITAT) is the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
agency for human settlements. It was established in 1978 and has its headquarters at the UN office in
NairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"...
,
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
. It is mandated by the
United Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:*General Assembly members*General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.
Its regional centres are called 'United Nations Centre for Human Settlements' (Habitat)/(UNCHS) , and are situated at
NairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"...
,
Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America. The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1822 during the Portuguese colonial era, and...
, and
Fukuokais the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyūshū in Japan, across the Korea Strait from South Korea's Busan....
.
Overview
According to its 2006 Annual Report, sometime in the middle of 2007, the majority of people worldwide will be living in towns and cities, for the first time in history; this is referred to as the arrival of the "urban millennium". The year 2007 will also see the number of slum dwellers hit 1 billion. As regards future trends, it is estimated 93% of urban growth will occur in
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
and
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
, and to a lesser extent
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
. By 2050, over 6 billion people, two thirds of humanity, will be living in towns and cities.
The main documents outlining the mandate of the organization are the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, the Habitat Agenda, the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements, the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium, and Resolution 56/206.
It has three regional offices, 'United Nations Centre for Human Settlements' at
NairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"...
,
Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America. The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1822 during the Portuguese colonial era, and...
, and
Fukuokais the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyūshū in Japan, across the Korea Strait from South Korea's Busan....
.
Controversies
UN Habitat has supported the slum clearance project in
DurbanDurban is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. It is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is famous as the busiest port in Africa. It is also a major centre of tourism due to the city's warm subtropical climate and...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
, which has been widely criticized for being carried out in a violent and illegal manner and which has been protested by shack dwellers in marches of as many as 20 000 people.
http://www.abahlali.org
Pakistan
In the morning of October 8, 2005, Pakistan saw a deadly earthquake of 7.6 magnitude which caused 75,000 people dead and left more than that injured. This was the biggest shock Pakistani nation ever suffered.
In the meanwhile Govt. of Pakistan established an authority named ERRA to let people come on normal routine.
Since then, UN-HABITAT has supported the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) to establish 13 Housing Reconstruction Centers (HRCs) in Azad Kashmir and North Western Frontier Province.
The main activities were:
- Door to Door Technical Assistance
- Identification of Model houses and Self Builders
- Identification of House Holds for Remedial Measures
- Hands on Training for the Artisan
- Capacity building of Artisans & Self builders.
- Information and Awareness campaign according to ERRA Guidelines.
- VRC Formation
External links