Urban

Addressing urban environmental issues for cities that work for people and planet

Also related to

Urban development

Urban Matters blog

Informal settlements (slums)

An illustration showing people and flowers in front of tall buildings.

Building better cities: responding to the twin challenge of inequality and climate change

23 June 2022

People building informal houses on stilts behind rising water.

IIED at WUF11

Event on 26 June 2022

A man sitting on a bench surrounded by large trees.

The role of urban green space: how London got its parks

David Satterthwaite
16 June 2022

Shack housing on the side of a hill.

No climate justice without housing justice

23 June 2022

A busy African street scene, with industrial buildings in the background.

Tackling air pollution in informal settlements in Kenya

Began 2017

A young woman sits working at a sewing machine in a corner of a room.

Stitching with determination: stories of women garment workers in Indore, India

07 June 2022

Two women wearing masks hand over a bag to another woman wearing a mask

Q&A: Two years on, blog series maintains its focus – in changing and challenging times

09 May 2022

Related collections

Learn more about focused areas of IIED's urban work

Better cities are possible: achieving resilient, low-carbon and inclusive urban development

A series of articles looking at ways to achieve resilient, low-carbon and inclusive urban development

The transition to a predominantly urban world

A series of blogs and interviews exploring what social, political and environmental factors cause cities to thrive or decline

Urban crises and forced displacement

A programme of work bringing together diverse perspectives on humanitarian emergencies and forced displacement, to inform new directions in urban crisis response

Housing justice

A programme of work producing knowledge and methodologies for housing policy and initiatives that promote wellbeing and sustainability in cities of the global South

Publications

View more Urban publications

21271iied.pdf

City planning with displaced communities: the benefits of inclusion

21151iied.pdf

From risks to resilience: action research into informal workers' health and wellbeing in Indore, India

21036iied.pdf

Prioritising action on health and climate resilience for informal workers

21006iied.pdf

Better cities are possible: responding to the twin crises of climate change and inequality

20961iied.pdf

The Urban Crises Learning Fund evaluation final report

74366iied.pdf

Doing more with less: COVID-19 relief by community networks in Southeast Asia

20951iied.pdf

Scaling up community-led COVID-19 responses: five key lessons

20946_cover.pdf

The contribution of cities to local and planetary health - equity, ecosystem services and nature

20846iied.pdf

Amplifying grassroots COVID-19 responses in Kenya

20571Xcover.pdf

Citizen participation in planning: from the neighbourhood to the city

A cow and two goats eat grass surrounded by waste. There are houses and people in the background.

Why does so little aid seem to go to basic needs? – part two

Blog, 24 January 2023

Dirt and dirty canal next to a field. Informal buildings in the background

Are basic needs given low priority in most bilateral aid programmes? – part one

Blog, 10 January 2023

Head and shoulders photos of five peple. Text: Podcast episode 20. And Make Change Happen

Can mitigation deliver better cities in the global South? Make Change Happen podcast episode 20

Article, 19 December 2022

Man types in a laptop, in front of a big screen

Data tales – part five: ‘not so smart’ computing?

Blog, 08 December 2022

Houses can be seen inside a sealed, glass bottle on its side.

Wellbeing in refugee camps: life inside a bottle

Blog, 06 December 2022

An aerial view of a refugee camp, with housig stretching over a vast area in the desert.

Life much tougher for refugees living in camps rather than cities

Press release, 06 December 2022

Four men siting on a wall looking at a landscape

Mental health, wellbeing and sense of hope among vulnerable Afghans plummeted in wake of Taliban takeover

Press release, 28 November 2022

Men and women gathered to look at a laptop

Data tales – part four: combining community skills and computer power to tackle the climate crisis

Blog, 28 November 2022

Informal housing

Interviews: co-creating pathways to urban equality

Article, 23 November 2022

Informal housing built on a hill

Cities for refugees: places of economic productivity, participation and wellbeing

Event on 06 December 2022