Urban

Cities that work for people and planet: we focus on urban poverty and urban environmental issues, including rural-urban linkages, urban risk and urban crises, health, water and sanitation, inclusion, gender and disability, and shelter and basic services. We work with in-country partners to promote equitable, inclusive, sustainable and resilient urban development.

Urban crises and forced displacement

How IIED is bringing together diverse perspectives on humanitarian emergencies and forced displacement, to inform new directions in urban crisis response More in this collection

A number of informal tents forming a village
Overview
A woman sitting on steps, with colourful handkerchiefs arranged in front of her
Project
People looking at a map
Project

Urban poverty

How IIED is working to reduce urban poverty and to change misleading views about urbanisation. More in this collection

Langrug informal settlement, South Africa, May 2014 (Photo: Diana Mitlin/IIED)
Project
Geographic patterns are seen out the window of an airplane traveling between Mwanza and Dar Es Salam, Tanzania on March 20, 2015 (Photo: Brian Sokol/Panos Pictures)
Long read
Air balloon photograph of children while mapping Mathare informal settlement, Nairobi.
Long read

Urbanisation and rural-urban linkages

Projects and articles about urbanisation and the links between rural and urban areas More in this collection

Myanmar is undergoing rapid economic change and urbanisation. Many new settlements like this one in Lashio lack basic services (Photo: Alex Drainville)
Article
Ejura Market in Ghana is an important centre for farmers selling their yam crops (Photo: IITA)
Project
A soup stall in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Many of the urban poor rely on frequent food purchases, often cooked food prepared by street vendors (stefans_box, Creative Commons via Flickr)
Project