Urban

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

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Urban development

Urban Matters blog

Informal settlements (slums)

Informal settlement in Manila, Philippines on the water.

CBA20: Local solutions inspiring global action

Event on 11 May 2026

Drawing of a group of people standing and watching one person fix a sign on a building.

Socio-technical practices for just cities: E&U special issue celebration

Event on 23 February 2026

Woman pumping water into a plastic canister. She is wearing a traditional saree.

Strengthening urban resilience through collaboration: lessons from India, Kenya, Myanmar and the Philippines

08 December 2025

Woman sitting on a balcony wearing a face mask. Behind here, an informal neighbourhood of houses can be seen.

Five years on: how Brazil’s Zero Eviction Campaign is driving policy change for housing justice

Camila Cociña and Fernanda Moreira
06 November 2025

Group of men standing and talking in front of a building.

Bridging the gap between local, organised communities and city government

Sheela Patel and Celine d’Cruz
10 December 2025

A bearded man stands at a podium with a screen behind him.

Urban legend: one man, 50 years, countless seeds of hope

Long read 13 May 2024

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 exploring the critical shifts in governance, policy and action needed to transform informal settlements on a warming planet

The transition to a predominantly urban world

A series of insights and interviews designed to share the experiences of community leaders, professionals, researchers and government from the global South

Urban crises and forced displacement

A programme of work on urban refugees and internally displaced peoples that also supports municipal authorities to respond to crisis and protracted displacement

Housing justice

A programme of work involving research, capacity development, policy advisory and advocacy initiatives that advance housing justice

Publications

View more Urban publications

Preview of Cover image: Youth-led civic media for urban governance Case studies from India and Nepal

Youth-led civic media for urban governance

Preview of 22732iied.pdf

Unlocking urban climate finance: barriers and progress in African cities

Preview of 22731iied.pdf

Drought’s inequalities: towards inclusive climate adaptation in Zambia

Preview of 22726iied.pdf

Engaging young people from informal settlements in housing and urban governance

Preview of 22715iied.pdf

From nature-based solutions to naturing infrastructure: towards a care-centred approach

Preview of 22714iied.pdf

From capacity to capability: urban living labs as a route to gain influence

Preview of 22713iied.pdf

From power to influence: counter-mapping for urban living labs

Preview of 22706iied.pdf

Connecting tenure security and climate resilience in sub-Saharan Africa

Preview of 22697iied.pdf

Heat impacts on informal settlements

Preview of 22693iied.pdf

Why collective organisations matter for resilience

614 entries

A street in a village with a house and a blue window and clothes hanging from a wire.

Further data tales: decoding land ownership and other challenges

Insight, 25 October 2023

Head and shoulders photos of three people alongside the words 'podcast 24 and "Make Change Happen".

Filling in the gaps - how Delhi organisations provided food relief during COVID-19: Make Change Happen podcast episode 24

Article, 18 October 2023

Man wearing a face mask walks carrying two shopping bags.

Social protection that works for cities: lessons from the pandemic

Event on 31 October 2023

Houses next to a canal.

Burgeoning growth of deltaic cities puts lives and livelihoods at risk

Insight, 09 October 2023

Truck carrying a huge load of cardboard.

Building resilient cities with the resilience of informal workers

Insight, 02 October 2023

Water tanker.

Beyond the city’s borders: water and sanitation access for refugees in Mafraq

Insight, 28 September 2023

Condensed housing borders a grassy area which has litter strewn over it.

Keeping urban health on the agenda in the 1980s and 90s

Insight, 27 September 2023

Houses on stilts along a river

Huge population growth in major river deltas puts tens of millions at increased risk from climate change floods

Press release, 26 September 2023

A woman hangs up clothes on a rail in a shop, with clothes on shelves behind her.

Refugee camps failing as a safety net against hunger, homelessness and ill-health

Press release, 22 September 2023

View of informal housing and vegetation in the background.

Simplified sewerage systems: lessons from Dar es Salaam

Insight, 05 September 2023