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

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

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

Insight, 08 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

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

Wellbeing in refugee camps: life inside a bottle

Insight, 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

Insight, 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

A series of rainbow flags outside a building.

Heteronormativity in the development sector: where are we now?

Event on 08 December 2022

Five people posing with signs that read "gentrificado"

What does queer have to do with it?

Active Project

People gathering around a table with a laptop

Civic media for housing rights: lessons from struggles against evictions in São Paulo and Lagos

Active Project