Urban

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

Also related to

Urban development

Urban Matters blog

Informal settlements (slums)

Man selling fruit and vegetable on the busy streets in India.

Closing the data gaps on heat stress and developing strategies for resilience

15 October 2026

Woman pumping water using from a well in Zambia.

Drought unmasks structural failures and systemic inequalities in Mazyopa informal settlement

Marcelle Mardon and Melanie Chirwa
25 August 2026

Image of grafitti of child crying on a building in Favela Metro-Mangueira. The buildings next to it are torn down.

Can people-centred justice stop forced evictions?

Camila Cociña and Paula Sevilla Núñez
09 July 2026

Dandara people's agroecological garden in Recife, Brazil.

Nature for climate in cities: exploring nature-based solutions for informal settlements

April 2025 - April 2027

Make Change Happen episode 39

Living with urban drought: Make Change Happen podcast episode 39

25 August 2026

Various people being interviewed at the World Urban Forum.

How IIED helps young housing activists be heard

Impact story 2 minute read

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

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Facilitating spaces of association for youth citizenship in India

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Promoting youth participation in urban governance in Nepal

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Nature for climate in cities

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

Youth-led civic media for urban governance

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Unlocking urban climate finance: barriers and progress in African cities

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Drought’s inequalities: towards inclusive climate adaptation in Zambia

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Engaging young people from informal settlements in housing and urban governance

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

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

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

622 entries

Group of people gathered in a outside sitting spot in the evening, talking and laughing.

Mobilisation of living heritage for community-led recovery

Insight, 13 October 2025

Aerial view of the Kibera neighborhood in Nairobi, Kenya.

If cities could speak: vulnerability, climate and health in the city

Active Project

Display on building showing 36 degrees Celsius in São Paulo, Brazil.

World’s major cities hit by a quarter more hot days than in the 1990s

Press release, 30 September 2025

People stand and sit around a table strewn with notes as they have a discussion.

Urban Resilience Strategic Exchange: Climate Week NYC 2025

Event on 24 September 2025

A horizon photo of a city, showing slums in the foreground conflicting with skyscrapers behind in the distance.

Urban living labs for resilience: scaling impact through the SECURe framework

Active Project

Image of Low-gauge tin roofs in Kenya.

Reflections from frontline settlements: connecting urban communities with climate scientists

Insight, 28 August 2025

Graphic card including text, an image of a city and organisation logos.

Drought in displacement: humanitarian and city responses for water security

Event on 27 August 2025

Aerial view of the Zaatari refugee camp showing informal housing set up and spread over a large space.

UN’s opaque spending on Syrian refugee camp: did aid donors get value for money?

Press release, 15 August 2025

Graphic card with red, yellow and blue branding showing a drawn house. Words read 'House Justice Provocations Series'.

Provocations to advance housing justice

News, 11 August 2025

Aerial view of informal settlement in Tanzania.

Building heat resilience in informal settlements: community-led data collection

Active Project