RISE-UP: Resilient Settlements for the Urban Poor

About the RISE UP Flagship Programme

Climate change is no longer a distant threat—cities are on the frontlines, facing rising temperatures, more frequent and severe flooding, and growing economic instability. RISE UP is UN-Habitat’s answer to this urgent crisis.

Resilient Settlements for the Urban Poor (RISE UP) is a UN-Habitat flagship programme mobilizing significant investments to help cities effectively adapt to climate change. Coordinated through UN-Habitat's headquarters, regional, national, and local offices, RISE UP targets climate-vulnerable cities with the greatest need, delivering adaptation projects that enhance climate resilience, creating equitable, and sustainable urban futures for all.

130 million

more people at risk of falling into extreme poverty by 2030 due to escalating climate impacts.

10 per cent

of global climate adaptation finance reaches the local level, far from enough to protect cities from climate shocks.

$150 million

mobilized by RISE UP to help vulnerable cities implement high-impact, scalable climate resilience solutions. (USD)

Supporting cities with the greatest need

With 70 per cent of cities already experiencing adverse climate impacts, the urban world stands at a tipping point. Deadly heatwaves, severe flooding, and landslides are becoming the new normal, with urban temperatures often soaring up to 10°C hotter than rural areas. For the 90 per cent of cities near coastlines, the risks are even more dire. Without immediate action, an estimated 130 million people could fall into extreme poverty by 2030.

Despite this urgent need, current climate financing is failing to reach those who need it most. While 29 per cent of global climate finance supports adaptation, only 10 per cent trickles down to the local level—far from sufficient to help cities build resilience against intensifying climate impacts. This funding gap leaves governments and urban communities struggling to protect lives, and livelihoods, infrastructure and ecosystems.

Recognizing the urgent need to empower vulnerable cities, UN-Habitat launched the Resilient Settlements for the Urban Poor (RISE UP) Flagship Programme in 2019. RISE UP focuses on cities and communities most at risk, providing the tools and resources needed to adapt and thrive in the face of climate change.

Through its global network of regional, national, and local offices, RISE UP leverages a legacy of successful initiatives to design, finance and deliver high-impact projects. The programme has already mobilized over $150 USD million to implement proven, scalable solutions in cities in climate vulnerability hotspots across the world. with the greatest need.

RISE UP also complements initiatives like Building Climate Resilience for the Urban Poor (BCRUP), offering a comprehensive approach to climate adaptation. From technical assistance to financial support, RISE UP ensures cities are better equipped to safeguard their communities and create a sustainable urban future.

Leading climate-resilient transformations in cities

In a world increasingly shaped by climate change, RISE UP is UN-Habitat's only flagship programme mobilizing significant investment for a better urban future for all. Targeting cities most in need, UN-Habitat delivers projects that help cities through:

Strengthening climate action policy and plannings: RISE UP provides technical expertise and evidence-based insights to key stakeholders, informing the development of urban, regional, and national climate policies, strategies, plans and programmes for inclusive climate action.
Increasing investment for climate resilience: RISE UP develops innovative financing schemes and coordinates efforts at scale across multiple levels of governance to better allocate and mobilize funds for cities most at risk from climate change, impacts fostering not only climate resilience but also social, environmental andand economic benefits.
Increasing capacity-building: RISE UP delivers training to increase the capabilities of subnational governments, city climate action practitioners and local stakeholders, empowering them to lead and implement responsive, successful, locally-driven projects that address cmultilayered climate, urban and biodiversity vulnerabilities and challenges.
Amplifying expertise: To foster impactful successful projectsinterventions that improve urban quality of life, RISE UP ensures that key stakeholders, including the urban poor and most marginalized, are able to tap into the knowledge, lessons and best practices gained from UN-Habitat’s legacy of successful initiatives and collaborative efforts. The experiences and lessons learned from RISE UP also contribute to the Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) initiative, a multilateral and multilevel community and network of partners that further amplifies this expertise among key stakeholders.

A map of a city showcasing a significant concentration of orange and blue dots, illustrating data patterns across different areas.

Under the RISE UP programme, the Urban Vulnerability Atlas (pictured) was created to map urban risks, enabling cities to identify climate vulnerabilities, prioritize action, and drive investment in resilience. Click the picture to see the Atlas in action.

The Flagship Programme’s investment in building urban resilience

Through the support of several organizations including the Adaptation Fund and Green Climate Fund, UN-Habitat's flagship programme, Resilient Settlements for the Urban Poor (RISE UP), has mobilized over $150 million USD to accelerate global climate action through helping cities most in need adapt to a changing climate. RISE UP projects are diverse, ranging from constructing flood-proof roads and bridges in South-East Africa, to enhancing urban green spaces in Malaysia and rehabilitating mangroves in Cambodia. Since its inception in 2020, the RISE UP flagship programme has projects across nearly 30 countries, demonstrating UN-Habitat's commitment to creating resilient and equitable urban futures amidst climate challenges.

A global map showing the location of RISE UP projects

Under the RISE UP programme, projects in over 30 countries demonstrating UN-Habitat's commitment to creating a better urban future for all.

Advancing urban resilience through global partnerships

RISE UP is made possible thanks to the dedication and support of key partners and organizations committed to building climate resilience in vulnerable urban communities. Led by UN-Habitat, the initiative benefits from the critical contributions of the Adaptation Fund, Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, AECID, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Sub-Fund, and Sida, whose financial and strategic support drives transformative action. With technical expertise from Adapt40, RISE UP delivers high-impact adaptation projects, strengthens local capacity, and mobilizes investments where they are needed most. These collaborations exemplify the collective effort required to address climate challenges and create equitable, sustainable urban futures for all and together, we’ve enabled thousands of residents to thrive in more resilient urban environments.