For more than forty years, UN-Habitat has been working in human settlements throughout the world. The efforts of UN-Habitat have been focused on building a brighter future for developing villages, towns and cities of all sizes, which are most in need of support in guiding the process of urbanization. Towards this end we have created a new vision which makes a shift in focus and incorporates three essential urban elements into a new, integrated working methodology: Urban Legislation, Urban Design and Urban Finance, as a three-legged strategy in advancing sustainable urbanization. “Governments want us to promote an integrated approach to planning and building sustainable cities and urban settlements. We are tasked with supporting local authorities, increasing public awareness and enhancing the involvement of local people, including the poor, in decision making.”

The World Urban Forum is the world’s premier conference on urban issues. It was established by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies. The Forum is organized and convened by the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat) pursuant to paragraph 10 of resolution 18/5 of the Commission on Human Settlements, in which the Commission requested the Executive Director to promote a merger of the Urban Environment Forum and the International Forum on Urban Poverty into a new urban forum, with a view to strengthening the coordination of international support to the implementation of the Habitat Agenda.

What is the Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP)? The Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) is the means to realize the The UN-Habitat Policy and Plan for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Urban and Human Settlements (2014-19). The GEAP has been developed through a consultative process inclusive of UN-Habitat Gender Equality Unit (GEU), UN-Habitat Gender Focal Points (GFPs), and the Advisory Group on Gender Issues (AGGI). It was finally presented at the annual AGGI meeting held during the World Urban Forum (WUF-7) for review and feedback.

The GEAP is guided by the findings and recommendations of the Evaluation of Gender mainstreaming at UN-Habitat (2011) and Gender Mainstreaming Audit and GEAP 2008-2013 review (2012).

The guidelines outline the main principles underlying the democratic, constitutional/legal and administrative aspects of local governance and decentralization. At the same time they must be applied to specific conditions of State form (federal, regionalized or unitary), with different State traditions (for example, Napoleonic, Germanic or Anglo-Saxon, as well as traditions found in Asia, or in the Arab world).

For that reason they do not provide a uniform and rigid blueprint applicable to all Member States of the United Nations. They may be subject to national adaptations. Their main objective, however, is to support and guide legislative reform where necessary and appropriate.