UN-Habitat launched the Catalogue of Solutions 2026-2029 on May 7, 2026, in response to mounting global challenges related to housing, inequality, and basic urban services.
The catalogue is a comprehensive collection of tools, methodologies, and advisory services aimed at helping governments and communities address urgent urban issues through practical and adaptable solutions.
It directly supports the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2026-2029, adopted in 2025, which prioritises adequate housing, land, and basic services for all. Drawing from decades of field experience, the catalogue compiles 81 tested and proven solutions implemented across different regions of the world.
The catalogue is built around three core pillars that shape UN-Habitat’s vision for sustainable urbanisation.
The first pillar, Strategic Focus, addresses housing, land management, informal settlements, and urban basic services. UN-Habitat estimates that by 2030 nearly three billion people — around 40 per cent of the world’s population will require adequate housing. This means approximately 96,000 new affordable and accessible housing units must be built every day. Yet nearly 100 million people remain homeless, while one in four people worldwide continue to live in unsafe and unhealthy conditions.
The catalogue also highlights the urgent need to improve access to urban services such as water, sanitation, waste management, energy, and mobility. Significant gaps persist globally, with one in four urban residents lacking safely managed drinking water and more than a billion people living in informal settlements without reliable services. Municipal solid waste generation has reached 2.4 billion tonnes annually, of which 45 per cent or 1.08 billion is mismanaged.
To address these issues, the catalogue promotes sustainable waste recovery systems, improved sanitation planning, resource-efficient buildings, and sustainable urban mobility solutions.
According to UN-Habitat, secure housing and reliable urban services are essential for improving living conditions and ensuring social inclusion, especially for vulnerable communities living in slums or informal settlements.
The second pillar, Impact Areas, focuses on equitable and inclusive prosperity. The UN body stresses that cities must ensure that the benefits of growth are shared by all, especially youth, women, migrants, and persons with disabilities. With 1.2 billion young people aged 15-24 globally, most living in developing countries, lack of employment and opportunities remains a serious urban challenge. The solutions therefore promote youth empowerment, community participation, social inclusion, and evidence-based policymaking.
The third pillar, Means of Implementation, highlights the tools and systems needed to transform urban strategies into measurable action. It highlights the importance of planning, digital innovation, finance, and governance. It encourages cities to adopt data-driven planning tools, smart technologies, and innovative financing mechanisms to improve service delivery and strengthen urban resilience.
In the area of local finance and economy, the solutions help cities develop financial strategies, enhance revenue generation, leverage land-based financing, and attract responsible investment through innovative mechanisms and partnerships.
The catalogue concludes that no single model can fit every city and calls for stronger international cooperation, financing, and long-term commitment to build resilient, inclusive, and sustainable urban futures.
As urban populations continue to expand, the report serves as a timely reminder that the future of humanity is increasingly urban. Creating resilient, inclusive and sustainable cities is not only a development priority but also a necessity for ensuring a better future for generations to come.