UN-Habitat Warns Cities Will Need 167 Million More Homes by 2040
UN-Habitat’s World Cities Report 2026 projects that cities will need 167 million additional homes by 2040, turning the global housing crisis into a long-term urban planning challenge for governments around the world.
The report was launched on May 20 during the World Urban Forum. It presents housing not as a single-sector problem, but as a central part of whether cities can grow inclusively, withstand shocks and connect people to jobs and essential services.
The 167 million figure is a projection of future need, not a count of homes currently missing worldwide. The report’s focus is broader than homelessness. It includes problems involving housing adequacy, affordability, access to land and the relationship between homes, infrastructure, employment and basic services.
A housing problem tied to how cities function
UN-Habitat links housing pressure to several conditions that often reinforce one another. When suitable land is difficult to access and housing costs rise, residents can be pushed farther from employment, transportation and services. That separation can make it harder for urban areas to deliver the inclusive development described in the report.
The report also connects housing policy with resilience. Natural catastrophes and climate-related risks threaten cities, settlements and infrastructure, making the location and quality of housing part of broader disaster-preparedness decisions.
That means adding homes alone would not resolve every problem identified by UN-Habitat. Housing systems also have to address affordability, safe and resilient construction, access to infrastructure and the distance between homes and economic opportunity.
Costs are putting basic services out of reach
The report’s warning comes as the United Nations continues to review progress under the New Urban Agenda, the global framework for sustainable urban development. At a July 16, 2026, review meeting, the UN said rising costs were pushing housing and basic services further out of reach.
That concern gives the projected 2040 need a practical dimension. The challenge is not only how many homes cities may require, but whether households will be able to afford them and whether those homes will be connected to the services and opportunities that make urban life workable.
The pressure applies across different types of urban areas. UN-Habitat’s World Urban Forum materials describe the report as addressing megacities, secondary cities and urban housing systems worldwide, rather than assigning the problem to one country or one metropolitan area.
A call for coordinated action
UN-Habitat calls for stronger and more coordinated urban-housing systems and policy action. The report places responsibility for that effort across national and local governments, reflecting the way housing decisions are split among planning, land, infrastructure, public services and climate policy.
The United Nations has likewise called for national governments and international partners to work with local leaders. That approach recognizes that cities often manage the immediate consequences of housing shortages while national governments control or influence financing, regulation and broader development policy.
The next stage is therefore policy coordination rather than a single announced construction target. Governments will need to use the report’s projected need as part of decisions about land, affordability, resilience, infrastructure and access to jobs and services.
UN-Habitat’s central warning is that housing cannot be treated as separate from urban development. As cities expand and face climate and disaster risks, the choices made about where and how people live will shape whether that growth is affordable, connected and resilient through 2040.
Sources
- World Cities Report 2026: Global Housing Crisis — Pathways to Action, UN-Habitat
- Media advisory: launch of World Cities Report 2026, UN-Habitat / World Urban Forum
- Secretary-General’s remarks at the midterm review of the New Urban Agenda, United Nations
Look for updates to this story
Discover more from Interactive News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
