UN Review Warns Cities Are Falling Behind on Housing, Services and Climate Resilience
The United Nations warned during a high-level review of its New Urban Agenda that cities are falling behind as conflict, climate shocks, rising housing costs and inadequate services converge into a single urban crisis.
The review, held at United Nations Headquarters on July 16–17, 2026, during the General Assembly’s 80th session, focused on “delivering sustainable urbanization for all” and accelerating implementation of the New Urban Agenda through 2036.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres linked the pressures directly to the way cities are planned and governed. Conflict is pushing families into urban areas, climate shocks are overwhelming homes and infrastructure, and higher costs are making housing and basic services less accessible, according to the United Nations.
A mixed picture on urban progress
Data accompanying the review shows that cities have made measurable progress in one area: the share of urban residents with convenient access to public transportation rose from 53.2% in 2020 to 61.5% in 2025. The figures cover more than 400 cities.
That improvement, however, sits alongside a much larger housing and land-use challenge. About 1.16 billion urban residents lived in slums or informal settlements in 2024, according to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11 data.
The same reporting found that only about 17% of urban land was allocated to streets and open public spaces during the 2020–2025 period. The cited benchmark is 30% to 45%, leaving a substantial gap between current urban land use and the level associated with more accessible public space and connected communities.
The statistics are global measures rather than a single city-by-city outcome adopted at the review. They point to broad patterns, but do not mean that every city experienced the same change in transport access or the same housing conditions.
Implementation is the central challenge
The New Urban Agenda sets a framework for sustainable urban development, but the review’s emphasis was on turning that framework into local action. The United Nations called for stronger implementation by cities and other local authorities, integrated planning, policy reform and stronger institutions.
That focus matters because housing, transportation, public services and climate exposure are experienced together at the household level. A family displaced by conflict may need housing and transit access at the same time that a city is dealing with extreme weather, strained infrastructure and higher construction or rental costs.
The review therefore framed urban pressures as a global governance and financing challenge rather than as isolated problems in individual cities. Local governments are often responsible for the services residents rely on, while the pressures affecting those services can cross borders or be driven by national and international events.
Better-connected streets and public spaces can support access to services, but the land-use figures show how far many urban areas remain from the cited benchmark. Similarly, improved access to public transportation does not resolve the broader problems reflected in the number of people living in informal settlements.
What comes next
The stated next step is faster local implementation of the New Urban Agenda through its 2036 horizon, supported by integrated planning and institutional strengthening. The review’s recommendations are directed toward governments and urban institutions that must translate the agenda into housing, transport, infrastructure and resilience policies.
The United Nations remarks did not establish a binding new financing commitment or a treaty-level obligation. Their significance lies instead in setting out the scale and connection of the problems—and in pressing cities and national governments to respond through coordinated local action.
Sources
- Midterm Review of the New Urban Agenda, United Nations
- SDG Indicators: Goal 11, United Nations Statistics Division and UN-Habitat
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