Transformative climate action in cities
Cities today are at the forefront of climate change. Although they occupy only 2% of the earth’s land surface, they are home to more than half the world’s population and represent about 80% of the world’s energy consumption and more…
Foreword: Time for cities to take centre stage on forced migration
The turn of a decade is always a good opportunity to take a step back and assess some of the deeper trends driving our ever-shortening news cycles. As we look back over the last ten years, surely one of the…
Urban internal displacement: data and evidence
There is a persistent gap in the availability of accurate estimates of the scale of urban displacement. Even when such information is locally available, it is generally insufficient to inform prevention, response and durable solutions. Other types of data on…
Urban response: three principles for good practice
A review was recently conducted of good practice by humanitarian aid agencies (local and international non-governmental organisations, UN agencies, and members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement) in contexts of conflict, violence, displacement and natural disasters, including…
Urban planning for refugee housing: responding to urgent needs
Between January 2015 and December 2019 more than 82,000 refugees arrived in Hamburg in northern Germany, a city of 1.77 million people. Refugees in Germany are assigned to the country’s 16 federal states according to a distribution system based on…
Active citizenship in Athens
We founded the Syrian and Greek Youth Forum (SGYF) in 2018 to support community-building activities among refugees, asylum seekers, second-generation Syrians and Greek nationals. Our long-term goal is to help these and other communities become fully active citizens. Athens is…
Area-based approaches: an alternative in contexts of urban displacement
The last two decades have been characterised by a significant increase in humanitarian emergencies due to the frequency and scale of conflicts, natural hazards, displacement and rapid urbanisation. To strengthen the collective response to these emergencies, the Humanitarian Reform process…
Multi-stakeholder approach to urban displacement in Somalia
Displacement is shaping Somalia’s urban landscape and contributing to the country’s rapid urbanisation. Many internally displaced people (IDPs) have moved from rural areas to the main cities in search of shelter, protection and humanitarian assistance. For instance, in Baidoa –…
Urban planning in times of displacement: secondary cities in Ukraine and Niger
Urban displacement can have a significant impact on secondary towns and cities. This is especially true in southeastern Niger and eastern Ukraine, where some small urban areas are coping with considerable levels of conflict-induced displacement yet are particularly ill-prepared to…