The UN-Habitat World Cities Report 2026 highlights the growing global housing crisis and emphasizes innovative approaches in planning, governance, finance, collaboration to drive sustainable urban development & long-term positive change. Launched at World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
UN-Habitat established in 1978 after the 1976 Vancouver Conference on Human Settlements, UN-Habitat is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and works to promote sustainable urban development worldwide. The organization works towards promoting socially and environmentally sustainable urban development while ensuring adequate shelter and housing for all. India has played an active role in the institution since its inception, being one of the founding members of UN-Habitat. Reflecting its growing engagement in global urban governance, India also served as the Chair of the UN-Habitat Governing Council from 2017 to 2019. The UN-Habitat has released a World Cities Report this year. As per the report, there is a global housing crisis. The pathways to action reveal that roughly 40% of the world's population which is nearly 3.4 billion people lacks access to adequate, safe and secure housing. The crisis is driven by many issues of rising costs, climate hazards and systemic inequalities.
What is the UN-Habitat World Cities Report 2026?
The UN-Habitat World Cities Report 2026- The Global Housing Crisis Pathways to Action, published by UN-Habitat, highlights that nearly 3.4 billion people around 40% of the global population are facing severe housing challenges, including inadequate shelter, escalating housing costs, and poor living conditions. The World Cities Report 2026 is the flagship biennial publication released by the UN-Habitat which stands for the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. It was launched at the 13th World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan. The 2026 edition is officially titled the Global Housing Crisis pathways to action. The report serves as a global reference tracking the state of worldwide urbanisation, real estate markets and municipal development.
Core Pillars of the World Cities Report 2026
The UN-Habitat World Cities Report 2026 The Global Housing Crisis Pathways to Action, Inspect the worldwide housing shortage through five key pillars. These interconnected dimensions highlight the contemporary challenges of achieving sustainable and inclusive urban development. The core pillars of the World Cities Report 2026 are affordable, displacement, informality, sustainability and liveability. Let’s take a look at the core pillars of the world cities report 2026:-
1. Affordable
As per the World Cities Report 2026 UN-Habitat , the housing prices are rising. Therefore there is a need to find solutions for the widening gap between stagnant household wages and soaring real estate prices.
2. Displacement
As per the UN-Habitat World Cities Report 2026, there’s housing loss due to displacement from conflict and forced evictions. Tracking and managing urban migration caused by geopolitical conflicts, human rights violations and climate shocks can reduce the problem.
3. Informality
The UN-Habitat World Cities Report 2026 suggests that improving infrastructure and basic services in unplanned urban spaces and slums can elevate the quality of housing. Informal settlements can be upgraded through community led development.
4. Sustainability
The World Cities Report 2026 UN-Habitat suggests a need to reduce the 17% to 21% of global greenhouse emissions generated directly by the housing sector. Also, executive energy resilient urban planning.
5. Liveability
The UN-Habitat World Cities 2026 is focused on designing inclusive urban areas that ensure universal access to clean water, healthcare and public transport. This will enhance the liveability of the housing areas and will make people occupy them.
Key Policy Shifts Suggested by the World Cities Report 2026
The World Cities Report 2026 by UN-Habitat reveals that nearly 3.4 billion people worldwide still lack adequate housing. To address the growing crisis of affordability and social exclusion, the report emphasizes treating housing as a public right, strengthening Local government in India, promoting community-driven solutions, and integrating climate resilience into urban planning and development. The World Cities Report 2026 suggests many policy shifts such as de-commodities, public investment, climate resilience and in situ upgrading. Let’s take a look at key policy shifts suggested by the World cities report 2026:-
1. De-commidities
World Cities Report 2026 suggests de-commodifying housing by transitioning from speculative market models to treating housing as a fundamental social right. There is a need to move away from treating real estate purely as a financial asset.
2. Public Investment
The UN-Habitat partnership urges governments to significantly increase direct funding for non-market, and affordable social housing. They should shift public budgets from short-term financial incentives for private developers toward direct and predictable funding.
3. Climate Resilience
The World Cities Report 2026 suggests buildings and construction sectors account for 37% of global energy related greenhouse gas emissions. There is a need for implementing green retrofitting and strict zoning laws to protect homes from escalating natural disasters.
4. In Situ Upgrading
The World Cities 2026 advocates for in-situ upgrading as the primary policy shift to address global housing problems. This will explicitly solve the traditional approach of mass evictions and relocation.
Major Reasons of Housing Crisis as per World Cities Report 2026
According to UN-Habitat’s World Cities Report, the global housing crisis affecting nearly 3.4 billion people is shaped by five interconnected challenges: persistent housing unaffordability, forced displacement, widespread urban informality, inadequate climate sustainability, and the declining liveability of cities and urban centers. According to the World Cities Report 2026, the major reasons for the housing crisis are expensive housing, pervasive informality, displacement, declining liveability and sustainability and resilience.
1. Expensive Housing
Housing prices and rental rates are severely outpacing household incomes. The global average house price-to-income ratio worsened from 9.5 in 2010 to 11.7 in 2023. For context, major metro regions in India see ratios soaring to 14.3 in Mumbai and 10.1 in Delhi.
2. Pervasive Informality
Rapid urbanization paired with insufficient investment has led to a historic rise in slums and informal settlements, housing over 1 billion people in overcrowded conditions without basic sanitation or secure tenure.
3. Displacement
Millions of people continue to be displaced from their homes due to escalating conflicts, violence, climate-related disasters and evictions. The report suggests strict legal bans of forced evictions so that people don’t lose their housing.
4. Sustainability and Resilience
Existing housing infrastructure is highly vulnerable to natural hazards and climate change which are projected to destroy 167 million homes by 2040. So there is a need for sustainable and climate resilient houses which don’t collapse due to natural hazards.
5. Declining Liveability
Sudden migration to cities has caused severe demand supply gaps and overstretched municipal infrastructures which is leading to declining liveability. Many government policies fail to integrate aspects of housing such as tenure security and accessibility.
Related Government Schemes in India
- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0: Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban PMAY-U Launched in 2024 under the Housing for All initiative, the scheme aims to provide housing assistance to 1 crore additional urban beneficiaries over the next five years.
- Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs): Introduced under PMAY-U, this scheme seeks to provide affordable rental housing near workplaces for migrant labourers and the urban poor.
- Smart Cities Mission (2015): The Smart Cities Mission focuses on the development of 100 smart cities through sustainable urban planning, enhanced infrastructure, and technology-driven governance.
- AMRUT Scheme (2015): Atal Mission For Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT). The Atal Innovation Mission (AMRUT) for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation aims to improve urban infrastructure by strengthening water supply, sewerage systems, and other essential civic amenities.
Global Homelessness Rate:
- China: 21 per 10,000 people
- India: 13 per 10,000 people
- United States: 20 per 10,000 people
- Brazil: 11 per 10,000 people
Status of Major Cities in India
- Mumbai: The city records a high housing price-to-income ratio of 14.3, reflecting severe housing affordability challenges.
- Delhi: The housing price-to-income ratio stands at 10.1, indicating growing pressure on urban housing accessibility.
- Homelessness: India reports 13 homeless persons per 10,000 population, comparatively lower than China (21) and the United States (20).
- Impact of Government Schemes: The report commended the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), under which subsidized housing coverage expanded significantly from 0.3% in 2010 to 7% in 2023.
- Ahmedabad Model: Ahmedabad’s Slum Networking Project was recognized as a successful demand-side intervention for improving urban housing and basic civic infrastructure.
Conclusion
The World Cities Report 2026 UN Habitat suggests that the growing housing crisis affects billions worldwide. The core pillars of the report are affordability, displacement, informality, sustainability and liveability. The report suggests some key shifts such as de commodities, public investment, climate resilience, and in situ upgrading. There are major reasons for the housing crisis as per the report such as expensive housing, pervasive informality, displacement, declining liveability and sustainable and resilience.