At the 2016 United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), Habitat for Humanity welcomed the adoption of the New Urban Agenda. As part of this framework, we committed to reduce poverty and foster more sustainable cities by increasing access to decent shelter for over 200 million people by 2036.
Key progress over eight years
Increasing access to adequate and affordable housing through a new global urban approach
Habitat for Humanity’s Global Urban Approach, or GUA, guides our urban work, ensuring it is people-centered, evidence-based, integrated, targeted and aimed at systemic change. The approach is implemented in collaboration with key stakeholders from communities, as well as the public and private sectors.
- Successful pilot in Liberia: The GUA has been successfully piloted in Liberia, improving the living conditions of 30,000 slum dwellers in Peace Island. It has also enhanced the local housing market and influenced policy changes.
- Urban focus and diverse models: Habitat for Humanity has developed five distinct urban models that tailor the GUA to local contexts. By refining, expanding and promoting these models, we aim to scale up our impact and drive meaningful urban transformation worldwide.
- Collaborative platforms for urban housing: Habitat for Humanity has established Urban Housing Practitioners Hubs, or UHPH, across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa. In Latin America and the Caribbean alone, the platform engages over 186,000 practitioners who share knowledge on housing and urban settlements.
Improving policies and systems to secure equitable access to land and adequate housing in informal settlements
Through our global advocacy campaigns Solid Ground (2016-2020) and Home Equals (2023-2028), we have achieved significant progress in policy and systems change worldwide. Solid Ground impacted over 12 million people in 40 countries by improving access to land and housing. In its first year, Home Equals has already reached 2.8 million people, focusing on policy and systems change to increase access to adequate housing in informal settlements.
Accelerating and facilitating better functioning inclusive housing markets to enable access to improved shelter solutions
Through the Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, Habitat for Humanity has empowered over 47.4 million people to access better housing by leveraging market systems. This approach has also unlocked $12.1 billion in affordable housing finance, generating large-scale, sustainable impact in housing solutions.
Increased access to adequate housing
From 2016 to 2024, Habitat for Humanity has successfully implemented a wide range of community development strategies, advocacy efforts and market-driven approaches. Over the last seven years, these initiatives have significantly expanded housing access and affordability, impacting 52.8 million people worldwide.