From emergency to sustainable local development. Success factors in housing and settlements solutions in urban crises.

Urban areas worldwide are increasingly facing humanitarian crises triggered by extreme events within the city itself or by a sudden influx of people displaced by disasters, conflict, or other human-made crises, straining the city's infrastructure, built environment, and resources.
Primarily showcasing examples from urban crisis in Beirut, Warsaw, and South-Central Türkiye, this session will highlight how local stakeholders have partnered with humanitarian and development organizations specializing in shelter and settlements and Civil Society Organizations to efficiently move from emergency response through mid and long-term recovery, towards sustainable and inclusive development. The session will build on the global expertise and direct involvement and learnings of the Urban Settlements Working Group of the Global Shelter Cluster.
• In Beirut, Lebanon, following the 2020 port explosion, national and local governments, CRS and HFHI partnered to support affected communities. This comprehensive response included housing repairs, improvement of housing tenure, interventions in storefronts and public spaces, aiding the economic recovery efforts, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic challenges.
• Warsaw, Poland, witnessed a staggering 15% population increase as a result of the influx of refugees from Ukraine in February 2022. HFH Poland intervened with a multi-phased approach that led to the facilitation, in partnership with the Warsaw City Council, of long-term social rental housing solutions for refugees and local population with low incomes. UNCHR and IOM have since joined effort to replicate this model in other Polish cities.
• In Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras Provinces, Türkiye, Miyamoto International partnered with local stakeholders to support community-led recovery efforts, ensuring culturally appropriate solutions and knowledge transfer.
These and other cases will illustrate key success factors for effective urban crisis response in the housing and settlements sector, including: 1) Ensuring a humanitarian-development nexus to guarantee long-term recovery and sustainable urban futures while responding to immediate crisis needs. 2) Adopting a settlements approach through area-based interventions that foster collaboration between local governments, humanitarian organizations, civil society, and development agencies, enabling more effective and comprehensive aid delivery, tailored solutions, and empowerment of residents. 3) Innovating towards adequate housing solutions that overcome urban challenges -such as limited land availability, complex governance procedures, and financial constraints- through the localized development of alternative tenure arrangements, and enhanced existing housing stock and collective spaces.
Drawing from on-the-ground experiences and partnerships, the panelists will share the lessons learned and key success factors for coordinated, effective and sustainable urban crisis response in the housing and settlements sector.