Beyond crisis urban responses to displacement in drought-stressed cities through housing and Wash infrastructure

Across the world, displacement and climate risks are increasingly converging in cities (UNHCR 2024). Today, most forcibly displaced people live in urban areas rather than camps (ibid.), often settling in low-income neighborhoods and informal settlements where housing is more affordable and livelihoods are accessible through the informal economy (Cocina et al 2025). These same neighborhoods are frequently the most exposed to climate risks (ibid.), placing both displaced populations and host communities under compounded pressure. This reality highlights housing as a critical interface between humanitarian responses and urban development. In crisis situations, housing is often treated as a short-term emergency need, while in urban contexts it is central to long-term resilience, inclusion, and equitable service provision. The session will provide compelling evidence to support recommendations that long-term urban responses, particularly those addressing adequate housing, tenure security, and access to basic services, can simultaneously meet urgent humanitarian needs and strengthen host cities. It will focus on how access to WASH services and infrastructure in drought-stressed cities can support safe and resilient cities and communities. The session will launch new publications from the Drought in Displacement research project, bringing together comparative evidence from two very different urban contexts: Lusaka, Zambia, and Mafraq, Jordan. Through this comparison, the session explores how access to adequate housing, tenure security, and WASH infrastructure shapes everyday experiences of drought and displacement. It will unpack how urban interventions can bridge the gap between emergency responses and long-term sustainable urban development, benefitting both displaced communities and host populations. The session will be organized as a panel discussion with audience Q&A. Content drawn from the discussion will be recorded for later release as an episode of the International Institute for Environment and Development’s podcast Make Change Happen. Bringing together perspectives from UN agencies, academia, community-based organizations, and action-research institutions, the session will also amplify voices from affected communities through short, pre-recorded messages. This format ensures an interactive, grounded discussion that connects global debates on housing, climate, and displacement with practical urban responses that cities can act on.