Delivering SDG 11 through Housing - Supporting National and Local Action in the UNECE Region

This event will highlight how sustainable housing policies and tools can accelerate progress towards SDG 11 in the UNECE region, focusing on countries in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It will demonstrate how evidence-based policy instruments and multilevel governance approaches can translate the 2030 Agenda into concrete action to tackle the housing crisis at national level, while addressing the conditions for effective subnational and local implementation.
The event will showcase the UNECE Country Profiles on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management, a flagship product of the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management. Speakers will introduce the Country Profile methodology, highlight recently prepared profiles and share how this tool has supported national governments in diagnosing housing challenges, strengthening governance frameworks that shape housing delivery at regional and municipal levels, and guiding reforms and implementation in line with SDG 11.
This national-level discussion will be anchored in the outcomes of the 2025 UNECE Ministerial Meeting on Housing Affordability and Sustainability, where ministers adopted commitments to scale up affordable, inclusive and sustainable housing policies, strengthen multilevel governance between national, regional and local authorities, and improve data and financing frameworks to address housing affordability challenges.
To complement experiences from transition and accession contexts, the event will feature a reference case from Spain, showing how housing has been embedded more systematically within a revised national Sustainable Development Strategy.
Overall, the event aims to equip participants with actionable tools, proven policy approaches and practical insights to advance sustainable housing and urban development across the UNECE region, with a particular focus on strengthening national frameworks, data systems and governance arrangements that enable cities and municipalities to deliver affordable and sustainable housing outcomes.