From Goals to Homes - UIA SDG Tools and Award Cases for Safe, Resilient Housing Action

The UIA proposes an interactive “SDGs in Action” session that turns global commitments into practical tools for delivering adequate, safe and resilient housing. The session will be structured in two complementary blocks. First, a roundtable discussion will frame housing as a high-impact accelerator for sustainable development. Housing reduces vulnerability, improves safety, supports livelihoods and poverty reduction, and can lower emissions while strengthening climate resilience. The discussion will connect the global housing crisis with safety, resilience and the climate–housing nexus, and highlight how housing and neighbourhood investments can accelerate progress towards SDG 1, SDG 11 and SDG 13. Second, the session will move from discussion to practical application through the presentation of UIA tools, resources and evidence that help architects, cities and partners measure and scale SDG impact in housing and neighbourhood development. This will include the Architect’s SDG Toolbox, which links design decisions to SDGs, targets and indicators; the UIA Guidebook for the 2030 Agenda, which demonstrates the interaction of architecture with the Sustainable Development Goals through realised works and ideas from across the globe; lessons from the UIA 2030 Award, a UN-Habitat–UIA partnership showing how design quality can deliver measurable SDG outcomes; and the Atlas “3+3” evidence approach, enabling participants to connect local priorities and examples with a broader evidence base. Participants will be invited to reflect on how these practical tools can support housing and neighbourhood projects in their own contexts. Expected outputs: A shared set of housing SDG action checkpoints that city teams and practitioners can apply immediately. Commitments to pilot the Toolbox. A small community of practice linking local governments, practitioners, academia and youth to support continued learning and evidence-sharing beyond WUF13.