Launch of the book Routledge Handbook on Labour in Construction and Human Settlements The Built Environment at Work

The book launched by this Urban Library session is a timely contribution to WUF debates on inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities. The book argues that urban development outcomes—housing, infrastructure, climate resilience, and public space—are inseparable from the conditions under which the urban workforce produces and uses the built environment.
Cities depend on millions of workers engaged in construction, maintenance, services, and informal urban livelihoods, yet labour is often treated as peripheral to urban policy. This Handbook brings labour back to the centre of urban decision-making. It offers a comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of how employment generation, job quality, skills, gender, migration, informality, climate action, and technological change intersect with housing markets, infrastructure provision, and human settlements.
Drawing on global case studies from both the Global South and North, the book directly supports implementation of the New Urban Agenda by demonstrating that investments in housing, infrastructure, and climate transition will not be sustainable unless decent work, workforce development, and social protection are addressed simultaneously. The launch will highlight key policy-relevant insights for national and local governments, UN agencies, practitioners, and urban stakeholders.
Why this matters for cities now
Cities face converging crises: housing unaffordability, informality, climate shocks, skills shortages, and widening inequality. At the same time, massive investments in urban infrastructure and climate transition are underway. This moment presents both risks and opportunities. Without a labour-centred approach, these investments may deepen inequality and precarity. With the right policies, they can generate decent jobs, strengthen local economies, and accelerate inclusive urban transformation.
Objectives
• To position labour and decent work as core pillars of inclusive and sustainable urban development
• To provide policy-relevant evidence linking housing, infrastructure, and climate action to employment quality
• To support implementation of the New Urban Agenda through integrated labour–urban policy perspectives
• To foster dialogue among policymakers, practitioners, and researchers on people-centred urban development