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| Last Updated:: 18/10/2024

World Habitat Day

The United Nations' (UN) World Habitat Day is annually celebrated on the first Monday of October to reflect on the state of human settlements and people's right to sufficient shelter. It also aims to remind people that they are responsible for the habitat of future next generations. As part of the day, various activities around the world are organized to examine the problems of rapid urbanization. In particular, on this day, governments and local authorities are encouraged to hold observances to encourage greater awareness about the need to improve our living environment. The UN's World Habitat Day was first celebrated in 1986 with the theme "Shelter is My Right". Nairobi was allocated as the host city for the observance that year. A new theme is selected every year to focus on the issues specific to the theme. 

 

Purpose of celebrating it

  • To pay a big attention towards the need for better shelter all over the world.
  • To share the priority of affordable and adequate housing everywhere.
  • To bring the positive changes in the systems including policies and attitudes of person causing poverty housing.
  • To reflect on the states and towns and pay attention on the basic human rights for adequate shelter.
  • Aims to increase the awareness worldwide of joint responsibility for the future generation’s habitat

 

The international theme for World Habitat Day

2024:  “Engaging Youth to Create a Better Urban Future"

2023:  “Resilient Urban Economies. Cities as drivers of growth & recovery"

2022:  “Mind the Gap. Leave No One and Place Behind"

2021:  “Accelerating urban action for a carbon-free world"

2020: “ Housing For All — A Better Urban Future”.

2019: “ Frontier Technologies as an innovative tool to transform waste to wealth”.

2018: “Municipal Solid Waste Management”.

2017: “Housing Policies: Affordable Homes”.

2016: “Housing at the Centre”.

2015: “Public Spaces for All”.

2014: “Voices from Slums”.

2012: “Changing Cities, Building Opportunities”.

2011: Cities & Climate Change

2010: Better City, Better Life

2009: Planning our urban future

2008: Harmonious Cities

2007: A Safe City is a Just City

2006: Cities, magnets of hope

2005: The Millennium Development Goals and the City

2004: Cities - Engines of Rural Development

2003: Water and Sanitation for Cities

2002: City-to-City Cooperation

2001: Cities without Slums

2000: Women in Urban Governance

1999: Cities for All

1998: Safer Cities

1997: Future Cities

1996: Urbanization, Citizenship and Human Solidarity

1995: Our Neighbourhood

1994: Home and the Family

1993: Women and Shelter Development

1992: Shelter and Sustainable Development

1991   Shelter and the Living Environment

1990: Shelter and Urbanization

1989: Shelter, Health and the Family

1988: Shelter and Community

1987: Shelter for the Homeless  

1986: Shelter is my right