For her first report, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Ms. Elena Díaz Galán, intends to dedicate her thematic report to the 81st session of the General Assembly, to be presented in October 2026, on the issue of people living in poverty in cities.

Urbanization is a global trend, reshaping how poverty is experienced by many, in particular groups in situations of vulnerability. Today, more than half of the world’s population already lives in urban areas and the vast majority of global population growth is expected to occur in cities, with the fastest expansion taking place in Africa and Asia. Projections suggest that by 2050, nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas.

Yet, rapid and unplanned urbanization has been accompanied by the expansion of informal settlements, increasing numbers of people living in inadequate housing without security of tenure, and the deepening of social, labour, cultural and economic inequalities. These dynamics often exacerbate existing patterns of discrimination and exclusion, particularly for those already living in poverty.

While States have the obligations of protecting and promoting human rights and combatting poverty, local Governments in cities are often on the frontlines of delivering services that are essential for the promotion of the human rights of inhabitants, in particular in regard to the rights to housing, water, sanitation, health, culture, education and social protection.

Objectives

The thematic report aims to provide information and recommendations, including to national authorities and local governments, that can help strengthen policies and practices to combat poverty in cities, related to:

• The specific interactions between urbanization models and the increase or decrease of poverty in cities;
• The structural causes and drivers of urban poverty and extreme poverty;
• The identification of promising and replicable practices at local level.

Key questions and types of input/comments sought

The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights would be particularly grateful for comments, observations on the following areas:

A. Impact of current urbanization on the increase of poverty
1. How is urbanization considered as a tool for reducing inequalities and discriminations and combatting poverty?
2. How are human rights principles—particularly equality, non-discrimination, participation, and access to remedies—integrated into urban planning and governance, and what accountability mechanisms exist when urbanisation policies exacerbate poverty or discriminatory outcomes?
3. To what extent do current urbanisation patterns result in unequal access to essential services (housing, water, sanitation, energy, education, transport, healthcare), and how do these inequalities intersect with discrimination against specific groups (e.g. migrants, ethnic minorities, women, persons with disabilities)?
4. Do contemporary models such as the “15-minute city”, smart cities, or transit-oriented development effectively reduce poverty and inequalities, or do they risk reinforcing exclusion through rising costs, digital divides, or socio-spatial segregation?

B. Structural causes and drivers of urban poverty and extreme poverty
5. How do prevailing economic, growth-oriented, or market-led approaches to urbanization shape policy priorities, and with what consequences for people living in poverty?
6. To what extent are informal settlements and marginalized neighbourhoods excluded from service provision?
7. How affordability issues relating to housing, water, sanitation, education, energy, transports disproportionally impact people living in poverty in urban settings?
8. Are there specific intersections of poverty and discrimination in cities that increases poverty and vulnerability of certain groups? If yes, which ones? 
9. What are the drivers of precarious work, low wages, informality, platform/gig work vulnerabilities, and exclusion from labour protections in cities?

C. Diagnosing urban poverty
10. How is urban poverty defined and measured at national and local level (including multidimensional poverty, cost-of-living, housing poverty, and access-to-services metrics)? Have human rights indicators been developed ?
11. What data practices create risks of exclusion, profiling, or stigma, and what safeguards exist?

D. Promising practices and challenges at local level
12. Are there human rights-based law and programmes that address poverty at local levels?
13. What are the challenges local governments face in term of national legislation, financing and other constraints for delivering basic services to those that are the most in need? 
14. Are there promising practices regarding pro-poor tariffs, fee waivers, targeted subsidies with safeguards, universal access strategies for
water/sanitation/energy/transport/digital access.
15. Are there examples of inclusive local economic development that can combat poverty through, inter alia, living wage policies, local job guarantees/public works adapted to urban needs, support to informal workers, safe vending zones, childcare infrastructure, just transitions and green jobs.
16. What reforms to legal mandates, fiscal arrangements, or intergovernmental coordination would be most impactful at local level to combat poverty and inequalities?

How inputs will be used?

Unless specifically requested otherwise and provided they are in line with UN norms and standards, submissions may be posted on the Special Rapporteur’s homepage at the OHCHR website and may be referenced in the reports. If you do not wish your written input or any other information to be published, please make this explicitly clear in your email. In view of consent and privacy issues, contributions containing names of alleged victims will be considered but not published online.