Guide on National Habitat Committees (NHCs)

In preparation for the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), held in Istanbul in 1996, many countries established National Habitat Committees (NHCs). These were innovative in that they combined central government, civil society and private sector representatives to engage productively in the urban debate. The committees were reconvened to prepare for Istanbul+5 in 2001. For both events, the NHCs were effective in identifying challenges as well as reporting on achievements in addressing urbanization, housing and slum issues.