Date: Monday, 3 October 2022, 37th Anniversary.
Sponsor: United Nations
Objective:
The World Habitat Day is annually celebrated to “reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter”. The Day is also intended to “remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.”
Background:
Cities are centers for economic activities and engines of growth. Globally, people always move or flock from rural areas to cities and towns to realize their dreams of a better life. On the other hand, cities are a setting in which marginalization, social exclusion and inequality can abound because of difficulties in access to adequate housing.
With high levels of population density and/or poverty in numerous cities around the world, insufficient resources coupled with poor building techniques have given rise to shantytowns that have no proper infrastructure and security of tenure. These shantytowns are exceptionally vulnerable and highly subject to a complete breakdown in the event of a disaster of any kind, which may result in a chaotic situation and enormous loss of life.
To avoid the chaotic development of urban sprawl and all the associated problems in many countries around the world, there is a need to examine the problems of rapid urbanization and its impact on the environment and human poverty from time to time.
Inception:
The World Habitat Day was first celebrated in October 1986 with the theme “Shelter is My Right”.
In 1985, the United Nations General Assembly officially designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day, through the resolution A/RES/40/202, to spread and promote the idea that everyone deserves a decent place to live.
How to celebrate World Habitat Day:
On the Day, individuals, organizations, and communities are encouraged to host a range of educational and promotional activities, such as seminars, lectures, forums, conferences, and social media campaigns, to recognize the basic right of everyone to adequate shelter since a decent place to live can remove barriers to opportunity for a better life and a better future.
Each year’s global celebration of the World Habitat Day has a unique, novel emphasis. The theme is proposed by the United Nations, aiming to facilitate reflection on the state of our towns and cities, and the basic right of all to adequate shelter.
Annual theme in recent years:
2021 theme: “Accelerating Urban Action for A Carbon-Free World”
2020 theme: “Housing for All: A Better Urban Future”
2019 theme: “Frontier Technologies as An Innovative Tool to Transform Waste to Wealth”.
2018 theme: “Municipal Solid Waste Management”.
2017 theme: “Housing Policies: Affordable Housing”.
2016 theme: “Housing at the Centre”.
2015 theme: “Public Spaces for All”.
Official website:
www.un.org/en/observances/habitat-day
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