Foreword

More than 50 million people in 15 member States of the United Nation Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) live in informal settlements. Rapid urbanization, poverty and lack of access to land and ownership, in addition to limited or no social housing, have led citizens to build their homes illegally under very poor environmental and social conditions. The phenomenon is growing at an exponential rate in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia, and calls for urgent political, legal and planning solutions.

Related Subject(s): Human Settlements and Urban Issues