World Habitat Day-2015
The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day. The purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It 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.
World Habitat Day was established in 1985 by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 40/202, and was first celebrated in 1986.
Each year, World Habitat Day takes on a new theme chosen by the United Nations based on current issues relevant to the Habitat Agenda. The themes are selected to bring attention to UN-Habitat’s mandate to promote sustainable development policies that ensure adequate shelter for all.
These themes often promote a one of UN-Habitat’s focal areas, such as:
· Inclusive housing and social services
· A safe and healthy living environment for all — with particular consideration for children, youth, women, elderly and disabled
· Affordable and sustainable transport and energy
· Promotion, protection, and restoration of green urban spaces
· Safe and clean drinking water and sanitation
· Healthy air quality
· Job creation
· Improved urban planning and slum upgrading
· Better waste management
World Habitat Day 2015 will be celebrated on 5 October 2015 under the theme Public Spaces for All.
The Future of Places is a multi-stakeholder initiative established by UN-Habitat, Ax:son Johnson Foundation and Project for Public Spaces, bringing together over 500 organizations and more than 1500 individuals. The Urban Thinkers Campus is an initiative of UN-Habitat’s World Urban Campaign, conceived as an open space for critical exchange between urban actors who believe that urbanization is an opportunity and can lead to positive urban transformations. It is also intended as a platform to build consensus between partners engaged in addressing urbanization challenges and proposing solutions to urban futures. The Future of Places Campus will provide a platform for discussing public space in the New Urban Agenda that will be decided at Habitat III in 2016, but also in other important global processes such as the Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21/CMP11). In This day is also the launch of the Urban October month of celebrations, events and activities.
Urban Themes
The urban themes are:
Mobility 
EconomyExplore urban data
Urban data are available since 1950 onwards of 10 Regions, 220 Countries and 741 cities all over the World. The urban indicators data available here are analyzed, compiled and published by UN-Habitat’s Global Urban Observatory which supports governments, local authorities and civil society organizations to develop urban indicators, data and statistics. Urban statistics are collected through household surveys and censuses conducted by national statistics authorities. Anyone can use open data, download specific country and city indicators. The indicators are as follows:
1. Slum Dwellers
2. Population
3. Resilience
4. City Prosperity
5. Street
6. Transport
7. Health
8. Education
9. Crime
10. Land area
Total length of road network (km)
Rural population
Urban population – Countries
Urban slum population – Countries
Total population