Housing Resilience Key to Avoiding Urban Crisis in Asia-Pacific, Report Warns
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) – Across Asia and the Pacific, a widening gap between policy commitments and on-the-ground realities is creating a growing “resilience deficit” in urban areas, leaving millions vulnerable to climate change and disaster risks, according to a new report. The Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2026 warns the region is significantly off track to meet Sustainable Development Goals, with 88% of measurable targets projected to be missed by 2030 at the current rate.
The report, released Monday, highlights the critical need to prioritize adequate, safe, and affordable housing as a core component of urban resilience. Currently, around 700 million people – nearly one-third of the region’s urban population – live in informal settlements, often in areas prone to flooding, landslides, extreme heat, and rising sea levels.
“Access to adequate housing is a foundation of resilient cities,” says the report, emphasizing that safe and affordable homes provide stability and allow residents to access essential services. “Yet housing is often treated as a downstream outcome rather than a strategic investment in resilience.”
The urgency of the situation was underscored by recent events in Nepal, where UNICEF and the Republic of Korea have been responding to the needs of communities affected by floods and landslides. The challenges faced by those communities highlight the vulnerability of populations living in precarious housing conditions.
Experts say the issue extends beyond simply providing shelter. Urban informality reflects deeper structural weaknesses in urban systems, including gaps in land governance, planning, and service delivery. These weaknesses concentrate climate risks in the very neighborhoods where housing is most fragile.
However, improving housing conditions isn’t just about mitigating risk; it also generates broad development gains. Research from Habitat for Humanity indicates that large-scale upgrading of informal settlements could raise GDP per capita by up to 10% and increase life expectancy by four percent. Improvements could also prevent over 20 million illnesses, avert nearly 43 million incidents of gender-based violence, and avoid around 80,000 deaths within a single year.
Addressing this challenge requires coordinated action from governments, the private sector, and civil society. Governments must prioritize climate-resilient housing and informal settlement upgrading within broader urban development and disaster risk reduction strategies. The private sector can play a role by mobilizing blended finance to support affordable housing solutions and prioritizing locally sourced, low-carbon materials. Civil society and academic institutions are crucial for co-producing evidence-based solutions with communities and holding institutions accountable.
The future of urban resilience in Asia and the Pacific, the report concludes, will be largely determined in its informal neighborhoods. Failing to address the housing crisis will only push more families into precarious and hazard-exposed living situations. Aligning housing policy with climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and inclusive urban governance offers a powerful pathway to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and strengthen resilience across the region.