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FOREWORD
Internal displacement is increasingly a protracted andurban phenomenon. Existing rapid urbanisation can befurther accelerated with the arrival of people fleeing
conflict and disasters, which in turn has serious implications for municipal authorities and urban communities
coping with the rapid influx. In fragile settings withweak planning systems and capacities, this leads tofast and unplanned urbanisation, further aggravating
inequalities, and generating further risk of displacement
and instability.
This year’s Global Report on Internal Displacement highlights the many challenges, but also opportunities, thatcities face today when dealing with internal displacement. It also demonstrates a changing humanitarianlandscape where internal displacement poses risks toboth current and future crises. In cities, considering
the additional strain placed on already limited local
capacities and resources, durable solutions require that
local, national and international actors integrate internal
displacement into urban development strategies andfinancing.
Increasing demand for adequate housing, dignified jobs,
quality health care and education, social protection andparticipation in public life presents opportunities for ourcities and host communities. Investments in resilient
infrastructure, including accessible road networks andpublic transport, and services, such as water, electricity
and waste management, as part of urban growth strategies, can contribute not only to individual well-being but
also to urban economic growth, thereby accelerating
the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
It is along these same lines that ensuring adequate infrastructure and service provision to returning refugees
and internally displaced people can contribute to socialcohesion and stability, and the overall resilience of a city.

GRID
2019

Cities today are faced with ever-increasing risks associated with disasters, violence and conflict. Cities can also,
however, offer sanctuary to those who have lost theirhomes and livelihoods and facilitate access to durable
solutions.
The analysis undertaken by the Internal Displacement
Monitoring Centre shows that we still have a long
way to go. Significant data gaps mean that we still
do not know how many people are displaced in cities
and what the pull and push factors are. Limited understanding of the relationship between urban change anddisplacement risk are also thought to result in millionsof unaccounted forced evictions every year. Despite
existing normative frameworks at the international andnational levels to manage and reduce urban displacement, progress remains slow.
The New Urban Agenda, Sustainable Development Goal
11 on resilient cities, the Sendai Framework and the Paris
Agreement on Climate Change, provide a shared roadmap for our collective efforts. We must strive to collectively deliver on our commitments captured in these
global agendas, so that we do not fail the millions ofinternally displaced people across the globe and so that
we work towards cities that can flourish, providing a fairand equitable urban future for all. This Global Reporton Internal Displacement represents an important step
towards attaining this vision.

Maimunah Mohd Sharif
United Nations Under-Secretary-Generaland Executive Director, UN-Habitat