The 85th session of the UN Economic Commission for Europe Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management was held on 2–4 October 2024.

It supported regional exchange of experiences and good practices on promoting affordable, adequate and climate-neutral housing, including through a dedicated workshop of 2 October that addressed challenges and priorities regarding housing affordability in the UNECE region. As a follow-up, the key messages of the workshop will be conveyed to a ministerial meeting initially scheduled to be held on 8 October 2025, as part of the 86th Committee session.

At the Committee, the Geneva UN Charter Centres for Sustainable Housing and Smart Sustainable Cities tabled a background document and held a panel discussion to present
their activities and expertise for supporting implementation by cities of Agenda
2030 and “Place and Life in the ECE – A Regional Action Plan 2030”.

In their presentation, the Centre of Excellence on Smart Sustainable Cities at the Glasgow School of Art, emphasised the importance of continuing collaboration on developing tools and methodologies designed to “turbocharge” the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to support more effective and accelerated progress.