Blog Post

World Cities Day 2025 celebrates “People-centred Smart Cities”—a vision worth pursuing and one that requires that we explore what it means to truly center people in our vision of the future.   The smart city narrative promises elegant solutions: sensors, algorithms, and data analytics making cities more efficient, sustainable, and livable. Yet across cities worldwide, these...

October 6 marks Urban Crisis Response Day, a moment to examine not just how we respond to crises, but what questions guide our responses in the first place.   Cities worldwide face what leaders call a “housing crisis.” They have largely defined this crisis as a crisis of supply, rather than what it truly is:...

Last month, the Taskforce on Affordable and Sustainable Housing (TASH) submitted critical feedback to the European Union as part of a call for evidence regarding the EU’s development of its first-ever affordable housing plan. The initiative aims to address the housing crisis affecting millions across Europe, but TASH’s response highlighted significant gaps that demand attention....

In April of this year, The Shift brought together experts and municipal leaders for the Beyond Tents: Rethinking Encampments webinar, to explore how a human rights approach can transform local responses to homelessness. As part of the tools provided to attendees, we created the Human Rights Scorecard for cities to assess how well their current...

As we reflect on the first quarter of 2025, The Shift continues to advance housing rights across Europe and beyond through strategic partnerships, advocacy, and knowledge sharing. Our team has been engaged in several initiatives that are helping to reshape housing policy and strengthen the role of cities in addressing housing challenges.   Rome: “All...

Leilani Farha & Kirsten McRae The U.S. Supreme Court recently delivered a devastating blow to homeless people, greenlighting the criminalization of poverty and denying the most vulnerable group in America potentially life-saving Constitutional protections. In a chilling decision, the Court ruled that jailing and fining people for sleeping outdoors on public property when they have...

By Kirsten McRae The world is facing two dire crises; the global housing crisis and the climate crisis. The urgency of these crises cannot be overstated. Today, 1.8 billion people worldwide lack access to adequate housing, while in Europe alone, 80 million people face housing unaffordability. Simultaneously, to limit global warming to 1.5°C, we must...

Building a more sustainable future, one home at a time: a call for housing resilience and adaptation in Canada Senator Rosa Galvez As a Canadian Senator, engineer, and grandmother, I firmly believe that the right to housing is one of the most fundamental human rights. Housing is a basic human need and a cornerstone of...