More than half of the world's population now lives in urban areas. At the same time there is a higher occurrence of human-induced and natural urban disasters, and increasing numbers of displaced migrating to cities and towns. How can the humanitarian and international community respond more effectively to humanitarian challenges in the context of cities, informal settlements, and slums?

This past week, the IIHA, in collaboration with Fordham's Urban Studies Program, held its first Urban Displacement, Vulnerability and Displacement: Humanitarian Challenges course at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus. The course, co-directed by Rosemary Wakeman, Ph.D., Director of the Urban Studies Program and Rene Desiderio, Ph.D., IIHA Research Fellow, was attended by 20 participants from 12 different countries representing 14 different organizations.

Over the course of the week, students learned about urbanization and migration trends and challenges and gained a better understanding of the theoretical frameworks underpinning the study of urban areas. The week welcomed IIHA Executive Director Brendan Cahill (IDHA 9), who opened the course; IIHA Helen Hamlyn Senior Fellow Alexander van Tulleken, M.D. (IDHA 16), who spoke about health responses in the urban context; UNHCR Senior Policy Advisor John Solecki (IDHA Guest Lecturer), who discussed cities and the UNHCR refugee policy; and Rick Fernandez (IDHA 39, IDHA Tutor), who offered noteworthy input and led the students in a disaster response scenario exercise.

Students also attended a briefing at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) where Brian Grogan, Chief of OCHA's Policy Analysis Innovation Section, and Romano  Lasker and Lilian Barajas, Humanitarian Affairs Officers at OCHA's Policy Branch, discussed the international humanitarian architecture and the role of OCHA in humanitarian response. The presentation was followed by a lecture on internal displacement in urban settings, delivered by OCHA Displacement Advisor Greta Zeender, who explored some of the issues concerning internally displaced persons (IDPs) in terms of access, protection, and gender. To facilitate a discussion about current initiatives that aim to bridge the gap between theory and practice, Lucy Earle, Ph.D., Urban Policy Advisor for DFID's Humanitarian Policy and Partnerships Group and co-lead of the Urban Expert Group for the World Humanitarian Summit, introduced DFID's urban crises program and emphasized the growing need for humanitarian responses informed by evidence-based research. The week closed with a visit to the Brooklyn Grange Navy Yard Farm to see the Refugee and Immigrant Fund (RiF) Urban Farm Recovery Project in action - a successful example of an urban refugee and asylum seeker livelihoods project.