Centre for Environment and Human Settlements

The Centre for Environment and Human Settlements (CEHS) is an international centre providing teaching, training, research and knowledge transfer services in planning, housing and environments for the rapidly urbanising world. This is targeted to a wide range of international, governmental, private sector, non-governmental and community organizations. It has a strong focus on policy issues, institutional development, civil society roles and good practices in regional and urban development, urban management, and housing in conditions of rapid urbanisation. CEHS is the only academic-based centre in Scotland specialising in shelter in the global South and is one of a limited number of specialised centres in the UK offering such a range of services in this field.

Over half the world's population is urban, and this is projected to rise to 67 per cent (about 5 billion) by 2030. Most of this growth will take place in cities of the South, and much of this in so-called informal areas, which require new approaches to planning and housing. CEHS activities contribute to the understanding of these urban phenomena and appropriate contextualised responses, as well as to development of new policy and action-research based approaches to produce knowledge that is internationally excellent and has direct impacts.