This booklet presents UN-HABITAT’s work in the perspective of international debate on urban planning. It provides a brief introduction to contemporary urban planning challenges and to international trends in urban planning. It also presents UN-HABITAT’s work on urban planning at country and global level in a succinct and structured way – mainly in line with the different areas identified in the 2009 Global Report on Human Settlements, highlighting both the diversity of entry points and experiences, as well as a convergence of lessons and global policy recommendations. It concludes with the future perspectives brought about by the UN-HABITAT Medium Term Strategic and Institutional Plan.