Dignity by Design

The built environment – the places where we live, work, and interact with others – has a defining influence over our ability to lead healthy, fulfilling lives. Our efforts to address the world’s major challenges like inequality, mass migration, and climate change hinge in many ways on what we build, where, how, and for whom. 

IHRB has developed the Framework for Dignity in the Built Environment, linked to existing standards and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Framework aims to guide decision-making and strengthen collaboration, in order to mitigate risks to human rights and maximise social outcomes throughout the built environment lifecycle. There is a clear need to shift investment into built environments that enable everyone to thrive. We are working to achieve this at three inter-connected levels:

  • Ecosystem level: Working to build a global community of leadership, practice, and innovation, starting with the Coalition for Dignity in the Built Environment
  • Policy-level: Scaling action and strengthening accountability by embedding higher standards in procurement, investment practices, contracts, certification programmes and industry standards.
  • Project-level: Piloting the Framework on real-time building and infrastructure projects to integrate social equity outcomes from the outset, track progress, and share lessons-learned.