Today there are 1-billion homeless people, mostly in the Third World. This is expected to rise to 2-billion by the year 2000. An urban revolution is underway with people migrating to the already overcrowded cities. Governments do not have the resources to solve the problem. United Nations conferences in Stockholm and Vancouver led to the formation of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements. The Centre has proposed that human settlements become the framework for development management. It has also proposed a new shelter coalition between governments, the private sector, and community based-organizations. The key is to enable communities to build shelter for themselves. Non-governmental organizations become mediators in this process. The homeless are now seen as a most important resource in tackling homelessness and unemployment in the Third World.