Urbanization has improved the standard of living for many people in the country as it often brings in greater wealth and economic opportunities for the national population. But, unless these opportunities are well managed through balanced growth policies, it can leads to an increase in urban poverty, a rise in socio-economic inequality and informal settlements poorly served with basic services. In recognition of the need to better address these issues, the Ministry of Lands and Survey (MLHS), has requested UN-Habitat for support to undertake the urban profiling in the Solomon Islands.

Urban Profiling embraces a sequence of actions taken to assess development needs and capacity issues at national and local levels. It employs a participatory approach where priorities are agreed on through city consultation processes and has been implemented in over 30 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, under the Participatory Slum Upgrading Programme (PSUP).

The urban profiling consists of three parts: (1) the use of localised questionnaires to collect information and to seek opinions from senior representatives of public, private and popular institutions at national and city levels, examining structures and processes in selected thematic areas in order to suggest priority interventions and to develop brief proposals through broadbased city consultations, (2) undertake prefeasibility studies on selected priority projects, and (3) project implementation, linking them to potential capital investment opportunities.

PSUP in Solomon Islands encompasses a national profile as well as profiles for Honiara and Gizo, each published as a separate report. This is the Auki Urban Profile, which following provincial level discussions, it was agreed to focus on five key areas; governance, informal settlements and housing, urban-rural economy, urban safety and resilience, and land and planning.