A UNITED NATIONS General Assembly Distr. GENERAL A/RES/51/177 11 February 1997 Fifty-first session Agenda item 96 (e) RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY [on the report of the Second Committee (A/51/604/Add.5)] 51/177. Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 47/180 of 22 December 1992, 49/109 of 19 December 1994 and 50/100 of 20 December 1995 on the convening of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), Recognizing the important role of cities and urban areas in economic, political, social and cultural development, and stressing the need to address urgently and comprehensively the deteriorating conditions of shelter and human settlements in rural and urban areas, Also recognizing the critical problems common to human settlements in the developing countries, including poverty, unemployment, social disintegration, inadequate shelter and lack of proper maintenance of urban and rural infrastructure and services, Cognizant of the importance of maintaining the momentum already generated at the national, regional and international levels for the implementation of measures designed to alleviate the deteriorating living conditions of increasing populations in both urban and rural settlements, Recognizing the interdependence of rural and urban development, Having considered the report of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II)1 and the report of the Secretary-General on the 1 97-76705 A/CONF.165/14. /...