The Expert Group Meeting on the Use of Urban Observatories as a Tool for Localizing Urban and Social Policy in the ESCWA Region (Beirut, 1-2 December 2009) was organized by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) within the work programme of the Social Policy in the City Team. The main purpose of the meeting was to review the use of urban observatories within a framework of social policy and sustainable urbanization. Its main goals were to explore issues of urban observatory frameworks and networks, localize social policies and urban governance, focus on the complex urban issues that will be monitored by urban observatories and address the processes involved in localizing social and urban policies to achieve sustainable urbanization. The meeting sought to deepen knowledge of the urban situation in the cities and countries of the ESCWA region, covering the dynamics of urban settings, problems related to sustainable urbanization, and the institutionalization and networking of urban observatories. The meeting also included a special session for the regional launch of the Global Report on Human Settlements 2009 – Planning Sustainable Cities: Policy Directions and concluded with a set of recommendations addressed to Governments and United Nations agencies.