The journey towards a New Urban Agenda began in the 1960s until the early 1970s. At that time, urban areas began to experience a surge in population, which was caused by the movement of people from villages to cities. This migration occurred in line with improving economic conditions in urban areas and increasing poverty in rural areas.

The Habitat Secretariat is part of the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (Ministry of PUPR) which is responsible for, among other things, implementing the national and international habitat agenda, as well as preparing documentation and information on housing and settlement development.

As a follow-up to the III Habitat Conference (Quito, 2016), the development of national level Habitat institutions was directed by Bappenas as a focal point supported by the National Habitat Secretariat by the daily secretary under the Ministry of PUPR.

2015 is an important year for Indonesia towards Habitat III. Indonesia was given the opportunity to host several agendas towards Habitat III. In preparation for these various activities, there was the initiation of a new national urban forum, one of which was the holding of the National Urban Forum (NUF)