The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations published a statement on urban planning on July 28. The Vatican has urged the United Nations (U.N.) to include the homeless in efforts to create sustainable cities, stating that the “persistence of homelessness should trouble the conscience of the international community.” It also explained that homelessness, beyond merely lacking a home, prevents people from exercising their fundamental human rights. “Homelessness undermines the ability to exercise many fundamental human rights and often traps individuals and families in cycles of exclusion and poverty.” The homelessness epidemic, however, is not only a concern for the Holy See; politicians are voicing similar concerns.