BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 14. The world is facing
a large-scale housing crisis, with cities at the center of these
challenges, said Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of the
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), during a
briefing dedicated to the 13th session of the World Urban Forum
(WUF13), Trend
reports.
“Today, about 300 million people worldwide are homeless, while
more than 1 billion live in informal settlements or slums without
access to clean water, basic infrastructure, healthcare, and
education. Many of them live in high-risk areas and are among the
first to face the consequences of climate change,” she said.
According to Rossbach, nearly half of the world’s population,
around 3 billion people, live in inadequate housing conditions.
She noted that in the coming decades, an additional 2 billion
people are expected to move to cities, which will increase global
urbanization levels to about 70%. This trend will place additional
pressure on infrastructure, particularly in countries across Africa
and Southeast Asia.
Rossbach emphasized that ensuring safe and affordable housing is
a key condition for achieving the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
“The main task today is to ensure safe and decent housing for
the growing urban population,” Rossbach added.
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