BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 18. The 13th session of
the World Urban Forum (WUF13) is taking place at a critical time,
when the level of urbanization worldwide continues to rise, Wael
Al-Ashhab, a former UN-Habitat staff member and senior consultant
at the Regional Office for the Arab States, told Trend.
According to him, cities are facing rapid population growth,
which affects living conditions, employment, and housing.
“About 75% of the population will live in cities by 2050. This
will have a major impact on people’s living conditions, their
livelihoods, and housing,” he noted.
Al-Ashhab emphasized that housing is one of the forum’s key
themes.
“WUF13 places great emphasis on housing as one of the main
topics of discussion,” he said.
He also noted that the forum is addressing issues of climate
change and its negative impact on people around the world.
“There are many topics to discuss, so this forum is taking place
at an opportune time,” Al-Ashhab added.
