The 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku has highlighted urgent global concerns over the worsening housing crisis, according to Anaclaudia Rossbach, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).


Speaking at a panel discussion titled “The Global Housing Crisis – What’s the Plan?”, Rossbach said the forum brought together diverse approaches to addressing one of the world’s most pressing urban challenges, Caliber.Az reports via local media. 


“No single organization has a one-size-fits-all solution to the housing crisis. The answers are scattered across various fragments, but we managed to bring them together at WUF13. Let me highlight a few points. First, housing solutions must be comprehensive. This is precisely what we discussed at the Open Working Group on Housing, a key Member State initiative supported by UN-Habitat. Housing policy must be integrated with legal and planning reforms. Land is key: we need land management, land policy, and, of course, informal settlements remain an emergency that requires solutions. We're talking about more than 1 billion people living in informal settlements,” she noted.


Rossbach stressed the need to treat housing as part of broader social, economic, and environmental planning, including the development of both small and large urban centers.


“But the approach must be comprehensive and contextual: housing must be linked to social, economic, and climate objectives. Second, expanding access to decent housing is not just about building new units. We still need to expand the housing stock to address the shortage, particularly in growing cities and in countries of the Global South, where housing is still insufficient. However, we have opportunities to regenerate the urban environment and expand the supply of housing for low-income groups. Wherever you look in cities, you see empty buildings and underutilized spaces. This requires close attention. Informal settlements already provide housing for a significant portion of the urban population. Their potential must be recognized and harnessed,” she added.


She also warned that rapid urbanisation will place enormous pressure on global housing systems in the coming decades.


“Looking ahead: by 2050, as everyone knows, the world's population will have grown significantly. Another 2 billion people will move to cities, primarily to urban agglomerations in Asia and Africa. Moreover, half of this growth will be concentrated in just eight countries. This is not a smooth and gradual process. This is the fastest wave of urbanization in modern human history. Therefore, the key question I raised yesterday in my speech is: do we understand this? Are we ready? Yes – we must be ready. I hope that WUF13 will help us mobilize resources and increase our preparedness to overcome this crisis,” Rossbach added.


Rossbach also said UN-Habitat’s upcoming strategy will focus heavily on addressing housing challenges worldwide.


“We all understand how crucial the housing issue is for addressing all the challenges related to the Sustainable Development Goals: health, education, employment, and access to water. We all understand that housing is critical for cities: cities that provide well-located, affordable housing with the necessary infrastructure are more productive, competitive, and inclusive, and also have a broader revenue base. However, today, 10 years after the adoption of the New Urban Agenda, which put housing at the center, and 50 years after the creation of UN-Habitat, which initially focused on housing issues, we still face the problem of housing affordability. This is not a gap. We are talking about one in three people on the planet. That is why this is a global crisis,” said Rossbach.


She added that housing affordability is now a global issue affecting both developing and developed countries.


“According to her, existing housing systems are not working for everyone, and the new systems that are emerging need to be strengthened and stabilized. Affordability is the main common denominator. What was once a structural problem in the Global South now affects cities and residents in the Global North. We see that today, almost half of households spend more than a third of their income on housing. And this figure varies across different regions of the world. Spending 30% of income in a city in South America or Africa is practically beyond the pale,” she added.


By Sabina Mammadli