BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 21. No nation has
successfully resolved its housing challenges over the long-term
relying exclusively on international capital, rendering the
establishment of sustainable domestic financial mechanisms
absolutely critical, Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director of the
United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat), said,
Trend reports.


She made the remarks during a session titled "A New Deal for
Housing Finance" held within the framework of the 13th session of
the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku.


According to her, one of the core procedural challenges centers
on defining exactly what type of housing qualifies for funding and
determining the strategic modalities through which governments
intend to mitigate the global housing crisis.


"We must reach a consensus with society regarding how the
housing crisis undergoes resolution: whether the focus points
toward the eradication of informal settlements, the construction of
entirely new housing stock, and what specific standards this
housing must fulfill," Rossbach pointed out.


She noted that foundational approaches to urban development
exert a direct, measurable influence on overall real estate
valuation.


"It remains vital to evaluate whether we generate uncontrolled
urban sprawl or adhere strictly to the principles of the New Urban
Agenda, balanced development density, and more compact municipal
layouts. These structural choices reflect directly upon aggregate
infrastructure costs," the UN-Habitat Executive Director
emphasized.


Land, she noted, persists as the most capital-intensive
component within the housing supply chain, particularly across
central metropolitan districts. Rossbach underscored the necessity
of engineering efficient spatial planning instruments and land
policies capable of reserving specific land parcels for
construction, repurposing underutilized zones, and executing urban
renovation initiatives.


"If a state retains public land assets in its portfolio, half of
the operational challenge is effectively solved, given that the
land input enters the development equation at zero cost," she
said.


The head of UN-Habitat further stressed that successful
historical precedents of solving large-scale housing deficits
across diverse geographies anchored themselves primarily to
domestic funding streams. She cited China, European nations,
Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, and India as prime
operational examples.


"These countries successfully deployed domestic financing
mechanisms, such as state-backed savings accounts, cooperative
accumulations, and worker-retention funds combined with targeted
tax frameworks," Rossbach noted.


According to her, international financing can serve as a viable
catalyst or seed capital, but long-term sustainability materializes
only through constructing resilient national housing finance
frameworks.







"We can certainly leverage initial external financing to trigger
the process, but the ultimate goal must center on building
sustainable national systems for housing finance," the UN-Habitat
chief concluded.


Today marks the fifth day of WUF13 in Baku.


The first day included a ministerial meeting dedicated to the
New Urban Agenda, a ministerial roundtable, assemblies for women
and civil society, business sessions, and discussions on urban
prosperity. An official ceremony marking the raising of the UN and
Azerbaijani flags also took place.


The second day stood out for the inaugural Leaders' Summit,
featuring high-level discussions on the global housing crisis,
urbanization policy, and urban resilience. Concurrently, the
opening of the Mexico City pavilion took place, serving as a
significant platform for expanding cooperation with the Latin
American region and preparing for WUF14.


The third day of WUF13 featured a comprehensive program of
events covering the global housing crisis, the formation of safe
and inclusive cities, climate resilience, artificial intelligence
and urban governance, green urbanization, social equity, and
sustainable transport.


One of the highlights of the third day was the signing of a
sister-city memorandum between the Azerbaijani city of Shusha and
the Turkish city of Trabzon.


The fourth day of WUF13 featured a broad program of events
dedicated to urbanization, climate change, inclusive urban
development, housing policy, and sustainable governance.


One of the important events of the UN Special Programme for the
Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) Cities Forum, held on the fourth
day, was the announcement of Almaty’s official accession to the
“Declaration of Intent on the Establishment of the SPECA Smart
Climate-Resilient Cities Forum.”


Also, for the first time in WUF history and at Azerbaijan’s
initiative, the “WUF13 NGO Forum: Global Partnership and
Decision-Making” was held.


WUF13, which has attracted more than 40,000 registered
participants from 182 countries, will continue until May 22. Held
under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and
communities,” the forum brings together governments, international
organizations, experts, and representatives of civil society to
strengthen global cooperation in the field of sustainable urban
development.