On the third day of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, delegates delivered a stark message: armed conflict and climate change are reshaping urban environments at a pace that outstrips the capacity of governments to respond. The discussions, anchored by the release of UN-Habitat's latest World Cities report, underscored a global housing crisis that affects nearly 3 billion people, with more than 1.1 billion living in slums or informal settlements.
Ukraine's Reconstruction as a Test Case
Mykola Kalashnik, head of the Kyiv Regional Administration, told Euronews that his region has restored nearly 30,000 damaged or destroyed structures since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. “Thanks to our president, government, parliament, and international partners, we have managed to rebuild 80% of them. The total number of restored facilities now stands at 24,000,” he said. Azerbaijan has become a direct partner in this effort, with state oil company SOCAR among the contributors. Completed projects include a school in Irpin, a hospital, and a shelter. Four more are underway: a residential building, an arts centre, a sports school, and social infrastructure. Irpin has also established a partnership with Lachin in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, and 100 children from the Kyiv region are set to attend a health retreat in Azerbaijan this summer.
The Ukrainian experience illustrates a broader challenge: war destroys not only homes but also the social and economic fabric of cities. As UN Chief Warns No Nation Immune from Housing Crisis at Baku Forum, the need for cross-border cooperation in post-conflict reconstruction has never been more urgent.
Climate Change and Demographic Shifts
Climate change emerged as the other dominant theme. Dr. Moges Tadesse, chief resilience officer for Addis Ababa, warned that its consequences for African cities are already severe. “Climate change is a global challenge, but it doesn't affect only housing. It affects the economy, it affects also human life, and it is very disastrous,” he said, calling for greater international investment to help vulnerable countries absorb costs generated largely by wealthier nations.
Demographic pressures compound the crisis. Economist Jeffrey Sachs, president of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, told delegates that “Africa will not be rural in 25 years.” Sub-Saharan Africa's urban population is forecast to double within a quarter-century, adding roughly 1 billion people to cities that are already struggling. In Latin America, the dynamic moves in the opposite direction: around 20% of households now consist of a single person, driving demand for smaller, more affordable urban units.
Rejecting One-Size-Fits-All Housing Models
Saudi philanthropist Princess Lamia bint Majid Al Saud pushed back against uniform global housing models. “We don't have a one size fits all, because whatever suits in Saudi Arabia, it doesn't suit in India, it doesn't suit in Europe, it doesn't suit in America,” she told Euronews, arguing that cities must design communities around their own contexts rather than importing solutions developed elsewhere. This sentiment resonates with the findings of the World Urban Forum in Baku Highlights Global Housing Divide as Crisis Demands Cross-Border Solutions.
Europe's Housing Scandal and the Need for Private Capital
The European Union's own housing crisis drew sharp commentary from Matthew Robert Baldwin, the European Commission's deputy director-general leading its Affordable Housing Task Force. He noted that an estimated 20% of housing units across the 27-member bloc sit vacant while short-term rentals surge. “In all these overheated housing markets? That's a scandal,” he said. Baldwin argued that public investment alone would not suffice: “All the public money in the world would never be enough. We need to find a clever way to crowd in private finance, that patient and responsible capital not looking for a fast buck, to support affordable housing for everybody.” The task force has proposed an eight-point plan for improving affordable housing across the bloc. He struck an optimistic note, saying, “There are many different arrows in our quiver, and for the first time, we've got housing as a priority issue. Let's take the bull by the horns and challenge it.”
The World Urban Forum in Baku: Why Housing Crisis Demands Global Action highlights that housing prices are rising faster than incomes across many regions, compounded by climate-related displacement and growing inequality. Ben Arimah, head of UN-Habitat's Global Reports and Trends Unit, warned that “housing problems in cities will increase even more by 2050. Only 25% of the world's population can use mortgages to secure housing. This shows that the financial capacity of the majority of people is insufficient.”
As the forum continues, the message from Baku is clear: cities are on the front lines of the 21st century's defining crises, and the tools to address them must be as diverse as the communities they serve.
