UN-Habitat officials and global city representatives are meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, to issue a call to halt the global housing crisis.
The gathering underscores a growing humanitarian emergency where a lack of affordable shelter threatens urban stability and public health on a global scale.
More than 28,000 participants [1] are attending the World Urban Forum. The event brings together officials from UN-Habitat and representatives from cities worldwide to coordinate responses to deteriorating living conditions in urban centers.
Data provided by UN-Habitat indicates that 3 billion people [2] currently lack adequate housing. This shortage is not limited to developing regions but is a systemic issue affecting urban infrastructure globally.
The urgency of the forum is driven by projections regarding the future of urban poverty. Officials said that slum populations could triple [3] by 2050 if current trends in urbanization and housing shortages are not reversed.
Baku serves as the host for these discussions, focusing on the intersection of urban planning and human rights. The forum aims to establish frameworks that prevent the further expansion of informal settlements and ensure that housing remains a basic right, rather than a luxury commodity.
Delegates are reviewing strategies to scale up sustainable housing projects and reform land-use policies. The goal is to move beyond temporary shelters toward permanent, dignified housing solutions that can withstand the pressures of rapid population growth.
“3 billion people currently lack adequate housing.”
The scale of the World Urban Forum suggests that the UN is treating the housing shortage as a primary driver of global instability. By highlighting the potential tripling of slum populations, UN-Habitat is signaling that current urban development models are failing to keep pace with population growth, necessitating a fundamental shift in how cities are planned and funded.
