UN-Habitat Chief Urges Cities To Pair Connectivity With Inclusivity

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The development of connectivity must go hand in hand with inclusive development, the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) Anacláudia Rossbach said, Trend reports.

Speaking at a panel titled“Cities at the Center of Connectivity: Urban Reconstruction and Regional Cooperation,” Anacláudia Rossbach noted that despite the rapid expansion of opportunities for interaction in the modern world, the problem of inequality remains relevant.

She noted that the world is now more connected than ever before: intercontinental routes are measured in days, data is transmitted in milliseconds, and new transport corridors, energy networks, and digital infrastructure are transforming entire regions. However, approximately 2.8 billion people lack safe and adequate living conditions, and millions have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict and climate change.

“The world is more connected than ever before, but at the same time, it is more unequal than necessary. Without inclusivity and a broad socio-economic vision, connectivity turns into a massive infrastructure from which only a few benefit,” she emphasized.

According to a UN-Habitat official, multimodal corridors not only accelerate the movement of people and goods but also reshape the economic geography of entire regions.

She noted that strategic corridors connecting Africa and Europe, as well as Asia, are among the most important infrastructure projects of our time. Increased comprehensive investment along the Middle Corridor, connecting China, Central Asia, the Caspian region, Azerbaijan, and Europe, creates new opportunities for cities located along this route in terms of economic diversification.

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