Cities Face Numerous Informal Settlements - UN-Habitat Chief

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 21. Cities already face serious problems, including numerous informal settlements, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) Anacláudia Rossbach said at a roundtable event titled "Children and Youth" within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Trend reports.

She reminded that in 2050 this figure will reach 70%.

"However, the main thing is that 2 billion more people will come to cities. However, cities are already facing serious problems, including numerous informal settlements. If we focus on Africa, hundreds of millions of young people are expected to move to cities in the next 20 years - about 600 million to 900 million.

Thus, urbanization and the global housing crisis disproportionately affect large parts of the population, especially children and young people, in regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia, as these regions face the enormous 'tsunami' of urbanization," she emphasized.

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.

--

MENAFN21052026000187011040ID1111149570