Anaclaudia Rossbach: WUF13 helped unite disparate solutions to global housing crisis

The 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) provided an opportunity to gather responses and approaches to addressing the global housing crisis, Anaclaudia Rossbach, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), said at the panel discussion "The Global Housing Crisis - What's the Plan?" as part of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Report informs.

"No single organization has a one-size-fits-all solution to the housing crisis. The answers are scattered across various fragments, but we managed to bring them together at WUF13. Let me highlight a few points. First, housing solutions must be comprehensive. This is precisely what we discussed at the Open Working Group on Housing, a key Member State initiative supported by UN-Habitat. Housing policy must be integrated with legal and planning reforms. Land is key: we need land management, land policy, and, of course, informal settlements remain an emergency that requires solutions. We're talking about more than 1 billion people living in informal settlements," noted Rossbach.

According to her, it's necessary to look at the territory as a whole-to understand the dynamics of small and medium-sized cities, as well as to recognize the larger challenges facing large urban agglomerations.

"But the approach must be comprehensive and contextual: housing must be linked to social, economic, and climate objectives. Second, expanding access to decent housing is not just about building new units. We still need to expand the housing stock to address the shortage, particularly in growing cities and in countries of the Global South, where housing is still insufficient. However, we have opportunities to regenerate the urban environment and expand the supply of housing for low-income groups.

Wherever you look in cities, you see empty buildings and underutilized spaces. This requires close attention. Informal settlements already provide housing for a significant portion of the urban population. Their potential must be recognized and harnessed," she added.