Patricia Scotland: Conflicts in Middle East have triggered a global housing market crisis

The consequences of conflicts in the Middle East have gone beyond a regional tragedy and triggered a full-scale structural crisis in the global housing market, Patricia Scotland, representative of the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, said during the discussion on the Middle East crisis and its impact on global housing and urban development held within the framework of World Urban Forum 13 in Baku.

Report quotes her as saying the consequences are being felt far beyond the conflict zones in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen - from overcrowded informal settlements in Africa to strained rental markets in Europe and vulnerable urban communities across the Asia-Pacific region.

"The current situation is not merely a humanitarian emergency; it is a structural global housing crisis. If we do not act together and wisely, people who neither created nor caused this crisis will continue to bear the heaviest burden," Scotland emphasized.

She compared the scale and speed of the spread of the consequences of this housing crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the level of global impact is comparable.