World Urban Forum highlights systemic urban housing failures and collective action needed
Original framing: “World Urban Forum backs ‘Baku Call to Action’ on global housing crisis” — UN News
The housing crisis has deep roots in colonial land dispossession and post-colonial urbanization. Historical parallels can be drawn with the 20th-century urban renewal projects in the Global North that displaced marginalized communities for profit-driven development.
The Baku Call to Action represents a critical step toward addressing the global housing crisis, but it must be grounded in a more inclusive and systemic understanding of urban development.
By integrating indigenous land stewardship, historical lessons from displacement, and cross-cultural housing models, urban policy can move beyond market-driven solutions. Community-led planning and land value capture mechanisms offer actionable pathways to create more equitable and sustainable cities. The voices of the urban poor, often excluded from global forums, must be central to any meaningful reform. Only through this holistic and participatory approach can the housing crisis be truly addressed.