The global housing crisis is hitting wealthy nations as hard as poor ones, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday, telling delegates at the World Urban Forum in Baku that "no society is immune, from fast-growing cities in the developing world to advanced economies with high rents and rising homelessness."
In a video message to the world leaders and policymakers gathered for the forum's second day of talks, Guterres said the crisis affecting nearly 3 billion people was "accelerating" amid "wider economic and geopolitical instability" and called on governments to put housing "at the centre of sustainable development."
He linked the issue to personal experience, recalling his volunteer work in poorer neighbourhoods in his native Lisbon. "I saw how profoundly housing affects people's health, education and future," he said.
Host country's leader, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, addressed delegates on the country's urban transformation.
He pointed to the redevelopment of what was once Baku's oil-contaminated industrial district into a mixed-use area now known as White City.
