UN-Habitat Executive Director Anacláudia Rossbach has called for a new multilateralism to address the global housing crisis, APA reports.
She made the remarks during the event titled “Advancing Housing Through Multilateralism: From Global Commitments to Local Impact” held within the framework of WUF13, noting that discussions focused on the global housing crisis, inequality in access to data, and a new model of multilateralism as key issues.
“Relying solely on scientific research is not enough to solve the existing problems in housing and urban development. It is important to involve practitioners working on the ground more actively in the process and to apply a ‘co-production’ approach. There are serious disparities between the Global North and the Global South in terms of access to data and institutional capacities. Some data is either completely inaccessible or remains ‘closed,’ which negatively affects decision-making. As a result, many practitioners do not have the opportunity to document their work and build data systems. Therefore, stronger cooperation among governments, societies, and international organizations is required.
There is also a gap between the political and technical spheres. Urban planning and housing policy are not only technical issues, but also political in nature, especially in matters such as land use, where major political decisions play a role. Within the framework of WUF13, it was an important step forward that heads of state and experts came together on the same platform for the first time to discuss urban planning and housing policy at a technical level.”
