BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20. A conference titled "Strengthening Urban Earthquake Preparedness ONE UN Solutions for Safer and More Resilient Cities" has taken place within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Trend reports.
Speaking at the event, Dmitry Mariyasin, Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), highlighted the profound potential risks that earthquakes pose to municipal environments.
According to him, earthquakes instantly expose the deep structural vulnerabilities of cities. "Investments in resilience require allocation long before a crisis begins. Once a crisis occurs, it is already too late. The devastating earthquake that struck Türkiye a few years ago provided us with highly critical and urgent lessons," Mariyasin pointed out.
Babatunde Ahonsi, UN Resident Coordinator in Türkiye, emphasized that urban resilience should never undergo evaluation as a standard expense. Instead, he noted, it represents one of the most strategic and cost-effective investments possible for sustainable development. Civil society, academia, the private sector, and specifically the affected communities themselves must actively engage as co-creators of the recovery process.
Hasan Suver, Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change of Türkiye, detailed the extensive rehabilitation and structural engineering initiatives executed in Türkiye following the disaster. He stated that within this framework, a comprehensive social housing initiative, targeting the construction of 500,000 social housing units across 81 provinces and an additional 100,000 units in Istanbul, directly supports equitable access to safe and affordable housing.
Talantbek Imanakun Uulu, Deputy Minister of Construction, Architecture, and Housing and Communal Services of the Kyrgyz Republic, noted that a robust building code framework integrates construction rules, guidelines, and technical standards to ensure a standardized engineering approach nationwide. According to him, one of the primary outcomes of modernizing their regulatory base involves the mandatory implementation of advanced peak ground acceleration (PGA) mapping tools.
Today marks the fourth day of WUF13 in Baku.
The first day included a ministerial meeting dedicated to the New Urban Agenda, a ministerial roundtable, assemblies for women and civil society, business sessions, and discussions on urban prosperity. An official ceremony marking the raising of the UN and Azerbaijani flags also took place.
The second day stood out for the inaugural Leaders' Summit, featuring high-level discussions on the global housing crisis, urbanization policy, and urban resilience. Concurrently, the opening of the Mexico City pavilion took place, serving as a significant platform for expanding cooperation with the Latin American region and preparing for WUF14.
The third day of WUF13 featured a comprehensive program of events covering the global housing crisis, the formation of safe and inclusive cities, climate resilience, artificial intelligence and urban governance, green urbanization, social equity, and sustainable transport.
WUF13, which has attracted more than 40,000 registered participants from 182 countries, will continue until May 22. Held under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities,” the forum brings together governments, international organizations, experts, and representatives of civil society to strengthen global cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development.
