BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 20. The fourth day of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), hosted in Baku, has concluded, marking another series of significant international events and high-level agreements at one of the world's most prestigious urban planning platforms, which registered over 40,000 participants from 182 countries, Trend reports.
The day featured a specialized training session titled "Policies, Papers, and Bricks Capacity Building for Crisis Preparedness and Response." The session combined brief expert recommendations with a scenario-based simulation exercise. Five invited specialists representing local government bodies, academia, humanitarian agencies, and NGOs shared field-tested methodologies for disaster readiness and immediate response coordination.
On the sidelines of the forum, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Azerbaijan and Kenya. The document was inked by Anar Guliyev, Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and National Coordinator for WUF13, and Alice Wahome, Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development of the Republic of Kenya.
Concurrently, a high-level session titled "Transforming Informal Settlements and Slums for Housing" took place. Addressing the event, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy Mikayıl Jabbarov noted that while informal housing settlements existed to a certain extent during the Soviet era, they lacked official state recognition. In a parallel development, the city of Almaty utilized the fourth day of WUF13 to formally present its Vision Zero urban safety project.
Furthermore, an international panel discussion titled "Revival and Urbicide: Sustainable Urban Development and Resilient Communities" brought together government officials, academics, public activists, and international experts. The discussions centered strictly on the systemic destruction and comprehensive architectural reconstruction of urban environments, highlighting the sheer scale of devastation encountered across the liberated territories of Azerbaijan.
A major milestone of the day occurred as the Government of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) jointly established a new global accolade in the field of sustainable municipal development, the Baku Urban Award.
The fourth day concluded with a technical conference titled "Strengthening Urban Earthquake Preparedness ONE UN Solutions for Safer and More Resilient Cities," where international panelists focused extensively on mitigating the profound structural and environmental risks that earthquakes pose to rapidly expanding urban centers.
The forum, which runs through May 22, is jointly organized by the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) and the Government of Azerbaijan. Held under the theme “Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities,” WUF13 is focusing on issues including the global housing crisis, sustainable urbanization, climate resilience, and modern urban governance.
Below are some photos from the third day of WUF13 from the Baku Olympic Stadium:
Photo - Arif Guluzade
