BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 21. Urban form constitutes much more than a simple allocation of physical space; it operates fundamentally as a metric of systemic performance, Chris Trott, Head of Sustainability Policy and Research at Foster + Partners (United Kingdom), said, Trend reports.
He made the remark during a specialized event dedicated to the Baku City Master Plan, held within the framework of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku.
According to him, the precise spatial layout of a city exerts a direct, unyielding impact on local mobility, baseline accessibility, and daily civic life.
"This lived experience ultimately dictates whether an urban transformation remains socially and politically viable over extended horizons. Engineering increasingly resilient, low-carbon municipalities depends on far more than just deploying cutting-edge technology or securing heavy capital investments. The core challenge requires that as a city expands, its citizens must continuously experience tangible, qualitative improvements in their daily lives. We recently completed exhaustive empirical research on London, utilizing it as an active baseline to evaluate diverse spatial expansion pathways within the 'London 2050' planning framework," Trott pointed out.
Furthermore, he noted that his research team systematically cross-analyzed four distinct urban growth strategies, ranging from hyper-dense, high-rise clusters to widely decentralized horizontal development models.
"A critical takeaway here is that merely introducing a polycentric (multi-centric) development model remains completely insufficient. A network of multiple urban hubs only achieves operational success when these centers undergo genuine physical integration through Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), mixed-use zoning, pedestrian-accessible links, and comfortable, vibrant public spaces where people actively choose to spend time," the UK expert explained.
Trott concurrently emphasized that more compact, interconnected urban forms naturally stimulate pedestrian foot traffic, bicycle micro-mobility, and public mass transit utilization, effectively driving down average daily trip distances while generating a significantly healthier urban environment.
"Conversely, fragmented, sprawled, and poorly coordinated metropolitan configurations inevitably accelerate private automobile dependency and necessitate much longer commuting distances. In reality, the built environment of a city actively engineers human behavior. A successful sustainable transition depends on far more than isolated architectural design, civil engineering, technology, or capital injection," he stated.
Concluding his address, Trott underlined that pedestrian-friendly access corridors, baseline accessibility, green infrastructure networks, active public life, and the preservation of local community identity must never be treated as secondary aesthetic components.
"These elements constitute a core part of the primary infrastructure required to cultivate highly resilient, adaptive, and low-carbon urban ecosystems. In essence, cities shape behavioral patterns, and those behavioral patterns ultimately dictate the trajectory of the global urban transition," he concluded.
Today marks the fifth 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.
One of the highlights of the third day was the signing of a sister-city memorandum between the Azerbaijani city of Shusha and the Turkish city of Trabzon.
The fourth day of WUF13 featured a broad program of events dedicated to urbanization, climate change, inclusive urban development, housing policy, and sustainable governance.
One of the important events of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) Cities Forum, held on the fourth day, was the announcement of Almaty’s official accession to the “Declaration of Intent on the Establishment of the SPECA Smart Climate-Resilient Cities Forum.”
Also, for the first time in WUF history and at Azerbaijan’s initiative, the “WUF13 NGO Forum: Global Partnership and Decision-Making” was held.
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.
