Azerbaijan’s third National Urban Forum brought global experts together to promote sustainable, climate-resilient cities, in the lead-up to the World Urban Forum 2026.
Azerbaijan’s National Urban Forum in Khankendi gathered more than 400 participants from 64 countries to explore how cities can become more sustainable, resilient and inclusive.
Organised in partnership with UN-Habitat, the three-day event focused on climate-resilient design, innovative housing and smart urban planning. Experts highlighted the importance of densification, heritage preservation and youth engagement to shape healthier urban environments.
“These whole urbanisation patterns that we observed in the past, they are just not sustainable in the future,” Anacláudia Rossbach, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, told Euronews. “We have to look at how cities are growing, we have to plan and design smart strategies such as densification.”
As Azerbaijan prepares to host the 13th World Urban Forum in 2026, participants emphasised the need for collaboration between local and international stakeholders to ensure cities are equipped to meet future social and environmental challenges.