Global housing is at a turning point. From Baku’s UN-Habitat forum to London’s UK Global Partnerships Conference, officials and experts are weighing in on informal settlements, climate resilience, and new development models. Below you'll find clear answers to the questions people are asking right now about these events and what they could mean for housing policy this year.
Both events highlighted urgent housing needs across the globe, with a focus on Safe and Resilient Cities, addressing informal settlements, and accelerating international cooperation. The discussions emphasized coordinating housing, climate resilience, and urban planning to tackle rising urban populations, while exploring new models of development cooperation and coalition-building to respond to global crises.
Policy conversations are centering on formal recognition, access to basic services, secure tenure, and scalable housing solutions. The aim is to translate commitments into practical programs that improve living conditions in informal settlements, while integrating them into broader urban development plans and resilience strategies.
Climate risk is now a core pillar of housing policy. Cities are prioritizing resilient design, flood and heat mitigation, and risk-informed zoning. The goal is to reduce exposure, protect vulnerable populations, and ensure housing remains safe and affordable even as climate threats intensify.
Expect shifts toward more robust funding for resilience projects, expanded support for upgrading informal settlements, and enhanced international development cooperation frameworks. Policymakers are also exploring faster implementation pathways, public-private partnerships, and shared standards for housing data and resilience investments.
For the UK and comparable markets, the events signal a push toward stronger collaboration with international partners, a focus on catalytic housing investments, and policies that align housing with climate and resilience objectives. This could translate into updated guidance for local authorities, more emphasis on scalable housing solutions, and clearer routes to resource mobilization.
Developments point to more coalition-based approaches, with shared priorities across nations and sectors. Expect greater emphasis on coordinating aid, technology transfer, and capacity-building to accelerate housing and urban resilience projects in vulnerable regions.
Global threats such as the climate crisis, disease and conflict will require a new approach to global development, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper tells the UK-hosted partnerships conference – but others warn that aid cuts curtail these ambitions