The thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 17 to 22 May 2026. The theme of WUF13 is: Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities.
Exploring market innovation opportunities such as blended finance structures, green and municipal bonds, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and digitally enabled land and property systems. Cities are growing rapidly, with an anticipated 68% of the world's population living in cities by 2050. This growth is driving housing and infrastructure demand that remains chronically unmet. primary drivers of this deficit are weak financing systems and poor linkages between planning and development. Globally, there is$1.5Trillion gap in annual infrastructure financing (World Bank). Urban planning is a powerful value creation instrument when aligned with infrastructure sequencing, regulatory certainty and market-responsive land-use controls. Interventions such as land-use zoning and strategic infrastructure investment can significantly increase land and property values. Capturing this uplift through instruments such as land value capture, development charges, tax increment financing and betterment levies provides a critical revenue base for municipalities. This strengthens fiscal capacity to finance infrastructure and service delivery, while also improving the bankability of urban projects. Well-planned areas reduce the development risk, enhancing tenure security and provide predictable regulatory environments, conditions critical to unlocking private sector participation and expanding access to mortgage finance. As land values stabilize and urban form becomes more efficient, financial institutions are better positioned to underwrite housing loans, deepening mortgage markets and enabling scalable housing delivery. The session will focus examine how risk allocation, incentives, and institutional alignment shape outcomes across the planning-finance-development nexus. It brings together developers, planners, academics, and the private sector to examine these implications and shape the future of urban planning and finance. Developers are primarily driven by returns and regulatory predictability; thus, streamlined approvals, serviced land, and clear development rights can catalyze investment and accelerate supply. Planners focus on spatial and regulatory functions, and they must engage with financial mechanisms and market dynamics to ensure plans are implementable and fiscally grounded. Financial institutions bring instruments for blended finance, credit enhancement, and long-term capital that can de-risk projects and expand affordability. However, risks persist, including land speculation, displacement, infrastructure financing gaps, and weak municipal capacity to capture value. The session will therefore explore market innovation opportunities such as blended finance structures, green and municipal bonds, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and digitally enabled land and property systems, to strengthen the housing supply chain and inclusive, resilient, and financially sustainable urban development. Moderator: (Luis/Omar) Keynote: Subhagato Dasgupta, Chief of Section, Planning and Finance Section, UN-Habitat
