Housing to remain key at World Urban Forum

Boma Yangu new Mukuru housing estate. [Wilberforce Okwiri,standard]

Kenya is urbanising at a higher rate than the global average, further coupled with a high population growth. As per World Bank 2023 data, Kenya`s urbanization rate stands at 3.8% compared to the global average of 1.7%.

The country`s urban centers continue to witness high population which has contributed to the 2% growth per annum in population, way ahead of the global average of 0.9%. Whereas urbanizing and population growth is generally a good thing, it has created a housing crisis in the cities.

In 2002, when Nairobi hosted the first World Urban Forum (WUF) that brought together a wide range of stakeholders to explore how to best harness potential of the housing agenda for building safe communities, the City's population was 2.38 million.

Now, 23 years down the line, as all roads head to Azerbaijan for the 13th edition of the World Urban Forum next year, Nairobi`s population has more than doubled to 5.7 million, further straining the Capital`s housing, with World Urban Forum keen to bring solutions to such challenges.

The World Urban Forum, co-organized by the Government of Azerbaijan and UN-Habitat in Baku in May 2026 will focus on “Housing the World – safe and resilient Cities and Communities.” A pioneer summit for heads of states and governments focusing on the importance of urban planning for global development is expected to be one of the key components of the WUF13.

While in Kenya the housing deficit persists and interventions such as affordable housing project front, in the host nation of 13TH WUF, major reconstruction and rehabilitation programme for the territories liberated following 30 years of occupation by the neighboring Armenia is underway. Azerbaijan hopes to turn the page of conflict focusing on peace and development in the region.

This comes at a time a historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia was brokered by the US and signed between Azerbaijan President and Armenia Prime Minister. The agreement is set to offer stability and enhance partnership in the region; which will broaden the opportunities for the 13th World Urban Forum.

477 million US dollars were allocated only in the first quarter of 2025 with the total budget of the programme started in 2020 having already exceeded 10 billion US dollars. The return of internally displaced persons dubbed as the “Great Return” has necessitated the urgent need for housing and infrastructure. The government says by the end of 2026, around 140,000 IDPs resettled in the area.

For Kenya, the housing deficit is on the rise with many urban areas experiencing a growth in high-density informal settlements. This paints a picture of the disparity between the 250,000 homes per year demand in Kenya and the 50,000 units supply annually.

To worsen the situation, only 2% of the supplied houses cater for low-income earners, who dominate the population. Efforts by the Kenya Kwanza administration under the affordable housing project are geared towards reducing these disparities with WUF13 set to offer more insights to settle the perennial housing challenges, especially in urban areas.

This is expected to be beneficial at a time the Kenya Urban Authority is pushing counties to increase Own-source revenue if they are to solve the urban development crisis.

After hosting COP29 in 2024, Azerbaijan is expected to focus on how Climate Change impacts Urban development. This is expected to be one of the key topics during the WUF, particularly given the fact the Forum will take place on the eve of the World Environment Day 2026, to be also held in Azerbaijan in June 2026.

Areas of collaboration

National Coordinator of WUF13, Chairperson of the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan Anar Guliyev has very good working relations with Alice Wahome, CS for Lands, Public Work and Housing, a relationship that will see Kenya play an important role in the WUF13.

This builds on the first ever visit by foreign affairs minister from Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, visits from Heydar Aliyev Foundation Vice-president Leyla Aliyeva, Chairman of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan Hon Justice Inam Kerimov, Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev as well as Chairman of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency Orkhan Mammedov.

With over 1.1 billion people living in informal settlements, WUF13 has a critical role of presenting diverse solutions that the world can adopt for safer cities.