The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) will participate in the World Urban Forum 13 (WUF13) in Baku, Azerbaijan. Organised by UN-Habitat, the forum will focus on the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities,” bringing together governments, practitioners, researchers, and civil society to advance solutions to the housing crisis.
- Date
- Sunday 17 May 2026, 09:00 - Friday 22 May 2026, 17:00
- Type
- Conference
- Spoken Language
- English
- Location
Baku Olympic Stadium
Theme: Housing the world
The forum highlights the urgent need to address the global housing crisis and position housing as a key driver of inclusive, resilient, and sustainable urban development. With nearly 3 billion people facing inadequate housing and over 1.1 billion living in informal settlements, WUF13 will explore integrated, context-sensitive solutions across housing systems, urban planning, climate resilience, governance, and land and tenure security.
Taking place at the midpoint of the New Urban Agenda, WUF will contribute to shaping global dialogue and inform the 2026 UN Secretary-General’s report on its implementation.
Urban Expo
As part of our commitment to the New Urban Agenda, IHS will host an exhibition booth part of the Urban Expo. This year, we are highlighting our collaboration with Inform2Build, showcasing how integrated research and strategic partnerships are essential to navigating the complexities of modern urbanisation. Visitors to our booth will have the opportunity to interact with IHS experts and learn more about our ongoing initiatives in affordable housing, urban resilience and informal settlements.
Meet the IHS Delegation
- Alonso Ayala - Senior Expert in Housing and Human Settlement Planning
- Anthony Boanada-Fuchs - Head of Projects and Partnerships
- David Dodman - General Director
- Lucas Snaije - Research Officer
- Maartje van Eerd - Senior Housing and Social Development Specialist
- Mihaela Kracholova - Marketing & Communications Officer
- Pamela Duran Diaz - Senior Planning Specialist
- Paul Rabé - Lead Specialist in Urban Land Governance
- Satya Maia Patchineelam - SPARK Network Coordinator, Project Assistant
(In alphabetical order)
Opportunities to connect with our delegation at the IHS-Inform2Build booth at the Urban Expo:
| When | Title of the event | IHS representative |
|---|---|---|
| 19 May, 11:00-12:00 | Information session and Q&A: Disaster risk reduction in contexts of informality | Pamela Duran Diaz |
| 19 May, 15:00-15:30 | Meet & Greet: IHS Head of Projects and Partnerships | Anthony Boanada-Fuchs |
| 20 May, 15:00-15:30 | Meet & Greet: IHS General Director | David Dodman |
| 21 May, 13:30-14:30 | Information session and Q&A: Ismailia slum upgrading and sites and services longitudinal research project | Maartje van Eerd and Alonso Ayala |
| 21 May, 15:00-15:30 | Meet & Greet: The IHS Housing team | Maartje van Eerd and Alonso Ayala |
IHS events at WUF13
IHS will contribute to discussions at WUF13 by engaging with partners and stakeholders on key themes such as housing systems, inclusive urban development, and strategies for addressing informal settlements. Our participation will focus on sharing knowledge, fostering collaboration, and contributing to ongoing global dialogue on sustainable and resilient cities.
Application of the 5As principles of adequate housing along the house value chain of the national housing policy of India
The training event focuses on evaluating policy approaches aimed at providing adequate housing that address these urban challenges. It will combine two practical analytical frameworks to evaluate housing policy approaches using a specific case study. The frameworks are the 5 A’s Principles of Adequate Housing and the House Value Chain (HVC). analytical framework considers five principles, namely, availability, accessibility, affordability, acceptability and adaptability.
Time: 9:30-11:30
Type of event: WUF Academy Training event
Location: Multipurpose room 06
In partnership with: HUDCO, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs India
IHS speaker: Maartje van Eerd, Senior Specialist in Housing and Social Development and Alonso Ayala, Senior Specialist in Housing and Human Settlement Planning
See event page
Disaster risk reduction in contexts of informality
Time: 11:00-12:00
Type of event: Information session
Location: IHS-Inform2Build Booth
IHS speaker: Pamela Duran Diaz, Senior Planning Specialist
Policy, Planning & Digital Governance for Sustainable and Resilient Housing Planning
Time: 12:00-13:30
Type of event: Panel discussion
Location: Pakistan Pavilion
Organised by: The Government of Punjab, Pakistan, Housing Department and the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA)
IHS speaker: Maartje van Eerd, Senior Specialist in Housing and Social Development
Why urbanisation matters
In this debate the PBL report ‘Why Urbanisation Matters’ serves as a framework for the session. Urbanisation influences the availability of resources and the overall well-being of populations worldwide. Uneven urbanisation patterns—across regions, countries and even within cities—create differentiated benefits and trade-offs that shape development outcomes both globally and locally. These uneven trends raise questions of spatial justice and call attention to the need for innovative urbanisation policies that address disparities in access and opportunity, in order to come to sustainable urban living environments.
Time: 12:00-13:30
Type of event: Networking event
Location: Multipurpose room 09
Organised by: PBL - The national knowledge institute in the field of the environment, nature and spatial planning
IHS speaker: David Dodman, General Director
See event page
Building on what people build: Material realities and local knowledge for upgrading informal settlements
Global housing policy too often focuses on outcomes -units delivered, standards achieved -without engaging the material realities of how people actually build. This lecture examines the local building material supply chains, construction knowledge systems, and community practices that constitute the real foundation of housing in informal settlements worldwide. Drawing on research from the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), it argues that supporting these local systems -rather than replacing them with imported materials and external contractors -produces safer, more affordable, and more culturally appropriate housing at a fraction of the cost. The lecture offers practitioners and policymakers a new entry point into incremental housing improvement that works with, rather than against, what communities already know.
Time: 13:40-14:10
Type of event: WUF Academy Campus Lecture
Location: The Classroom
IHS speaker: Anthony Boanada-Fuchs, Head of Projects and Partnerships
See event page
Meet & Greet: IHS Head of Projects and Partnerships
Time: 15:00-15:30
Type of event: Networking event
Location: IHS-Inform2Build Booth
IHS speaker: Anthony Boanada-Fuchs, Head of Projects and Partnerships
World Cities Report 2026: The Global Housing Crisis – Pathways to Action
Supported by new housing data, what can be done to address the five intersecting challenges of the global housing crisis? The world is confronting one of the most complex and far-reaching housing crises of the 21st century. The 2026 edition of UN-Habitat’s Flagship World Cities Report provides a greater understanding of drivers, impacts and solutions to the global housing crisis, which has been persistent and pervasive. The report addresses the global housing crisis through five interrelated and interlocking dimensions: affordability, displacement, informality, resilience/sustainability, and liveability, illustrating these with new data. The report is action-oriented, focusing on practices and approaches to adequate housing that have worked in various contexts.
Time: 15:00-16:00
Type of event: Roundtable discussion
Location: UN Habitat Arena
IHS speaker: David Dodman, General Director
See event page
When I Came to Your Door
When I Came to Your Door powerfully captures the global housing crisis through one woman’s journey in a demolished neighbourhood—an intimate universal story reflecting the vulnerability of millions facing displacement and forced relocation worldwide.
Time: 15:30-16:15
Type of event: Urban Cinema
Location: Urban Cinema
In partnership with: Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment Delft University of Technology, EiABC-Ethiopian Institute of Architecture Building Construction and City Development
IHS speaker: Satya Maia Patchineelam, SPARK Network Coordinator
See event page
Dialogue 2: Transforming informal settlements and slums
Informal settlements are now a dominant form of urban growth, providing homes for millions but often marked by limited services, insecure tenure and growing exposure to climate risks. This dialogue will examine how informal processes, rapid urban growth and constrained access to affordable land shape living conditions and opportunities for residents. It will explore approaches that work with, rather than against, informality – including in-situ upgrading, flexible planning and the recognition of diverse tenure arrangements. The session will highlight community-led models, livelihood-linked strategies and financing tools that can improve services, strengthen resilience and support more inclusive and sustainable neighborhoods.
Time: 9:30-11:30
Type of event: Dialogue
Location: Dialogue room A
IHS speaker: David Dodman, General Director
See event page
Adapter les villes par le bas, résilience communautaire, nature en ville, gouvernance de l'habitat informel
Time: 10:00-10:45
Type of event: Expert debate
Location: French Pavilion
In partnership with: AFD, SDI and Science Po
IHS speaker: Anthony Boanada-Fuchs, Head of Projects and Partnerships
Mainstreaming innovative financing mechanism for sustainable and affordable housing- lessons from Indian experience
In line with the global trend, India is at a crucial stage in its urban transition, with projected population to reach 600 million by 2030 from the present level of around 450 million today. To address the growing urbanization, the demand for sustainable, adequate, and affordable housing is one of the key focus areas for sustainable habitat development in India. It is clear that for providing sustainable, adequate and affordable housing, availability of long-tenor and cheaper formal sector housing finance for the informal sector & poor households as well as Private Sector developers at affordable terms is one of the key challenges facing the housing market in India today. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly imperative to explore innovative financing approaches and models including green financing options as well as to re-engineer the existing financing sources for enhancing the flow of funds to the sustainable and affordable housing market. It is in this context that the Networking event of All India Housing Development Association (AIHDA) at WUF13 tends to focus on financial instruments and mechanism used in India’s Urban Transformative Missions such as ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY-Urban) for mainstreaming financial innovations into Practices for providing Sustainable, Inclusive & affordable housing in India. The AIHDA event would bring together the innovations applied among Indian cities and municipalities and elsewhere in the domain of housing and housing-related infrastructure including specific case studies for possible replication in other cities across the globe.
Time: 12:00-13:30
Type of event: Networking event
Location: Multipurpose room 12
IHS speaker: Maartje van Eerd, Senior Specialist in Housing and Social Development
See event page
Housing as a Right, not an Investment Curbing Speculation to Ensure Affordable Housing in the Global South
This 90-minute dialogue reframes housing as engine for economic growth and social stability. 10-minute high-impact introduction on unlocking household income for productive growth, a 45 min dissects global models for scaling low-income housing through investor incentives and anti-speculation safeguards to secure long-term Social Multipliers. 25-minute interactive laboratory, utilizing real-time polling to crowdsource solutions for local value-chain integration. The dialogue concludes (10 min) by synthesizing these insights into an actionable Policy Roadmap for sustainable urban resilience. Speakers include experts in affordable housing policy, housing finance, housing economics, social urban development, and real estate developers experienced in affordable housing incentives.
Time: 12:00-13:30
Type of event: Voices from Cities
Location: Room A
IHS speaker: Paul Rabé , Lead Specialist in Urban Land Governance
See event page
Meet & Greet: IHS General Director
Time: 13:00-13:30
Type of event: Networking event
Location: IHS-Inform2Build Booth
IHS speaker: David Dodman, General Director
Global and local perspectives on climate-resilient housing: Linking resilience with affordability and scalable housing programs
Time: 13:30-14:30
Type of event: Panel discussion
Location: Pakistan Pavilion
Organised by: The Government of Punjab, Pakistan, Housing Department and the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (PHATA)
IHS speaker: Alonso Ayala, Senior Specialist in Housing and Human Settlement Planning
Intersections Connecting Housing, Research and Practice for Safe and Resilient Cities in Latin America
INTERSECTIONS is a curated Urban Library session based on the Springer publication “Intersections: Architecture, Design, City and Territory in Latin America”. The initiative presents applied and interdisciplinary research that addresses some of the most urgent urban challenges facing contemporary cities, including housing, inequality, resilience, care, mobility, accessibility, and public health. Emerging from a collaborative academic platform involving leading Latin American universities, the publication brings together diverse perspectives, methodologies, and scales of action—from community-based and participatory design practices to urban, metropolitan, and territorial analysis. The Urban Library positions the book not only as a scholarly output, but as a practical knowledge platform that connects research, policy, and practice.
Time: 13:30-14:30
Type of event: Urban Library
Location: Room B
Organised by: ITESM-Institute of Technology and Higher Studies of Monterrey and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
IHS speaker: Pamela Duran Diaz, Senior Planning Specialist
See event page
Dialogue 4: The climate-housing nexus
Housing has been called “the frontline in the fight against climate change.” From floods and heatwaves to rising energy costs and displacement, housing determines whether climate action protects people or leaves them exposed. Yet despite buildings accounting for a significant share of global emissions, and climate impacts falling hardest on those with the least secure homes, housing remains one of the most underleveraged areas of climate policy. This Dialogue will confront that gap directly. Bringing together national and local leaders, practitioners, financiers, researchers and community representatives, the session will explore how housing can shift from a source of climate risk to a driver of mitigation, adaptation and social resilience. Discussions will examine how housing, climate and urban development agendas can be better aligned in practice, highlighting examples from cities and countries already advancing climate-resilient and low-carbon housing solutions.
Time: 13:30-17:00
Type of event: WUF Academy Dialogue
Location: The Classroom
IHS speaker: Anthony Boanada-Fuchs, Head of Projects and Partnerships
Informal event: IHS Alumni meetup
20 May, 18:30
Please scroll to see more information at the end of this page.
Designing for heat resilience: Traditional and innovative approaches in informal settlements
Time: 9:30-11:00
Type of event: Networking event
Location: Habitat Village
In partnership with: SDI, Build Change and World Habitat Award
IHS speaker: Anthony Boanada-Fuchs, Head of Projects and Partnerships and Satya Maia Patchineelam, SPARK Network Coordinator
Using competency frameworks to localise Urban Agendas: UN-Habitat and IHS research findings
Time: 10:20-10:45
Type of event: WUF Academy Campus Lecture
Location: The Classroom
IHS speaker: Pamela Duran Diaz, Senior Planning Specialist
Towards institutionalised local competency frameworks for urban resilience: Pilot project in Belize and Zambia
Time: 11:00-12:00
Type of event: WUF Academy Interactive Session
Location: The Schoolyard
In partnership with: UN-Habitat
IHS speaker: Pamela Duran Diaz, Senior Planning Specialist
From screening out to upgrading creditworthiness rethinking housing finance for informal earners in emerging economies
The 90-minute Policy Decision Lab begins with 15-minute system framing, followed by 60-minute moderated dialogue on three policy choices: Who bears initial inclusion risk? Can housing quality mitigate risk? How far can inclusive finance expand without undermining stability? Each choice undergoes a 'reality-check' segment, with informal sector validators providing concrete data on income volatility, savings capacity, and collateral constraints. It concludes with a 15-minute live anonymous voting to set policy priorities and agreed directions The session will include policymakers, representatives from financial practitioners, urban experts, NGOs, and validators from informal sector. It will deliver the WUF13 Policy Roadmap on Inclusive Housing Credit, outlining actionable instruments for upgrading creditworthiness, aligning housing quality with risk management, and responsibly expanding mortgage markets. Policy makers and housing finance institutions will benefit from evidence-based replicable framework that directly advances New Deal for Housing Finance and supports resilient urban growth
Time: 12:00-13:30
Type of event: Networking event
Location: Multipurpose room 01
Organised by: SHMFF-Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund (Egypt), International Finance Corporation IFC (USA), WIEGO Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing (UK) and Habitat for Humanity International (USA)
IHS speaker: Maartje van Eerd, Senior Specialist in Housing and Social Development
See event page
Academia and Research Roundtable: How can research and education close the gap between knowledge and housing solutions at scale?
The WUF13 Academia and Research roundtable will serve as a platform to further mobilise academic knowledge and innovations to build actionable solutions to address the global housing crisis, within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 11) and the New Urban Agenda. The session will focus on opportunities to leverage the roles of academic and research institutions to address critical knowledge and capacity gaps and effectively deliver housing solutions that realize the right to adequate housing for all. For this, the two-hour roundtable will be organized into two complementary panels, each examining innovative and scalable mechanisms to address capacity gaps for effective and systemic housing solutions from distinct yet interconnected perspectives.
Time: 13:00-15:00
Type of event: Roundtable
Location: Roundtable room A
IHS speaker: David Dodman, General Director
See event page
Ismailia slum upgrading and sites and services longitudinal research project
In this information session, researchers interested in joining the Ismailia slum upgrading and sites and services longitudinal research project will have the opportunity to talk directly with IHS experts Maartje van Eerd and Alonso Ayala, and former IHS staff Forbes Davidson.
Time: 13:30-14:30
Type of event: Information session & Q&A
Location: IHS-Infrom2Build Booth
IHS speakers: Maartje van Eerd, Senior Specialist in Housing and Social Development and Alonso Ayala, Senior Specialist in Housing and Human Settlement Planning
Meet & Greet: The IHS Housing team
Time: 15:00-15:30
Type of event: Networking event
Location: IHS-Inform2Build Booth
IHS speakers: Maartje van Eerd, Senior Specialist in Housing and Social Development and Alonso Ayala, Senior Specialist in Housing and Human Settlement Planning
From global agreements to local action multi-level governance for sustainable housing and resilient communities
Organised by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (IHS), ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability and UN-Habitat, this event will explore how multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) can be effectively operationalized at the local level to advance sustainable housing and resilient communities, in line with SDG 11. Held at a pivotal moment ahead of the convergence of the three Rio Convention COPs, the discussion will focus on the evolving role of local and regional governments (LRGs) as key actors in translating global environmental commitments into tangible urban outcomes. The event will outline how cities and regions advance the implementation of MEAs through legally binding regulations and integrated urban planning, with a focus on housing. It will examine barriers to meaningful LRGs engagement in MEA processes and identify concrete entry points to strengthen multilevel environmental governance.
Time: 16:00-17:30
Type of event: Networking event
Location: Multipurpose room 05
In partnership with: UNEP, UN-Habitat, ICLEI
IHS speaker: David Dodman, General Director
See event page
Related articles
- More information
IHS Alumni Meetup at WUF13
As with previous editions of the World Urban Forum, this year we will also host an informal IHS Alumni gathering. This will take place on Wednesday, 20 May, from 18:30, in a different venue than the conference. If you are an IHS alumnus/a, please email the IHS Alumni Relations Office at alumni@ihs.nl to register and you will receive more info about the location and agenda.
