Kazuko Ishigaki at WUF13: UN needs to provide support to local authorities

Urban development challenges are exacerbated by a deficit of institutional and human resource capacities at the local government level, stated Kazuko Ishigaki, Director of the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, at an event within the framework of WUF13 in Baku, Report informs.

According to her, despite the existence of modern strategies in the field of housing policy and urban planning in countries of the region, their implementation is often hampered by a lack of institutional and human resource capacities at the level of local governments and communities.

"In this regard, the UN system needs to strengthen support at the local level, where policies are actually put into practice," she said.

She identified the need for a comprehensive approach to urban development as the second key point: "Housing policy cannot exist separately from urban planning, urban environment design, landscape policy, and the system of basic services. Only the integration of these areas, oriented toward territory and people's needs, makes it possible to build sustainable and viable cities."

She added that sustainable development is only possible with a constant exchange of experience and adaptation of solutions to local conditions, and that the topic of housing itself should be considered exclusively in conjunction with the development of the urban environment as a whole.