UN-Habitat chief wants city investment to tackle global housing crisis

Cities are where the future is unfolding — and they need money to match their moment. That was the message from Anacláudia Rossbach, executive director of UN-Habitat, during a lively discussion at Casa Devex, on the sidelines of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development. “More and more of what's happening in our planet is going to be happening in cities,” Rossbach said. With over half the world already living in urban areas — and that figure is expected to hit 70% by 2050 — she warned that without serious investment in urban infrastructure, all the talk about private capital and de-risking won’t amount to much. At the top of her list: the global housing crisis. “We cannot achieve the SDGs in housing if people don't have shelter, a roof over their heads,” she said, pointing to 1 billion people living in informal settlements and 300 million experiencing homelessness. She called housing the “common denominator” in both the global north and south. UN-Habitat’s new four-year plan, backed by 105 countries, puts housing, land access, basic services, and informal settlement upgrades front and center. But financing remains a huge barrier. “This is very expensive, and this is very complex — so that’s why I’m here,” Rosso said. She made a strong case for getting funding directly to cities and not just through national governments. “If cities are more autonomous in deciding how the money is going to be allocated, they can combine with resources that they have,” she said, citing tools such as urban planning, land policies, and reusing underutilized spaces. Rosso also wants to see cities have a bigger seat at the global table. “More and more U.N. agencies … are understanding that the change is local,” she said, highlighting growing city engagement at the United Nations, climate COPs, and development banks. On private finance, she was candid: “We cannot deal with [the housing crisis] without the private sector.” But she stressed that incentives, subsidies, and stronger systems are essential to make urban investments work — especially where social risks are high. Still, she left the Casa Devex stage with cautious optimism: “I’m very happy that we have on the document the recognition of the importance of subnational lending and the role of local and regional governments,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to set up these partnerships and move towards the implementation.”