Assemblies - Children and Youth Assembly: Opening…

What if children and youth co-designed the future of housing and livable cities?

"The thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) represents a turning point for institutionalizing the meaningful engagement of children and youth in sustainable urban development. By 2050, almost 70 per cent of the world's children and youth will live in urban areas; currently, the majority face the reality of inadequate housing, primarily within informal settlements and overcrowded slums. These challenges manifest with regional specificity, shaped by distinct political, economic, and environmental factors that exacerbate cycles of poverty and inequality. Addressing these realities requires systemic shifts informed by regionally responsive and locally grounded approaches.
Sustainable urban futures cannot be realized if most residents lack access to the housing and socio-economic opportunities essential for their holistic development. Access to housing is inextricably linked to the economic capacity of caregivers and youth to sustain their families; therefore, the right to a home must be treated as a launchpad for social security, decent work, and household livelihoods.
The WUF13 Children and Youth Assembly is a technical "Solutions Lab" designed to bridge the gap between grassroots youth innovation and global urban policy. By reframing the home as a systemic anchor for health, safety, and economic agency, the Assembly will co-create five Strategic Pathways (negotiated policy commitments) to directly inform the Baku Call to Action, the 2026 Review of SDG 11, and to further guide the next decade of implementing the New Urban Agenda.
Like all WUF13 stakeholder-led sessions, this assembly is developed through a participatory process driven by children, youth, and stakeholders advocating their rights, seeking to ensure representation and diversity.

Guiding questions
1. Which youth-led solutions in your city are solving livability and adequate housing challenges, and what pathways are needed to make them official?
2. What specific zoning changes and planning reforms would ensure adequate housing policies create an enabling environment for decent work and entrepreneurship?
3. How can we transition toward collaborative municipal systems where youth-led data is integrated as a standard, high-value input for evidence-based city planning?
4. What new financial tools can we design to make housing affordable for the next generation?
5. What non-negotiable safety, health and wellbeing standards for children and youth in informal settlements that must be integrated into the Baku Call to Action?

Expected outcomes

1. Identifying solutions for adequate housing that work for children and youth while recognizing their role and agency
2. Informing the Children & Youth Roundtable, Baku Call to Action, New Urban Agenda (NUA) Review, the 2026 Review of SDG 11 and reinforcement of the Pact for the Future and the UN Youth 2030 Strategy.
3. A regionally diverse Global Youth Declared Action, outlining priorities, actions and recommendations seeking commitments from decision makers throughout the Forum.
4. Strengthened coalitions and partnerships to progress young people's proposed solutions for a livable city. Objectives

1. Identify systematic barriers that prevent children and youth, particularly those in informal settlements, from accessing adequate housing and participating in the planning of their own neighborhoods and cities.
2. Define the livable city agenda by moving beyond housing deficits to address the broader urban ecosystem and livability issues, specifically identifying regional barriers to decent work, social security, digital rights, climate resilience, and safety.
3. Promote progressive housing policies and financial models that challenge structural inequalities, address the affordability crisis, and empower youth and caregivers to move beyond exclusionary systems.
4. Showcase proven, scalable solutions where young people are already solving livability challenges, emphasizing children's voices and intergenerational collaboration in neighborhood-level transformation.