Roundtables - Professionals Roundtable (WUF13…

How can we bridge global capacity gaps to deliver adequate and resilient housing everywhere?

The delivery of adequate and resilient housing depends on the capacity of professionals to translate policy ambition, investment, and evidence into implementable solutions. Yet across many contexts, particularly low-income, rapidly urbanizing, and climate-vulnerable settings, persistent capacity gaps, regulatory constraints, and uneven access to resources continue to limit housing outcomes on scale.
The Professionals Roundtable will convene professional organizations, policymakers, and institutional partners to examine how professional practice can more effectively support inclusive, affordable, well serviced and climate-resilient housing delivery.
Structured as a multi-stakeholder dialogue, the roundtable will combine thematic breakout discussions with plenary exchange to reflect on progress since WUF12, identify critical barriers constraining professional contributions, and explore pathways to bridge capacity gaps through policy reform, capacity development, data integration, and collaboration.
The discussion aims to generate actionable insights and follow-up pathways for collaboration between UN-Habitat, professional bodies, and knowledge institutions, strengthening professional contributions to scalable, resilient, and inclusive housing solutions beyond WUF13.

Guiding questions

1. On-the-Ground Implementation - Launching the Framework for Recovery and Regeneration, the proposed International Landscape Convention, and implementation of the International Participatory Charter. How can these be successfully implemented amongst the professions?
2. What Happens Next? Exploring what happens post 2030 and beyond Today's Challenge - What do successful professional capacity building and development to advance adequate housing look like?
3. Building on the Value on HPF - based on the evolving engagement and stakeholder needs of UN-Habitat, how can HPF reach further and deeper among the professions in the Global South and at the national level?

Expected outcomes

1. Clear identification of professional deal-breakers limiting housing delivery at scale.
2. Shared diagnosis of capacity gaps affecting housing, land, and basic services priorities.
3. Actionable recommendations to reform education, strengthen collaboration, and scale expertise.
4. Defined pathways for post-WUF13 collaboration supporting the New Urban Agenda.

1. Share progress since WUF12 on key initiatives of the Habitat Professionals Forum, including the Roadmap to Recovery and the International Participatory Charter.
2. Examine pathways for implementing the Framework for Recovery and Regeneration, the proposed International Landscape Convention, and the International Participatory Charter across the professions.
3. Explore future directions for professional practice beyond 2030, including strengthening professional capacity development and expanding HPF engagement, particularly in the Global South.
4. Identify how to close the global capacity gap and accelerate delivery of housing and urban solutions at scale, speed, and quality through strengthened professional training, resources, and collaborative models.