We can build a sustainable city only when there is a sustainable society, Aygun Aliyeva, Chairperson of the Board of the Agency for State Support to NGOs and member of the WUF13 Organizing Committee, said during the roundtable titled “Community-led Action for Adequate Housing, Land and Basic Services in the Face of the Climate Crisis,” APA reports.
She stated that sustainable cities are built on people’s solidarity and beliefs: “Azerbaijan is currently implementing one of the world’s largest post-conflict reconstruction and urban recovery processes. Cities and villages destroyed during the occupation in the liberated territories of Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur are being rebuilt from scratch. Smart cities and smart villages, green energy zones and modern urban ecosystems based on the principles of sustainability and people-centered development are being created.
However, rebuilding cities is not only about roads, buildings and infrastructure. The real challenge is restoring human rights, social trust and people’s confidence in the future. That is why local initiatives and civil society are so important.”
She said that civil society organizations are often the first to hear communities’ problems and the first to support people during difficult times: “They build trust between institutions and society and help ensure that development remains connected to people’s real needs.
Today, Azerbaijan also plays an important bridge role between the Global North and the Global South, promoting dialogue and international cooperation. Because when we discuss the future of cities, we are actually discussing the future of humanity.
This vision envisages a world where people unite, the borders dividing them disappear, every person is safe and respected, and cities become spaces of dignity, inclusiveness and opportunity. Because these cities are not built only with concrete. They are built with solidarity, shared responsibility and people’s belief in a common future.”
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