UN-Habitat presents the report Metropolitan Planning and Finance for Adequate Housing, developed from the Expert Group Meeting held in Istanbul, Türkiye, from 1 to 3 October 2025, within the framework of MARUF25 and in collaboration with the Marmara Municipalities Union. The meeting brought together 26 experts and representatives from governments, academia, international organizations and civil society.
The report argues that adequate housing must be addressed through a metropolitan lens, as the dynamics that determine access to housing, including land, transport, basic services, employment, infrastructure, risks and financing, go beyond municipal administrative boundaries. Addressing housing only through isolated local projects limits the capacity to respond to the real scale of demand and to reduce territorial inequalities.
The report therefore calls for strengthening metropolitan housing systems that integrate territorial planning, land management, financing and multi-level governance. This scale enables better coordination of affordable housing provision, the rehabilitation of existing housing stock, the transformation of informal settlements and the connection of households to urban opportunities.
The report emphasizes that adequate housing is a human right, a basic social infrastructure and a metropolitan public good, and identifies key instruments such as metropolitan housing councils, regional funds, land banks, land value capture mechanisms, housing observatories, and spaces for participation and accountability.
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