What World Urban Forum in Baku means for future of climate-resilient cities In an era defined by rapid urbanization, climate vulnerability, and the pressing need for post-conflict regeneration, the global community frequently looks for practical, scalable models of resilience. The traditional paradigms of urban planning often fail to keep pace with the multifaceted challenges of the twenty-first century. However, a transformative shift is currently underway in the South Caucasus. As President Ilham Aliyev recently highlighted during his meeting with Anaclaudia Rossbach, the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), Azerbaijan’s innovative urban planning practices, particularly the large-scale restoration and reconstruction efforts in its liberated territories, have evolved from a domestic necessity into an exemplary international benchmark. This transformation underscores a profound truth: true urban resilience is not merely about rebuilding physical structures, but about pioneering systemic, innovative frameworks that seamlessly merge sustainable development with global climate action. The thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) to be hosted today in Baku represents a watershed moment for international urban policy. Coming on the heels of the successfully organized COP29, Azerbaijan’s stewardship of WUF13 signifies a deliberate and strategic effort to bridge two traditionally distinct global agendas: climate change mitigation and sustainable urbanization. Historically, environmental architecture and municipal engineering operated in institutional silos. By creating a strategic continuum between COP and WUF, Azerbaijan is actively reshaping the global discourse, demonstrating that the commitments made in environmental summits must be physically and structurally manifested in the cities of tomorrow. This deliberate alignment ensures that green energy transitions, smart-city technologies, and climate adaptation strategies are embedded directly into the fabric of urban environments, establishing a holistic blueprint for future generations. The international confidence reposed in Azerbaijan by the United Nations is neither accidental nor merely diplomatic. UN-Habitat’s high assessment of