The Century of Cities

Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International, joins The Century of Cities as part of our special miniseries in collaboration with UN-Habitat. Building on conversations emerging from World Urban Forum 13 in Baku, Jonathan reflects on a world where rapid urbanization, climate pressures, migration, and rising construction costs have combined to create a housing crisis affecting cities across every region of the world.
At the heart of the conversation is a challenge to conventional thinking: solving the housing crisis is not simply about building more homes. It is about expanding access to the systems, opportunities, and pathways that make housing possible. From informal settlements and incremental housing to land rights, finance, and market access, Jonathan explores why housing solutions must be designed around the realities of how people live, build, and improve their communities. Housing, he argues, is not simply shelter. It is a foundation for opportunity, resilience, and human flourishing.
As the global community prepares for the upcoming SDG 11 Review and the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on the New Urban Agenda, conversations that began at World Urban Forum 13 will continue there. This episode is part of that broader dialogue on the future of cities.

Anaclaudia Rossbach, Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) at the Under-Secretary-General level and the very first guest on The Century of Cities, returns to explore why housing has become one of the defining tests of urban leadership in the 21st century. Drawing on insights from World Urban Forum 13 in Baku and the newly launched World Cities Report 2026, she reflects on a world where rapid urbanization is colliding with rising housing costs, growing informality, displacement, and homelessness—challenges affecting cities across every region of the world.
At the heart of the conversation is a simple but powerful idea: housing is not just a housing issue. It shapes economic opportunity, climate resilience, public health, and social stability. With two billion more people expected to live in cities by 2050, Anaclaudia explores why housing must move from the margins of policy discussions to the centre of political action. The challenge is immense, but so is the opportunity to build safer, more resilient, and more inclusive cities for the decades ahead.
As the global community prepares for the upcoming SDG 11 Review and the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on the New Urban Agenda, conversations that began at World Urban Forum 13 will continue there. This episode is part of that broader dialogue on the future of cities.

Meric Gertler, former President of the University of Toronto and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the School of Cities, joins The Century of Cities to reflect on the remarkable evolution of cities and the institutions that help shape them. He recalls a time when cities were widely viewed as unmanageable, financially strained, and in decline, before emerging as globally recognized engines of innovation, talent, and economic dynamism. 
Meric explores the growing role of universities as civic institutions, innovation hubs, and catalysts for urban problem-solving. From climate action and entrepreneurship to talent development and global collaboration, he argues that universities are uniquely positioned to help cities navigate an increasingly complex future. His outlook is characteristically optimistic: cities remain among humanity's most resilient inventions, and their future will be shaped by the strength of the partnerships they forge across sectors, disciplines, and communities

Ruchita Bansal, urban planner, founder of SheCity India, and host of The Human Cities Podcast, joins The Century of Cities to explore how cities are often designed around a narrow idea of who urban life is meant to serve. Reflecting on India's rapid urban transformation, she argues that much of urban planning still defaults to the able-bodied male commuter, leaving women, caregivers, migrants, and informal workers largely invisible. From safer mobility to care-based infrastructure and more inclusive public space, Ruchita makes the case for cities that respond to how people actually move, work, and live.

Marc Canal, Senior Fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute and co-author of A Century of Plenty, joins The Century of Cities to explore why cities have been among the greatest engines of human progress. From divided and economically uncertain cities to today's global hubs of talent, innovation, and culture, Marc explains how density, connectivity, and urbanization accelerated prosperity, productivity, and technological advancement on an unprecedented scale. Marc sees cities entering another major transition shaped by AI, electrification, robotics, and demographic change. He argues that the cities that thrive will not simply adopt new technologies, but will be the ones able to experiment, build, attract talent, and adapt quickly.