Cities Shaping the Future: Land, Tenure, and Resilience in the Age of Urban Mayors

Geneva, Switzerland — “If cities are where the problems concentrate, they are also where solutions begin.”— Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Paris

The 5th meeting of the UN Forum of Mayors, will be held at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, on 6-7 October 2025. Deliberations will follow the theme, “Cities Shaping the Future.” (Photo by: LPN Global)

From the favelas of Rio to the informal settlements of Nairobi, mayors around the world are confronting an urgent truth: you cannot build inclusive, climate-resilient cities without addressing land tenure and property rights.

As mayors gather for the 2025 UN Forum of Mayors in Geneva this October, the focus is squarely on how urban leadership can tackle the growing pressures of population, inequality, housing crises, and climate adaptation — all of which are rooted in land.

Mayors on the Frontlines of Land Policy

Unlike national leaders, mayors are embedded in the daily realities of urban land struggles — from regulating rental markets to preventing unlawful evictions. They are often more agile, more accountable, and increasingly vocal about global land issues.

In Medellín, Colombia, Mayor María Fernanda Ruiz has launched a new “Land for Peace” initiative that combines geospatial mapping, participatory zoning, and subsidies for low-income title regularization.

In Dakar, Senegal, Mayor Soham Wardini is piloting a gender-responsive urban land registry that incorporates customary rights and empowers women-headed households in peri-urban areas.

“Tenure insecurity is a silent crisis,” says Dr. Eduardo López Moreno, UN-Habitat senior advisor. “It undermines investment, services, and trust — especially in informal neighborhoods.”

Informality and Innovation

According to UN-Habitat, over 1 billion urban dwellers currently live in informal settlements. These areas are typically excluded from land registries, disaster planning, or climate finance eligibility.

Yet cities like Bangkok, through its “Baan Mankong” slum upgrading initiative, are proving that community-led land solutions can lead to better outcomes. In the program, residents co-design layouts and co-finance tenure upgrades — with municipal support.

“Innovation isn’t about the latest app. It’s about co-creating space and power with communities,” notes Renu Desai, urban land researcher at the University of Toronto.

Climate Resilience Starts With Land Rights

Urban climate adaptation plans — from nature-based solutions to early warning systems — often ignore tenure. But displacement after floods or heatwaves disproportionately affects those without legal recognition of their land.

In Manila, recent storm surge zones were overlayed with land tenure maps — revealing that 83% of the hardest-hit households lacked formal land titles, disqualifying them from recovery programs.

In contrast, Amsterdam’s circular land use zoning integrates climate resilience and land value equity — tying incentives to long-term housing affordability and carbon neutrality.

From Local to Global

The Forum of Mayors 2025 is expected to elevate city voices at a time when land policy has traditionally remained in the hands of central governments. Mayors will present “City Declarations” focused on land-based finance, upgrading informal areas, and urban climate justice.

“We need to recognize cities as land policy laboratories,” argues Karima El Korri, Regional Director at UNECE. “They’re already leading where national systems lag.”