BAKU, May 22, 2026 – The mid-term achievements of the flagship report Future Cities Advisory Outlook 2026: Shaping Future Buildings, led by Tongji University, were officially released during the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), held from May 17 to 22, 2026, in Baku, Azerbaijan. A high-level side event featured Professor Li Xiangning, Vice President of Tongji University, who served as the report’s lead expert, delivering a special presentation to an audience including Mr. Roi Chiti, Human Settlements Officer at the UN-Habitat Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and Mr. Ying Sheng, Head of the UN-Habitat China Office.

© UN-Habitat

The World Urban Forum, hosted by UN-Habitat and the Government of Azerbaijan, focuses on housing and urban resilience against the backdrop of rapid global urbanization. Under the theme Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities, the forum brings together urban stakeholders from various sectors to develop more viable solutions to the housing crisis and to underscore the foundational role of housing in building safe and resilient cities and communities.

In this flagship report, the Tongji University team proposes an overarching vision of Future Building for All. Centered on this vision, the report introduces a comprehensive framework oriented toward new actors, new technologies, and new scenarios, emphasizing that future buildings must not only respond to housing needs but also bridge social divides and promote public welfare through technological and practical innovations.

© UN-Habitat

The report systematically outlines a technology roadmap for future buildings, identifying key directions such as green ecological innovation, intelligent building innovation, inclusive living, and extreme environment and new habitat applications. Taking good housing as an entry point, the report establishes a technical system and integrated implementation pathways the full lifecycle, forming actionable strategies that can be transformed and scaled.

© UN-Habitat/Jessica Jones-Langley

The World Urban Forum was established by the UN General Assembly in 2001 and is recognized as a premier global forum on cities and sustainable urbanization. Convened biennially by UN-Habitat, it aims to promote adequate housing and sustainable urban development. The Future Cities Advisory Outlook 2026: Shaping Future Buildings serves as the flagship report of the UN-Habitat China Future Cities Council for 2026. The report is led by Tongji University, which has assembled a collaborative research team jointly with more than ten Chinese universities, enterprises, and research institutions.