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Akbar Novruz

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Urban overcrowding and climate risks top concerns at WUF13 discussions.

Speaking to AzerNEWS on the sidelines of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum 13 in Baku, Mengshu Li shared her impressions of the forum and discussed the major challenges facing modern cities in the coming decade.

Li, who is pursuing a master’s degree in public policy and management at Tsinghua University in China, said she attended the forum together with her teachers.

“The first impression is that the place is really beautiful, and it has many cultural characteristics, and this decoration and design is really good,” she said.

She also highlighted the international and inclusive atmosphere of the forum.

“I also feel the openness of this forum, because there are people from all over the world,” Li noted.

Commenting on the biggest challenges modern cities are likely to face over the next decade, particularly in the context of climate change, Li identified environmental pressures as the key concern.

“From my perspective, I think the biggest challenge is just the environment,” she stated.

According to her, rapid urbanization and population concentration in major cities are intensifying environmental and infrastructure-related problems.

“These days, people are crowded in the modern cities, and there are too many waste, and the energy, and many, many problems that we are facing,” Li said.

She added that growing urban populations continue to increase pressure on resources and living conditions.

“For this population, they are just bringing the increasing problem about this. So I think it's still the environment,” she emphasized.

Li also pointed to the importance of balanced regional development and revitalizing rural areas to ease pressure on major urban centers.

“We should also develop the place or the problem in the village, because there are some areas that we can use, but as people are crowded into the biggest cities, they are just deserted land, but we can find a way to just develop them,” she concluded.