Sanjay Shukla: Is Housing Really a Finance Problem?

The Century of Cities welcomes Sanjay Shukla, Managing Director of the National Housing Bank of India, as part of our special miniseries in collaboration with UN-Habitat. Sanjay explores a critical question: if the need for housing is clear, why does finance remain out of reach for millions? As cities grow, he suggests that solving the housing crisis depends as much on transforming financial systems as increasing housing supply. Emerging from conversations at World Urban Forum 13, Sanjay outlines a new vision for housing finance, one designed around how people actually live and earn. From informal workers to alternative lending models, he explores how finance can expand access rather than create barriers.  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.