Baku: Arzu Taghiyeva, Section Head at the State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan, provided detailed insights into the country's initiatives in urban statistics and the calculation of sustainable development metrics during the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, Taghiyeva spoke at a panel session titled 'Future Urbanization: How Will Your City Change Over the Next Decades?' and emphasized the critical importance of strengthening urban statistical frameworks and monitoring systems. She noted that Azerbaijan is taking significant steps toward calculating a series of key indicators within the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework.

Taghiyeva highlighted that new methodologies are actively being applied, particularly in computing indicators related to transport accessibility and the availability of public spaces. To ensure precise assessments, the process involves close data-sharing cooperation with various government agencies. Specifically, data from the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport is utilized to evaluate transit access, allowing for the integration of bus stop datasets to directly calculate the urban inclusivity index. Concurrently, the level of public access to open civic spaces is thoroughly analyzed.

The section head mentioned that the consolidated results are submitted annually to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). This ongoing international collaboration directly contributes to making more accurate, data-driven, and informed decisions in Azerbaijan's urban development strategies.