Latin America and the Caribbean is the most urbanized region of the developing world on the planet. The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has said that “Cities are where the battle against climate change will be won or lost.” Cities are the engines of economic growth, but they are also the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, and their dynamism is present in the midst of the great inequalities of our societies.
Urban challenges in the region
Move towards compliance with the Agenda 2030 It inevitably involves addressing the triple urban deficit: social, economic and environmental. Cities prosper thanks to agglomeration economies (a concept that refers to the benefits obtained by companies for being located in the vicinity of others), and the increasingly important digital and services economy, being vital for national and regional productivity ; however, they are also experiencing recession and post-pandemic adjustments and deindustrialization processes.
The urban centers also concentrate the growing social unrest and the deepening of inequities, with a worrying rise in poverty that currently affects 3 out of 10 inhabitants. Likewise, the pattern of urban growth constitutes an enormous socio-environmental challenge. While the urban sprawl expands beyond its population needs, without guaranteeing spatially integrated social housing, without taking advantage of the benefits of urban valorization to finance their needs and reinforcing long-distance journeys in individual private vehicles. Proof of this is the worrying rate of increasing motorization in the region that is coupled with the loss of users and the quality of public transport; a trend with negative social, environmental and economic impacts.
The goals of Paris Agreement they impose structural changes to the model of development and decarbonization of urban activities. If these changes are not made, growth in the region will be limited to 1.2% per year. It is urgent to adhere to a new paradigm based on the transformation of urban dynamics and their productive bases. Urban centers are an opportunity to the extent that the change in trend may initially benefit 30% of the urban population, which is concentrated in 54 cities with more than one million inhabitants.
ECLAC proposals and recommendations
Transformative recovery means a shift in the way cities produce, grow, move, are planned and managed. It is necessary to change the urban development model and look at our cities as a source of social and environmental opportunities and spaces for the realization of rights; as living entities that contribute to the fight against climate change.
ECLAC works with this orientation, supporting diagnoses and decisions by national and local governments on aspects such as inclusive urban development, mobility, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and locally based urban financing measures, among others. To this end, it makes available to governments its experience and strength with statistical data, its ability to generate knowledge and analysis tools, resources that are made publicly available in the Urban and Cities Platform . It contributes to the exchange of experiences and provides specific support in technical assistance missions, always from a regional perspective. ECLAC’s status as technical co-secretary of MINURVI, a forum of highest housing and urban planning authorities in the region, facilitates this task. Thus, ECLAC promotes transformative recovery by promoting informed and evidence-based public policy decisions, as well as implementation experiences.
The CISI program – Inclusive, sustainable and smart cities – which has the support of the German Cooperation, supports the generation of knowledge on the opportunities for productive, environmental and social development offered by the transition towards sustainable mobility. The program offers the cities of Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Bogotá, and Mexico City proposals for the coordination of public policy, regulation, investment, and financing strategies that allow the promotion of the various co-benefits, including industrial ones, of the growing attention to sustainable mobility and the technological change to electromobility. Technical assistance provides, among other things, a comprehensive understanding of mobility, highlighting its status as a social policy, the urgency of its articulation with urban planning and financing opportunities, the financial sustainability of its operation, changes in technology, the economy circular and energy planning.
Sustainable development and the New Urban Agenda
ECLAC also supports the understanding of land as a strategic asset for urban development, housing policies and economic resilience. The governments of Ecuador, Cuba and Costa Rica have received support in the formulation of public land management policies and the implementation of related financing instruments. This is articulated with integrated or non-segregated social housing offer policies, especially in central areas of cities, and the opportunities of this value chain for the economy. Lima, Santo Domingo and Guayaquil received support to formulate programs for economic reactivation and strengthening of their urban resilience in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lastly, the participation of ECLAC is highlighted for the planning and prioritization of climate action at the local level, an urgent task, although pending in much of the region. In association with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) Tools were developed to accelerate the implementation of climate action plans in cities based on the cases of Santo Domingo, Guatemala City, Belmopan, Port-au-Prince and San Salvador.
Cities are key to compliance with the New Urban Agenda and the opportunities for sustainable development and ECLAC contributes in this way, so that this transformative recovery becomes a reality.
