Latin American Region, European Union Region · 20 October, 2021

Sharing experiences in urban and territorial development in an international Forum on the Urban Agenda

The EU EUROsociAL+ Programme, through its Democratic Governance Area coordinated by FIIAPP, promotes a sustainable urban agenda by supporting national policies such as the recovery from the crisis starting from territorial and urban development, and addressing human settlements in Central America and the Dominican Republic. within the framework of the 3R Plan and PRINAU.

Within the framework of the I Urban Forum of Spain and the III Global Forum of Local Governments dedicated to the global Urban Agenda and held in Seville, the director of the FIIAPP Public Administration and Social Affairs Area, Peggy Martinello participated in person in a session on national urban experiences in the European Union and Latin America, sharing a panel with the Secretary General of the Urban Agenda and Housing of Spain, David Lucas; the Minister of Housing, City and Territory of Colombia, Jonathan Malagón; the Vice Minister of Urban Development and Housing of Ecuador, María Gabriela Aguilera; and the head of the Knowledge and Innovation department of UN-Habitat, Eduardo Moreno. The director of Casa de América, Enrique Ojeda, moderated this panel, in which there were also remote interventions by institutional representatives from Mexico, Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador and Costa Rica.

Peggy Martinello shared the experiences of the EUROsociAL+ and EUROCLIMA+ programmes, funded by the European Union, which incorporate social cohesion, equal opportunities, equity and just transition in any sustainable territorial and urban model; also as drivers of post-pandemic recovery.

As practical examples, EUROsociAL+ contributed to the development of the human settlements and sustainable urban development axis of the Recovery Plan for Central America and the Dominican Republic, which will mark the region’s social reconstruction agenda over the coming years. In addition, the FIIAPP representative highlighted the high-level ministerial dialogue supported by EUROsociAL+ in the framework of the Forum of Ministers and Highest Authorities in Housing and Urban Development of Latin America and the Caribbean (MINURVI), chaired precisely by the Colombian minister on the matter and present at the session, Jonathan Malagón; where the recovery from the socio-economic crisis was addressed by focusing on urban and territorial development, and which also enjoyed the participation of EUROCLIMA+ and UN-Habitat.

The I Urban Forum of Spain and the III Global Forum of Local Governments were organised by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, in collaboration with UN-Habitat and coincided with the announcement by the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, of the first state law on housing in Spain.

This global space constituted a significant multilevel participatory platform for all relevant actors and agents in the urban development of Spain, Europe and other continents, to share, propose and exchange ideas and good practices on sustainable urbanisation.

 

Country: Latin American Region, European Union Region
SDG: Reduced inequalities, Sustainable cities and communities
Policy area: Democratic governance policies