The Mission for the Strengthening of the System of Cities was developed during 2012 and 2013. During the first year, twelve studies were commissioned to define guidelines for national public policies aimed at increasing income, lowering the cost of living and increasing labor mobility in the Colombian system of cities: productivity, cost of living, institutional framework and financing. To complement this, during the second year, new studies were conducted on quality of life, infrastructure investment requirements and digital connectivity.

The system of cities in Colombia is made up of 58 agglomerated and unimodal cities with economic, political-administrative and service-providing functions that are fundamental for their regions and for the country. The Mission led to the national policy to strengthen the system of cities (CONPES 3819), which seeks to establish a long-term framework to guide, articulate and make the actions of national entities in the country's cities and regions more efficient for development purposes, in accordance with the specific conditions of each place and the policies of the territorial entities.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conducted a comprehensive evaluation of Colombia's urban policy and its impact on sectors such as transportation, housing, land use and digitalization, among others. An update of the urban policy is in progress, the Ciudades 4.0 plan, based on the OECD's Review of the National Urban Policy of Colombia, with the support of the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory. The design of the new policy proposes a rethinking of urban areas, incorporating sectors in an integrated manner.