Save the date: October 27 and 28:

Urban October: Regional Dialogue on Housing and Urban Development in Latin America and the Caribbean” will take place on 27 and 28 October 2026 in Montevideo, at the CAF premises (Sala Solís), in hybrid format, under Uruguay’s Pro Tempore Presidency of MINURVI. The meeting brings together national and local authorities, international organizations and development banks around five thematic panels: access to housing from a comprehensive habitat approach, multilevel governance, challenges in the Amazon region, territorial data and information for decision-making, and vulnerability and climate resilience. Wednesday’s session also includes the presentation of the Circular Economy workshop activities and a panel on MINURVI’s role within the global development agendas. Each panel is structured around guiding questions that frame the exchange among participants.

This event offers an opportunity to place crucial topics for the future of our cities on the discussion agenda, including the link between sustainable mobility, housing, and urban development.

The project "Inclusive, Sustainable, and Smart Cities within the Framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean,", part of the CEPAL-BMZ/GIZ cooperation program, focuses on strengthening the technical and institutional conditions to promote development in urban areas of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Additionally, CEPAL, MINURVI, MERCOCIUDADES, and the IDB share concerns about having more detailed information to improve the design and implementation of public policies, subsidies, and financing for addressing housing deficits.

Within this context, two sessions are proposed with the participation of national authorities, local governments, and representatives from financial organizations and development support institutions. The panels aim to facilitate dialogue and discussion between local and national levels, with the goal of promoting better urban public policies.

For more information about the event, please click on the link in the right column.

The Forum of Ministers and Highest Authorities of Housing and Urban Development of Latin America and the Caribbean - MINURVI is the intergovernmental coordination and cooperation entity that promotes the sustainable development of human settlements, and is composed of the ministers of state and governmental authorities under whose jurisdiction are, in their respective countries, matters related to housing and urban development.

In order to address the housing deficit while facing the challenges of climate change and promoting the development of the value chain of sustainable construction and housing, it is imminent to deepen the diagnoses and collaboration between the different actors involved.

In this regard, and in order to provide innovative and effective solutions to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Ministerial Meeting on: Financing for climate change mitigation in urban settlements, which was led by the presidency of Minurvi in charge of Minister Santiago Maggiotti, Minister of Territorial Development and Habitat of Argentina (2022-2023).

The objective of this meeting was to discuss possible strategies to create a regional financing fund that would contribute in a concessional manner to the incremental costs of projects and programs with a significant impact on increasing resilience to climate change and/or reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The event took place on April 10 and 11, 2023 at the Kirchner Cultural Center in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. It was attended by 28 member countries and ECLAC was represented in its role as Technical Secretariat of Minurvi.

Please scroll down the Agenda below to see the details and download the materials of this activity.