I. Social cohesion and equity

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I. Social cohesion and equity

Urbanization offers the potential for new forms of social inclusion, including more significant equity, access to basic services, new opportunities, and greater mobility that reflects the diversity of cities and countries on a planetary level. To confront urban exclusion, political commitment, mechanisms and institutions that facilitate inclusion are required, such as citizen participation, accountability, universal access to basic services, and adequate urban planning. Aspects such as  improvement of rights and protection for migrants and refugees, safer cities, and urban culture protection are key in this regard.
 

Urban mobility performs fundamental social and economic functions such as providing access to essential opportunities and services in cities. In a region characterized by inequality, deficiencies in public transport systems disproportionately impact the most vulnerable. Only 43% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean has convenient access to public transportation, and its users spend 70% more time commuting to work compared to those who use private vehicles (on average, 70 and 42 minutes, respectively, according to mobility surveys in six cities in the region).

The XXXII MINURVI General Assembly was preceded on the 8th of November 2023 by a meeting in Buenos Aires between local and national authorities called "Towards Inclusive, Sustainable and Smart Cities: A National - Local Dialogue". This dialogue was organised by ECLAC's Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division, to discuss the articulation between different levels of government in terms of urban policy, highlighting the importance of land, urban operators and joint planning for housing and sustainable mobility.

XXXII MINURVI General Assembly (Argentina, 2023)

Event type
Official Photo XXXII MINURVI General Assembly 2023

Official Photo XXXII MINURVI General Assembly 2023

Description

The XXXII General Assembly of MINURVI, the Forum of Ministers and High-Level Authorities of Housing and Urbanism of Latin America and the Caribbean, was held in Buenos Aires on 9 and 10 November 2023. During the meeting, 21 countries signed the Buenos Aires Declaration, highlighting the need to increase funding for climate change adaptation programmes and measures in cities.

In the declaration, authorities committed to addressing qualitative and quantitative housing deficits through new approaches that promote more efficient use of real estate and urbanised land, with special attention to inclusiveness and gender mainstreaming. They also agreed to implement policies to avoid excessive growth in land prices and to develop instruments to capture land value. In addition, they worked on promoting sustainable, smart, and inclusive urban mobility, as well as strengthening the integrality of urban and mobility planning.

The forum was attended by representatives from 21 Latin American and Caribbean countries, together with UN agencies, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the World Bank and delegates from civil society organisations. The forum once again highlighted the need to strengthen inter-institutional coordination for the development, financing and implementation of policies towards inclusive and sustainable growth in the region's cities.

For more information on the 32nd MINURVI General Assembly, please click on the link in the right column.
To view the recording and final declaration of the Assembly, please go to the "Event Information - Attachments" section of this page.

The thirty-second General Assembly of the Forum of Ministers and Highest Authorities of Housing and Urban Development of Latin America and the Caribbean (MINURVI) will be held on November 9 and 10, 2023. The Assembly will take place in Buenos Aires and will be led by the Ministry of Territorial Development and Habitat of Argentina, which chairs the Forum for the period 2023, and will be supported by ECLAC in its role as technical co-secretariat of MINURVI.