How and why does urban regulation affect informality and the fiscal health of a municipality?

How can non-tax instruments finance the costs of urbanization?

Are prices higher in a city with greater infrastructure provision?

Why do land prices not reflect increased urban development?

Is it feasible to provide inclusive housing following market laws?

These and other questions will be addressed in this face-to-face course (40 hours), aimed at professionals in the field of urban planning and management.

The course will take place at ECLAC headquarters in Santiago (Av. Dag Hammarskjöld 3477, Vitacura).

Lecturers include Cynthia Goytia, PhD; Marcela Román, MSc; Martim Smolka, PhD; Diego Aulestia, MA; Anaclaudia Rossbach, Msc, and others.

Application open until September 1, 2023.

All applicants must complete the application form linked on this page, which will be available between August 4 and September 1.

There is a maximum of 30 places available.

The result of the selection process will be announced in the second half of September.

Fees

There is no cost for the course.

Participants will be responsible for their own expenses related to travel and accommodation in Santiago, Chile.

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.

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.