Urban resilience to expand in latin america through partnership between CAF and Resilient Cities Network
Resilient Cities Network (R-Cities) and CAF –Development Bank of Latin America- announce a three-year partnership to advance urban resilience in Latin America. The collaboration will deliver resilient infrastructure projects for cities across the region and provide a knowledge exchange platform, technical assistance, and capacity building at the municipal level. The effort builds on work that CAF and R-Cities have undertaken together throughout the past few years, including advancing an URBAN RECOVERY: Resilient Responses to the Crisis.
“This partnership with the Resilient Cities Network is built on trust and confidence to deliver results, based on our years working together,” said Julian Suarez, Vice President of Sustainable Development, CAF. “Cities throughout Latin America and The Caribbean will benefit from this collaboration. R-Cities is the global leader in urban resilience with a proven record of assisting cities in designing specific programs and projects adapted to unique local circumstances to make communities stronger, more resilient, and therefore able to cope with acute shocks and chronic stresses that affect long-term viability.”
Prior to the pandemic, cities in Latin America were already facing some of the more significant levels of income inequality in the world. The IMF has stated that most countries in this region will begin economic recovery in 2021. However, regional growth is forecast at 4.1%, lagging behind the expected world economic growth forecast at 5.5% for the same period. This reality highlights the need for a cooperative rethinking of new solutions that can bring much needed investment to Latin American cities in order to advance a resilient recovery.
“The time for action is now. This partnership between CAF and the Resilient Cities Network will deliver the support Latin American cities need to design, finance, and implement resilience projects that result in better livelihoods for local communities,” explained Eugene Zapata Garesché, Global Director of Strategic Partnerships and head of Latin America & the Caribbean at R-Cities. “This collaboration positions technical experts alongside financial instruments targeted to help the region emerge from the pandemic stronger and more resilient. There is an incredible opportunity for growth and innovation in Latin American cities. This region could easily become a leader of resilience solutions for the rest of the world. CAF is our preferred partner to make this happen in our cities.”
With over 80% of Latin Americans living in cities, CAF recognizes the need for development support at the urban level. R-Cities offers expertise in urban resilience that can bridge the economic, social, environmental, and political discourses so that communities can both recover in the near-term while establishing a vision to address long-term effects. This newly announced partnership will harness the leadership and creativity demonstrated by city practitioners throughout the region, while making the most of this moment of reset in urban planning, providing cities with new solutions to address longer-term systemic concerns that the pandemic has exacerbated.
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