Peru’s “Urban 95 – Lima Norte” project wins fifth edition of CAF’s Urban Development and Social Inclusion Competition

The project titled “Urban 95 – Lima Norte” was ranked first among 238 entries from 14 member countries of CAF-development bank of Latin America- in the fifth Urban Development and Social Inclusion Competition. The prize is USD 15,000.

The jury concluded that “Urban 95 - Lima Norte” - benefiting more than 5,000 people in the communities of La Balanza (Comas district) and El Progreso (Carabayllo district) - is innovative since it proposes children as active producers of urban spaces and relies on direct participation of community members.

The project also addressed the issue of improving the quality of public areas in an environment of urban segregation and informality through a playful and optimistic approach, while also including original design aspects such as easy-to-install modular furniture that can be adapted to different contexts.

The Urban Development and Social Inclusion competition is part of CAF’s Cities with a Future initiative, which promotes an efficient urban management model, focusing on improving accessibility (access to goods, quality services and socio-economic, recreational and cultural opportunities), in order to help improve productivity and social inclusion, with resilience and gender equity in Latin American cities as crosscutting themes.

Daniel Rivera, director of Social Development Projects for CAF’s Northern Region, spoke of the importance of working together with all stakeholders in society on building and strengthening a civic culture of coexistence and solidarity, based on the recognition of our diversity, to promote and develop welfare-oriented projects.

“We need new ideas and a new philosophy. This competition seeks to stimulate and recognize the value of initiatives and projects that will help us better understand the development needs and opportunities for countries of the region, in order to act on them creatively and effectively. These ideas and proposals will contribute to better understanding the dynamics of urban spaces and behavior, and to advance towards societies in which inclusion, respect and human dignity are a reality,” explained Rivera during his speech at the award ceremony held today in Lima.

In addition, Eleonora Silva, CAF representative in Peru, noted that cities drive development in the region, and argued that good urban governance would improve the levels of inclusion and productivity that characterize our countries.

“As a preferred place of residence, and home to the largest number of social, cultural and economic activities, cities are a key element to address the problems of exclusion, inequality and poverty in the region.” Therefore, we need to implement urban management models aimed at improving productivity of cities, but also at promoting social inclusion and the common welfare of citizens,” said Silva.

About the competition

The jury for this edition of the competition included Diana Giambiagi, architect and lecturer in Urban Development Planning at University College London; Mayra Madriz, urbanist and lecturer in Community and Regional Planning and Latin American Studies at the University of New Mexico, and Washington Fajardo, a renowned architect and urbanist with many years of experience in urban renovation of cultural heritage.

The second place was for “Quito seguro. Barrios resilientes como estrategia de desarrollo sostenible para ciudades latinoamericanas” (Safe Quito. Resilient neighborhoods as a sustainable development strategy for Latin American cities), from Ecuador, which received a USD 5,000 prize, and the third place was for “Plataformas de gestión territorial La Silsa” (La Silsa Land Management Platforms), from Venezuela, which received USD 3,000.

In addition, eight honorable mentions and three mentions were awarded. We should recall that in the previous four editions of CAF’s International Urban Development and Social Inclusion Competition, 14 projects from 8 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay), have been recognized, among winners, finalists and special mentions.

Peru has had an outstanding participation in past editions of the competition, because the “Community Center for Participation,” an ingenious approach to public space and an efficient system of community participation in the town of Pisco, won second place in the first edition of the competition. Also, the Peruvian initiative “Yo soy Pisco” (I am Pisco), a strategic development program for families on the coastal region, took second place in the second edition of the competition.

Similarly, “Fitekantropus: Proyecto Urbano Estratégico Integral de los Barrios Culturales” and “La Casa de los Muñecones,” two projects in the Comas district in Lima, tied for second place in the fourth edition of the competition, while the “Pamplona sin límites” project received an honorable mention.