Latin American Cities: Local Solutions to Global Challenges

This article was published in América Futura

In a world full of existential challenges growing at an alarming rate (polarization and collapse of social trust, rampant human displacement, climate crisis, public and food insecurity, economic, racial and gender inequality), the sources of hope are scarce.

In Latin America and the Caribbean we tend to see countries not as what they are (sources of solutions to these challenges) but as overwhelmed by them. The truth is that the region is crucial to building a better global future, particularly when we look at the region through the experiences of its cities and political, social, civil and private sector sub-national leaders.

With more than 80 percent of its people living in cities, Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the most urbanized regions worldwide, and cities—large and small—are indispensable drivers of innovation and fundamental to regional integration. Their victories in terms of policies—when effectively understood, replicated and scaled—hold the keys to addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing the planet today.

That is why our two organizations, the Inter-American Dialogue and CAF, came together last year during the 9th Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, to convene the first Summit of Mayors of the Americas this week in Denver, Colorado. This is also why CAF now operates under an broader mandate to expand lending to sub-national stakeholders and why the Dialogue launched its Cities Initiative.

Democracy is under pressure around the world, due to the collapse of social trust and growing skepticism about its ability to meet the basic needs of the people. Local leaders are on the front lines in the battle to push back against that skepticism and ensure that inclusive public policies are implemented in ways that bring about real-world improvements for ever broader groups of the population.

During a discussion on migration last year in Los Angeles, we witnessed firsthand how mayors can find common ground in the challenges and opportunities inherent to inclusion of large numbers of new residents. In this case, it was the mayors of Bogotá (Colombia), Upala (Costa Rica), and Chattanooga who met to share best practices. In fact, cities are at the forefront of effective and humane management of the issue of migration. As our hemisphere experiences record levels of human mobility, there is much to learn from cities and other sub-regional stakeholders that can and are struggling with complex dynamics while driving the type of effective inclusion that—a recent IMF study shows—benefits host communities and migrants.

Similarly, cities are indispensable players when it comes to climate. Sustainable urban transport infrastructure must be part of any set of policies that seeks to address the climate crisis and ensure the livability of our planet. But again, cities in Latin America and the Caribbean stand at the forefront of innovative policy solutions. Mexico City is targeting its public transport investment towards sustainable initiatives, including one of the world’s largest electric bus fleets. Cities also play a pivotal role in preserving biodiversity, which is a particularly relevant task in Latin America and the Caribbean, as the region is home to over 60 percent of the planet’s biodiversity. As many of Latin America’s megacities are defined by their rivers, CAF is funding efforts to design green, sustainable and resilient public spaces along the Rimac River in an attempt to restore its historic centrality in Lima, and consolidate it as a vibrant ecological corridor.

Cities are key to closing the existing racial and gender gaps in the Americas. Mayors and other local civil leaders have demonstrated that they are in a unique position to transform a discrimination and exclusion structure into one that empowers women and other traditionally marginalized groups. In cities such as Long Beach, California, and Recife, Brazil, local government, civil society and private sector leaders are driving digital transformation, which is estimated to promote 70 percent of new value creation in the global economy, in a more inclusive direction. The work on women’s economic empowerment at the Inter-American Dialogue’s shows how sub-national stakeholders are leading digital capacity-building programs to improve the marketability of the workforce of women and other marginalized communities, and lay the foundation for more inclusive entrepreneurship.

As we demonstrated in Los Angeles and will do again this week in Denver, we are committed to working with sub-national partners to ensure that lessons learned from mayors and other sub-national civil leaders are broadly disseminated. Only by focusing on concrete actions that improve the quality of life can we build the type of inclusive, fair, democratic and resilient societies where all our people can thrive.