How would you describe the space located under an elevated highway? What feelings or perceptions come to your mind? You probably associate this type of urban space with words like "darkness", "insecurity" or "dirt". It is also possible that it does not generate any sense of identity or belonging, and you do not feel like sitting down to talk with your friends or play with … [Read more...] about Reviving neighborhoods through Tactical Urbanism strategies
Cities LAB
The Cities Laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is our platform for innovation, design, and experimentation for the sustainable urban development in Latin America and the Caribbean. We lead innovative prototypes that arise from co-design processes between officials of the IDB and local actors (community, academia, government); in which citizen participation is key. From these urban interventions, we evaluate the experiences, analyzing the success of the cases with the objective of sharing knowledge, expanding or replicating the implemented pilots. Learn more by reading our blog and visiting the Cities LAB's web.
Govtech Ecosystems in Latin America: innovation focused on improving services to citizens
Govtech ecosystems, defined as ecosystems composed of startups, scale-ups and digital SMEs with solutions developed for public institutions, are already a reality in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). These governments need innovation, technology, and new ideas to be able to respond to the expectations of their citizens, an especially urgently need in the current pandemic … [Read more...] about Govtech Ecosystems in Latin America: innovation focused on improving services to citizens
10 reasons why Heerenstraat Festival is not just a festival
Heerenstraat Festival is a place of encounter to celebrate the living heritage of Paramaribo’s city center. The first edition of the Festival took place between September 30th and October 6th 2019 on the streets of Paramaribo’s city center, a World Heritage Site (WHS). The IDB in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Culture of Suriname partnered with The Back Lot … [Read more...] about 10 reasons why Heerenstraat Festival is not just a festival
Urban experiments in historic downtowns: Local identity and innovation for a more sustainable cultural heritage
Why pursue urban experiments in historic downtowns? It might seem counterintuitive picking the most consolidated areas of the city for experiments. However, the historic downtowns often face obsolescence processes that translate into decay, abandonment, overcrowding, or underuse[1]. Urban experimentation breaks the inertia of such longstanding processes, transforming the … [Read more...] about Urban experiments in historic downtowns: Local identity and innovation for a more sustainable cultural heritage
Strengthening local communities in cities through innovative models
As Yuval Noah Harari describes in his book “Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind”: human society had evolved for thousands of years in small communities that were characterized by strong relationships between individuals and mutual support systems. We are more likely to be part of a community than to be isolated from one. The experiences learned from the SARS-CoV-2 … [Read more...] about Strengthening local communities in cities through innovative models