Español | English A few weeks ago, we were invited to present ESCI’s Urban Design Lab methodology at the Expert Group Meeting in Barcelona organized by UN-HABITAT. The purpose of the meeting was to exchange our knowledge and experience with Urban Labs, and to explore the possibility of creating a toolbox for participatory planning. UN-HABITAT is currently seeking to create … [Read more...] about Urban Labs: A tool for integrated and participatory urban planning
Financing Urban Infrastructure in Emerging Cities: Municipal Bonds
English | Español Local governments in emerging, Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) cities, are facing a daunting task: expanding access to infrastructure services, with scarce financial resources, for fast-growing urban populations. While local expenditures have increased over the past decade in LAC (from 5.5% to 6.6% of GDP between 2000 and 2007), capital … [Read more...] about Financing Urban Infrastructure in Emerging Cities: Municipal Bonds
Financing Urban Infrastructure in Emerging Cities: Public-Private Partnerships
English | Español In the first post of this series, we asked how cities can help close the infrastructure gap in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)—a US$250 billion annual gap—and looked at Manizales’ (Colombia) promising experience with betterment contributions to illustrate an untapped source of revenue for infrastructure financing in emerging cities. We will now look … [Read more...] about Financing Urban Infrastructure in Emerging Cities: Public-Private Partnerships
Can we manage the urban night? A conversation with Amsterdam’s Night Mayor
English | Español As mentioned in previous posts in this blog, for several years I have been doing research on the relevance of the night from a policy perspective for Latin America and the Caribbean. I recently traveled to Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands and a world reference when it comes to night-time policies and innovation. One of such innovations is … [Read more...] about Can we manage the urban night? A conversation with Amsterdam’s Night Mayor
Financing Urban Infrastructure in Emerging Cities: Betterment Levies
English | Español Infrastructure is at the core of livable, sustainable cities. Access to and quality of infrastructure services can determine how long our commute is; the size of a city’s carbon footprint; and even our odds of getting sick, to say the least. It has been well established among urban economists that the availability of sound infrastructure is necessary for … [Read more...] about Financing Urban Infrastructure in Emerging Cities: Betterment Levies