Summary

This report documents the progress made in the implementation New Urban Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean between 2018 and 2021. The report is based on desk review and analysis of a wide range of data sources, including the Voluntary Local Reviews for cities in the region and national reports on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

The report discusses; the progress made in the three transformative commitments of the NUA, which are social inclusion and ending poverty; inclusive urban prosperity and opportunities for all; and environmentally sustainable and resilient urban development; the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda in terms of the urban governance structure and the planning and managing urban development; and the means of implementation of the NUA with respect to the mobilisation of financial resources; capacity development; and information technology and innovation. 

In Latin America and the Caribbean, substantial progress was made in social inclusion and ending poverty and environment and climate change, while improvements to urban prosperity are lagging. Social housing programmes continue to operate in the region, with innovations such as social housing quotas and greater emphasis on adaptation to climate change and other risks (Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia).

The change in priorities imposed by social distancing and mobility restrictions did not trigger innovative policies in economic-productive development at the neighbourhood level or urban policies or programmes to unblock global production and consumption chains, which were strongly affected by the pandemic. The region shows substantive progress in developing or updating more integrated urban policies. Several countries in the region are making progress in redistributive land management instruments, such as Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, Chile, Dominican Republic, among others. However, there is evidence of a huge setback in developing and/or updating urban land-use plans in Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Brazil, Chile, and Peru, among others.