MayorsForum2021 Publication ENG

IDB Cities Network
MAYOR’S FORUM:
The Path towards an
Inclusive and Resilient
Recovery in Cities
March 15th & 16th, 2021 | Barranquilla, Colombia
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2
We would like to give special thanks to the
entire team of the Mayor’s Office of
Barranquilla, the Government of Colombia,
and the Inter-American Development Bank
who supported us in the preparation of the
Mayors Forum: The Path Towards an
Inclusive and Resilient Recovery in Cities.
CREDITS
Editing
Mateo Santos
Cities Network Team

María Camila Uribe
Claudia Huerta
Peggy Tsukakoshi
Nana Hirata
Andreina Seijas
Gonzalo Lanfranco
Anabella Ron
Design
Carolina Vargas
www.carolina-vargas.com
Images
Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla
TABLE OF CONTENTS 3
04 GENERAL CONTEXT: MANAGING

CITIES IN TIMES OF CRISIS
06 IDB CITIES NETWORK
09 WELCOME MESSAGE
12 EVENT AGENDA
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS
22 Cities as Engines of Economic Growth
in Post-Pandemic Recovery
31 The Role of Women in the Reactivation

of Cities
38 How can we Promote a Green and

Resilient Recovery in Cities?
42 Inclusion and its Tools: How to Include

People with Disabilities in 21st
Century Cities
44 Rethinking Culture and Creative Industries

in the New Normality
50 The City as a Laboratory of Innovation:

Empowering Solutions to Face the
Challenges of the Pandemic
63 THE FUTURE OF POST-PANDEMIC CITIES
68 BIOGRAPHIES
GENERAL CONTEXT: 4
MANAGING CITIES IN TIMES
GENERAL CONTEXT
OF CRISIS
The crisis caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) had an unpre-
cedented impact on the dynamics of socialization and quality of life
in cities around the world. In Latin America, our frail social security
structures, fragmented health systems and deep inequalities
exacerbated this crisis, leading to the worst recession the region
has experienced in the last 100 years.
The pandemic has challenged the way we live together in
urban areas and raised questions about the most inclusive and
sustainable dynamics in the long term. Up to then, discussions
about the re-densification of urban centers, about the coexist-
ence of land uses, and about non-motorized mobility had been
the focus of debates between architects and urban planners.
However, new forces and impulses towards decentralization took
over as a result of the need to incorporate social distancing into
everyday lives.
In this context, this year’s Meeting of Mayors will focus on
sharing experiences and tools for the post-pandemic recovery
of cities, with special emphasis on boosting their growth and
productivity. These experiences will illustrate the complexities of
Latin America, a region in which informality, social and economic
gaps, and the largely urban nature of its settlements make it even
more difficult to manage a crisis that tests the very notion of “be-
longing to a city”.
We hope that these sessions will inspire mayors and deci-
sion-makers across the region, and will serve as a platform for
making more productive cities and more resilient environments in
the face of post-COVID-19 reconstruction.
MALECÓN DEL RÍO
BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA
Image: Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla
IDB CITIES NETWORK 6
IDB CITIES NETWORK

The Cities Network has positioned itself as a platform for the ex-
change of knowledge, experiences and good practices among
Latin American and Caribbean cities. The Network evolved from
77 cities from the Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative
(ESCI) to more than 200 cities, mostly intermediate and metro-
politan, with high urban growth rates. Since its consolidation in
2017, the Network has been organizing activities such as forums,
workshops, thematic, regional and sectoral seminars, with the
aim of providing mayors and technical officials with a space to
exchange knowledge and information on solutions to their main
urban challenges.
As part of the Housing and Urban Development Division, the
Network is one of the Inter-American Development Bank’s key
tools to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) with respect to urban issues. Guided by this mission,
the Bank is constantly strengthening its relationship with cities in
the region to generate a dialogue among them that serves to dis-
seminate information and good practices that can be replicated.
This has allowed the Bank to identify the strengths and current is-
sues that local governments are facing, as well as the solutions that
have been implemented and the impact these solutions have had.
With the objective of supporting the cities of the Region in
their management of the COVID-19 crisis, throughout 2020 the
Cities Network organized a series of webinars offering virtual
spaces for the exchange of experiences, challenges and solutions
between mayors, high-level officials and experts. These resulted
in a series of lessons learned, concepts, techniques and strate-
gies to face the coronavirus crisis. These events brought together
more than 4,500 people from 400 cities in over 50 countries, and
served as a basis for identifying new multi-sectoral opportunities 7
in crisis management.
The current context and its challenges should be seen as an
IDB CITIES NETWORK

opportunity for cities in the region to share visions and tools to re-
vive our cities looking towards a sustainable future. We hope that
the Mayor’s Forum: The path towards an inclusive and resilient re-
covery in cities will allow us to think of constructive ways to solve
the problems facing the region and to learn from our colleagues.
Please receive a warm welcome to our event.
Cities Network
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DIVISION
CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT SECTOR
INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
8
CONTEXTO GENERAL
LA OBRA NEIGHBORHOOD
WELCOME REMARKS 9
MAYOR OF BARRANQUILLA,
WELCOME MESSAGE
JAIME PUMAREJO HEINS
A year ago, we witnessed the most defiant challenge any city ma-
yor could have faced: a pandemic that threatened life as we knew
it. But of all the lessons this situation could have taught us, I
would highlight one: govern with knowledge, based on evidence,
despite uncertainty.
That knowledge, represented in figures, monitoring and rec-
ommendations from experts, traced us a clear and effective path.
Today, Barranquilla can say that one year later it is a stronger city
and prepared for more complex challenges that will not take us
by surprise.
I am sure that any of the mayors participating in this meeting
will have a lesson to share with us. And that is what it is all about.
After a year full of challenges and lessons learned for the cities, it
is a pleasure for Barranquilla to host a space for dialogue among
the leaders who steered the destiny of the region in the midst of
the crisis that hit us all.
The Annual Meeting of Mayors will be a propitious space for
the transfer of knowledge of those good practices that have al-
lowed us to confront the pandemic and preserve the lives of our
people, while we execute strategies to reactivate the economy
and recover the jobs that were lost.
I thank the IDB Cities Network for betting on Barranquil-
la since 2012, when we were selected to be part of the Emerg-
ing and Sustainable Cities program. This allowed us to show the
world the potential of I thank the IDB Cities Network for betting
on Barranquilla since 2012, when we were selected to be part of
the Emerging and Sustainable Cities program. This allowed us to
show the world the potential of a city that, with the union of wills,
was recovering the confidence of its people as it witnessed more
and better public spaces, with parks, green areas and sports ven-
ues for the enjoyment of families; a robust health system, and
accessible and quality education for all. This has allowed us to
be the city, among the main cities in the country, with the best
results in the fight against poverty in the last 8 years.
In this way, we have managed to position ourselves as an ex-
ample of transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean, and
these were the same foundations that have allowed us to manage
the arrival of COVID-19 in the most assertive manner, even though
we know that we still have a long way to go.
I am fully confident that if we continue to weave this network of key in- 10
stitutions for the promotion of economic and social development, we will
be able to demonstrate the power of cities to generate quality of life and
WELCOME MESSAGE
well-being in our territory.
Welcome!
JAIME PUMAREJO HEINS

Mayor of Barranquilla, Colombia
11
CONTEXTO GENERAL
EVENT AGENDA 12
MARCH 15th, 2021
EVENT AGENDA | MARCH 15 TH, 2021

ALL TIMES IN EST (WASHINGTON D.C.)
9:00-9:20 a.m. OPENING REMARKS

Mauricio Claver-Carone, President, Inter-American
Development Bank
Ivan Duque, President, Republic of Colombia
9:20-9:35 a.m. THE MIRACLE OF BARRANQUILLA

Jaime Pumarejo, Mayor, Barranquilla, Colombia
9:35-10:55 a.m. PANEL DISCUSSION

CITIES AS ENGINES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH
IN THE POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY
Cities are engines of productivity and economic growth. By enabling
business activities along with human resources, cities are sources
of production, innovation and trade. This concentration of people
facilitates the exchange of knowledge, and benefits companies by
granting them access to different markets. Historically, cities have
been linked to productive transformation and are the main engine
behind agglomeration economies.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, it is estimated that between
60% and 70% of regional GDP is generated by activities carried out in
cities. For example, in 2010, the metropolitan areas of Buenos Aires,
Mexico City and São Paulo contributed almost a quarter of the region’s
GDP, while the Greater Metropolitan Area of San José contributed 70%
of Costa Rica’s GDP. Large cities in Latin America and the Caribbean
have similar productivity levels, compared to other cities in the rest of
the world. However they remain below world standards.
Despite their high contribution to the national economy, cities in
Latin American and the Caribbean have not realized their productive
potential. More than 70% of the increase or deceleration in productivity
of economies is affected by the quantity and quality of infrastructure
and public goods. Increasing productivity in the region’s cities is
a key factor in the region’s revival and sustained socio-economic
development. In this sense, increased investment in these assets is
vital to quickly overcome the COVID 19 crisis and to boost growth
in the medium and long term. This is all the more important if an
increase in productivity is associated with more inclusive economic
growth, in order to offset the devastating effects of the crisis that
further accentuated inequalities in the region.
EVENT AGENDA 13
MARCH 15th, 2021

9:35-10:55 a.m. MODERATOR: Benigno López, Vice President of Sectors, IDB

SPEAKERS:
• Greg Clark, Senior Fellow, Urban Land Institute
• Aziza Akhmouch, Head of Division, Cities, Urban Policies and
Sustainable Development, OECD
• José María Ezquiaga, Professor Emeritus, Universidad
Politécnica de Madrid
9:55-10:55 a.m. CLOSED SESSION
MAYOR WORKING SESSIONS
• INFRASTRUCTURE, CONNECTIVITY AND LOGISTICS
MODERATOR: Néstor Roa, Chief, Transport Division, IDB
Ana Beatriz Monteiro, Sector specialist, Transport Division, BID
Paloma Muñoz García, Sector specialist, Transport Division, BID
• QUALITY EMPLOYMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY
MODERATOR: Tomás Bermúdez, Manager, Andean Country
Group BID
• RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPMENT
MODERATOR: Emilio Pineda, Chief, Fiscal Management
Division, IDB
• MIGRATION
MODERATOR: Felipe Muñoz, Chief, Migration Unit, IDB
• CITIES AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR
MODERATOR: James Scriven, CEO, IDB Invest
10:55-11:15 a.m. MAYOR WORKING SESSIONS CONCLUSIONS

MODERATOR: Benigno López, Vice President of Sectors, IDB
11:30a.m. PANEL DISCUSSION

-12:55 p.m. THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE REACTIVATION OF CITIES
Although COVID-19 has had a major global impact, it has particularly
affected women’s economic and productive lives. Studies have shown
that even before the current
crisis, women were already
earning less, saving less and
holding more vulnerable jobs.
This situation is further aggra-
vated by the high concen-
tration of women in sectors
EVENT AGENDA 14
MARCH 15th, 2021

11:30a.m. of women working in the informal sector, and by the large number
-12:55 p.m. working in high-exposure services.
The role of women is strategic in society, both at work and at home.
However, the crisis has meant a significant increase in domestic and
childcare work in the face of school closures. These conditions mean
that women are less able to generate income and have a smaller mar-
gin than men to respond to economic shocks.
In this context, the objective of this session is to make visible the
structural inequalities that women face in the workplace and to analyze
experiences and policies that promote an inclusive economic reactiva-
tion in post-pandemic cities.
MODERATOR: Jessica Bedoya, Chief of Staff and Advisor to the
President, IDB
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Marcelo Cabrol, Chief, Social Sector, IDB
PANELISTS:
• Elsa Noguera, Governor, Atlantico, Colombia
• Martín Llaryora, Mayor, Córdoba, Argentina
• Paula Vargas, Vice Mayor, San José, Costa Rica
• Sivina Moschini, Founder & CEO, SheWorks!
12:55-1:05 p.m. CLOSING REMARKS

Richard Martínez, Vice President of Countries, IDB
15
CONTEXTO GENERAL
EVENT AGENDA 16
MARCH 16th, 2021

9:00-9:10 a.m. OPENING REMARKS

Daniel Palacios, Minister of the Interior, Republic of Colombia
Carlos Correa, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable
Development, Republic of Colombia
9:10-9:15 a.m. VIRTUAL FIELD VISIT
Virtual video of Barranquilla and its actions and measures to
become the first bio-diverse city in Colombia.
9:10-10:30 a.m. PANEL DISCUSSION

HOW CAN WE PROMOTE A GREEN AND RESILIENT
RECOVERY IN CITIES?
In the face of the challenges generated by COVID-19 and climate
change, a green recovery is a priority for cities. This is possible
through the deployment of clean technologies and development
strategies, and the valuation of natural capital and biodiversity as
providers of crucial services for resilience and urban life. This re-
quires building capacity and enhancing ecosystem services to meet
the climate and environmental health needs of cities in the context
of the pandemic. Policy decisions in this direction will be critical in
determining the future of cities.
The objective of this panel is to address the importance of bio-
diversity for cities and to learn about the experiences of cities that
have taken action to incorporate a green agenda into their devel-
opment plans. This conversation will explore how biodiversity con-
tributes to making cities more resilient to health crises and natural
disasters caused by climate change.
MODERATOR: Tatiana Gallego, Division Chief, Urban Development
and Housing Division, IDB
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Alice Charles, Project Lead, Cities,
Infrastructure and Urban Services Platform, World Economic Forum
PANELISTS:
• Pablo Javkin, Mayor, Rosario,
Argentina
• Carlos Ordosgoitia, Mayor,
Montería, Colombia
• Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor,
Miami-Dade County, USA
EVENT AGENDA 17
MARCH 16th, 2021

10:30-10:45 a.m. INCLUSION AND IT’S TOOLS: HOW TO INCLUDE PEOPLE

WITH DISABILITIES IN A 21ST CENTURY CITY
Building inclusive environments is a major challenge facing Latin
American cities. Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to li-
ving in cities where services and public spaces have been planned, de-
signed and built ignoring the needs of people with disabilities. Given
the great importance of public spaces in cities as meeting points, so-
cialization and mental health in the pandemic, it is essential to position
these challenges in the agenda of cities for their inclusive recovery.
In this session we will discuss how to understand the overall
challenge of including people with disabilities in a 21st century city,
and what tools are available to do it in the right way. Concrete ex-
amples of solutions implemented by several cities in the LAC region
will be presented.
PRESENTER:
Juan Pablo Salazar Salamanca, Gender and Diversity Division, IDB
10:55-11:35 a.m. MAYORS NETWORKING SESSION
11:45a.m. SIMULTANEOUS SESSION—PANEL DISCUSSION

-1:00 p.m. RETHINKING THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES IN THE NEW NORMALITY
Ever since it first appeared, COVID-19 has had an immense impact in
our lives. The health crisis has mainly affected life in cities, restricting
the operation of cultural institutions and the development of Cul-
tural and Creative Industries (CCI). Isolation measures adopted to
curb the pandemic had a significant impact on many sectors of the
economy, especially on activities aimed at bringing people together.
CCIs, along with the tourism sector, are among the most affected
by the current crisis. Millions of dollars have been lost due to the
cancellation of shows, concerts and festivals, as well as to the over-
all closure of museums, restaurants and theatres. This has plunged
the sector into a marked economic
crisis and has left creativity without
solid ground to stand on. However,
confinement and social distancing
measures have served to underline
the essential role of culture in urban
life, especially in relation to mental
and emotional health. Additionally,
EVENT AGENDA 18
MARCH 16th, 2021

11:45a.m. they have highlighted the contribution of CCIs to local economic de-
-1:00 p.m. velopment in the region.
The objective of this session is to learn about how cities have
addressed the crisis faced by these industries, and to discuss the
recovery outlook for this sector in 2021.
MODERATOR: Juliano Seabra, Chief, Innovation and Creativity
Division, IDB
PANELISTAS:
• Bruno Reis, Mayor, Salvador Bahía, Brazil
• Delroy Williams, Mayor, Sevilla, Spain
• Juan Espadas Cejas, Mayor, Kingston, Jamaica
11:45a.m. SIMULTANEOUS SESSION—PANEL DISCUSSION

-1:00 p.m. THE CITY AS AN INNOVATION LAB: EMPOWERING
SOLUTIONS TO FACE THE PANDEMIC’S CHALLENGES
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need to develop public poli-
cies to meet the special needs of cities, giving rise to new opportuni-
ties for experimentation. Urban innovation labs act as spaces for ex-
perimentation, with a regional approach, that seek disruptive solutions
to solve complex public problems, challenging traditional governance
structures. Cities all over the world are currently undertaking pilot pro-
jects to test new mobility models, flexible socialization schemes and
new design configurations to respond to the new normality.
This panel will analyze how urban experimentation has allowed
the generation of innovative solutions with the support of the IDB
Cities Lab, a platform for co-design and experimentation that backs
innovation processes to generate solutions for the complex urban
challenges of Latin America and the Caribbean.
EVENT AGENDA 19
MARCH 16th, 2021

11:45a.m. MODERATOR: Irene Arias, CEO, IDB LAB

-1:00 p.m. PANELISTS:
• Carolina Cosse, Mayor, Montevideo, Uruguay
• Patricio Ovalle, Director of Local Development, Providencia, Chile
• Rafael Greca de Macedo, Mayor, Curitiba, Brazil
• Jorge Muñoz Wells, Mayor, Lima, Perú
1:00-1:10 p.m. CLOSING REMARKS

Reina Mejía, Executive Vice President, IDB
20
CONTEXTO GENERAL
VILLA CAROLINA
TECHNICAL 21
DOCUMENTS
TECHNICAL DOCUMENT 22
CITIES AS ENGINES OF
ECONOMIC GROWTH
IN POST-PANDEMIC
RECOVERY
AUTHORS:
Rafael de la Cruz
Mario Loterszpil
Tito Yepes
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Néstor Roa
Lauramaría Pedraza
Claudia M. Pasquetti
At this moment in history when the costs of the pandemic continue to grow 23
and portend debts to be paid for many years to come, two processes are
under way that will mark the history of urban development in Latin America
CITIES AS AN ENGINE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY

and the Caribbean: the recent transformation of cities and the readiness of
all actors to revive economic growth.
Prior to the pandemic, Latin America and the Caribbean experienced one of
the longest and most expansive periods of economic growth that led to a dou-
bling of per capita income and several countries reaching middle-income status.
This extraordinary transformation is the main explanation for the reduction of
poverty and the unprecedented rise of the middle class. Thanks to economic
growth, there has been a vir-
tuous cycle of incentives for
investment. This in turn boosts
Thanks to economic growth,
the creation of businesses and there has been a virtuous cycle
jobs, which are essential fac- of incentives for investment.
tors for improving social wel-
fare from labor income.
This in turn boosts the creation
The resurgence of Bar- of businesses and jobs, which
ranquilla, Guayaquil, or Rio de are essential factors for
Janeiro has showcased this
transformation. However, the
improving social welfare
impact is not limited to just a from labor income.
few examples. In most coun-
tries, the urban population accounts for more than 80 per cent of the total
population, and it is in urban areas where most of the countries’ gross domes-
tic product is produced. This means that the cities of the region have become
central players in public investment, thanks to their solid base of taxpayers
both regarding property taxes and taxes on economic activity.
Despite the immeasurable costs in human lives, the pandemic has also
brough about unprecedented institutional benefits. Governments, compa-
nies, organizations of all kinds, and society in general are now thinking of and
preparing actions to respond to the challenges that come with reactivating
economic growth.
The momentum of the transformation that cities have experienced
through economic growth and the willingness of all actors to re-establish
economic growth places the region’s mayors in a unique position to exercise
unprecedented leadership in the region.
HOW TO ACCELERATE ECONOMIC GROWTH?

We must begin by recognizing that productivity is low and has not increased
in the last 25 years, while in other regions of the world it has grown, leaving
Latin America and the Caribbean at a disadvantage in terms of production
and competitiveness in international markets. Cities in the region have been
implementing actions worth highlighting as specific strategies that now play
a central role in accelerating economic growth:
Making land use regulations more flexible 24
The most important asset that city governments have is land. Therefore, land
use regulations should adopt successful practices in managing urban plan-

ning and development instruments with a view to making land uses more
flexible, thus allowing the rapid entry of new businesses to replace those that
are no longer competitive.
Pragmatism to make investment in infrastructure and logistics more efficient

In strategies for the development of macro infrastructure, coordination be-
tween levels of government and between municipalities should seek to ad-
vance based on early wins, as opposed to comprehensive macro-regional
master plans involving laborious political agreements and hard-to-finance
investment requirements.
Supporting inter-municipal coordination for the development of city systems

A major constraint to more productive urban and national economies stems
from failures in inter-municipal coordination. The consolidation of intermedi-
ate levels of government that complement cities in the development of re-
gional infrastructure is an ongoing process, which still requires improvements
in the legal environment and greater coordination with national governments.
Accelerating the improvement of connectivity and digital skills training

The level of schooling in the region makes it possible to consider strategies
for the rapid conversion of skills to develop the enterprises of the fourth in-
dustrial revolution. This is also an opportunity for cities, especially large and
medium-sized ones, to provide investment and public policies in this direction.
Accelerating process automation as a path to higher productivity

Automation need not be a threat to employment if it is accompanied by dig-
ital skills training and if mediocre automation is avoided, that is, automation
aimed at replacing basic mechanical tasks. Process automation is a trend that
is currently growing stronger at a global scale and can serve to improve pro-
ductivity in agriculture, facilitate access to financial services or tax adminis-
tration, among many others.
Directing investments and regulations towards green infrastructure and

technologies associated with climate change mitigation
Circular economy systems for reusing waste, small-scale renewable energy
systems, energy efficiency technologies in companies and cities of the Smart
Cities concept, vertical and urban agriculture, non-motorized mobility, among
others, are great opportunities for the local market of cities.
HOW TO OVERCOME FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS?

A decrease in tax revenues at the national level and deficits in public as-
sets, especially infrastructure, logistics, public services, digital connectivity,
energy, water, sanitation, urban and social equipment are seen as the most 25
prominent fiscal challenges. In this scenario, the rapid restoration of econo-
mic growth and its acceleration are more than a priority; they are a pressing

matter for city governments.
The best way to solve fiscal challenges is to address the weaknesses and
opportunities for local governments to strengthen their financial autonomy
at each level of the system. They can all do a little better since the taxpayer
base will also shift. Hence, better fiscal management and governance play a
determining role in combining three strategies:
The collection of urban property and land taxes can be significantly in-
creased by improving local tax management and administration. Collection
derived from real estate tax barely represents 0.8% in Colombia, 0.25% in
1. Small-scale renewable energy systems in cities are a great

opportunity for local city markets. Buenos Aires has in-
stalled solar panels in the city. S O U R C E : G O V E R N M E N T
OF BUENOS AIRES.
Ecuador and 0.3% in Peru, The best way to solve fiscal 26
out of the total taxes collect-
ed in each of these countries challenges is to address the

(IDB, 2016). These low figures weaknesses and opportunities
are due to the low productiv- for local governments to
ity of the tax, which in turn is
a consequence of low cover- strengthen their financial
age indexes, of the informal- autonomy at each level of
ity of economic activities, of the system.
the existence of outdated
cadasters, and of obsolete valuation methodologies that do not capture the
market values of real estate.
Finding and implementing innovations and new sources of funding will be

crucial. Experiences with valuation tax collection systems have shown suc-
cessful cases in which between 30% and 60% of the increase in property
values has been recovered when tied to the provision of public infrastructure.
Urban development corporations are also notable examples of asset manage-
ment, land valuation, and extraction of urban capital gains, with effects on
broadening local tax bases.
Diversifying sources of financing. Local borrowing through long-term loans

and bond issuance is a valuable instrument to finance local public investment
projects that improve financing conditions, within a framework of fiscal re-
sponsibility. The issuance of “green bonds” and the participation of private in-
vestment through PPP schemes have also yielded significant benefits in terms
of financing urban works.
THE TASK IS DOABLE

Despite the crisis, it is possible to anticipate that in the next 20 years several
nations in the region will reach the status of developed countries, similar to
those of southern Europe, with the equivalent of US$30,000 in per capita
income. Some will achieve it sooner, others later, and a third group will con-
solidate a middle-income level. Despite the differences, based on the logic
of recurrent transformation all cities will be able to improve the living condi-
tions of their populations and the vitality of their economies.
Here we have proposed and insisted on increasing fiscal resources and
allocating them to investment. In practice this is not always an easy task for
governments, even municipal governments. Expenditure needs, subsidies,
and aid for the lower income population are always present and even more
so in the current crisis. However, ordinary expenditure that promotes con-
sumption and short-term growth has limitations in driving sustained long-
term growth in the absence of investment. Every governor must balance
short-term needs with the responsibility to promote medium- and long-term
development that generates sustainable economic and social well-being.
Backing up new enterprises and creating jobs are the essential ingredients in 27
overcoming poverty through employment income. If there is a proven formula
for advancing social progress it is sustained economic growth While there is

no secret formula for accelerating growth, all the mechanisms available must
be strengthened to make existing businesses more productive and profitable,
and start-ups more likely to
survive. If city governments If there is a proven formula for
have consistently worked on
the foundations for growth,
advancing social progress it is
the entrepreneurial ecosys- sustained economic growth
tem will find the right mix of
these ingredients to thrive despite the setbacks of the crisis.
For more information on these issues, download the paper “Cities as an
engine of growth and social welfare”.
URBAN MOBILITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

Urban mobility can be seen as a thermometer of the economic activity of
cities. Transport needs derive from economic activities in production centers
and from leisure and entertainment activities. An efficient transport system
creates the conditions for the city to develop its economic potential. Con-
versely, a congested system represents a bottleneck for improving economic
productivity. Some studies quantify the value of congestion at between 2 and
5 points of urban GDP, resulting from long travel times, which in major cities
can average 90 minutes a day.
One of the immediate effects of the pandemic was a decline in economic
activity, and with it, a reduction in urban mobility. Compared to pre-pandemic
levels, during the first months of the pandemic some cities only experienced
10% to 20% of their regular traffic as a result of strict containment and quar-
antine measures throughout the region. However, the recovery of urban mo-
bility has not been the same for all modes of transport: One year after the
pandemic was declared, volumes of private car traffic have increased more
quickly, and congestion levels in the six major cities are already at 85-95%
compared to pre-pandemic levels. On the other hand, demand for travel on
public transport systems has recovered more slowly, registering only 40-65%
use in the same cities, compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The economic recovery from the pandemic presents an immense oppor-
tunity to mitigate and possibly reverse growth trends in private car use. Con-
gestion and its negative effects on the urban economy are directly related
to the rate of motorization, which grows annually throughout the region (it
increased from 127 to 201 vehicles per 1000 inhabitants between 2005 and
2015) and generates greater pressure on the road network. Cities are in a
position to promote the use of transport modes that use public space more
efficiently (buses, trains and other public transport), and clean and low-car-
bon modes of transport (walking, bicycles, electric mobility). In this sense, the
implementation of transportation infrastructure projects is a labor-intensive
28

2. Cyclists ride along a 7.5-kilometer bike path inaugurated
by the National District City Hall during World Bicycle Day
in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. SOURCE: FRANCE24.
alternative that can contribute substantially to meeting employment goals.

Some cities have seized the opportunity to invest in upgrading or expanding
their mass transit networks, and to substantially innovate their infrastructure
for non-motorized modes of transport with the introduction of safe bicycle
lanes and quality sidewalks.
MIGRATION: A FACTOR OF URBAN GROWTH

International migration represents approximately one third of the urban
growth in developed nations and is increasingly transforming urban areas
in heterogeneous, multi-ethnic, multicultural and multilingual spaces. It has
been demonstrated that culturally diverse cities are more innovative as they
benefit from a great variety of ideas, international knowledge and capacity to
attract a more innovative labor force (UN Habitat, 2020).
The New Urban Agenda developed by UN Habitat highlights the commit-
ment that governments must assume to guarantee the protection of human
rights of refugees, displaced populations and migrants, regardless of their
immigration status. While the large influx of people into cities presents a vari-
ety of challenges, it can also provide important social, economic and cultural 29
benefits to urban life.
Migrants, refugees and displaced populations have a “right to the city”

that consists in fighting against exclusion in all of its forms and favoring col-
lecting interests. This right must be upheld through the explicit welcoming,
inclusion and integration of migrants, refugees and displaced persons, which
is a responsibility of national governments as well as of cities as their main
receptors. Achieving this requires great levels of multisectoral cooperation.
REFERENCES
Ariza, Katherine; Gordillo, Fabio; Mojica, Agustina Calatayud, Santiago Sánchez,

Carlos; Hollnagel, Julia. (2018). Casos Francisca Giráldez Zúñiga, José María
de financiación del transporte públi- Márquez, Alexander Riobo. (2020) Movi-
co: Retos y buenas prácticas. https:// blog. COVID-19 y movilidad urbana: más
publications.iadb.org/es/casos-de-fi- congestión en el horizonte cercano
nanciacion-del-transporte-publico-re- https://blogs.iadb.org/transporte/es/
tos-y-buenas-practicas covid-19-y-movilidad-urbana-mas-con-
gestion-en-el-horizonte-cercano/
Navas, Cristian; Guevara Cué, Ángelo;
Rubinstein da Silva, Elias; Mix Vidal, Rich- Iván Corbacho (2015). Moviliblog. Trans-
ard (2020). Análisis del estado del arte y porte urbano de calidad por la produc-
experiencias de gestión de demanda de tividad nacional https://blogs.iadb.org/
transporte urbano en América Latina y el transporte/es/transporte-urbano-de-cal-
Caribe. https://publications.iadb.org/ idad-para-mejorar-la-productividad/
es/analisis-del-estado-del-arte-y-experi-
encias-de-gestion-de-demanda-de-trans- United Nations, Department of Economic
porte-urbano-en-america and Social Affairs, Population Division
(2018). World Urbanization Prospects:
Carlos Mojica, Patricia Lynn Scholl, Daniel The 2018 Revision, Online Edition.
Pérez Jaramillo, Cristian Navas, Julieta
Abad (2020). Moviblog. Esto es lo que María Eugenia Rivas, Ancor Suárez,
los usuarios de transporte público tienen Tomás Serebrisky (2019) Hechos estiliza-
que decir durante la pandemia. https:// dos de transporte urbano en América
blogs.iadb.org/transporte/es/esto-es-lo- Latina y el Caribe https://publications.
que-los-usuarios-de-transporte-publico- iadb.org/es/hechos-estilizados-de-trans-
tienen-que-decir-durante-la-pandemia/ porte-urbano-en-america-latina-y-el-caribe
Carlos Mojica, Cristian Navas, Julia Holl- Serebrisky, T. 2014. “Mega-Cities and
nagel, Gibet Camós, Mauro Alem, José Infrastructure in Latin America: What
Rodrigo Rendón. (2020) Moviblog. El Its People Think.” Folleto. Banco Inter-
riesgo de dejar morir al transporte pú- americano de Desarrollo, Washington,
blico. https://blogs.iadb.org/transporte/ DC. https://publications.iadb.org/en/
es/el-riesgo-de-dejar-morir-al-transporte- mega-cities-infrastructure-latin-ameri-
publico/ ca-what-its-people-think
REFERENCES 30
De estructuras a servicios: El camino a

una mejor infraestructura en América
Latina y el Caribe. Banco Interamer-
icano de Desarrollo, Washington DC
(2020). https://publications.iadb.
org/publications/spanish/document/
De-estructuras-a-servicios-El-cami-
no-a-una-mejor-infraestructu-
ra-en-America-Latina-y-el-Caribe.pdf
Lopez-Ghio, Ramiro; Bocarejo, Juan

Pablo; Blanco Blanco, Andrés Políticas
de tarificación por congestión: Efectos
potenciales y consideraciones para su
implementación en Bogotá, Ciudad de
México y Santiago (2018). https://publi-
cations.iadb.org/es/politicas-de-tarifica-
cion-por-congestion-efectos-potencial-
es-y-consideraciones-para-su
ONU-Hábitat (2020) World City Report.

The value of Sustainable Urbanization.
THE ROLE OF WOMEN

IN THE REACTIVATION
OF CITIES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Anne-Marie Urban
Nora Libertun de Duren
Ana Cristina García
Although COVID-19 has had a major global impact, it has particularly affected 32
women’s economic and productive lives. Studies have shown that, before the
current crisis, women already earned less, saved less and had more vulnerable
THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE REACTIVATION OF CITIES

jobs. This situation is made even more precarious by the high concentration of
women in sectors sensitive to economic reconfiguration, such as tourism and
gastronomic services, but also by the high percentage of women working in the
informal sector, and by the large number working in high-exposure services.
The role of women in the reactivation of cities is strategic in society, both
at work and at home. However, the crisis has meant a considerable increase
in domestic work, childcare in the face of school closures, and care for other
dependents. These conditions mean that women are less able to generate
income and have a smaller margin than men to respond to economic shocks.
According to the International
Labour Organization (ILO), wom- According to the
en are over-represented in critical
sectors of exposure to the virus. For
International Labour
example, they make up almost 70% Organization (ILO), women
of the health workforce and exceed are over-represented in
that figure as health volunteers and
caregivers. They are, in short, on the
critical sectors of exposure
front lines of the pandemic response to the virus.
and bear the greatest physical and
emotional costs, while also facing a higher risk of infection.
Although there is an over-representation of women in sectors exposed to
the virus, there is an under-representation of women as political representa-
tives. Currently, less than 7% of the heads of state in the world, less than 5%
of its mayors and only 20% of its councilors are women (Casado, 2020).
The Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) is an annual re-
port that reveals the pros and cons faced by women-led businesses in 58
economies around the world. According to this index, women entrepreneurs
are the engine that will drive the post-pandemic economic recovery in Latin
America. In its 2020 edition, the index shows Colombia as the best country
for female entrepreneurship, given its high representation of female business
leaders, amounting to 57%. It is followed by Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico,
Uruguay, Costa Rica, Peru, and Ecuador.
THE PANDEMIC REINFORCED ALREADY EXISTING STRUCTURAL GAPS

ON WOMEN’S EMPLOYMENT
More jobs have been destroyed during the COVID-19 pandemic than in any
other crisis experienced by the region. According to data from the IDB’s
Labor Observatory, total employment in the region fell by 14% (at least 30
million jobs) from February to June 2020. The effect of the pandemic on
employment is not homogeneous across sectors of the economy. Due to mo-
bility restrictions and social distancing policies, some sectors were more af-
fected than others. In Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, jobs were
mostly lost in the commercial, tourism and gastronomy sectors, all of which 33
employ high numbers of women (IDB, 2020b).
These effects add to the structural challenges that our region already

faced in terms of job markets prior to the crisis: low productivity, high infor-
mality and, more recently, the threat of technological unemployment as a
result of the growing adoption of new technologies. All of these challenges
are closely related to the large gender gaps that existed before the crisis. This
crisis has strongly affected female employment, which decreased by 17.7%
between February and September 2020 (compared to a 13.1% decrease in
male employment), highlighting that women occupy jobs in sectors that were
more vulnerable to this crisis.
HOW CAN WE BE EFFECTIVE IN THE SHORT TERM IN RECOVERING

JOBS WITH A GENDER FOCUS AND IN CLOSING STRUCTURAL GAPS
THAT REQUIRE LONG-LASTING RESULTS?
Improving access and opportunities for women in the job market is not only
a social inclusion issue, but also an opportunity for economies to use their re-
sources in the most efficient way and grow sustainably. If nothing is done, we
3. The crisis has succeeded to deepen the gender gaps that

already existed, and therefore it has worsened its structural
challenges in relation to the job market.
S O U R C E : A C C E S O L AT I N O . O R G .
run the risk of undoing all of the progress in terms of poverty, inequality and 34
gender gap reduction achieved in previous decades.
To accomplish this goal, we propose short-, medium-, and long-term in-

terventions in three specific areas:
1. Support for businesses and entrepreneurs: The private sector is the
largest generator of formal jobs. Therefore, investments must be
made in emerging sectors, greater financial inclusion must be pro-
moted, and incentives for companies that increase and improve quali-
ty employment must be created, emphasizing on female employment
and employability, as well as on supporting digital transformation
(especially for SMEs). Support should also target enterprises in the
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sector or
those with a high technological component capable of creating qual-
ity jobs, especially for women. This can be accomplished through the
IDB Group’s financial and non-financial instruments, and by mobiliz-
ing resources from the private sector.
2. Support for the development of human talent: Developing human
talent involves providing the workforce with the relevant skills to ob-
tain and keep quality jobs by leveraging strategies that develop pub-
lic-private skills, or that allow for massive upskilling and reskilling. It
also involves providing young people in secondary school, who rep-
resent the future generation of workers, the tools they need to close
gender gaps in the digital sphere, and increasing skills, information
and incentives for more women to enter STEM jobs.
3. Adaptation of laws and regulations: This means pushing for regula-
tory changes that promote inclusive job creation and transformation,
such as laws and regulations for telework and remote work, flexible
employment that includes social security and protection, parental
leave and greater access to quality care services.
THE ROLE OF CITIES IN ACHIEVING A NEW AND BETTER BALANCE

Most economic activities and most services are typically carried out and of-
fered in Cities. All cities have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, affecting
employment in these areas. For example, in the Lima metropolitan area, 60%
of jobs were lost between June and August 2020.
The sustainable development of cities translates into closing gender gaps in

human capital acquisition and job market participation. Local governments
have the capacity to strike a better balance in terms of offering equal op-
portunities by reimagining, reconfiguring and reclaiming employment from a
gender-sensitive perspective. Possible actions include:
1. Support for businesses and entrepreneurs:
• Access to financing: Promote a framework of actions that articu-
lates innovation in financial products for women, financial education
programs, and setting up a system of gender indicators to guide the
development of policies and promote women’s financial inclusion.
• Support for local companies and entrepreneurs: 35
• Use a system of incentives for services procurement that focuses
on increasing the contracting of companies led by women or with

a high female participation.
• Create incentives to maintain and protect local employment, fa-
cilitating hiring processes, with an emphasis on women’s work.
• Promote the participation of local businesses in Gender Parity
Taskforces.
2. Support for the development of human talent:
• Reduction of occupational and gender discrimination: Incorporate
rapid and scaled-up gender-sensitive affirmative actions related to
labor intermediation, vocational technical training and enterprise
development to reduce levels of occupational and gender discrimi-
nation in each sector.
• Job training and intermediation:
• Promote more and better public employment services that take into
account the different needs of men and women in the job market.
• Implement digital and hybrid systems of job training and interme-
diation with a gender perspective.
• Provide vocational training programs, guidance and counseling,
business incubators, among others.
• Urban services to facilitate access to training and employment:
• Plan and provide gender-sensitive affordable housing solutions
close to cities.
• Promote a mixed approach to city planning and land use, taking
into account that women usually assume more domestic respon-
sibilities in combination with other needs and occupations. This
means improving transport, safety, daily efficiency and access to
services for women in urban centers.
• Promote accessible, quality childcare to enable women to spend
more of their time developing skills for employment.
3. Adaptation of laws and regulations:
• Regulations adapted to the reality of the citie:
• Access to new technologies and the flow of labor relations, in-
cluding new forms of work such as those provided by digital plat-
forms, require regulations in line with these times. This is espe-
cially important with respect to gender issues, as studies show
that women choose to work on digital platforms because of the
flexibility they provide.
• Regulations that provide support for teleworking and remote
work are needed to combine care and work responsibilities. By
reducing the frequency of travel within cities, these regulations
can also help reduce pollution levels.
• Inclusive public policies:
• Assess existing laws, policies, urban labor divisions and public
36

4. Cities have an important role to play in supporting the
development of human talent. S O U R C E : S E M A N A . C O M
participation from a gender perspective to identify whether there

are cultural prejudices or biases that discriminate against women
or restrict their inclusion.
• Develop a gender-sensitive assessment of urban planning regula-
tions and processes, with a view to understanding and monitoring
the impacts of urban interventions on women and men of various
population groups..
• Family-oriented policies:
• Promote family-friendly policies such as flexible working arrange-
ments (e.g. teleworking, flexitime, part-time jobs), which could
also help to promote a better work-life balance.
REFERENCIAS
Azuara O., Bustelo M., Suaya A. (2020) El futuro del trabajo en América Latina
COVID-19 incrementa las brechas de y el Caribe: ¿Cómo puede la tecnología
género en el mercado laboral http://bit. facilitar la recuperación del empleo tras el
ly/2ZdhFJs COVID-19? https://bit.ly/3agsyAM
Frisancho V., Vera-Cossío D. (2020) Gen- Bateman N y Ross M (2020) “Why has
der Gaps in the Time of Covid-19. https:// COVID been especially harmful for working
blogs.iadb.org/ideas-matter/en/gender- women?” Brookings. https://www.brook-
gaps-in-the-time-of-covid-19/ ings.edu/essay/why-has-covid-19-been-
especially-harmful-for-working-women
REFERENCIAS 37
Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo https://www.mastercard.com/news/me-
EL ROL DE LA MUJER EN LA REACTIVACIÓN DE LAS CIUDADES

(2020). Observatorio Laboral COVID-19. dia/1ulpy5at/ma_miwe-report-2020.pdf
Disponible en https://observatoriolabo-
ral[1]bid.herokuapp.com/ Naciones Unidas (2020) Informe de
políticas: Las repercusiones de la COV-
Casado, F (2020) “El liderazgo de las ID-19 en las mujeres y las niñas https://
alcaldesas ante la pandemia.” El País. bit.ly/3naNUDr
https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/05/15/
planeta_futuro/1589539248_665735.html Naciones Unidas (2020) Los efectos del
COVID-19 sobre las mujeres y las niñas
CEPAL (2020). “Dimensionar los efectos https://bit.ly/3oCtMum
del COVID-19 para pensar en la reacti-
vación”. Informe COVID-19 N°2, 21 de ONU Mujeres (2020) “El Impacto económi-
abril 2020. Santiago de Chile https:// co del COVID-19 en las mujeres de América
repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/han- Latina y el Caribe.” http://bit.ly/3jKMgI3
dle/11362/45445/4/S2000286_es.pdf
ONU Mujeres (2020). Covid-19 en Améri-
CEPAL (2021) “La autonomía económica ca Latina y el Caribe: Cómo incorporar a
de las mujeres en la recuperación sosteni- las mujeres y la igualdad de género en la
ble y con igualdad” Febrero 2021 https:// gestión de la respuesta a la crisis. Brief v
bit.ly/3prHkZX 1.1. 17.03.2020 https://bit.ly/3bfoq3d
Deloitte (2020) “Understanding the Organización internacional del Trabajo

pandemic’s impact on working women (2020) “Panorama Laboral 2020 América
How employers can act now to prevent a Latina y el Caribe”, Page 36 https://
setback in achieving gender parity in the www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---
workplace” http://bit.ly/3ahj880 americas/---ro-lima/documents/publica-
tion/wcms_764630.pdf
Ernst C., Mourelo E. (2020) “La COVID-19 y
el mundo del trabajo en Argentina: impac- UNDP (2020) “El Coronavirus y los retos
to y respuestas de política” Organización para el trabajo de las mujeres en América
Internacional del Trabajo. https://www. Latina” https://www.latinamerica.undp.
ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ameri- org/content/rblac/es/home/library/cri-
cas/---ro-lima/---ilo-buenos_aires/docu- sis_prevention_and_recovery/el-corona-
ments/publication/wcms_740742.pdf virus-y-los-retos-para-el-trabajo-de-las-
Funk KD (2020) Local Responses to a mujeres-en-ame.html
Global Pandemic: Women Mayors Lead
UNDP (2020) Ministerio de las Mujer y Po-
the Way https://bit.ly/3neuU7d
blaciones Vulnerables Jaramillo M., Ñopo,
Hiramatsu, H; Libertun, N y Ariza, M (2018) H. “Impactos de la epidemia del coronavi-
Ciudades Inclusivas: Un camino hacia rus el trabajo de mujeres en Perú” http://
la productividad urbana a partir de la www.mimp.gob.pe/files/Impactos-de-la-
igualdad de género https://publications. epidemia-del-coronavirus-en-el-trabajo-
iadb.org/es/ciudades-inclusivas-un-cami- de-las-mujeres-en-el-Peru.pdf
no-hacia-la-productividad-urbana-par-
Video: Impacto de la pandemia en el
tir-de-la-igualdad-de-genero
empleo femenino en América Latina y el
Mastercard (2020) The Mastercard Index Caribe https://drive.google.com/file/d/
of Women Entrepreneurs: 2020 Report. 1J8bhvTMv6t_EQ24etr8JdDzGm8Vhel-
HE/view
HOW CAN WE PROMOTE

A GREEN AND RESILIENT
RECOVERY IN CITIES?
AUTHORS:
Cristina Gómez García-Reyes y Hernando
García Martínez, Instituto de Investigación de
Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Camilo Santa, BID
Ophelie Chevalier, BID
The recent emergence of COVID-19 has highlighted our fragility as a species, 39
and has revealed the close interdependence between urban lifestyles and a
balance in the planet’s natural base. Today, despite multiple efforts at the
HOW CAN WE PROMOTE A GREEN AND RESILIENT RECOVERY IN CITIES?

global, national and local levels to conserve biological diversity, more than
75% of our planet’s surface has been altered. The loss of species and the
disruption of social-ecological systems continues to be incremental, and we
have failed to embed our actions - individual, institutional, governmental and
corporate - into a system of collective responsibilities that contribute to sus-
tainable and viable environments.
We are living in a vibrant
era, in which new global de- We are living in a vibrant era,
velopment challenges are in which new global
converging with extraordi-
nary digital, IT and biolog- development challenges are
ical innovations. Cities are converging with extraordinary
centers of production and digital, IT and biological
consumption, centers of in-
tensive demand for natu- innovations.
ral resources, and spaces of
high concentration of people; all of these factors affect the metabolism of
socio-ecological systems. Cities are also hubs for global interconnection and
cradles of innovation and creativity. As such, they may serve as engines ca-
pable of reversing the negative interactions between urban growth and the
natural base on which development depends.
This transformative potential of cities and their metabolism has been rec-
ognized as a fundamental asset for sustainable development. We are currently
seeing an influx of tools and solutions emerging from cities themselves. Now
we must continue to stimulate and maintain an articulated effort between cit-
izens, organizations, sectors, and institutions in order to connect all these op-
portunities with the common goal of fostering the development of biodiverse,
sustainable and resilient urban landscapes in the face of global changes.
The confinement that the entire world has lived through for the past year
due to the pandemic has underlined the importance of having different ways
of relating to the environment; this means recognizing the interconnectedness
between people, animals, plants and our shared environment, and committing
to planetary health. World-wide isolation has revived reflections on the basic
nature of ecology and its systemic logic: everything is connected. Following
this logic, the Humboldt Institute is working to set up a network of joint efforts
to favor the transition of cities towards a positive relationship with biodiversity,
and thus be recognized as BiodiverCiudades (or BiodiverCities). This concept
has been coined by the Government of Colombia as a strategy for the transi-
tion of urban centers towards a regional planning that recognizes biodiversity
as essential for development and promotes actions accordingly.
This initiative is launched under a globally ambitious framework, Biodi-
verCities by 2030, which places biodiversity as a determining factor in urban
40

5. Córdoba Wetland, Bogotá, Colombia. The transformative
potential of cities and their metabolism has been recog-
nized as a fundamental asset for sustainable development.
S O U R C E : S E M A N A .CO M
design and city planning processes at a global level. It also raises biodiversity
and environmental awareness among citizens and encourages competitive
solutions based on the available natural supply, to ultimately modify con-
sumption patterns in pursuit of better planetary health.
BiodiverCities by 2030 will be led by a strategic alliance between the
Humboldt Institute and the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with the
Government of Colombia and other key stakeholders. In this alliance, the role
of the Humboldt Institute is to act as a “knowledge broker”, connecting and
transmitting knowledge on biodiversity in the urban sphere, and supporting
the integration and dissemination of products such as the one mentioned
above, so as to generate new synergies and ensure continuity in every effort in
favor of biodiversity conservation in cities, by cities, for cities, and from cities.
It is necessary to continue promoting the creation of tactical products
and initiatives that can be duplicated, and that recognize the complexity of
urban contexts in order to react quickly to change. We must continue to
strengthen the skills of decision-makers in order to develop adaptative city
models that are sensitive to local characteristics; that encourage multi-sec-
toral and transdisciplinary partnerships; that promote greater awareness of
nature values; that place eco- Cities are like living organisms 41
logical services as an intrinsic
part of urban development; governed by complex functions.

that recognize particular op- By understanding these
erating environments; and functions, we will be able to
that incorporate the needs
and responsibilities for biodi- perceive cities’ properties,
versity conservation in Latin their relationships and their
American and global cities. interdependencies at all levels.
Cities are like living or-
ganisms governed by complex functions. By understanding these functions,
we will be able to perceive cities’ properties, their relationships and their in-
terdependencies at all levels. This type of symbiotic approach allows us to be
more effective in identifying links between different components and iden-
tifying their importance, which ultimately will lead to better care for biodi-
versity as an unquestionable source of well-being. Undoubtedly the greatest
risk we are currently facing is the expansive tendency to take nature and its
contributions for granted. We all have a part to play in preventing this risk
from becoming a reality.
REFERENCES
Alpízar F et al (2020) Mainstreaming Rodríguez, E y Scott-Brown, M (2020)
of Natural Capital and Biodiversity into Toolkit: Ciudades biodiversas y resilientes
Planning and Decision-Making: Cases en América Latina y el Caribe https://
from Latin America and the Caribbean publications.iadb.org/publications/
https://publications.iadb.org/en/main- spanish/document/Ciudades-biodi-
streaming-natural-capital-and-biodiver- versas-y-resilientes-en-America-Lati-
sity-planning-and-decision-making-cas- na-y-el-Caribe.pdf
es-latin-america-and
Scott-Brown, M and Lima, A (2021)
González-Mahecha E et al (2020) Climate-Resilient Biodiverse Cities in
Vamos construir verde?: Guia prático Latin America https://issuu.com/home/
para edificações, espaços públicos e published/climate-resilient_biodiverse_
canteiros sustentáveis no Brasil https:// cities_in_lac_march_2
publications.iadb.org/pt/vamos-con-
struir-verde-guia-pratico-para-edifica-
coes-espacos-publicos-e-canteiros-sus-
tentaveis-no
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS 42
INCLUSION AND ITS TOOLS:

HOW TO INCLUDE PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES IN 21ST
CENTURY CITIES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Suzanne Duryea
Juan Pablo Salazar
Mariana Pinzón Caicedo
Building inclusive environments is a major challenge facing Latin American 43
cities. Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to living in cities where
public services and spaces have been planned, designed and built without
INCLUSION AND ITS TOOLS: HOW TO INCLUDE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN 21ST CENTURY CITIES
paying any heed to the needs of people with disabilities. Public spaces have
demonstrated their importance by serving as meeting points, areas to social-
ize and, especially during the pandemic, as places that benefit mental health.
It is therefore essential to incorporate these design challenges into the agen-
da of cities moving towards an inclusive recovery.
Below are some tools developed by the IDB to respond to specific challen-
ges faced by people with disabilities in the region as a result of the pandemic:
1. Key measures to address the impacts of COVID-19 on people

with disabilities
This tool highlights the most prominent challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic
for people with disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and of-
fers examples of measures taken in various countries that attempt to mitigate
and respond to these challenges.
2. How to ensure inclusive education for students with disabilities in times

of emergency?
The pandemic created an opportunity to rethink how emergency educational
planning can include children with disabilities. Some countries have adapted
distance and online learning activities and tools to be accessible to students
with disabilities, especially in relation to visual or hearing impairments. This
document offers a compilation of examples from the region of ways to ensure
inclusive education during the COVID-19 health emergency.
3. It’s About Us All: Inclusion of people with disabilities in Latin America

and the Caribbean
Who are people with disabilities? For a long time, the answer to this question
focused on a person’s health conditions, but what happens when a new con-
cept that facilitates inclusion is introduced? With this interactive tool, we will
learn to identify the social model of disability and understand inclusion a legal,
moral and economic imperative. We will also learn about concrete practices
related to the meaning of inclusion in education, health, work, social protection,
and the prevention of violence against women and girls with disabilities.
4. Lockdown Shorts: First Animation Festival on Disability (videos)

Cortos de Encierro - El primer festival de animación sobre discapacidad
en América Latina y el Caribe. Aquí presentamos cuatro cortometrajes
comisionados sobre herramientas clave para la atención integral a las personas
con discapacidad, abordando temas fundamentales como autonomía, vida
independiente, capacidad jurídica, y prestación de servicios integrados.
5. Blog: Are we taking advantage of the pandemic?

Article on how different countries have taken advantage of the pandemic to
provide accessible mobility.
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS 44
RETHINKING CULTURAL
AND CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES IN THE
NEW NORMALITY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Trinidad Zaldívar
Eliana Prada
Matteo Grazzi
Jesús Navarrete
Ever since it first appeared, COVID-19 has had an immense impact in our lives. 45
The health crisis has mainly affected life in cities, restricting the operation of
cultural institutions and the development of Cultural and Creative Industries
RETHINKING CULTURAL AND CREATIVE INDUSTRIES IN THE NEW NORMALITY

(CCI). Isolation measures adopted to curb the pandemic had a significant
impact on many sectors of the economy, especially on activities aimed at
bringing people together.
CCIs, along with the tourism sector, are among the most affected by the
current crisis. Millions of dollars have been lost due to the cancellation of
shows, concerts and festivals, as well as to the overall closure of museums,
restaurants and theaters. This has plunged the sector into a marked economic
crisis and has left creativity without solid ground to stand on. However, con-
finement and social distancing measures have served to underline the essen-
tial role of culture in urban life, especially in relation to mental and emotional
health. Additionally, they have highlighted the contribution of CCIs to local
economic development in the region.
Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) range from music and literature
to architecture and advertising, and are normally one of the fastest growing
sectors worldwide. According to the United Nations, as of 2015 investment in
culture and creativity has proven to be an excellent means of revitalizing the
6. The National Museum of Art (Munal), in the center of

Mexico City. Confinement and social distancing measures
have reaffirmed the essential role of culture in urban life.
S O U R C E : M A R I O JASS O / C UA R TO S C U R O.
local economy of cities and generating a variety of non-monetized benefits, 46
such as improving social inclusion and resilience, and incentivizing the use of
local resources and knowledge (UNESCO, 2021). CCIs not only attract their

own creative employees to urban areas, but also attract a wide range of peo-
ple seeking a vibrant cultural life and creative ecosystem.
In Latin America alone, CCIs generated close to $124 billion in revenues
and 1.9 million jobs during 2013. In recent years, the so-called orange econo-
my was booming in the region and was increasingly recognized as a relevant
sector for local economic development and quality of life. However, between
April and May 2020, museums, cinemas, cultural centers and entertainment
venues closed their doors to comply with social distancing measures. The
abrupt fall in the income of these establishments has put their financial sus-
tainability at risk, and has resulted in wage reductions and massive layoffs
with major repercussions on their value chains and on the entire productive
ecosystem that sustains them.
Despite these challenges, opportunities also appeared, especially in the
form of a growing trend towards digitalization. Some cultural and creative
sectors such as streaming platforms benefited from an increased demand for
online cultural content during lockdown. However, these benefits only reached
the larger companies, and did not permeate to the small cultural producers
or the thousands of independent workers who are part of this industry. This
reality greatly affects the production and distribution of cultural goods, and
conditions their diversity in
the coming months. The de- The decline in international
cline in international tourism, tourism, the fall in purchasing
the fall in purchasing power
and reductions in public and
power and reductions in public
private funding for arts and and private funding for arts and
culture could further aggra- culture could further aggravate
vate the impact of the crisis
on the cultural and creative
the impact of the crisis on the
sector (OECD, 2020). cultural and creative sector.
CCIS AS SPACES FOR INTERACTION
Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the region was focusing on how to generate an
increase in the economic capacity of cities through cultural activities. Since
the crisis, however, the importance of culture has shifted towards a focus on
its effects on mental health and the role of this sector in generating virtual
and in-person spheres of interaction.
An important lesson learned is that cities need tools that not only al-
low them to respond to contingencies, but also help them strengthen their
creative ecosystems in the long term. Furthermore, this crisis has put our
capacity for socialization to the test, encouraging the emergence of new
models of interaction and business that adapt to the new normality. CCIs
are fundamental spheres of interaction and escape valves for cities, as well
47

7. The decline in international tourism could further aggravate
the impact of this crisis on the cultural and creative sectors.
S O U R C E : E L M O ST R A D O R .CO M
as generators of trust and social capital in the long term. In this sense, it is
important for cities to have concrete strategies and actions that allow them
to protect these industries and to prolong their economic and social bene-
fits for future generations.
RETHINKING CULTURE IN TIMES OF CRISIS

Based on their cultural traditions, their tangible and intangible historical val-
ue and their strategic location within the sector’s value chains, many cities
have decided to become cultural and creative hubs. Despite their differences,
many cities share the experience of hosting annual events or festivals that
bring together a significant number of visitors and serve as a platform to
raise awareness and promote the brand of the city. This is the case of cities
such as Barranquilla, Colombia, New Orleans, United States and Salvador de
Bahia, Brazil that celebrate important carnivals every year, and others such as
Seville, Spain for which the religious traditions and pilgrimages around East-
er attract an important flow of visitors and income for the city. Faced with
the current crisis, many of these events have been suspended or reduced,
resulting in significant losses for the cities that host them, and creating major 48
challenges related to the sustainability of these celebrations.
Faced with the impossibility of congregating thousands of people in their

streets or public spaces at the same time, many of these cities have opted to
reduce the scale of these events. In other words, instead of holding a large
annual celebration, some cities have decided to organize a series of smaller
events that provide an opportunity to bring groups of people together while
respecting social distancing measures. In the long term, such measures could
contribute to the diversification of the region’s celebration agenda, opening
up new opportunities for tourism and business. On the other hand, the hiatus
in the cultural agenda of cities has meant an important space to rethink the
capacities of these industries. For example, the suspension of the Crop Over
Festival in Barbados led to the emergence of a national training program for
artists and entrepreneurs who are part of this annual celebration, a hallmark
of the culture of this island.
The response of these cities to closures and social distancing measures
are interesting examples of resilience and adaptation in the context of CCIs.
In turn, their responses have served to highlight the broad ecosystem that
drives these events, and the need to mobilize both public and private funds
to recover it.
REFERENCES
Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo Buitrago PF, Duque, I (2013) La economía

(2020) ¿Qué están haciendo los países naranja: Una oportunidad infinita. Banco
de América Latina y el Caribe para apoyar Interamericano de Desarrollo https://
a las industrias culturales y creativas publications.iadb.org/es/la-econo-
durante el COVID-19? (Infografía) https:// mia-naranja-una-oportunidad-infinita
www.iadb.org/es/coronavirus/em-
prendedores Creative Industries Council (2020) Plan
de reactivación económica para industrias
Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo creativas https://www.thecreativeindus-
(2020, Septiembre) Webinar: “The Future tries.co.uk/media/556524/cic-recovery-
of Festivals: Can we reinvent the way we plan-final-sub.pdf
celebrate?” Recording of the webinar is
available here. Creatividad, Cultura y Capital (2021) La
inversión de impacto en la economía crea-
Benavente JM, Grazzi M (2017) Políti- tiva global https://www.creativityculture-
cas públicas para la creatividad y la capital.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/
innovación: Impulsando la economía Creatividad-Cultura-y-Capital-La-inver-
naranja en América Latina y el Caribe. sion-de-impacto-en-la-economia-creati-
Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. va-global-Espanol.pdf
https://publications.iadb.org/es/pub-
licacion/17293/politicas-publicas-pa-
ra-la-creatividad-y-la-innovacion-impul-
sando-la-economia
REFERENCES 49
Escuela Nacional de Administración UNESCO (2012, May) Culture: A driver

Pública (2020) Gestión pública en an an enabler of sustainable urban
tiempos de crisis: Impacto de la crisis en development https://www.un.org/
el sector cultura. Contexto N7 https:// millenniumgoals/pdf/Think%20Piec-
cdn.www.gob.pe/uploads/document/ es/2_culture.pdf
file/1439604/Contexto7_ENAP_2020.
pdf.pdf UNESCO (2020) América Latina y el
Caribe frente al COVID-19 desde la cultura
Luzardo A, De Jesús D, Pérez M (2017) http://www.lacult.unesco.org/covid-
Economía Naranja: Innovaciones que no 19lac/acciones.php?lg=1
sabías que eran de América Latina y el
Caribe. Banco Interamericano de Desar- UNESCO (2020) Evaluación del impacto
rollo. https://publications.iadb.org/es/ del COVID-19 en las industrias culturales
publicacion/17263/economia-naranja-in- y creativas: una iniciativa conjunta del
novaciones-que-no-sabias-que-eran-de- MERCOSUR, UNESCO, BID, SEGIB y OEI
america-latina-y-el https://es.unesco.org/fieldoffice/monte-
video/ImpactoCovidCultura
Majlis, M y Ruy, A (2020) Unidos por la
reactivación de las Industrias Creativas VibeLab (2020-2021) Global Nighttime
y Culturales. Blog Kreatópolis. Banco Recovery Plan https://www.nighttime.
Interamericano de Desarrollo. https:// org/recoveryplan/
blogs.iadb.org/industrias-creativas/es/
unidos-por-la-reactivacion-de-las-indus-
trias-creativas-y-culturales/
OECD (2020, September) Culture Shock:

COVID-19 and the cultural and creative
sectors https://www.oecd.org/coronavi-
rus/policy-responses/culture-shock-cov-
id-19-and-thecultural-and-creative-sec-
tors-08da9e0e/
Rodríguez L (2018) Economía creativa en

América Latina y el Caribe: Mediciones
y Desafíos Banco Interamericano de
Desarrollo https://publications.iadb.org/
es/economia-creativa-en-america-lati-
na-y-el-caribe-mediciones-y-desafios
Sasso S, Prada E, Zaldívar T, Uribe MC,

Ron A (2021) ¿Cómo repensar las indus-
trias culturales y creativas en la ciudad
pospandemia? Banco Interamericano de
Desarrollo (fascículo en peer review)
THE CITY AS A
LABORATORY OF
INNOVATION: PROMOTING
SOLUTIONS TO MEET THE
CHALLENGES BROUGHT
BY THE PANDEMIC
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Carolina Piedrafita
Alexandra Richter
Estrella Peinado
Juan Pablo López-Gross
THE ROLE OF URBAN EXPERIMENTATION AND 51
URBAN LABORATORIES
Experimentation is conceived as a means to test an idea, hypothesis or solu-
THE CITY AS A LABORATORY OF INNOVATION: PROMOTING SOLUTIONS TO MEET THE CHALLENGES BROUGHT BY THE PANDEMIC
tion as part of a long-term innovation approach, which allows the creation
of iterative solutions and generates processes of adaptation and continuous
learning. Experimentation includes trial-and-error mechanisms and practices
to assess whether a proposed solution achieves the expected results, thus
helping to pilot innovations and minimize the risk of potential failures.
Urban innovation labs act as spaces for experimentation, with a regional
approach, that seek disruptive solutions to solve complex public problems,
challenging traditional governance structures (Long, 2019). Urban laboratories
play a fundamental role as catalysts of innovation, and as articulators and ex-
perimenters at the local level, conceiving cities as testing places where citizens
are at the center of any transformation. The essence of urban laboratories is
their multi-sector nature, and their ability to involve citizens in all stages of
decision-making processes (Steen and van Bueren 2017).
While the ultimate goal of laboratories is to find successful solutions, their
status as small, dynamic units that tend to enjoy a degree of independence
within more established structures opens them up to failure but also provides
enough flexibility to quickly recover (Acevedo and Dassen 2016). Through ex-
perimentation methodologies, laboratories design interventions, develop pro-
totypes, rapidly adapt pilot projects, and evaluate their impact before scaling
up projects, thereby reducing costs and risks.
Furthermore, over the last four decades Latin America and the Caribbe-
an have been experiencing an accelerated urbanization process, which has
brought with it high population growth. This, in turn, has evidenced the lim-
ited response capacity of conventional planning processes and instruments
needed to respond quickly and efficiently to the needs of millions of people,
especially those with lower incomes.
In this context, urban experimentation becomes a powerful strategy to
speed up the transformation of cities through participatory processes that
bring together institutions, the community, and all the actors involved in city
development. Through trial and error, it is possible to reach consensual in-
terventions and agree on
long-lasting planning pro- “...urban experimentation
cesses. This includes and becomes a powerful strategy
gives all citizens access to
the city’s physical, social and to speed up the transformation
economic development. of cities through participatory
processes that bring together
A COLLABORATIVE
PROCESS institutions, the community,
Urban experimentation is and all the actors involved in
only possible through collab- city development.”
orative and interdisciplinary
work, which could exceed the capacities and resources of a local government. 52
Therefore, it is important to establish alliances between local government
entities, the private sector, the academic sector, and civil society, always
placing the local beneficiary community at the center. The latter will play a
fundamental role in the co-design, validation and sustainability of a project.
Political will is crucial in creating spaces for urban experimentation within
public institutions; it is the first step that will generate trust among communi-
ty members and among potential allies seeking to solve a common problem.
Political will is also synonymous with accepting that the current regulations
or the modus operandi of a local government cannot solve all the problems
of a city. In the urban context, a citizen association, an organization, a com-
pany, or a university will likely have experience or show an interest in the
co-creation of a solution; sharing agendas in the framework of experimenta-
tion can be very beneficial to avoid duplicating efforts and to bridge gaps in
knowledge and resources.
Honduras has great potential in the development of creative industries

through innovation and its cultural heritage. The Initiative Naranja Republik
(NRNJ RPBLK), promoted by the IDB Lab originates in this context to sup-
port urban revitalization. The initiative involves turning the Historic Center
of Tegucigalpa into an innovation ecosystem that encourages participation
from citizens, entrepreneurs, companies, universities, and public and private
institutions in the framework of the orange economy and looking towards a
digital agenda.
The Naranja Urban (NU) Lab was created for this purpose to lead the
design and implementation of experiments aimed at responding to urban
challenges. Through a participatory and collaborative process, the labora-
tory identifies tests and experiments that could shed light on various issues
affecting the urban environment and the quality of life of people who live,
work or move through Historic Center (ecological impact, transportation,
public spaces, impact of natural systems and urban renewal, among others).
The NU Lab maintains a continuous feedback process: “don’t assume, ask;
don’t discard, prototype”. One of its projects was a participatory diagnostic
exercise carried out in 2020 to map the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the
nightlife and cultural life of the Historic Center. Through online surveys, focus
groups and spatial analysis, this exercise led to the identification of a series
of measures to adjust the regulatory framework and create new governance
schemes to facilitate the reactivation of this foundational sector of the city.
NRNJ RPBLK is possible thanks to the collaboration between interna-
tional organizations such as the IDB and the United States Agency for In-
ternational Development (USAID), local institutions such as the Museum for
National Identity (MIN) and the Mayor’s Office of the Central District, as well
as the private and academic sectors.
53
The Historic Center of Tegucigalpa at night.
SOURCE: LEE MARIN
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT:

• Naranja Republik https://naranjarepublik.org/
• Naranja Urban Lab https://nu-lab.org/
• Historic centers and COVID-19: Measuring the impact of the current crisis
on the historic center of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela (in Spanish)
https://nu-lab.org/centros-historicos-y-covid-19-midiendo-el-impac-
to-de-la-actual-crisis-sobre-el-centro-historico-de-tegucigalpa-y-co-
mayaguela/
54
Nightlife clusters in the Historic Center of
Tegucigalpa.
SOURCE: ANDREINA SEIJAS, 2020
WHY AN URBAN INNOVATION LAB AT THE IDB?

The IDB Cities Lab (LAB) is a platform for co-design and experimentation in
which to explore innovation processes to generate solutions to the complex
urban challenges of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). LAB seeks to
meet governments’ capacity building demand so that they may undertake ex-
perimentation and innovation processes, in order to demonstrate the potential
of iterative urban innovation and generate disruptive solutions with long-term
impact. LAB also allows experimenting with solutions to problems that arise
during the design or execution of IDB lending operations, and supports exe-
cuting agencies when testing interventions or including innovation approach-
es for the medium or long term.
The main objective of LAB is to catalyze and promote an environment of
innovation in LAC cities and in the Bank’s operations related to these cities. It
fulfills three roles: (i) Visionary, identifies and analyzes trends in innovation;
(ii) Connector, articulates multiple actors and disseminates innovation among 55
cities and among IDB teams; and (iii) Experimenter, sets the ground for the
first steps and supports the necessary experimentation for piloting and scaling
of subsequent solutions.
During its first three years of implementation (2017 - 2020), LAB has ap-
plied a non-linear iterative process, similar to design thinking, to test and refine
urban solutions. This process consists of five stages in which LAB: explores
new ideas, experiments, evaluates, scales and communicates. In each stage,
LAB uses and/or develops tools that allow it to achieve its objectives.
LAB has achieved three main results: (i) It has helped position experi-
mentation as a tool for the design of innovative urban interventions in LAC.
LAB has designed, implemented, and evaluated 25 pilot projects in 25 cities
in LAC on issues related to revitalization of historic centers, reactivation of
public spaces, sustainable mobility, solid waste management, and monitoring
of informality. (ii) It has strengthened exploration mechanisms through idea-
tion activities to identify common challenges and propose innovative ideas
and solutions. LAB has carried out more than twenty exploratory activities
including, among others, hackathons, competitions (university, civil society, in-
ter-city), placemaking forums, inter-city knowledge exchange programs, and
brainstorming sessions. (iii) It has built alliances with diverse important ac-
tors for innovation in the region, through communication and dissemination
strategies. LAB has created networking spaces for cities and diverse actors,
through more than 10 events for the dissemination of experiences and capac-
ity building. It also strengthened communication and dissemination of results
through social networks, its website, blogs and publications.
URBAN EXPERIMENTATION AND COVID-19

With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, LAB adapted its
approach to solve the urban challenges that were exacerbated in the region.
LAB focused on: (i) Promoting urban experimentation for the reactivation
of public spaces, through a competition aimed at civil society and three pi-
lot projects. Despite physical contact limitations, LAB included virtual par-
ticipation methodologies. (ii) Developing knowledge products related to
the reactivation of public spaces, such as a practical guide aimed at local
governments; and (iii) Developing activities that promote innovation as a
means to address the challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. For example,
the Barranquilla University Competition and the Innopolis Urban Innovation
Competition, from which candidates are selected to participate in knowledge
exchange programs.
MORE DETAILS ABOUT THESE ACTIVITIES ARE SHARED BELOW:

A. IDEATHON: BACK TO THE STREETS
The “Back to the Streets” competition of the Cities Lab was created
to find innovative solutions for the new normal: sustainability, resilience
and inclusion with physical distance. This Ideathon attempted to foster
56
El Ideatón recibió 500 propuestas de toda la región de ALC,
las 100 mejores propuestas han sido publicadas a través de
un repositorio online. FUENTE: B ID.
innovative and viable solutions to rethink existing infrastructures in the

post-COVID-19 transition context of Latin America and the Caribbean
(LAC). The Ideathon received 500 proposals from across the LAC region.
Six teams won an award for their proposals and participated in an online
incubation process. Additionally, the 100 best proposals have been pub-
lished in an online repository.
The goal of the two-month incubation process was to help the teams
design and adapt their preliminary ideas into experimental prototypes.
The co-design process included international experts from the academ-
ic sector, the public sector, and civic activists and created a space for
knowledge-sharing activities between the teams. It included two weekly
sessions: a theoretical session with a guest expert and a working ses-
sion with expert tutors to support the work of the team. The incubation
process resulted in six prototypes. These prototypes are ready for im-
plementation in LAC cities and can be measured and evaluated from a
perspective of transformation and generation of new public policies for
the return to urban space during and after the COVID-19 health crisis.
For more information, visit:
• Ideathon Repository: https://volveralacalle.com/
• Ideathon Webiste: https://www.iadb.org/es/desarrollo-ur-
bano-y-vivienda/ideaton-volver-la-calle-soluciones-poscov-
id19-nuevo-comun-urbano
• Back to the streets: innovative solutions for the new sustainable, resil- 57
ient and inclusive urban normal with social distancing
https://blogs.iadb.org/ciudades-sostenibles/es/volv-
er-a-la-callle-soluciones-innovadoras-nuevo-comun-sostenible-re-
siliente-inclusivo-distanciamiento-fisico-coronavirus-covid19-po-
spandemia-poscovid-espacio-publico/
B. “ESTACIÓN ARMONÍA”, A PILOT PROJECT ON PUBLIC SPACE -

MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY”
This project was conceived from the beginning to meet the needs of
people who are in constant exposure and risk of infection of COVID-19:
people who work in making home deliveries through digital platforms.
The fear of contagion exponentially increased the demand for this ser-
vice, placing the delivery drivers in vulnerable situations, considering
that there is no urban infrastructure to mitigate crowds or offer rest and
sanitation solutions. The pilot project focused on addressing this need
through participatory processes with delivery companies, delivery driv-
ers and residents of the “Parque Rodó” neighborhood, implementing
street furniture elements that offer a series of services to both delivery
drivers and residents. A station was designed with furniture for rest-
ing, vegetation, parking spaces for motorcycles, bicycle repair tools, cell
phone charger and a gel alcohol dispenser.
“Estación Armonía” was conceived from the beginning to meet the needs of
people who are in constant exposure and risk of infection of COVID-19: people
who work in making home deliveries through digital platforms. S O U R C E : I D B .
Latin America has increased its demand for workers with digital skills, 58
and has experienced an increase in the use of digital job platforms to
find work and generate income, accentuated by the impact of COV-
ID-19. Goods deliveries or passenger transport companies, for example,
have multiplied their number of workers in recent months and, in the
face of uncertainty, many companies have sought to hire freelancers,
which does not involve increasing their workforce payroll. From a con-
sumer point of view, many people under lockdown restrictions have
digitized their work and social interactions as well as opted for online
consumption and shopping. This includes older generations who in the
past had shown some resistance towards using digital services and now,
forced by current circumstances, have adapted to the digital world by
using services such as online banking, as they were unable to physically
go to bank branches. These situations have stimulated and accelerated
the hiring of workers for digital platforms. This means that it is now
more pressing to pay special attention to the labor rights of workers in
these sectors, as highlighted by a study recently published by IDB Lab,
the IDB Group’s innovation lab.
• Waiting areas for home delivery drivers (Video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkNravXOAB4
C. CAMPO GRANDE, BRASIL

The pilot project developed in the “Avenida 14 de Julho” public space
in the city of Campo Grande sought the integration of all the actors
that coexist on this important road. Its development was carried out
In Campo Grande, the pilot project developed in the public space of the
“Avenida 14 de Julho” sought the integration of all the actors that coexist in
this important road. S O U R C E : I D B .
with social distancing and facial protection measures, through participa- 59
tory design processes that included inhabitants, bar and restaurant own-
ers, neighbors, merchants, and all the stakeholders in general. The aim of
the project was to co-construct a street where temporary priority was
given to pedestrians, at a site that usually has intense commercial activi-
ty. This process was carried out in partnership with local businesses and
merchants who worked together in the operation of the location. Thanks
to this pilot project, a series of design recommendations were defined for
the large-scale definitive mobility and public space project for this avenue.
• https://www.instagram.com/p/CJHBczLh9SZ/?igshid=1x-
4yqe45pqt99
• https://www.instagram.com/p/CIDvRSKhkk-/?igshid=1wov2jrq5kf6
• https://www.instagram.com/p/CH7-n-dhiTH/?igshid=16stps-
fa356wo
D. PILOT PROJECT IN THE SAN TELMO NEIGHBORHOOD ON PUBLIC

SPACE IN THE BAJO AUTOPISTA - BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
This pilot project takes into account methodological and urban design
aspects compatible with the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Regard-
ing methodology, the participatory workshops with inhabitants of the
neighborhood were carried out through virtual sessions; the staff of the
By increasing the space for pedestrian circulation and promoting economic

activities in public space, the public space pilot project of the Bajo Autopista
of the San Telmo neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, makes important
contributions to the reduction of the risk of COVID-19 infection. S O U R C E : I D B
Government of the City of Buenos Aires participated in these workshops, 60
which opened the door to the possibility of replicating and institution-
alizing this methodology of citizen participation while avoiding large
crowds. Regarding urban design, the San Telmo project proposed a sig-
nificant increase in the area destined for pedestrian circulation and rest
in a section of Defensa Street. At the same time, it allowed businesses
located in that section to serve customers outside their premises. Both
increasing the space for pedestrian circulation and promoting economic
activities in public spaces are important contributions to reducing the
risk of COVID-19 infection.
• Baja Autopista San Telmo https://www.instagram.com/p/CJGrn-
h5HUfN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
E. PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR THE REACTIVATION OF PUBLIC SPACES IN

THE COVID-19 CONTEXT. APPLICATION IN TWO CITIES: BUENOS
AIRES AND SAN SALVADOR
The LAB is developing a practical guide for the reactivation of public
spaces. In it, it offers a methodology for local governments to select the
best alternatives for optimizing their transition into the post-COVID-19
era. It also offers a diagnosis of public spaces in LAC and a systematiza-
tion of good practices at the international level. The guide was validated
in two cities: San Salvador and Buenos Aires. In both cities, action plans
were developed through collaborative work with the local governments.
F. COMPETITION OF IDEAS FOR THE URBAN RECOVERY OF THE

HISTORIC CENTER OF THE CITY OF BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA.
The social, cultural, economic and architectural wealth of the Historic
Center of Barranquilla is threatened by environmental pollution and ir-
regular use and occupation of public space by vendors. Furthermore, the
COVID-19 crisis has discouraged people from being in and appropriating
the streets, alleys, parks and squares of the city’s Historic Center. For this
reason, this competition sought urban proposals to recover public space,
protect and strengthen the value of the Historic Center, and generate
new socio-economic dynamics that guarantee forms of appropriation in
accordance with the new health conditions brought about by the crisis,
as well as its sustainability in the long term.
More than 140 proposals were received, from which the proposal ti-
tled “La Huella Cultural”, from the University of Cordoba, Argentina, was
selected as the winner. “La Huella Cultural” proposes the creation of an
interconnected city that promotes its own culture and history. It rein-
forces important economic activities such as gastronomy and commerce
under an environmental perspective that attracts new users, and that
allows citizen participation for its development. It addresses the recov-
ery of biodiversity by creating new green areas, and a circuit that con-
nects heritage landmarks and the raised awareness on the value of the 61
Magdalena River, Colombia’s most important river, connecting the city of
Barranquilla to the whole world.
G. INNOPOLIS URBAN INNOVATION CONTEST
In synergy with the Cities Network, the Lab organized the Innopolis Urban
Innovation Contest with the objective of compiling the best innovation
practices that local governments and local economic development agen-
cies are implementing to face urban challenges. These practices focused
on 5 areas: COVID-19, economic reactivation, urban mobility, housing,
and environmental sustainability. A total of 187 proposals were received
from 16 LAC countries. 15 proposals will be selected to participate in a
workshop that develops case studies to be published. From these, the
Cities Lab will choose three cities to participate in a knowledge exchange
program with three European cities. These exchanges aim to strengthen
the capacities of a local official from the participating governments, who
will promote innovation and experimentation approaches in their city.
HOW WILL LAB’S EXPERIMENTATION WITH CITIES ADDRESS THE

REGION’S CHALLENGES IN THE FUTURE?
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has highlighted the vulnerability of the
poorest communities in LAC. The lack of decent housing, limited access to
basic services, and urban precariousness are just some of the factors that
have affected the most disadvantaged sectors of the population in terms
of health, employment, and financial stability.
Therefore, the strategic focus of the IDB Cities Lab for 2021-2022 is the
inclusion of innovations in precarious settlements (informal settlements),
access to housing, urban biodiversity, and connectivity. It will center on
these issues to develop strategies, methods and tools that allow local gov-
ernments in the Region to experiment with processes and solutions to
The COVID-19 emergency has highlighted the importance of technology to in-

form decisions about measures to prevent the spread of the disease. The IDB has
developed the tool “Distancia2”, a platform that takes advantage of the video
infrastructure available in many cities in the region and combines it with Artifi-
cial Intelligence (AI) to help mitigate the risk of contagion in areas where large
crowds gather. Distancia2 uses modern AI algorithms to detect people and cal-
culate the distance between them. When this distance is less than the limit set to
protect people’s health (e.g. 2 meters), an alarm is triggered and transmitted to
the platform. The platform has a dashboard showing the parameters that the city
determines (e.g. percentage of people standing less than 2 meters apart in each
unit of time), which provides useful data for decision making. This development
62
is scalable and focuses on adding intelligence to the available infrastructure. Runs
on local authority IT infrastructure, either on-premise or in the cloud. The IDB li-
censes its use at no cost. The platform can be used to perform real-time analyses
or to perform historical analyses of behavior previously recorded by the cameras.
THE FUTURE OF 63
POST-PANDEMIC CITIES
Historically, highly dense and populated urban settlements have been asso- 64
ciated with an increased risk of conflicts and diseases. In the Middle Ages,
wealthier residents of European cities moved to the countryside to escape
THE FUTURE OF POST-PANDEMIC CITIES

the plagues that afflicted large urban areas. Likewise, during the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries, cities were usually considered places of crime,
immorality, and unrest. Despite these negative perceptions of urban density,
cities have played an important role in crisis management.
Jane Jacobs’ masterpiece, The Death and Life of Great American Cities,
ends with a reflection that is particularly insightful in the context of COVID-19.
Jacobs says that, despite the fact that cities were once the most affected vic-
tims of diseases, they ended up becoming the great conquerors of these diffi-
culties, since they now have the great infrastructures, technological advances
and innovations necessary to face public health challenges (Jacobs, 1961). Fifty
years later, in an academic article that gives continuity to Jacobs’ argument,
Luis M.A. Bethencourt expands these ideas based on an analysis of cities from
the perspective of complex systems. He argues that cities should not only be
understood as large collections of people, but also as “agglomerations of so-
cial ties” that form the basis for their functioning and competitiveness. Study-
ing how these ties change over time is critical when trying to adapt our cities
and their governance systems to the new ways in which people interact with
their immediate environment.
Just as 9/11 marked a before and after in terms of security for New York
and globally, COVID-19 could transform some of the habits and norms of inter-
action in urban areas to varying extents and with different characteristics. This
crisis has tested our capacity and natural inclination to be sociable, but it has
Cities should not only be understood as large collections of people, but also
as “agglomerations of social ties” that form the basis for their functioning
and competitivenes. S O U R C E : E F E .
also created new opportunities to reflect on the way in which social and eco- 65
nomic activities are distributed in urban areas. Over the last year, the question
of what cities can do to adapt to the new normal, has often been asked. Al-

though there is no single answer, we do have lessons on how COVID-19 made
us rethink the way in which we build and appropriate our cities.
A first lesson has to do
with a paradigm shift and A first lesson has to do with a
increasing inequalities in
working conditions. As more
paradigm shift and increasing
people work from home, the inequalities in working
boundaries of the workday conditions.
have become more blurred,
resulting in increased levels of isolation and stress for many workers. However,
this has also meant an improvement in the quality of life for some people who
no longer have to commute to work. They now have more hours to spend with
family and loved ones, and this also leads to a reduction in congestion and
emissions associated with mobility. As of August 2020, 1 in 4 employees in
the United States were teleworking, and most of them were highly educated
(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). While there has been an increase in
the number of people working from home in Latin America, social inequali-
ties, limited access to a stable internet connection and the high level of labor
informality already existing in our region further accentuate the difficulties for
remote work, turning it into a “luxury” that not everyone can access.
A second lesson relates to the decentralization of urban life. With the in-
creasing capacity of technology to enable remote work, the demand for of-
fice space is expected to decrease by 20-30% (Florida, 2021). Many financial
centers will reinvent themselves as residential areas, in order to attract new
tenants to occupy and enliven areas. This not only includes office buildings,
but also shops, cafes and restaurants that operate in these areas. On the oth-
er hand, some companies will see opportunities in decentralizing their work-
force, creating smaller scale hubs in smaller urban areas where operating costs
are more manageable. This could translate into a greater supply of affordable
housing in central areas, but it could also mean significant challenges for busi-
nesses whose services or models depend on a concentrated workforce.
Arguments about the possibility of settling down in smaller scale envi-
ronments have taken off in recent months. This is where the concept of the
“15-minute city” comes into play. This proposal by the French-Colombian ur-
ban planner, Carlos Moreno, an advisor to the mayor of Paris, puts forth the
possibility of accessing all needs (work, cultural, health and home, among oth-
ers) in a reduced perimeter of the city. In practice, this idea means creating a
broad and widespread network of goods and services to ensure access for all
citizens. This could reduce people’s need to travel within or to and from large
cities, thereby reducing travel times and their negative effects on the environ-
ment. Given the highly urbanized nature of Latin America and the concentra-
tion of its population in a few cities, this decentralization process takes on new
complexities. Indeed, it would involve redistributing some of the productive 66
activities that are concentrated in the large capitals and strengthening sec-
ondary cities as sources of employment and quality of life.

The decentralization of urban life has not only been felt on a global scale,
but also on a local scale. A third lesson is the role of local economic develop-
ment as a driver for post-pandemic revival. Reducing mobility at national and
international level means relying more than ever on the local supply of goods
and services as a recovery strategy. For example, in the absence of internation-
al flights, many events such as concerts, festivals and conferences will have to
provide more spaces for local talent, presenting opportunities to diversify the
cultural offer of smaller cities and to reduce their environmental impact.
A fourth lesson relates
to the rise of public spaces A fourth lesson relates to
as key points for recreation,
socialization and mental
the rise of public spaces as
health. In addition to being key points for recreation,
the green lungs of large ur- socialization and mental health.
ban areas, parks, squares
and green corridors have become true meeting and respite spaces during
months of confinement. A renewed look at these spaces has encouraged
many cities to undertake efforts to improve and expand them, as well as to
use them for commercial and cultural purposes.
Even in the face of these opportunities, the pandemic has created signifi-
cant challenges, particularly for people already living in vulnerable conditions.
This is the case of migrants, of millions of people living in informal settlements,
and of people whose employment in the informal sector does not qualify them
for social protection schemes. The International Labour Organization (ILO) es-
timates that there are more than 30 million unemployed people in Latin Amer-
ica as a result of the pandemic. This staggering figure has had an even greater
impact on women’s employment, causing a setback of more than a decade in
the levels of employment participation of women who, because they had to
meet care demands in their homes, were unable to resume their job search
(ECLAC, 2021).
The COVID-19 crisis has indeed highlighted the urgency in developing pub-
lic policies to address cities’ specific needs, giving rise to new opportunities for
urban experimentation. Cities all over the world are currently undertaking pilot
projects to test new mobility models, flexible socialization schemes and new
design configurations to respond to the new normality. For example, research-
ers in Europe are looking at ways to reduce the number of infections when
bars and concert venues reopen, and are considering the creation of “e-pass-
ports” that would include up-to-date and easily accessible data on people’s
health status, allowing them safe access to these venues.
In the 19th century, urban parks became resources for restoring health
and well-being to highly congested urban areas. A century later, modernist
architecture promoted a functional approach to design and building materials
67
EL FUTURO DE LAS CIUDADES POSPANDEMIA

The parks, squares and green corridors have become true meeting
and respite spaces during the months of confinement. S O U R C E : E F E .
that responded to the need The COVID-19 crisis has indeed

to create large, airy spaces in
order to fight against diseas-
highlighted the urgency in
es such as tuberculosis. Just developing public policies to
as Jacobs saw an opportunity address cities’ specific needs,
in the constant efforts of cit-
ies to cope with adversity, the
giving rise to new opportunities
COVID-19 crisis can become for urban experimentation.
a unique platform to rethink
the future of our cities and transform them into more humane and resilient
environments. We hope that the tools shared in this meeting will serve as a
starting point to reach this goal in the near future.
BIOGRAPHIES 68
MAURICIO CLAVER-CARONE 69
President, Inter-American Development Bank
Mauricio Claver-Carone is President of the Inter-American Development
BIOGRAPHIES
Bank. A lawyer by training, he served as Deputy Assistant to the President of
the United States and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the
National Security Council. In this capacity, he conceptualized a whole-of-gov-
ernment economic growth initiative, América Crece, which led to the creation
of energy and infrastructure finance frameworks with nearly half of the coun-
tries in Latin America and the Caribbean. He previously served as U.S. Execu-
tive Director at the International Monetary Fund, playing an important role in
lending arrangements for Argentina, Barbados and Ecuador. As Senior Advi-
sor for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, he helped
develop legislation to create the U.S. International Development Finance Cor-
poration. Prior to his government service, he was Executive Director of Cuba
Democracy Advocates. A native of Miami, he speaks English and Spanish.
IVAN DUQUE
President, Republic of Colombia
Presidente Duque was born in Bogotá on August 1, 1976. He is a trained law-
yer, graduating from Universidad Sergio Arboleda with a major in philosophy
and humanities. He is an expert in economic issues, having completed execu-
tive studies at Harvard, and receiving master’s degrees from Georgetown, in
Public Policy Management, and from the American University, in Economic
Law. He was formerly the Chief of the Culture, Creativity and Solidarity Di-
vision of the IDB, consultant to the IDB Presidency and a senior advisor for
Colombia. As Senator, he passed five of the Republic’s laws: the Orange Law,
Law on Severance Funds, Law on Defibrilators, Law on ‘B’ Companies and the
Maternity Leave Law. Prior to the Presidency, he was also a columnist, profes-
sor and writer. He is married to María Juliana Ruiz, with whom he has three
children: Luciana, Matías and Eloísa. In June of 2018 he was elected President
of Colombia with a historic vote and a government program based on legality,
entrepreneurship and equity.
JAIME PUMAREJO
Mayor, Barranquilla, Colombia
Pumarejo is an information systems administrator from Purdue University,
Indiana, USA. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration with
emphasis in Finance from the Instituto de Empresas de Madrid, Spain. Pre-
viously he held important positions as Secretary of Economic Development
of the Atlántico; Advisor for Competitiveness of Barranquilla, where he was
in charge of the harmful concessions that were bleeding the District; and
Secretary of Mobility of Barranquilla. He was general manager of the Centro
de Eventos del Caribe Puerta de Oro, one of the largest infrastructure pro-
jects in the city. He served as manager of City Development, where he led
the Siembra Barranquilla project, the construction of parks and channeling
of streams, among others. In addition, he coordinated flagship projects such
as the Gran Malecón del Río Magdalena and the infrastructure for the Central
American and Caribbean Games. He was there until 2017, when he was ap-
pointed Minister of Housing.
BENIGNO LOPEZ 70
Vice President for Sectors, IDB
Benigno López is currently Vice President of Sectors at the IDB. Previously, he
BIOGRAPHIES
served as Paraguay’s Minister of Finance, where he spearheaded a comprehen-
sive tax reform and coordinated activities to restructure the pension system;
reform public spending and administration; implement a results-based budg-
eting system; promote e-government reform to improve public sector func-
tions; and foster private sector innovation. He also led Paraguay’s emergency
economic plan in response to the COVID-19 crisis and led efforts to implement
systemic education reform, improve human capital and promote research.
He also served as president of Paraguay’s Social Security Institute (2014-
18); executive legal director and member of the Board of Directors of Itaipu
Binacional (2013); senior advisor to the Executive Board of the International
Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. (2012-2013); and chairman of the Board
of Directors of the Central Bank of Paraguay (2007-12). Thanks to activities to
prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, Paraguay was removed from
the FATF blacklist. As head of the Legal Department, he helped formulate the
framework to ensure the institutional strengthening and independence of the
entity. Mr. López holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Paraguay
and a master’s degree in law from Georgetown University.
GREG CLARK
Senior Fellow, Urban Land Institute, London
Greg Clark is ULI Europe’s Senior Fellow and leads the Institute’s research on
the interplay of cities, investors and occupiers, and urban development. Clark
is a widely published author on city development and business investment
issues and advises many international organizations. In addition to his work
for ULI he is also Chairman, OECD LEED Forum on Local Development and In-
vestment Strategies; Global Fellow, Metropolitan Program / Global Cities Ini-
tiative, Brookings Institution; Chairman, JLL Global Research Centre on Cities;
and Visiting Professor and Co-Chairman of the Advisory Board, City Leader-
ship Initiative, University College London. Clark was trained as an economist,
a social and political scientist, and a city and regional planner at Cambridge
University, UK and Columbia University, New York as a Harkness Fellow. He
is the author of 10 books and numerous reports and papers on cities and
business development issues, and has won various international prizes for his
work. In June 2015, Clark was awarded a CBE from Queen Elizabeth for his
services to Economic Development.
AKIKA AKMOUCH
Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development
Division, OECD
Aziza Akhmouch is the Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable De-
velopment division within the Centre for entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and
Cities of the OCDE. She oversees a team of 30+ experts providing govern-
ments with new data, evidence, analysis and guidance in a wide range of urban
policies to foster smart, inclusive, competitive and sustainable cities. Amongst
others, she oversees the OECD metropolitan and National Urban Policy Re-
views, and a broad range of thematic work related to housing, transport, cit-
ies and inclusive growth, cities and environment, metropolitan productivity
and governance, and localising the Sustainable Development Goals. Aziza
Akhmouch spearheaded the OECD Principles on Urban Policy and the OECD 71
Water Governance Initiative. She also manages the OECD Champion Mayors
Initiative for Inclusive Growth, the OECD Roundtable of Mayors and Ministers,
BIOGRAPHIES
and the OECD-UN Habitat-Cities Alliance National Urban Policy Platform. She
holds a PhD and Ms Degree in Geography, specialised in Geopolitics from the
University of Paris 8-Vincennes, and a Master’s degree in international rela-
tions from the University of Paris-Dauphine.
JOSÉ MARÍA EZQUIAGA

Associate Professor, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Professor of Urban Planning at the School of Architecture of the Polytechnic
University of Madrid since 1995. Visiting Professor at the Universities of Rome,
University Institute of Architecture of Venice, Milan, Turin, Delft Technological
University, Dortmund, Oxford Brooks, Porto, Lisbon, Mexico, Brasilia, Federal
of Rio de Janeiro, National of Colombia, Los Andes and Pontificia Universi-
dad Javeriana of Bogotá, Buenos Aires, La Plata, Montevideo, Piura and Lima,
Catholic of Chile, Concepción and San Sebastian of Puerto Montt, Panama and
Shanghai. He served as Director of Planning of the Municipal Management of
Urbanism of Madrid (1985-88), General Director of Urbanism of the Commu-
nity of Madrid (1988-91) and General Director of Urban Planning and Coordi-
nation of the Community of Madrid (1991-95). He received his Doctorate in
Architecture, Extraordinary Doctorate Award from the Universidad Politécnica
de Madrid (1990), Architect from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitec-
tura de Madrid (1979) and Degree in Sociology and Political Science from the
Universidad Complutense de Madrid (1981).
ANA BEATRIZ MONTEIRO

Transport Lead Specialist, IDB
Ana Beatriz has more than 25 years of experience in logistics, transportation
and mobility, 7 of them in the United States. She has provided strategic ad-
vice to private and public companies and multilateral institutions (World Bank,
IDB). She was partner and managing director of KPMG Brazil, where she also
led the logistics and transportation segment. She was general director of São
Paulo Parcerias and led the São Paulo Municipal Privatization Plan. She has ad-
vised several companies on transportation service concessions. She has been
a mentor for BrazilLab, an innovation center for the public sector (GovTech)
since 2016 and Infrawomen Brazil. Currently, she works as a lead transport spe-
cialist for the IDB in Brazil, coordinating institutional strengthening projects for
the public sector in the Southeast and South regions of the country.
PALOMA MUÑOZ GARCÍA

Transport Specialist, IDB
Paloma is currently a Transportation Specialist at the IDB based in Brasilia.
Prior to joining the Bank in 2019, Paloma gained extensive experience of over
20 years in the private sector in the infrastructure field, holding both technical
and senior management positions (10 of them as EVP in the United States)
and having actively participated in projects in Europe, Asia, Africa and the
Americas. Paloma is a Civil Engineer, with a postgraduate degree in advanced
structural design and EMBA.
TOMÁS BERMUDEZ 72
Manager, Andean Country Group, IDB
Tomás Bermúdez, a dual Venezuelan and Colombian citizen, is the Manager of
BIOGRAPHIES
the Andean Group Country Department at the Inter-American Development
Bank (IDB) since July 2020. He is also the IDB Country Representative in
Peru. Bermudez was the IDB Representative in Mexico (2018-2020), Trinidad
and Tobago (2015-2018), and Panama (2011-2015). As such, he managed the
Bank’s sovereign and non-sovereign portfolio, as well as technical assistance
initiatives in each country. Previously, he served as head of Equity Invest-
ments and as manager of the IIC-China Equity Fund of the Inter-American
Investment Corporation (IIC, now IDB Invest), part of the IDB Group. Before
joining the IDB Group, Mr. Bermudez was Vice-President of Debt Capital Mar-
kets for BBVA Securities in New York. Mr. Bermudez holds a BA and an MBA
from American University in Washington, D.C..
EMILIO PINEDA
Chief, Fiscal and Municipal Management Division, IDB
Emilio Pineda is currently Chief of the Fiscal and Municipal Management Di-
vision at the IDB. Mexican, he studied at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo
de México (ITAM) and Columbia University (USA), where he obtained his PhD
in Political Economy. Between 2003 and 2008 he worked at the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) as an Economist in the Western Hemisphere Depart-
ment where he was responsible for monetary, fiscal and debt analysis for the
Caribbean. Between May 2008 and June 2012, he worked at the Ministry of Fi-
nance in Mexico where, among others, he was responsible for the monitoring
and regulation of subnational debt, accounting harmonization of states and
municipalities and the fiscal regime of public enterprises including PEMEX.
Between 2012 and 2019 he served as Senior Fiscal Specialist in the Fiscal
Management Division of the Inter-American Development Bank, where he led
programs to strengthen subnational fiscal management in Brazil, Argentina
and Uruguay. He has also published in the areas of decentralization, subna-
tional taxation, subnational debt and public enterprises.
FELIPE MUÑOZ
Chief, Migration Unit, IDB
Felipe Muñoz is currently Chief of the Migration Unit at the IDB. Previously, he
was the Presidential Advisor for the Colombia-Venezuela Border since Febru-
ary 2018, where he has coordinated the government response to the migrato-
ry flow from Venezuela at the national and local levels, as well as the related
efforts of cooperants, international actors and civil society organizations. Pre-
viously, he was senior advisor to the Board of Executive Directors of the In-
ter-American Development Bank. His extensive experience in the Colombian
public sector includes having been superintendent of surveillance and private
security, director of the national intelligence agency, and advisor to the May-
or’s Office of Bogota and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, among
other positions. He is a graduate of the Universidad Externado de Colombia,
where he obtained a degree in Finance and International Relations, and of the
London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom,
where he obtained a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning.
JAMES SCRIVEN 73
CEO, IDB Invest
James Scriven is currently the CEO of IDB Invest, the private sector arm of the
BIOGRAPHIES
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, with a portfolio of $12.1 billion
in assets under management and 330 clients in 22 countries. IDB Invest is a
multilateral development bank focused on serving its clients and achieving the
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America and the Car-
ibbean. Mr. Scriven, a dual Argentine and British national, was Vice President
of Corporate Risk and Sustainability at the International Finance Corporation
(IFC), where he held various leadership positions. Before joining IFC, Mr. Scriv-
en was CFO of Banco Hipotecario in Argentina. During the last two decades,
he has focused his efforts on promoting the role of the private sector in devel-
opment. Mr. Scriven has a master’s degree in finance from the Universidad del
Centro de Estudios Macroeconomicos de Argentina and a degree in business
administration from the Universidad Católica de Argentina.
JESSICA BEDOYA
Chief of Staff and Executive Advisor, Office of the Presidency, IDB
Jessica L. Bedoya is currently Chief of Staff and Executive Advisor to the Pres-
ident of the IDB. Previously she served as Managing Director for the Western
Hemisphere and Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of the U.S. Devel-
opment Finance Corporation (DFC). Bedoya also served as Principal Deputy
Assistant Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security
Council (2018-2020). During her time at the White House, she held the posi-
tions of Director for Central America and the Caribbean and Director for the
Andes and Venezuela. Additionally, Bedoya led the execution of the “America
Grows” strategy at the comprehensive level in government. She also served at
the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, having worked in Haiti and the East-
ern Caribbean. Bedoya holds a B.A. in International Politics and International
Economics from George Washington University, as well as an M.A. in World
Politics from the Catholic University of America, having also studied Political
Science at the Sorbonne in Paris.
MARCELO CABROL
Manager, Social Sector, IDB
Marcelo Cabrol is currently Manager of the IDB’s Social Sector. Under his
leadership, the sector supports countries in building public policy solutions
to reduce poverty and improve education, labor, social protection and health
services. Previously, he served as IDB External Relations Manager; head of the
IDB’s Education Division (2007-2012), where he promoted projects based on
new technologies to expand coverage and raise the quality of education in
Latin America and the Caribbean; and senior advisor to the IDB’s Executive
Vice Presidency, with responsibility for overseeing the quality and operational
performance of projects in the social sectors, state modernization, science
and technology, and microenterprise. Mr. Cabrol holds a bachelor’s degree in
economics and political science from Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires
and a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University. He also
completed doctoral studies in government and public policy at Georgetown.
ELSA NOGUERA 74
Governor, Department of Atlántico, Colombia
Born in Barranquilla in 1973, Ms. Noguera is an economist from Pontificia Uni-
BIOGRAPHIES
versidad Javeriana, with a Master’s degree in Business Administration and
Finance from Universidad del Norte de Barranquilla and a diploma in Inter-
national Business from the American University in Washington D.C., United
States. She worked as a financial analyst at Fundesarrollo (2002-2006). In
2007, she joined the official sector as director of La Previsora. She was also
departmental treasurer during the administration of Governor Carlos Rodado
Noriega. In 2008 she joined the Barranquilla District Mayor’s Office as Sec-
retary of Finance. During the 2012-2015 period, Noguera served as mayor of
Barranquilla, a position in which she achieved the restoration of 70 parks and
the channeling of the three most dangerous streams in Barranquilla. Noguera
is the first woman elected by popular vote as mayor of Barranquilla, in 2011,
and as governor of Atlántico, in 2019.
MARTÍN LLARYORA
Mayor, Coroba, Argentina
Llaryora is currently Mayor of the City of Córdoba. He was Vice Governor of
the Province of Córdoba in 2015 and in 2017, he requested leave of absence
as second provincial governor to assume as Deputy in the Congress of the Ar-
gentine Nation, in the exercise of that position he was elected third vice pres-
ident of the Chamber of Deputies. Previously, he was also elected councilman
of the city of San Francisco (2003-2007), mayor (2007-2011) and president of
the city’s PJ (2011). His political profile was always linked to areas such as in-
novation, technology, entrepreneurship and production, which allowed him to
assume the role as Minister of Industry, Commerce, Mining and Scientific and
Technological Development of the province of Córdoba in 2013. Llaryora is a
lawyer from the National University of Córdoba (2009) and did a Diploma in
Public Management at the Catholic University of Córdoba (2002).
PAULA VARGAS
Vice Mayor, San José, Costa Rica
Paula Vargas has a degree in Early Childhood Education and a degree in Com-
munications and Marketing. She lives in Sabana Sur and was part of the suc-
cessful team of the Mayor’s Office of San José, working with Mayor Johnny
Araya Monge and the second mayor, Mario Vargas Serrano. From 1996 to 2014,
she was a Preschool Education teacher at the Sanangel Educational Complex
in Heredia. From 2014 to 2016, she was the parliamentary communications ad-
visor of the nation’s Legislative Assembly. Throughout her life she has support-
ed vulnerable populations with various social programs. As of May 1, 2016, she
is the First Deputy Mayor of San José, where she focuses on social issues, pri-
oritizing her work to give attention to programs aimed at children, adolescents,
seniors, homeless, education, women entrepreneurs and micro-entrepreneurs.
SILVINA MOSCHINI
Founder & CEO of SheWorks!
An award-winning serial entrepreneur, international speaker and author, Sil-
vina Moschini, has established herself as one of the foremost experts on the
digital economy and how the fourth industrial revolution is transforming the
global workforce, empowering women and accelerating government reform
across the world. She is the founder of an ecosystem of companies harness- 75
ing the cloud to connect businesses and on-demand talent including Trans-
parentBusiness and SheWorks!. With a unique perspective on technology’s
BIOGRAPHIES
influence on business and social impact, Silvina was the only featured en-
trepreneur for W20 Argentina, the G20’s advisory group on gender-inclu-
sive economic growth, was an invited participant at the Global Entrepreneur
Summit 2019 and led the Innovation panel at the President’s Summit of the
Americas. She is a regular contributor to CNN en Espanol, the World Eco-
nomic Forum’s Agenda blog and her expertise is sought after by national and
international media including CNBC, CCTV and Forbes.
RICHARD MARTÍNEZ
Vice President for Countries, IDB
Richard Martinez is currently Vice President for Countries at the IDB. Prior to
joining the Bank, he was Ecuador’s Minister of Economy and Finance. Mar-
tinez directed the Prosperity Plan and initiated the first exceptional access
program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He also renegotiated
Ecuador’s private external debt and restructured the country’s bilateral debt
with China. Mr. Martinez was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the De-
velopment Bank of Ecuador (BDE) and Executive President of the Board of
Directors of CAF (Development Bank of Latin America). He was also presi-
dent of the Ecuadorian Business Committee (2015-2018), of the National Fed-
eration of Chambers of Commerce of Ecuador (2015) and of the Chamber of
Industries and Production of Ecuador (2014-2018). Martinez holds a degree in
Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, a postgrad-
uate degree in International Economics from the University of Barcelona and
an MBA from IDE Business School.
DANIEL PALACIOS
Minister of the Interior, Republic of Colombia
Born in Bogotá, Daniel Palacios is a political scientist with an emphasis in
International Relations from Florida International University. He also holds a
Master’s Degree in Government with emphasis in Defense and National Secu-
rity from Harvard University, from where he also holds a certificate in Conflict
Resolution and Negotiation, was private advisor to former President Alvaro
Uribe, chief of staff of the presidential program Colombia Joven, Advisor for
Political and National Security Affairs to the Commander of the Colombian
Armed Forces and the National Army, Councilman of Bogotá, Director of the
National Protection Unit and Vice Minister of Political Relations of the Minis-
try of the Interior. Palacios is recognized as a National and District referent in
urban security issues; as a Bogotá Councilman (2016-2019), he was speaker
of the Draft Agreement that created the Security Secretariat of the District.
Likewise, he was elected as the first president of the Democratic Center of
this Council. He currently serves as Colombia’s Minister of the Interior.
CARLOS CORREA
Minister of Environment, Republic of Colombia
As Mayor of Montería, in the period 2012-2015, he positioned the capital of
Córdoba as a sustainable city and under that vision he returned the Sinú River
to the city, turning it into the axis of social, cultural and economic development
of Montería. He also carried out several solar energy projects in this capital, as
well as actions aimed at the culture of sustainability. A business administrator 76
from EAFIT University in Medellín, he has become a reference for regional,
national and international leaders in sustainability issues, as his time in public
BIOGRAPHIES
administration has shown how sustainable territories can be built.
TATIANA GALLEGO
Chief, Housing and Urban Development Division, IDB
Tatiana Gallego Lizón is the Chief of the Housing and Urban Development Divi-
sion (HUD) of the IDB’s Climate Change and Sustainable Development Sector
(CSD). Between February 2015 and May 2017, she was the Director of the Ur-
ban Development and Water Division of the Southeast Asia Department of the
Asian Development Bank (ADB). Between 2002 and 2014, she led the business
development and identification, formulation, processing and implementation
of urban lending and non-credit assistance to several countries in Asia. She
was also responsible for the conceptualization and development of special
sector work on topics such as competitive cities, cluster city development and
metropolitan planning, PPP and urban infrastructure, climate change resilience
in cities, e-government and smart cities, and other local government reform
initiatives. Tatiana holds a PhD and MSc in Environmental Engineering from
Imperial College London and a PGD in Political Studies from the School of
African and Oriental Studies.
ALICE CHARLES
Project Manager, Cities, Infrastructure and Urban Services Platform,
World Economic Forum
Nineteen years of experience working in the fields of urban planning and urban-
ism, real estate, urban development and regeneration, construction, infrastruc-
ture, environment, climate change and public policy. He leads the World Eco-
nomic Forum’s workstreams on cities and real estate, including the World Future
Council on Cities and Urbanization, the Real Estate Industry Action Group, the
Future of Development Initiative and Urban Services. External member of the
Board of Directors of the Planning Advisory Committee of the National Asset
Management Agency. Formerly with: Department of Environment, Community
and Local Government, Ireland; Dail Eireann (Irish Parliament); Jacobs Engineer-
ing; Avison Young, UK. MSc in Global Leadership, World Economic Forum, in
collaboration with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Co-
lumbia University, Cornell Tech, INSEAD, London Business School and China Eu-
rope International Business School; MBA, University College Dublin; Postgrad-
uate Diploma in Town and Country Planning, Queens University Belfast; BSc
(Hons) in Environmental Planning, Queen’s University Belfast.
PABLO JAVKIN
Mayor, Rosario, Argentina
Born in Rosario on November 19, 1971, Pablo Javkin currently serves as mayor
of the city of Rosario. In the period 2001-2005 he was a councilman of Rosario,
mandate during which he was president of the Ecology Commission and au-
thor of initiatives linked to the preservation of natural resources and the envi-
ronment. In the period 2007-2011 he was a provincial deputy He held the pres-
idency of the Transportation Commission and of the Bicameral Commission of
Agreements of the Legislative Assembly, the vice presidency of the Culture and
Social Media Commission and was a member of the Environment and Natural
Resources Commissions. In 2015 he was appointed Secretary General by the 77
Mayor of Rosario. He graduated as a lawyer from the Faculty of Law of the Na-
tional University of Rosario, where he was president of the Student Center of
BIOGRAPHIES
the Faculty of Law (1993-1994), of the University Federation of Rosario (1994-
1995) and of the Argentine University Federation (1998-2000).
CARLOS ORDOSGOITIA
Mayor, Monteria, Colombia
He was born on September 26, 1978. He studied business administration at
the Universidad del Sinú and did a specialization in Government and Territo-
rial Public Management at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. He became
Mayor of Monteria thanks to popular support, that is why the motto of his
administration is “Government of the People”. His experience is in the private
sector where he has been prepared to manage and contribute to the gener-
ation of employment for the people, with the implementation of agricultural,
agro-industrial, reforestation and food marketing projects. He has driven the
creation of companies in Monteria, promoting entrepreneurship, generating
employment and economic development for our city, experience that he puts
at the service of the people to achieve a prosperous Monteria. Previously,
he worked in the execution of agricultural, agro-industrial, reforestation and
food commercialization projects in the Colombian department of Córdoba.
He studied business administration at the Universidad del Sinú and did a spe-
cialization in Government and Territorial Public Management at the Pontificia
Universidad Javeriana. He previously worked in the execution of agricultural,
agro-industrial, reforestation and food marketing projects within the Colom-
bian department of Córdoba. He studied business administration at the Uni-
versidad del Sinú and did a specialization in Government and Territorial Public
Management at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana.
DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA

Mayor, Miami-Dade County, USA
Daniella Levine Cava was elected Miami-Dade County’s first female mayor in
2020. As commissioner, she invested in Miami-Dade’s small businesses and
expanded economic opportunities, protected the environment and water, in-
creased the county’s police force for underserved areas, advocated for an
expanded and reliable public transportation system, worked to create af-
fordable housing and revitalize neighborhoods, and helped make local gov-
ernment more accountable and transparent. Levine Cava came to office after
serving as an advocate for South Florida families for more than 30 years. In
1996, Mayor Levine Cava founded Catalyst Miami to help low- and middle-in-
come families through services, education and advocacy. Catalyst helps some
5,000 people each year become more self-sufficient and civically engaged.
Born in New York and raised partly in Latin America, Levine Cava received her
undergraduate degree in psychology with honors from Yale University and
her law and social work degrees from Columbia University.
JUAN PABLO SALAZAR SALAMANCA

Gender and Diversity Division, IDB
Juan Pablo Salazar, expert in the global movement of rights of persons with
disabilities, with emphasis on communication and sport. He was President of
the National Council on Disability in 2015 while working for the Presidency of
Colombia as an advisor, articulating National Public Policies for this popula- 78
tion. Previously, and from civil society, he directed the Archangels Founda-
tion. He was President of the Colombian Paralympic Committee and currently
BIOGRAPHIES
serves on the Board of Directors of the International Paralympic Committee.
Professional in Advertising, he participated in academic programs such as:
Leadership, at Harvard Business School and High Government at the Univer-
sidad de Los Andes. He is currently a consultant on Disability at the IDB.
JULIANO SEABRA
Division Chief, Innovation and Creativity, IDB
Juliano Seabra is currently Division Chief of the IDB Innovation and Creativity
Unit. Before that, Juliano was Head of Innovation and New Business at TOT-
VS (2018) – the largest IT company in southern hemisphere – and President
at the Institute of Exponential Ideas (Idexo), a pioneer initiative founded by
TOTVS to foster innovation between startups and corporations.
As Managing Director of Endeavor Brazil (2013-2018)– the biggest affili-
ate of the New-York based global non-profit that foster high impact entrepre-
neurship – he led the organization to create a portfolio of 100+ entrepreneurs
and to become the leader of public-private debate on how to support entre-
preneurs to grow. Moreover, Endeavor improved its impact within the whole
Brazilian entrepreneurship ecosystem by growing 10x since 2012 its outreach
impact. This allowed Endeavor to become a main actor within Brazilian entre-
preneurship ecosystem, leading the public debate on the main hurdles that
make Brazil one of the most hostile business environments in the world. He
also directly influenced public debate on entrepreneurship in Brazil in inter-
national forums such as Global Entrepreneurship Week, the World Economic
Forum and the United Nations Conferece for Trade and Development.
In the past, Juliano has served as the head of Senac’s entrepreneurship
center – one of the most innovative initiatives to foster entrepreneurship to
higher education in Brazil, impacting thousands of students. He also served
as Executive Director of Prospectiva Consulting – one of the most influential
think tanks on business and policy in Brazil.
BRUNO REIS
Mayor, Salvador Bahia, Brazil
Bruno Reis is currently the mayor of Salvador Bahia, Brazil. Previously, he
worked in the Salvador City Hall as an advisor from 1997 to 1999. In 2000, he
began working as an advisor to the then federal deputy ACM Neto, a position
he held until 2010. He was elected state representative for the first time in
2010 and re-elected in 2014. In his terms of office, I acted to defend the inter-
ests of public servants, especially teachers, police and military, and consumer
rights. In 2016, he was elected vice mayor of Salvador. From 2015 to 2016, he
held the position of Secretary of Social Promotion, Sports and Fight against
Poverty in Salvador, from where he implemented the Cuidar program (Unified
Center for Inclusion, Development and Social Reference). During his term of
office, the Emergency Aid Law was approved, an unprecedented benefit in
Brazilian capitals, which provides economic aid of up to three minimum sal-
aries to those affected. He also launched the Morar Melhor Program, which
renovates houses for needy families throughout Salvador. Reis holds a law de-
gree from the Catholic University of Salvador (Ucsal), a post-graduate degree
in Management from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and a master’s
degree in Social Development and Management from the Federal University 79
of Bahia (Ufba). He is also a university professor of Constitutional Bases of
Public Administration.
BIOGRAPHIES
DELROY WILLIAMS
Mayor, Kingston, Jamaica
Mayor of Kingston, Senator Delroy Williams, assumed the position of chair-
man of the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (Ksamc) in De-
cember 2016. He serves as the councillor responsible for Ksamc’s Seivwright
Gardens Division. Senator Williams is an alumnus of the University of the
West Indies and Calabar High School. He is also a board member of the Na-
tional Solid Waste Management Authority (Nswma). His vision for the city
of Kingston has been to transform the city into a sustainable tourism and
business center, as well as to create a network of Caribbean cities for region-
al integration and cooperation. He is known for his interactive and inclusive
approach to local governance.
JUAN ESPADAS CEJAS

Mayor, Sevilla, España
Juan Espadas Cejas is the mayor of Seville, Spain, was re-elected and is in
his second term (2019-2023). Previously, he held several public positions
within which stand out: Minister of Housing and Territorial Planning of the
Regional Government of Andalusia (2008-2010), Senator in the Cortes Gen-
erales for the Autonomous Community of Andalusia (2010-2013), President
of Empresa de Gestión Medioambiental S.A. (2004-2008), General Director
of Prevention and Environmental Quality of the Ministry of Environment of
the Regional Government of Andalusia (2000 - 2004), General Secretary of
Planning of the Public Company of Environmental Management (EGMASA)
of the Regional Government of Andalusia (1997 - 2000), Head of the Cabinet
of the Regional Minister of Education and Science (1996 - 1997) and of the
Regional Minister of Environment of the Regional Government of Andalusia
(1994 - 1996). Mr. Espadas is a member of the Seville Bar Association (1990)
and holds a degree in Law. University of Seville (1989). He holds a Master’s
degree in Environmental Policy and Management from the Carlos III Univer-
sity of Madrid (1994), two diplomas in Business Management from the San
Telmo Institute (1999 and 2009) and one in European Community Law from
the University of Seville (1989).
IRENE ARIAS
Chief Executive Officer, IDB Lab
Irene Arias Hofman is currently CEO of the IDB Innovation Lab (IDB Lab).
The objective of her work is to drive innovation for inclusion in Latin Ameri-
ca and the Caribbean, through financing tools, knowledge and connections
to co-create projects and support entrepreneurs who develop market solu-
tions capable of transforming the lives of vulnerable populations. Previously,
Irene worked for more than 20 years at the International Finance Corporation
(IFC) of the World Bank, where she managed the largest portfolio of the
corporation, with a focus on innovation, venture capital and fintech. Irene
holds a B.A. in Economics from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and an M.A.
in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC
and an M.A. in Advanced European Studies from the College of Europe. She
is a CFA® Charterholder (Certified Financial Analyst).
CAROLINA COSSE 80
Mayor, Montevideo, Uruguay
Carolina Cosse is currently Mayor of Montevideo. Previously, she was Senator
BIOGRAPHIES
of the Republic (2019) and Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining (2015-2019).
Her work focused on boosting national production, contributing to the diversi-
fication of the energy matrix, fostering the development of the mining sector,
telecommunications and MSMEs. She was also president of Antel (2010-2015),
where she promoted the democratization of access to ICTs and important in-
frastructure projects, and director of the Information Technology Division of
the Municipal Government of Montevideo (2007-2010). In addition, Cosse has
worked in the private sector, leading numerous engineering and management
projects in Uruguay and other Latin American countries. She has provided pro-
fessional services to Uruguayan public companies such as UTE, the Banco de
Previsión Social and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Cosse is an electrical en-
gineer, graduated from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of the Re-
public (1991) and master’s degree in Mathematical Engineering (2019).
PATRICIO OVALLE
Director of Development, Municipality of Providencia, Chile
Patricio Ovalle Wood is currently Director of Development of the Municipality
of Providencia, Chile. His work focuses on the design and implementation of
public policies with impact on the local territory that promote public innova-
tion and the creation of creative and innovative districts. Promoting the cre-
ation of Municipal Innovation Labs, Citizen Labs and Living Labs. Patricio is
a commercial engineer and has a master’s degree in business administration
with an emphasis on entrepreneurship and innovation from the Universidad
del Desarrollo in Chile. Additionally, he has completed several international
programs in innovation and leadership: Global Entrepreneurship Program at
Babson College (Massachusetts, USA); Advanced Innovation Program at IE
Business School (Madrid, Spain); and Innovation Leadership Program at IN-
CAE Business School (Alajuela, Costa Rica).
RAFAEL GRECA DE MACEDO

Mayor, Curitiba, Brasil
Rafael Greca is currently the Mayor of Curitiba in Brazil. He has a degree in
Economics and Engineering, with a specialization in Urban Planning, and is a
full member of Curitiba’s Institute for Research and Urban Planning (Ippuc). He
was alderman, constituent state deputy, mayor of Curitiba, most voted federal
deputy in Brazil, and Minister of Sports and Tourism. He received countless
decorations and international awards. Among the most significant, the World
Habitat Award 1996, from the United Nations, for his humanitarian work as a
whole. Writer, poet, editor and history researcher, member of the Paranaense
Academy of Letters and of the Historical and Geographic Institute of Paraná.
He presided over the Housing Company of Paraná between 2007 and April
2010, when he took office as a state deputy.
JORGE MUÑOZ WELLS

Mayor, Lima, Perú
With more than 20 years of experience in municipal management, Jorge
Muñoz Wells is currently the mayor of the city of Lima (2019-2022). He was also
mayor in two consecutive periods of the District of Miraflores (2011-2014 and
2015-2018) and alderman in Miraflores during three periods (1999-2010), as a 81
Lieutenant Mayor (2003-2006). In addition, he served as Municipal Director
of Miraflores (1996 - 1998). Lawyer from the Pontificia Universidad Católica
BIOGRAPHIES
del Perú and Master in Territorial Planning and Environmental Management
at the Barcelona University; Jorge Muñoz is an executive, with extensive ex-
perience in management, planning and administration of public and private
institutions. He was a member of the National Council of Competitiveness and
President of the National Network Coordinator of OMAPED, devoting great
effort to disabled people. Actually, he is a member of the Consultative Council
for the Competitiveness at Pacifico University.
REINA MEJÍA
Executive Vice President, IDB
Reina Mejia is currently the Executive Vice President of the IDB. Prior to join-
ing the IDB, she worked almost 25 years at Citibank Honduras as General
Manager and Head of Corporate and Investment Banking since 2013. She also
served as President of the Board of Directors of Citicrédito and Citi-Inmo-
biliaria and Secretary of the Board of Directors of Banco de Honduras since
2014. In 2017, she was secretary of the Board of Directors of Grupo Financiero
Citibank Costa Rica. Previously, Mejía was director of the Institutional Clients
Group in Honduras and Nicaragua and Head of Corporate Portfolio and Public
Sector, president of AmCham Honduras and vice president of the Association
of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean
(AACCLA). She also served as general manager of FUNDES Honduras, a con-
sulting firm specializing in the development of MSMEs.
In addition, Ms. Mejía has held Board positions or senior roles at several
other financial and educational institutions in Honduras and has been active
in a range of women’s business-leadership initiatives. She also founded and
worked for more than a decade as treasurer of the Honduras chapter of Op-
eration Smile, which has helped more than 5,000 children by providing sur-
geries to correct cleft lip and palate.
Strategy and Business magazine named Ms. Mejía one of the most in-
fluential women in the region in 2017, 2018 and 2019, as did Forbes Central
America in 2018. Mejía holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA
from Southern Illinois University.
IDB Cities Network | iadb. org/redciudadesbid | @bid_ciudades

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IDB Cities Network

Cities Network Team

04 GENERAL CONTEXT: MANAGING

31 The Role of Women in the Reactivation

38 How can we Promote a Green and

42 Inclusion and its Tools: How to Include

44 Rethinking Culture and Creative Industries

50 The City as a Laboratory of Innovation:

63 THE FUTURE OF POST-PANDEMIC CITIES

MANAGING CITIES IN TIMES

IDB CITIES NETWORK

IDB CITIES NETWORK

JAIME PUMAREJO HEINS

MARCH 15th, 2021

EVENT AGENDA | MARCH 15 TH, 2021

9:00-9:20 a.m. OPENING REMARKS

9:20-9:35 a.m. THE MIRACLE OF BARRANQUILLA

9:35-10:55 a.m. PANEL DISCUSSION

MARCH 15th, 2021

EVENT AGENDA | MARCH 15 TH, 2021

9:35-10:55 a.m. MODERATOR: Benigno López, Vice President of Sectors, IDB

10:55-11:15 a.m. MAYOR WORKING SESSIONS CONCLUSIONS

11:30a.m. PANEL DISCUSSION

MARCH 15th, 2021

EVENT AGENDA | MARCH 15 TH, 2021

12:55-1:05 p.m. CLOSING REMARKS

MARCH 16th, 2021

EVENT AGENDA | MARCH 16 TH, 2021

9:00-9:10 a.m. OPENING REMARKS

9:10-10:30 a.m. PANEL DISCUSSION

MARCH 16th, 2021

EVENT AGENDA | MARCH 16 TH, 2021

10:30-10:45 a.m. INCLUSION AND IT’S TOOLS: HOW TO INCLUDE PEOPLE

10:55-11:35 a.m. MAYORS NETWORKING SESSION

11:45a.m. SIMULTANEOUS SESSION—PANEL DISCUSSION

MARCH 16th, 2021

EVENT AGENDA | MARCH 16 TH, 2021

11:45a.m. SIMULTANEOUS SESSION—PANEL DISCUSSION

MARCH 16th, 2021

EVENT AGENDA | MARCH 16 TH, 2021

11:45a.m. MODERATOR: Irene Arias, CEO, IDB LAB

1:00-1:10 p.m. CLOSING REMARKS

CITIES AS AN ENGINE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY

HOW TO ACCELERATE ECONOMIC GROWTH?

CITIES AS AN ENGINE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY

Pragmatism to make investment in infrastructure and logistics more efficient

Supporting inter-municipal coordination for the development of city systems

Accelerating the improvement of connectivity and digital skills training

Accelerating process automation as a path to higher productivity

Directing investments and regulations towards green infrastructure and

HOW TO OVERCOME FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS?

CITIES AS AN ENGINE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY

1. Small-scale renewable energy systems in cities are a great

CITIES AS AN ENGINE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY

Finding and implementing innovations and new sources of funding will be

Diversifying sources of financing. Local borrowing through long-term loans

THE TASK IS DOABLE

CITIES AS AN ENGINE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY

URBAN MOBILITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

CITIES AS AN ENGINE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY

alternative that can contribute substantially to meeting employment goals.

MIGRATION: A FACTOR OF URBAN GROWTH

CITIES AS AN ENGINE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH IN POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY