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Latin American and Caribbean cities are experiencing a general trend towards increased democratisation, decentralisation and devolution of competencies to the local level. But this movement contains a broad range of processes on the ground in terms of the intensity of the national thrust for decentralisation and the capacity of local authorities to effectively assume its increasing responsibilities. The region has a set of leading cities, with a robust economy, good governance and truly inclusive management processes. Yet of 15,000 local authorities in the region, many rely almost entirely on the support of national and sub-national levels for their operations and local investments.
The trend for local authorities becoming the main protagonists of city development is well entrenched. Thus, the challenge faced by cities and national governments today is to translate modern devolution policies into daily practice. But there are hurdles on the road: a political culture of centralisation and control that is hard to change; weak systems to assist local authorities in strengthening their management capacity; and weak movements for cooperation and support among cities. The potential for association for development among cities and local authorities has not been fully exploited yet.
UN-HABITAT cooperation activities in the region are determined by these conditions. The agency is following a three-pronged strategy: the innovation and dissemination of knowledge on urban management processes, the development of improved local governance and its application; and direct cooperation activities with partner cities. UN-HABITAT has an array of global programmes that implement activities on a thematic basis, like the Safer Cities and the Sustainable Cities Programme, Risk and Disaster Management, and the Global Urban Observatory (GUO) to mention a few. Initiatives like the Urban Management Programme (UMP) play a key role in implementing city consultations and city development strategies, generating and disseminating knowledge on specific areas of demand, and building bridges for greater participation of civil society in city development management.
A survey recently concluded by UN-HABITAT´s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC) found that the main demand expressed by local authorities was management support for priorities like the promotion of economic development and security. These issues did not appear so clearly in previous assessments of local needs in the region. They indicate a shift in the perception of the challenges by local authorities. However, it is clear that there is an enormous repressed demand on traditional management issues still to be resolved. It shows that cooperation in the region has to be anchored in local, national and regional institutions if its durability is to be ensured.
Recent years have witnessed a consolidation of UN-HABITAT cooperation with local authorities in the region. Through a network of local authorities and anchor institutions, UMP has spearheaded the development and dissemination of knowledge on issues like participatory budgeting, urban agriculture and mapping of social conditions as a basis for the targeting of social programmes. The execution of city consultations and the formulation of city development strategies has created a regional network of resource cities and institutions on which scaling up activities can be based.
The implementation of Local Agenda 21 in Bayamo, Cuba, has lead to a scaled up programme for environmental planning and management in Cuba, Peru and Brazil. On a similar approach, the Risk and Disaster Management Programme, UNDP and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) are collaborating with Spanish speaking Caribbean Basin countries on strengthening local planning and vulnerability reduction. The Safer Cities Programme is starting dissemination and design activities in Brazil, Mexico and Chile; and GUO is establishing working partnerships with several cities and countries in the region for the creation of local and national urban observatories.
All these initiatives are converging on integrated collaboration programmes with cities and countries in the region. The coordination between ROLAC and the specialised programmes of UN-HABITAT has been instrumental in increasing the efficiency of such activities. At the same time, the development by ROLAC of broader cooperation programmes in countries like Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Mexico, and with Cities like Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Bogotá and Guayaquil, is providing strategic entry points for the activities of specialised UN-HABITAT programmes.
But more needs to be done in fostering collaboration with regional networks of local authorities. Links with the Latin American chapter of International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) and the Federation of Municipalities of the Central American Isthmus (FEMICA) will be extended. Likewise, further collaboration with the regional representation of the emerging United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and sub-regional associations of cities and local authorities like CALGA and MERCO-CIUDADES is necessary.
Collaboration with cities in the region requires a joint effort of international and regional organisations, with the private sector and civil society. UN-HABITAT’s drive to establish partnerships with other organisations active in the region is bearing fruit. On-going collaborative programmes with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the urban environment and UNDP on urban management show the way on how international cooperation can be effective in improving living conditions in urbanised Latin America and the Caribbean.
Jorge Gavidia is Director of UN-HABITAT’s, Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (ROLAC) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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