Topic: urbanización

Three men wearing suits and seated on couches talk to each other while two news photographers take photos of their interaction.

Report from Cairo: For Global Cities, Pressures Just Keep Building

By Anthony Flint, Enero 16, 2025

Urban planners, elected officials, representatives of nonprofit organizations, and others came together in the historic metropolis of Cairo in late 2024 to confront the relentless pressures that global cities are facing, at the World Urban Forum 12 convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). The theme of the summit was “It all starts at home.”

Growing populations, a continuing housing crisis, and climate change–triggered disasters including floods, droughts, and fires—as well as vast destruction associated with military conflict—have brought new intensity to efforts to support burgeoning urban areas across the globe, particularly in the developing world.

At the closing ceremony, UN-Habitat Executive Director Anaclaudia Rossbach, noting that two-thirds of the world’s population resides in urban areas, highlighted the pivotal role of local governments in shaping cities and human settlements. Rossbach, previously the director of the Latin America and the Caribbean program at the Lincoln Institute, said the conference set new records of engagement, with 24,000 participants from 182 countries.

“The World Urban Forum is a uniquely relevant event for those concerned about the quality and promise of human settlements large and small,” said Enrique R. Silva, chief program officer at the Lincoln Institute. “It’s an event that tackles the complex nature of urban issues by embracing a diversity of voices, techniques, and tools. For the Lincoln Institute, the World Urban Forum is a key space in which we can demonstrate how land and land policy can provide effective solutions to address housing, climate, and public health concerns, among other global, national, and local policy priorities.”

At the summit’s Dialogue 4: Localizing Finance and Financing Localization, Silva lauded local government efforts to boost own-source revenues, especially revenues that can be generated through the property tax or land value capture. “A local government’s capacity to leverage and manage own-source revenue not only strengthens its local finances, but also demonstrates to national and multilateral funders that it has the ability to plan, finance, and deliver projects,” he said. “This capacity can help local governments access larger sources of funding for much-needed projects.”

Several people standing and sitting at an exhibit space at a conference. The sign reads Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
World Urban Forum attendees from around the world explored the Lincoln Institute exhibit space and engaged in discussions about land policy issues during the four-day conference. Credit: Lincoln Institute.

 

Representatives from the Lincoln Institute delegation participated in panels and training sessions focused on financing local development, climate mitigation and resilience, land value capture, and affordable housing. They also took part in an open house presented by the Center for Geospatial Solutions and a special Urban Library event featuring municipal leaders and the Lincoln Institute book Mayor’s Desk: 20 Conversations with Local Leaders Solving Global Problems. That event included the governor of Cairo, Ibrahim Saber Khalil, who will be the next local leader interviewed in the ongoing Mayor’s Desk series. Other municipal leaders who participated in the panel, Mayors and Innovators: Replicable Strategies for Local Political and Technological Change, included Manuel de Araujo, mayor of Quelimane, Mozambique; Kostas Bakoyannis, former mayor of Athens; and Marvin Rees, former mayor of Bristol, England.

The issue of climate change remains prominent in any consideration of global cities and their future, said Amy Cotter, director of urban sustainability at the Lincoln Institute.

“In this unparalleled global conversation about all things urban, the context of a changing climate is ever present,” she said. “City leaders are very aware of their dual roles—both agent and victim of climate change impacts—and eager for levers of change that they can control. I was impressed with their level of engagement in our sessions on land-based climate finance and on preparing for a potential climate-induced population influx, and their commitment to putting ideas and approaches into practice back home.”

At the Urban Planning & City Solutions for Climate Mobility panel, Cotter acknowledged “the increasing difficulty of people to remain in precarious places” and offered ways that communities anticipating a potential influx of climate change–induced relocation can plan and prepare for that future, drawing from the recent working paper “Insights for Receiving Communities in Planning Equitable and Positive Outcomes Under Climate Migration.”

A red pickup truck parked near a row of partially constructed residential buildings made of concrete.
New construction on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. The city, which hosted the World Urban Forum in 2024, is home to 22 million people. Credit: Anthony Flint.

 

The Lincoln Institute continued to expand the knowledge base and create new resources on the topic of land-based climate finance. Economist Cynthia Goytia, lead author of the recently published working paper “Examining Opportunities and Challenges for Implementing Land-Based Financing Instruments for Funding Climate Action: A Study of Land Markets and Flood Risk Pricing in Different Contexts,” explored the ways cities can recoup the costs of resilience through value capture, at the session Financing Strategies and Smart Solutions for Cities Worldwide.

Luis Quintanilla, program analyst at the Lincoln Institute, led a training workshop on value capture and participated in Financing Urban Infrastructure: Innovative Options to Attract Investors. In collaboration with the Cities Forward initiative, the session Overcoming the Project Implementation Gap to Address Urban Sustainability and Resilience revealed the opportunity and benefit of land value capture for climate action.

Housing inadequacy—affecting an estimated 2.8 billion people worldwide—was the weighty topic at Meeting the Moment: Innovations in Housing Supply to Address Inequality in Cities, where Darla Munroe, director of Research and Cross-Cutting Initiatives at the Lincoln Institute, discussed the affordability of manufactured homes, as well as zoning reform efforts in the US aimed at increasing housing supply.

The Lincoln Institute has been engaged in UN-Habitat’s World Urban Forum summits for nearly 20 years.



Anthony Flint is a senior fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, host of theLand Matters podcast, and a contributing editor of Land Lines.

Lead image: Anthony Flint of the Lincoln Institute, center, meets with Cairo Governor Ibrahim Saber Khalil, left, at the World Urban Forum. Khalil will be the next local leader profiled in the ongoing Mayor’s Desk series. Credit: Lincoln Institute.

A blue house on a stone road

A New Way to Compare Housing Markets in Latin America 

By Jon Gorey, Enero 14, 2025

A lack of access to decent housing can perpetuate inequality that persists across generations. And in that sense, countries all across Latin America and the Caribbean are facing housing crises—but each experiences those challenges in unique ways. In rapidly urbanizing cities, for example, where land and construction costs are high, demand for affordable housing outstrips supply. In other places, it can be difficult or too expensive for homebuyers to obtain a mortgage.   

Those related challenges, playing out in distinct contexts, demand unique, thoughtful policy solutions. And now, a new report that “harmonizes” disparate housing data from a dozen Latin American countries puts the region’s housing landscape in clearer perspective for policymakers.    

The 2024 LAC Housing Yearbook, a collaboration between the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and CAFDevelopment Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, catalogs more than 250 housing and financial indicators across 12 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay) to allow comparisons across the region. The report is now available in Spanish, with English and Portuguese translations coming soon.   

“By collecting and standardizing this broad set of information, the project aims to address knowledge gaps, enable cross-country comparisons, and support the formulation of efficient and targeted policies that reduce housing deficits, improve accessibility, and promote sustainable development,” says Pablo López, senior executive housing coordinator at CAF.  

“The data reveal stark realities,” continues López, whose team presented the inaugural report to the General Assembly of the Ministers and High Authorities of Housing and Urban Development of Latin America and the Caribbean (MINURVI) in December. “Housing deficits are significant, mortgage penetration remains low, and affordability is continually eroded by costs rising at higher rates than incomes.”  

The types of indicators tracked across the 12 countries include inflation and mortgage rates, formal and informal labor market participation rates, construction costs per square meter, and both quantitative and qualitative measures of a country’s housing deficit—the former referring to the number of additional homes needed to meet demand, the latter tabulating the number of families living in substandard housing. In addition to an almanac of statistical information, the report includes a regional overview and in-depth profiles of each country’s housing market. 

 

A chart comparing mortgage credit to GDP in 12 Latin American countries.
A comparison from the newly released LAC Housing Yearbook illustrates the relationship between mortgage credit and GDP in 12 countries in the region. Credit: CAF/Lincoln Institute.

 

 “It’s quite an ambitious project, because of the wide range of data categories it attempts to consolidate,” says Luis Quintanilla, senior policy analyst at the Lincoln Institute. The hope is to update the yearbook annually, which will allow for year-over-year comparisons, and to expand the list of countries over time. “We think it’s a very valuable resource,” he adds. “We hope it will be helpful for housing ministers and urban development secretaries, as well as practitioners, developers, banking and financial institutions, and other researchers.”   

Gathering some of the data presented a “formidable challenge,” López says, scattered as it was across various public and private databases, and required meticulous cross-referencing,if it was available at all. For example, information on microfinancing—small, non-mortgage loans that families can use to make incremental improvements to their homes—was inconsistent and fragmented. And reliable figures on informal housing production and credit access for informal workers were difficult or impossible to find.  

The process also revealed some information gaps that researchers or public agencies could address in the future, as well as some inefficiencies in housing subsidies. “Counterintuitively, some countries’ housing support mechanisms lack social targeting, [so they’re] benefiting higher-income groups, undermining their intended social equity objectives,” López explains.   

An urban streetscape with apartment buildings, cars, grass, and trees.
Credit: CAF—Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.

 

The countries studied aren’t just experiencing the housing crisis in different ways, they’re also taking different steps to address it. “While countries share fundamental housing challenges, their approaches vary significantly,” López says. “The research revealed pockets of innovation and progress across the region—each nation demonstrated unique strengths that offer insights into potential solutions.”   

Chile, for example, has developed a sophisticated mortgage market “complemented by innovative rental subsidy programs that address housing affordability from multiple angles,” López says. Panama can boast relatively low mortgage rates and a credit market that reaches almost a quarter (23.1 percent) of GDP, “a notable achievement in a region often characterized by limited financial inclusion,” he adds. “Meanwhile, Ecuador and Peru are pushing boundaries through pioneering green financing instruments, including innovative green bonds and mortgages that signal a forward-thinking approach to sustainable housing development.”   

Still, the data make clear that no country has comprehensively solved its housing challenges, López says. “Instead, the region demonstrates a mosaic of targeted innovations, each addressing specific dimensions of a complex housing landscape.”  

Quintanilla hopes this new collection of reliable, comparable data will help policymakers reach out and learn from each other. “If some particular country finds a similar context, but different outcomes, we hope that highlighting some of those discrepancies may be the spark for an exchange of ideas and transferable lessons,” he says.  

 


 

Jon Gorey is a staff writer at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Lead image credit: CAF—Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Eventos

World Urban Forum

Noviembre 4, 2024 - Noviembre 8, 2024

Cairo, Egypt

Offered in inglés

The Lincoln Institute will participate in the World Urban Forum, convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), November 4–8 in Cairo, Egypt. Staff will host a networking event focused on financing local development, a training session on land value capture and affordable housing, an open house on geospatial technology, and a special Urban Library event featuring municipal leaders and the Lincoln Institute book Mayor’s Desk: 20 Conversations with Local Leaders Solving Global Problems. Staff members will also participate in events organized by partner organizations.

Dates & Times of Lincoln Institute-Hosted Sessions:

  • Financing Localization and Localizing Finance Networking Event: Tuesday, November 5 at 5:00 p.m., Multipurpose Room 09
  • Leveraging Land Value Capture for Affordable Housing Provision and Infrastructure Financing: Wednesday, November 6 at 9:00 a.m., Multipurpose Room 13
  • Evolving the Atlas of Urban Expansion: Finer Detail, New Dimensions, and More Practical Applications: Wednesday, November 6 at 2:00 p.m., Bilateral Meeting Room 13
  • Mayors and Innovators: Replicable Strategies: Friday, November 8 at 10:30 a.m., Urban Library – Room B

Dates & Times of Sessions Featuring Lincoln Institute Staff:

  • Amy Cotter and Luis Quintanilla at Financing Urban Infrastructure – Innovative Options to Attract Investors: Tuesday, November 5, at 9:00 a.m.
  • Enrique Silva at Our Collective Efforts on the New Urban Agenda: Tuesday, November 5, at 10:15 a.m.
  • Enrique Silva at Towards Communities of Practice: Tuesday, November 5, at 3:15 p.m.
  • Enrique Silva at Dialogue 4: Financing Localization and Localizing Finance: Wednesday, November 6, at 10:00 a.m.
  • Darla Munroe at Meeting the Moment: Innovations in Housing Supply to Address Inequality in Cities: Wednesday, November 6, at 1:00 p.m.
  • Enrique Silva at Land-based Finance and the Future of African Cities: Wednesday, November 6, at 3:00 p.m.
  • Enrique Silva at Civitas Novus, Assessing Cities’ Capacity for Innovation: Thursday, November 7, at 9:00 a.m.
  • Amy Cotter at Urban Planning & City Solutions for Climate Mobility: Thursday, November 7, at 5:00 p.m.
  • Enrique Silva at Urban Transformation: Trends and Opportunities for Sustainable Cities in LAC: Friday, November 8, at 9 a.m.
  • Amy Cotter at Overcoming the Project Implementation Gap to Address Urban Sustainability and Resilience: Friday, November 8, at 9:00 a.m.
  • Enrique Silva at Capacidades Em Ação: Como a Capacitação de Agentes Públicos e Sociais Pode Contribuir Para a Transformação e Qualificação das Cidades Brasileiras de Modo Integrado e Sustentável: Friday, November 8, at 1:00 p.m.

Lincoln Institute Speakers

Amy Cotter

Director of Urban Sustainability

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Anthony Flint

Senior Fellow

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Darla Munroe

Executive Director, Research and Cross-Cutting Initiatives

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Luis Quintanilla

Program Analyst

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Enrique Silva

Chief Program Officer

Cambridge, Massachusetts


Detalles

Fecha(s)
Noviembre 4, 2024 - Noviembre 8, 2024
Location
Cairo, Egypt
Idioma
inglés
Enlaces relacionados

More Information on Sessions Hosted by the Lincoln Institute

Financing Localization and Localizing Finance Networking Event
Leveraging Land Value Capture for Affordable Housing Provision and Infrastructure Financing
Evolving the Atlas of Urban Expansion: Finer Detail, New Dimensions, and More Practical Applications
Mayors and Innovators: Replicable Strategies
El escritorio del alcalde

Un nuevo acuerdo en Delhi

Por Anthony Flint, Septiembre 30, 2023

Con una población de casi 33 millones y en crecimiento, Delhi es la segunda área metropolitana más grande del mundo después de Tokio, y va en camino a ser la número uno. Shelly Oberoi, de 39 años, fue elegida como alcaldesa de la Corporación Municipal de Delhi (MCD, por su sigla en inglés), un órgano gubernamental que representa a unos 20 millones de esas personas, a principios de 2023. Oberoi, que nació en la ciudad capital, recibió el cargo de vicepresidenta del ala de las mujeres del Partido anticorrupción Aam Aadmi antes de convertirse en concejala del distrito electoral en 2022. Oberoi, quien tuvo que candidatearse para el cargo de alcaldesa varias veces debido a desafíos electorales parlamentarios, prometió que “Delhi se limpiará y transformará” durante su mandato. Fue profesora adjunta en la Universidad de Delhi y el Instituto Narsee Monjee de Estudios de Gestión, y es la autora de muchos trabajos de investigación sobre responsabilidad social corporativa, finanzas globales y otros temas.

Anthony Flint: En la última década, usted es la primera alcaldesa que debe supervisar toda la ciudad central de Delhi, después de la reunificación de la corporación municipal. ¿Qué tipo de desafíos y oportunidades trae aparejados esta situación para el gobierno?

Shelly Oberoi: Gobernar la Corporación Municipal de Delhi (MDC) después de su unificación trajo consigo una cantidad de grande desafíos y oportunidades. Por un lado, la centralización de los poderes permite una optimización en la toma de decisiones, una mayor rendición de cuentas y una mejor colaboración entre todos los departamentos. Si bien la centralización permite mejorar la eficiencia, también requiere una planificación minuciosa para asegurar una distribución equitativa de los recursos destinados a satisfacer las necesidades diversas de diferentes áreas dentro de Delhi. Equilibrar estas necesidades y optimizar la asignación de recursos es un desafío considerable que estamos analizando en este momento. Por el otro lado, la unificación también nos ofreció una oportunidad para el alineamiento de políticas. Ahora, con una corporación municipal unificada, podemos alinear políticas y regulaciones en todas las áreas de Delhi. El alineamiento de políticas nos permite afrontar problemas como la educación, el impuesto a la propiedad y las nuevas iniciativas de una forma coordinada, lo que conduce a una planificación y un desarrollo civil más efectivos en toda la ciudad. Esto permite una implementación consistente de reglas y regulaciones, lo que nivela el campo de juego, y garantiza justicia y transparencia en la gobernanza.

Alcaldesa Shelly Oberoi. Crédito: Corporación Municipal de Delhi.

AF: Cuando la nombraron, dijo que trabajaría “para que Delhi sea la ciudad que debería haber sido”, ¿cómo es esa visión, y cuáles son los mayores obstáculos para alcanzarla?

SO: Mi visión para Delhi se basa en las 10 garantías del Partido Aam Aadmi, como anunció el primer ministro y coordinador nacional, Arvind Kejriwal. Estas garantías reflejan las aspiraciones de las personas que priorizan el bienestar general de la ciudad. Visualizamos una Delhi bella y limpia, libre de la plaga de vertederos, en la que los sistemas de gestión de residuos se optimicen y que promueva la limpieza en toda la ciudad. Estamos estableciendo una cultura de transparencia y rendición de cuentas, lo que asegura una Corporación Municipal de Delhi libre de corrupción. Además, nuestra visión prevé una solución permanente al problema de estacionamiento a través de sistemas de gestión eficientes y un abordaje para el problema de los animales vagabundos con medidas sostenibles y compasivas. Además, aspiramos a tener calles bien mantenidas que prioricen la seguridad y un flujo de tráfico tranquilo, lo que mejorará la experiencia general para los residentes que se trasladan a diario para trabajar.

El trabajo del gobierno estatal del Partido Aam Aadmi en Delhi ya está teniendo repercusiones en términos globales, en especial en las áreas de educación y salud. El primer ministro, Kejriwal, ha dirigido revoluciones en el escenario de la educación pública y los sectores de salud pública de India. Las personas han empezado a creer que se puede confiar en los servicios del gobierno, que pueden ofrecerles el mismo estándar de servicios sin costo que los servicios privados ofrecen a precios exorbitantes.

Aprovechando este impulso, estamos trabajando con un foco especial en transformar escuelas y hospitales en centros de excelencia. Además, estamos mejorando los parques en toda la ciudad, creando espacios verdes para que la ciudadanía disfrute. En la búsqueda de un cambio favorable, estamos asegurando salarios uniformes para los trabajadores y ofreciéndoles un mejor ambiente dentro de la MCD para promover la seguridad laboral y construir una fuerza de trabajo motivada. También pretendemos simplificar el proceso de obtención de licencias para comerciantes, crear un ambiente de negocios acogedor y establecer áreas de ventas designadas para los vendedores ambulantes.

Sin embargo, reconocemos los desafíos que presentan la urbanización rápida, las restricciones presupuestarias, el compromiso de las partes interesadas y la coordinación entre diferentes agencias. Al reconocer estos desafíos y analizarlos proactivamente, podemos trabajar para lograr que Delhi sea la ciudad que siempre debería haber sido: una metrópolis sostenible, inclusiva y próspera de la que sus residentes se enorgullezcan como su hogar, y, sobre todo, la capital número uno del mundo.

AF: Respecto de la calidad del aire, asunto sobre el que documentales como Todo lo que respira llamaron la atención a nivel internacional, ¿qué soluciones hay a corto plazo? ¿Podría comentar también sobre su mirada con relación a la basura y los vertederos? Los dos temas se relacionan, en el sentido de que la nueva planta que transforma los residuos en energía, aparentemente, ayudará a solucionar un problema a la vez que contribuirá aún más contra la contaminación del aire.

SO: La calidad del aire es, realmente, una preocupación apremiante para Delhi, y enfrentarla requiere un abordaje multifacético que incorpora soluciones tanto a corto, como a largo plazo. No obstante, el aire no pertenece a ninguna frontera geográfica; muchos de los factores que surgen en nuestros estados vecinos tienen un efecto negativo sobre Delhi. Por tanto, el desafío requiere un abordaje coordinado y conjunto de todas las partes interesadas, incluido el gobierno central y los gobiernos estatales vecinos.

El gobierno de Delhi está coordinando un esfuerzo de gran escala para reducir la contaminación del aire a través de sus Planes de Acción de Verano y Primavera. Por consiguiente, escoge soluciones a corto y largo plazo como parte de estos planes de acción, ya sea detener la contaminación por el polvo y la contaminación industrial, lo que mejora la gestión de residuos sólidos, o realizar estudios de distribución de fuentes en tiempo real. Con estos planes de acción, a la MCD se le delegó la responsabilidad de mantener un control de los factores bajo su dominio y de custodiar rutas pequeñas bajo su dominio. El gobierno estatal celebra reuniones periódicas de revisión, y la MCD extendió su apoyo incondicional para ayudar con estos esfuerzos. También es importante destacar que, debido a estos esfuerzos, ya se observó un cambio favorable en la contaminación del aire en Delhi.

Con respecto a la basura y los vertederos, estamos trabajando de forma activa en la mejora del sistema de gestión de residuos sólidos de la ciudad por medio del fomento de la segregación de residuos, instalando estaciones de transferencia de compactadores fijos y cerrando basurales barriales. Además, establecimos un plan para eliminar los tres vertederos de basura de la ciudad. Respecto a esto, estamos en camino a limpiar por completo el vertedero Okhla para fines de este año, y Bhalswa para la primera mitad del año próximo. El estado estableció estos objetivos como parte de un abordaje enfocado en limpiar la ciudad, y el primer ministro Kejriwal ha estado supervisando el progreso diario para fortalecer aún más el propósito de la MCD en pos de esta misión.

AF: ¿Existe alguna política en los trabajos para abordar la congestión de tráfico notoria en la ciudad? ¿Cómo se adapta esto a su plan integral de mejorar la infraestructura y hacer que la ciudad sea más resiliente?

SO: El tráfico está, en su mayoría, fuera del alcance de la MCD. En Delhi, el órgano municipal solo protege las rutas menos importantes y los caminos vecinales, de cuyo mantenimiento nos estamos ocupando con el mayor compromiso desde que tomamos el mando. Junto con la ayuda de nuestros consejeros y ciudadanos locales, estamos identificando todas las rutas y caminos que necesitan algún tipo de reparación y asegurándonos de que la tarea se realice. A un nivel más amplio, el Departamento de Obras Públicas y el Departamento de Transporte del gobierno de Delhi están haciendo un gran trabajo en la reducción de la congestión del tráfico en la ciudad por medio de la mejora de la infraestructura existente, la construcción de pasos sobre nivel y bajo nivel, y la incorporación de autobuses eléctricos.

AF: El área metropolitana de Delhi, con una población de casi 33 millones y con un crecimiento de casi el 3 por ciento anual, parece merecer una forma más centralizada de gobierno. ¿Existe alguna oportunidad de reforma que permita a los alcaldes de India gestionar sus ciudades como lo hacen los dirigentes en las principales ciudades de otras partes del mundo?

SO: En principio, reconozco la necesidad de reformas que empoderen a los dirigentes de la ciudad para que puedan gestionar con eficacia sus ciudades, de forma similar a los modelos de gobiernos observados en las principales ciudades del mundo. Sin embargo, la estructura de gobierno actual en India tiene sus limitaciones, que respetamos, y preferimos reflexionar dentro de nuestro propio paisaje. En teoría, siempre existe una oportunidad de reforma y exploración de modelos alternativos. Podemos explorar potenciando la capacidad de la alcaldía y las autoridades a través de programas de capacitación, el intercambio de conocimientos y la colaboración con las instituciones internacionales de gestión de ciudades que pueden equiparlas con las habilidades y la experiencia necesarias para dirigir y gestionar sus ciudades con eficacia. Además, podemos promover modelos de gobierno colaborativo que impliquen la participación activa de la ciudadanía, las organizaciones de la sociedad civil, y otras partes interesadas, para facilitar una mejor toma de decisiones y asegurarnos de que se representen de forma adecuada las preocupaciones e intereses de los residentes de la ciudad.

 


Anthony Flint es miembro sénior del Instituto Lincoln de Políticas de Suelo, editor colaborador de Land Lines y conductor del pódcast Land Matters.

Imagen principal: Con Delhi en camino a convertirse el área metropolitana más grande del mundo, los dirigentes de la ciudad están fomentando una participación ciudadana más activa. Crédito: PRABHASROY via iStock Editorial/Getty Images Plus.

Accelerating Sustainable Land Use Planning in African Cities

By Enrique Silva, Chief Program Officer, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and Kathy Nothstine, Director of Cities and Societies, Challenge Works, Julio 17, 2024

A recent study from the Lancet found that by the start of the next century, more than half of all births will occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Thanks to higher fertility rates and longer life expectancies, the continent’s population is on track to nearly double to 2.4 billion by 2050, then nearly double again, to 4.2 billion by 2100.

Within Africa, intermediary cities (noncapital cities, typically with a population of 1 million or fewer) are the fastest growing urban places. Between 2022 and 2030, intermediary cities are expected to account for nearly 50 percent of Africa’s overall urban population growth, and this growth will occur largely in cities that currently have fewer than 1 million people. For example, Zinder, the third-largest city in Niger, is expected to more than double its population between 2020 and 2035, growing from about a half-million to over 1 million residents.

The implications of this tremendous growth for people, communities, economies, and the environment are extraordinary, made even more complex by the impacts of climate change and climate migration.

A recent collaboration between the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Challenge Works investigated ways to support effective land use planning, infrastructure investments, land-based financing, and disaster resilience in rapidly growing intermediary cities in Africa. We used a mixed-methods approach that synthesizes literature reviews, interviews with urban policy experts and city officials, and specialist workshops.

We explored:

  • the main goals of intermediary cities in Africa when it comes to managing growth;
  • the barriers preventing such cities from using data-driven planning, mapping, and land-based financing tools; and
  • how a challenge prize could accelerate the creation and scaling of such tools.

Below, we summarize some of the things we learned, and how we plan to take the idea of a challenge prize forward.

Growth is not inherently bad—but can have unintended consequences if not managed.

Often, with population growth comes economic opportunity and improved quality of life. More and better jobs, more economic mobility, and better access to health care, education, and sanitation are among the benefits of population growth.

However, we wanted to dig into questions of land use and infrastructure development knowing that:

Land use planning in intermediary cities is critical to creating more sustainable futures.

In speaking with city leaders and experts within government, NGOs, and industry working in this space, we learned that land use planning has different inputs, outputs, and outcomes. When these are integrated, a virtuous cycle can occur:

  • cities can use evidence and insights to inform plans and policies;
  • evidence-based, implementable plans that are created with input from diverse stakeholders are more likely to be enforced and lead to better outcomes; and
  • this increases the level of trust and evidence available to inform new plans and policies.

The enabling ecosystem—which includes elements like institutional capacity to develop and implement plans, political dynamics, human capacity and skills, funding, cultural norms, and more—also plays an important role in creating and implementing land use plans (or conversely, limiting or obstructing progress).

We also learned that the loop can become ineffective for a number of reasons, which are generally attributed to two primary gaps: first, when effective, evidence-based land use plans are not created, due to organizational barriers (things like internal government silos or lack of planning capacity), political and economic barriers (things like political cycles and competition for resources), and technical barriers (such as lack of quality, up-to-date data); and second, when completed land use plans are not implemented, again due to organizational barriers (like complex land tenure), political and economic barriers (limited authority or resource to implement plans), and technical barriers (lack of local buy-in or weak enforcement powers).

Innovation has the potential to both address pain points within those gaps and strengthen the enabling ecosystem.

For example, we’ve identified city-specific use cases to create context-sensitive solutions that use data analytics to better plan for future mobility needs and transport infrastructure, or to better predict climate risk vulnerabilities and therefore inform land use regulations; apply crowdsourced data and citizen-sensing techniques to create and implement inclusive, equitable land use plans; or examine and collate property registration and valuations to bolster municipal finances and the use of land-based financial tools.

At the ecosystem level, creating new tools or adapting tools to the local context can help organizations leapfrog over traditional planning systems and catalyze new practices, and bring together government agencies or organizations that would not normally collaborate.

Tech solutions can help—but need to be paired with institutional enablers.

While our investigations confirmed the exciting potential for data-driven, digital technologies to help city leaders reduce risk and make more informed decisions, we also learned that new data collection and analysis tools are only as good as the planning and implementation processes they inform. Data-driven tools need to be developed in ways that are people-centered, inclusive, and fair, and are ineffective if they aren’t supported by an enabling ecosystem to implement and update effective plans.

Solutions that pair technical innovation with institutional innovation will enable intermediary cities in Africa to pioneer methods to manage growth in ways that are contextually appropriate and don’t yet exist.

A challenge prize can help spark and scale up solutions.

We propose to run an open innovation challenge in partnership with rapidly growing African intermediary cities. Such a challenge would invite innovators to create, test, and scale solutions to manage rapid growth. The challenge structure is based on partnering with cities to create an open call to innovators, oriented around a specific city use case, which will then work closely with city stakeholders to create custom, locally relevant solutions.

The challenge will include these fundamental features:

  • Centering the challenge around opportunities cities want to address. Innovators will respond to challenge statements that reflect the goals cities want to achieve. This is different from, and complementary to, innovation funding approaches that focus on specific technologies or methods.
  • Prioritizing scalable and replicable solutions. Our research revealed a number of promising innovations that are already being piloted and implemented in real-world settings. Despite this, scaling solutions remains a barrier. For instance, innovators who have the right data analytics solution may not have access to the permissions needed to test it in the real world, or the relationships to introduce it in places that need innovation. Local governments may not be prepared to adopt and maintain services. The challenge will be designed to address scaling barriers through seed funding, capacity-building, new business models, and access to customers, investors, and networks.
  • Providing appropriate incentives and support for innovators to experiment and take risks. The outcome-based, stage-gated funding model of an innovation challenge means that innovators can experiment, while cities can benefit from crowding in a variety of ideas and expertise. Having access to both financial and nonfinancial support enables innovators to develop solutions in ways they might not be able to otherwise.
  • Shaping and accelerating innovation in land use planning. By supporting multiple innovators working across multiple use cases and settings, the challenge can accelerate progress in the field of land use planning, as well as steer innovation in a direction more attuned to the needs of rapidly growing cities in low- and middle-income countries.

The time is now.

Africa is both the cradle of civilization and the world’s youngest continent, with half the population under the age of 19. The continent is also facing critical risks related to climate change and associated implications to disaster resilience, food and water security, energy supplies, and more. To ensure that future city growth in Africa is inclusive, equitable, sustainable, and resilient to changing conditions, we urgently need to take action now to accelerate and scale new models to manage growth. Our next steps are to assemble the partners to implement the next stage of the challenge. If you are interested in contributing, get in touch!

With sincere thanks to Stefan Chavez-Norgaard, Teodora Chis, Astrid Haas, Peter Oborn, and the many policy experts, development practitioners, city officials, tech innovators, and others who provided their insights and experiences to shape this program.

 


 

Lead image: City market street in Lagos, Nigeria, West Africa. Credit: peeterv via iStock/Getty Images Plus.

Eventos

City Club of Cleveland 2024 Summer Outdoor Series Featuring George “Mac” McCarthy

Julio 31, 2024 | 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. (EDT, UTC-4)

Cleveland, OH United States

Offered in inglés

Lincoln Institute of Land Policy President and CEO George W. McCarthy and President and CEO of The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority Laura Brunner will participate in a forum on July 31 at 12 p.m. EDT as part of the City Club of Cleveland’s 2024 Outdoor Summer Series. They will discuss Who Owns America—an innovative geospatial mapping project helping communities like Cincinnati preserve its affordable housing stock. The talk will  will cover challenges and opportunities to expand affordable housing, and the critical role of precise data in informing policymaking.      

This free event will be held at the Playhouse Square Plaza and will also be livestreamed on the City Club of Cleveland’s website. 

 


Detalles

Fecha(s)
Julio 31, 2024
Time
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. (EDT, UTC-4)
Registration Period
Julio 8, 2024 - Julio 31, 2024
Location
The City Club of Cleveland
Playhouse Square Plaza
Corner of East 14th Street and Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH United States
Idioma
inglés

Palabras clave

vivienda

Nuevas investigaciones sobre políticas de suelo y desarrollo urbano en América Latina

Por Luis Felipe Quintanilla, Junio 11, 2024

En el marco de la reciente convocatoria de investigación sobre políticas de suelo y desarrollo urbano en América Latina, el Instituto Lincoln de Políticas de Suelo se complace en anunciar los proyectos seleccionados para recibir apoyo financiero. Estas propuestas se destacan por su potencial de generar nuevos conocimientos sobre cómo las políticas de suelo pueden contribuir a la superación de desafíos sistémicos para el desarrollo sostenible en la región, tales como la asequibilidad de la vivienda, la equidad socioespacial, el mejoramiento integral de barrios informales, la autonomía fiscal de los municipios y la adaptación al cambio climático.

Adicionalmente, los proyectos seleccionados resaltan por su alta capacidad de incidir en debates de política pública vigentes en América Latina en temáticas de interés para el Instituto, incluyendo lecciones en la implementación de instrumentos de financiación en base al valor del suelo, políticas para reducir déficits cualitativos y cuantitativos de vivienda, y condiciones propicias para la incorporación de soluciones basadas en la naturaleza para la acción climática.

A continuación, se mencionan los proyectos y equipos de trabajo que reciben una comisión del Instituto Lincoln y que resultarán en informes científicos a presentarse en abril de 2025:

  • María Mercedes Di Virgilio, Felipe Gonzalez, María Vitoria Boix, Nicolás Ferme y María Victoria Marco, todos integrantes del Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC), realizarán una medición de niveles de vivienda vacante y recomendaciones de políticas públicas en las ciudades de Buenos Aires, Córdoba y Rosario, en Argentina.
  • Ernesto Lopez-Morales, Luis Inostroza, Lien Rodríguez, Nicolás Herrera y Vicente Mosso investigarán aumentos de valor de suelo generados por proyectos de infraestructura azul-verde y la provisión de servicios ecosistémicos en la región de Patagonia, Chile.
  • Aurora Echavarria y Paavo Monkkonen generarán una base de datos de tasas del impuesto predial aplicadas en más de 200 municipios de México, para evaluarlas contra niveles de progresividad y de cumplimiento en pagos, así como su relación con costos fiscales por exenciones y frecuencia de estimaciones de la base gravable.
  • Ciro Biderman y Luis Antonio Fantozzi Alvarez evaluarán variaciones en cobros de derechos de edificabilidad y sus impactos en valores de suelo y edificios en São Paulo, Brasil.
  • Pedro Abramo, Adriana Hurtado, Juan Cabrera, Denisse Brikman, María Mercedes Di Virgilio y Julia Queiroz realizarán un estudio comparativo de procesos de densificación en áreas de origen informal en cinco países—Bolivia, Perú, Colombia, Argentina y Brasil—con el objetivo de identificar modelos de política pública para gestionar los procesos actuales de crecimiento vertical informal.
  • Daniel Kozak, Demián Rotbart, Hayley Henderson, Mariana Giusti, Rodolfo Aradas y Esteban Otto Thomasz analizarán el costo-beneficio de un sistema urbano de drenaje sostenible, incluyendo su potencial como solución basada en la naturaleza y mecanismo de recuperación de plusvalías, en el municipio de General San Martín, Argentina.
  • Oscar Eduardo Pérez Moreno, Catalina Hinestroza Gallego, Jean Carlo Figueroa Santamaría y Susana Aguilar Cuartas analizarán los marcos jurídicos e institucionales de instrumentos de recuperación de plusvalías para la financiación de acciones de resiliencia climática, con enfoque en el proyecto “Paisajes de Agua” del municipio Rionegro, Colombia.
  • Ivo Gasic, Néstor Garza y Clemente Larraín realizarán una estimación de la tasa de variación general del precio del suelo de Santiago de Chile, con el objetivo de ser utilizada en investigaciones sobre estimaciones de plusvalías que genera la inversión pública en esta ciudad.
  • Fernando Mello Franco, Alexandre Fontenelle-Weber, Giselle Mendonça Abreu, Joyce Reis Ferreira da Silva, Rafael Chasles y Bárbara Frutuoso explorarán la función socioambiental de azoteas en São Paulo, Brasil, generando una tipología en base a morfologías y usos.
  • Beatriz Toribio, Gastón Gertner, y Guadalupe Dorna, compararán los efectos de obras para control de inundaciones en valores de propiedades en zonas de alto riesgo en la ciudad de Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Para conocer más acerca de esta y otras iniciativas de investigación del Instituto Lincoln en la región, visite nuestra página principal de oportunidades para investigaciones (en inglés) y nuestro repositorio de recursos relacionados con políticas de suelo en América Latina.

 


Luis Felipe Quintanilla es analista de políticas para el Instituto Lincoln de Políticas de Suelo.

Lead image: Casas en Buenos Aires, Argentina. Credit: Gustavo Enrique Cortez via iStock/Getty Images Plus.