Newsletter – n°15 – October 2012

News from partners

Drawing on the experience of six Latin American cities and a federal state, the challenges and opportunities of the development of informal urban settlements are summarised in the publication "Desarollo urbano sostenible en Latinoamérica".

Within the framework of the INTEGRATION project, which aims at sustainable inner urban development and brownfield revitalisation, a city network for the sustainable development of informal settlements has been established.
 

The integration of these settlements into urban planning is a great challenge. They are often developed on abandoned industrial or former dump sites, potentially contaminated by harmful substances, and have grown uncontrolled for years. It is essential to include key stakeholders, as well as ecological and social factors, into the development planning. However, if successful, the integration of these sites contributes to increase social cohesion and the cities’ attractiveness.

You can find more information in www.urbal-integration.eu.

BACKGROUND

The European Union support actions to improve social and territorial cohesion in Latin American through the URB-AL III programme. The project INTEGRATION (2009-2012) is one of the 20 projects that have been funded by the programme. Coordinated by the City of Stuttgart, six Latin American cities - Guadalajara (Mexico), Bogotá (Columbia), Quito (Ecuador), São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Viña del Mar (Chile) - and the State of Chihuahua (Mexico) jointly implemented the activities with the support of the German NGO KATE and ICLEI.