Lessons and Challenges of Social Urbanism in Latin America

Abstract

The final chapter of Social Urbanism in Latin America: Cases and Instruments of Planning, Land Policy and Financing the City Transformation with Social Inclusion presents the main lessons and challenges analyzed in the seven chapters of the book. The case studies of Medellin, Bogota, and Sao Paulo, discussed in more detail, along with other local innovative experiences of social and territorial inclusion, through land policy tools, in Latin American cities in Uruguay, Ecuador, and Argentina, show that there is a set of urban, environmental, and cultural initiatives that place social inclusion and reduction of urban inequality at the forefront of municipal governments’ agendas in this century on the most urbanized of the continents.

Social urbanism is approached through a national and, above all, a municipal urban agenda that has been implemented with the goals of tackling social and territorial inequalities while promoting social justice in these cities. The topics are presented in three complementary components of analysis – institutional, financial, and urban aspects – highlighting innovative land policy tools, financing instruments and planning tools, and processes that integrate technical competence with local community participation in the decision-making processes of urban transformation and public policies.

The chapter also brings implications on urban land policy for transition cities in the Global South.