At its annual meeting in Calgary, the Inter-American Development Bank announced a new initiative to support the sustainable growth of cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, rather than working in large, established urban centers such as Rio de Janeiro or Mexico City, the Emerging Sustainable Cities platform will focus efforts on rapidly-growing cities with 100,000 to 2 million inhabitants. In a press release, IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno noted the particular challenge that these cities face: “The population of these emerging cities is growing two to three times faster than megacities” whereas “giant cities such as Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires will essentially stop expanding in the coming decade.”

With this initiative, IDB recognizes a paradox facing developing nations around the world: they will be most severely impacted by the consequences of climate change, yet they have the power to grow in more sustainable ways than developed nations have. Moreno asserted, “No one wants today’s emerging cities to become tomorrow’s crowded and unhealthy megacities.” Through this platform, IDB will focus on three specific areas: Environmental and Climate Change, Urban Development and Sustainability, and Fiscal Sustainability. IDB will assist in the creation of comprehensive plans, promote citizen participation, provide technical assistance and consulting services, and develop and test policy instruments and processes.

IDB provides loans, grants, and technical assistance to strengthen cities’ capacity for urban planning, support regulatory frameworks, and enhance fiscal and planning systems. The Emerging Sustainable Cities platform builds on three decades of IDB’s work in sustainable urban development. Previous and ongoing initiatives have supported transportation infrastructure, affordable housing, and neighborhood revitalization projects. The Favela-Bairro program, started in 1996, provides one example. Through this program, now in its third phase, IDP has worked with the municipality of Rio de Janeiro to organize communities, increase the availability of social services, and provide formal water connections to 81 percent of households in participating favelas.

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