New Life in Latin American Cities

The COVID-19 pandemic has left unusual scenes all over the world. The swarms of people cramming Lower Manhattan vanished, giving way to empty, lifeless streets. Wild animals roam freely through neighborhoods in cities in Japan, Spain, Chile and Germany. And the noise of car horns and engines gave way to silence and quiet, unimaginable in the 21st century.

It is clear that even after lockdown is lifted, life in cities will have changed for good. Travel by public and private transport has been significantly reduced by telework, shopping malls have fewer visitors, online shopping is booming, and in general, there are fewer traffic jams and less urban bustle.  

The question is what will happen when we manage to keep the virus at bay and go back to (a new) normal. In this interview, Pablo López, urban development expert at CAF, tells us what opportunities open up for Latin American cities in the wake of pandemic-driven urban dynamics, and how feasible they are.

Question: What is the overall impact of COVID-19 on cities?

Answer: There are different ways to look at it. Objectively, the results are daunting for the region because of the number of lives that were lost, growing poverty and the number of jobs lost, and because in many cases people’s confidence in institutions and the political system to handle extraordinary events like this has been shattered. From an optimistic perspective, this pandemic could be seen as an opportunity to push old and new solutions for cities.

Q: What kind of opportunities?

A: This is an opportunity to think about the fundamental issues in Latin America’s urban development agenda and to promote a set of effective public policies. For example, ensuring access to safe water and sanitation for the most vulnerable groups, access to housing with minimum quality standards for low-income sectors of the population, access to good education and healthcare services and access to high-quality public spaces, especially green spaces.

Q: What lessons can we draw from the effects of the pandemic on cities?

A: Perhaps most noteworthy is the newfound importance of transport and public spaces. The confinement and suspension of group activities in closed spaces has brought new value to public spaces. Pedestrian pathways, roads, bicycle lanes, urban ecosystems, parks, squares and other public spaces have been key to the movement of essential workers, the development of social activities or food supply. But it has also become clear that public spaces are limited in many cities. Furthermore, public transport has been paramount to the mobility of essential workers, demonstrating the benefits for society, in addition to the advantages in terms of environmental sustainability or the increased efficiency of the use of public spaces.

Q: How can countries promote a new urban agenda?

A: Many of the problems exposed by the pandemic are structural, and thus, many of them will persist when we go back to normal. However, the crisis highlights a certain order of priorities on the short- and medium-term urban agenda, which can be summarized in six key policies: ensuring clean water and sanitation for the most needy; ensuring affordable housing for the population residing in precarious settlements; strengthening digital connectivity and the consequent skills of human capital; improving physical connectivity, mainly through public transport; development of an interconnected network of high-quality public and green spaces accessible to all; and the modernization of local governance.

Q: One of the main problems in cities of the region is social exclusion. What can local governments do to reduce it?

A: Improving physical and virtual accessibility to education, health or job opportunities is a key aspect of social inclusion. To improve accessibility levels it is important to have an equal distribution of opportunities and ensure the necessary quality and time connections between them and the population residing in the city. This means having adequate urban roads, buses, bicycle lanes, good public transport service, reasonable fares, among others, and also a good online connectivity system. 

Q: What are the obstacles to implementing this agenda efficiently?

A: Obstacles can arise at different points in time and become issues in terms of time, costs and quality. For example, a home with unsafe surrounding streets, without a bus stop nearby or without drinking water supply, will find it difficult to access opportunities due to the time it takes to access public transport or the cost of such travel with a particular vehicle.

Q: What would you recommend to mayors and local governments?

A: They should focus on developing a pro-inclusion and pro-productivity urban agenda, with a cross-cutting view of environmental sustainability, while simultaneously working for the permanent modernization of urban management. An agile, financially sound local government, with a clear future-looking vision, is key to working in a context with much needed updates in city planning, to increasing revenue and improving public spending, and facilitating a business environment tailored to the city’s economic development.