Cities of the Americas unite to address global challenges
April 18, 2023
The Cities Summit of the Americas, to be held in Denver from on 26–28, is an unparalleled opportunity for cities in the Western Hemisphere to jointly address challenges such as climate change, migration flows, digital transformation, food security or sustainable mobility. CAF, city authorities of Denver and Los Angeles, the U.S. government, and the Inter-American Dialogue are some of the initial promoters of this meeting.
The Denver Cities Summit aims to empower local governments, businesses and community organizations to collaborate and come up with new solutions to the most pressing issues facing cities, including sustainable mobility, climate resilience, democratic renewal, women's empowerment, social inclusion, and safety, among others. Around 150 mayors from the region will participate, as a way to ensure the Latin American vision is present in the meeting.
Part of this work to articulate solutions was launched at the 9th Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles in 2022, where CAF, the Inter-American Dialogue and the Mayor's Office of Los Angeles organized a meeting of mayors to address challenges facing cities regarding climate action and human mobility. During the meeting, Secretary Blinken and the mayors of Los Angeles and Denver announced the organization of the First Cities Summit of the Americas in Denver.
Latin America is the second most urbanized region on the planet (80% of Latin Americans live in cities), but a quarter of its residents live in informal settlements. The region boasts an enviable biodiversity and natural resources, but the green areas are only 9 square meters per inhabitant, below what is recommended by the WHO. Moreover, there are few cars in Latin America (about 83 million, compared to 405 million in Europe or about 300 million in the U.S.), but people spend an average 90 minutes a day commuting (more than twice as much as in Spain, for example).
“The Cities Summit of the Americas is an ideal venue to exchange experiences and forge new global alliances that allow us to unlock the potential of Latin American cities and turn them into true drivers of economic growth, high-quality job creation, environmental protection, social integration and sustainable mobility,” said CAF Executive President Sergio Diaz-Granados.
CAF at the Denver Summit
CAF is promoting an urban development model that places people at the center of the action, regardless of differences in gender, ethnicity or skills, and rethinks the link with nature through the preservation of biodiversity, the construction of a sustainable habitat through a more holistic view of the territories that leads to better urban management.
As part of these efforts, at the Cities Summit of the Americas,CAF will organize a series of sessions to address important issues on the social agenda, on biodiversity, inclusion, infrastructure development, sustainable transport, gender and digitalization.
Below are CAF’s activities at the Denver Summit: