The Coalition for Urban Transitions has launched a major new initiative in Mexico to support the incoming national government in its mission to transform the country’s cities. Taking place on Tuesday 27 November, the launch event – with a well attended press conference and roundtable discussion – happened just days ahead of the inauguration of new president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has already published the ambitious urban development plan AMLÓpolis.
The ‘Coalición para la Transformación Urbana (CTU MX)’ or Coalition for Urban Transformation brings together leading institutions with expertise in urban development. The programme aims to identify, design and evaluate public policy to create dynamic, healthy and prosperous cities. The programme will follow a twin-track research and engagement approach, with the aim to help the central government advance towards the New Urban Agenda, the SDGs, and the Paris Agreement.
Cities in Mexico generate more than 75% of the country’s GDP, yet 35 million of their inhabitants live in poverty and access to jobs and services is blighted by uncontrolled sprawl. Getting Mexico’s cities right is vital to raise millions of people out of poverty, ensure sustainable economic development, and reduce carbon emissions.
The programme is a partnership between the Coalition for Urban Transitions and the World Resources Institute Mexico (WRI Mexico), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Faculty of Architecture of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), the Global Institute for Green Growth (GGGI) and UN-Habitat. It will work primarily on the issues of housing, land management, urban planning systems and metropolitan coordination, and mobility and transportation.
The programme was launched in Mexico City with keynote remarks by Ani Dasgupta, Global Co-Director of the Coalition for Urban Transitions, and Gabriela Rodríguez Herrera, Head of Climate and Energy Policy at the British Embassy in Mexico, along with key partners of the Mexico programme. Over 25 outlets covered the launch, including the influential La Jornada, as well as a substantial segment on Milenio TV.
