Development financial institutions and the New Urban Agenda: Mobilizing resources towards the implementation of urban policy

In the context of The New Urban Agenda, the current debate focuses mainly on how local financial systems, its fiscal base and its capacity might be able to guarantee resources for urban infrastructure. However, in order to be able to cope with the expansion of cities and their rapid urbanization processes, it is crucial to identify innovative and effective financial mechanisms that development financial institutions are designing or implementing to cater all sorts of urban financial needs, which are beyond local government’s direct responsibilities, but undoubtedly are determinant for the performance of the urban economy and the resilience of a city. Understanding the role of development financial institutions, their capacity of mobilizing resources – both private and public-, and their unique position of effective actors in the market or territory, reveal them as key allies for the implementation of urban policy and the powerful possibilities for achieving action-oriented initiatives for the New Urban Agenda. In such context, the event pretends to bring together development financial institutions’ authorities and urban studies’ experts so that they find common field of action and opportunities derived from innovative mechanisms that development financial institutions are able to implement. The two subjects chosen for the discussions are “Urban Ecology: Environment and Green Financing” and “Urban Economy: Innovation, entrepreneurship and development strategies” since they both connect current and relevant urban issues with most recent trends in financial programs offered by development banking."