Pro-Inclusion: a Development Agenda for Latin American Cities

Pro-inclusion outlines a conceptual yet operative methodology where inclusion is a crosscutting agenda for the development of cities in the region. Aimed at being implementable, Pro-inclusion has a distinct territorial aspect that underscores the relationship between the spatial structure of the city, especially in slums, and inclusion. It also highlights the urgent need to make decisions based on evidence and information that is both available and systematized on a micro-local scale in the form of maps, which serve as indicators to measure improved access to opportunities and services and their effect on human development. Pro-inclusion places inclusion at the heart of planning, investment and implementation policies for local urban development. Integral to the agenda is the potential to serve as a connector of efforts by different levels of government, international financial institutions, donors, the private sector and non-governmental initiatives. Pro-inclusion advances concrete solutions that can be embedded in operative areas of city governments and their investment programs, thereby facilitating the structure of resource support and partnerships for financing and implementation. Pro-inclusion’s working agenda focuses on four axes comprised of specific actions that cities can undertake to reduce access gaps to the benefits of urban life. They are: · Increasing accessibility through public transport · Promoting cohesion through public space · Developing human capital through education and capacity building · Improving quality of life through basic services Actions along these axes are integrated and take advantage of synergies between them to use limited resources more efficient. CAF, the promoter of Pro-inclusion, has been a coordinating partner to the work under Policy Unit 1 – Cities for All. Beyond the evident thematic link between the unit’s output and the proposed event, Pro-inclusion aims to generate a practical agenda of planning and investment choices that enables all urban dwellers to participate productively in urban life.