The European Commission’s project preparation program for sustainable urban development in Latin America

Joao Pessoa

LAIF City Life Program Management

Type of service
Program management
Client
European Commission and AECID
Date
2022–2024
Location
Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, Brazil
Beneficiaries
Local governments of Belem and Joao Pessoa (Brazil), Barranquilla (Colombia), San Salvador (El Salvador), Ciudad de Guatemala (Guatemala), Tegucigalpa, Comayagua, Trujillo (Honduras), Arequipa, Cajamarca and Trujillo (Peru) and the State of Tlaxcala (Mexico)
Funding
Latin America and Caribbean Investment Facility (LACIF)

Driving urban transformation to enhance quality of life in Latin America

LAIF City Life is a €6.2 million project preparation program funded by the European Commission and managed by AECID. With financial, administrative, and technical support, the program enabled local governments in 12 Latin American cities to identify and formulate 16 projects in mobility, green infrastructure, and public space revitalization, preparing them for future investment. These projects are central to positive transformations that enhance quality of life, resilience, inclusiveness, and productivity for residents in key cities across Latin America.

Services

  • Expert technical advisory, on-demand guidance, and quality control
  • On-the-job training for local governments, including mentoring and knowledge transfer through specialized courses
  • Operational support, program implementation, and budget management
  • Communications, visibility, and city-to-city exchange brokerage

Thematic areas

  • Low-carbon mobility: improving public transport, developing multimodal networks, and promoting non-motorized mobility.
  • Blue and green infrastructure: Restoring water bodies, developing public space systems and enhancing capacity to withstand shocks and stresses.
  • Urban centers: revitalizing underused land assets and strengthening areas of economic activity.

Results

  • 16 urban development projects identified across 12 cities.
  • Strengthened technical and management capacities of over 60 local government staff.
  • Enhanced cross-sector collaboration among municipal, national, and regional stakeholders.
  • Generated and transferred practical knowledge on urban infrastructure interventions to local governments, available as a public resource.
  • Engaged civil society through 200 participants in open idea competitions.
  • Improved alignment of infrastructure interventions with EU sustainable development priorities in Latin America.

Related projects

A strategic roadmap for effective territorial planning in the Dominican Republic

Implementation Strategy for the Law on Territorial Development

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