The accelerated process of urbanization at a global and regional scale, combined with the effects of climate change, generate complex challenges and important opportunities for cities. This is especially so for small and medium-sized cities, which show high vulnerability to climate change but which also yield great opportunities to achieve climate-resilient sustainable development. Latin America, as the most urbanized region in the world, must avail itself of concrete alternatives and develop its response capacity to these challenges.

The Initiative Ciudades Resilientes al Clima en América Latina (Climate Resilient Cities Initiative – CRC) was initiated and developed as part of a strategic alliance between the International Development Research Center (IDRC), the Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and the Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano (FFLA), seeking to create a bridge between research and concrete action.

The main objective of the initiative was to generate solutions that promote climate-resilient development in small and medium-sized cities in Latin America, many of which are experiencing rapid growth and climate change impacts, thereby contributing to improving the living conditions of the inhabitants.

During 2016, an international call was launched, out of which six projects were selected and implemented in thirteen cities in seven Latin American countries and which, with their various different perspectives and methodological approaches, generated responses and solutions to contribute to climate-resilient urban development, based on the active participation of the different local stakeholders. A gender perspective was also incorporated in the analysis.

This report shares the main findings, solutions, and lessons learned from the process. We are very satisfied with the results achieved in the research-action projects because they provide a variety of responses to specific problems related to climate change in the cities and territories where they were implemented.

These solutions constitute contributions from the field and involved the participation of academia and local stakeholders. They offer decision-makers a range of options for enhancing climate-resilient urban planning and also contribute to building knowledge on this issue within academia and across communities and practitioners working on urban and climate change issues.

This document is also available in Spanish here.