IDOS has been working on a multi-partner project for the sustainable transformation of cities in Latin America since 2021. From 12 to 15 May, the planning meeting for the second project phase until 2026 took place in Recife, Brazil.
TUC project team members with representatives of the Brazilian Ministry of Cities at the opening of the Periferia Viva local office in Peixinhos, ©WRI Brasil
Together with the Institute for Environment and Human Security of the United Nations University (UNU-EHS), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) as well as representatives from the five project cities in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, the next steps and the project’s sustainability strategy were planned.
Following the establishment of urban labs in the cities and the implementation of local transformation projects, the second phase will focus more on sharing the findings with the scientific and the policy community and scaling up the approach. In Brazil, the project has already been successful in this respect. In 2024, the Brazilian Ministry of Cities launched a programme to support poorer cities. Key components of this ‘Periferia Viva’ programme, which supports 58 cities across the country with around 900 million Euros, were inspired by the TUC project. In Brazil, the project team was invited to a further dialogue with the ministry and to the opening of the local office in Peixinhos. The local implementation of Periferia Viva is planned and coordinated in these local offices.
At the end of the meeting, the TUC team took part in the 19th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change (CBA19), which was being held in Recife at the same time. Under the motto ‘Local solutions inspiring global action’, experiences with community-based approaches to climate change from all over the world were presented, including the Urban Lab approach of the TUC project. Based on these discussions, demands were formulated in a ‘Recife Statement’ for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), also taking place in Brazil in November.
