Informal settlements and social housing: COVID-19 impacts and answers

Informal settlements and social housing: COVID-19 impacts and answers

Central America

Webinar in Spanish, on Tuesday 14 April 2020 at 10am EST (9am CST)

Link to register

Agenda

Concept Note

In Latin America, national and local governments, and civil society organizations are seeking advice on urgent responses to address the current public health threat. This is also an opportunity to review housing and urban policies to improve the living conditions in informal settlements in the long run. 

The main purpose of the event is to identify responses to the crisis generated by COVID-19 and to collect inputs for public action, in Central America, on slum upgrading and housing policies, in the context of inequalities and segregation in cities. The panelists will share experiences from Montevideo, Bogota, Costa Rica and Barcelona. UN-Habitat and CEPAL will bring a regional and global perspective to the debate, where key urban stakeholders from Central America will also participate.

The debate will focus on the following questions:

• What immediate measures are COVID taking in the region in order to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic in the resident population in precarious situations and social housing?
• How do immediate steps in response to COVID-19 dialogues with the New UA and SDGs? What is needed  to improve urban and housing policies?
• How current reactions towards the health emergency will enable  improved public policy and urban governance mechanisms?

This is the first of a series of Housing Laboratories (Laboratorios de Vivienda LAVs) on COVID-19 response in Latin America, supporting both immediate actions, and long term structural changes in the region.

This LAV is supported by the Urban Housing Practitioners Hub (UHPH) in partnership with Cities Alliance, UN-Habitat, CEPAL, the European Union, Eurosocial, Secretaria de la Integracion Social Centroamericana (SISCA) and Sistema de la Integracion Centroamericana (SICA).