Habitat III: Estado de México presents the Toluca Declaration before the UN

Last 25th of April, the Governor of Estado de México, Eruviel Ávila, presented the Toluca Declaration before the United Nations Assembly, in a forum organised by UN-Habitat in New York. This Declaration contains the conclusions of the Habitat preparatory Regional Meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean, one of the meetings prior to the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Development that will be held in Quito, Ecuador, next October. 

The Toluca meeting was held between the 18th and the 20th April, and attracted representatives from the 34 Latin American and Caribbean countries, including national, regional and local governments, as well as lawmakers, members of the academia and social organisations. The aim was to outline the urban strategies and the long-term development challenges for the Region, at a time of rapid urbanization worldwide. As part of the process in the run up to Quito, there has also been preparatory regional meetings in Prague (Czech Republic) Abuja (Nigeria) and Yakarta (Indonesia).

The outcome documents of these meetings were presented before the UN-Habitat as official contributions for the Habitat III process, so that they will serve as the basis for the drawing up of the New Urban Agenda that will be promoted in Quito. Eruviel Ávila explained that Latin America and the Caribbean, where 80% of the population live in urban areas, must “undergo the necessary changes to stop being one of the most unequal areas, with deficiencies in terms of participation, assets and opportunities”. This is why he called on the political leaders to promote and engage with the New Urban Agenda.

The Toluca Declaration proposes a number of key elements in terms of territorial planning, governance, housing, sustainable mobility, land management and environment. It stresses the need to design new models of multi-level governance and promote “urban national policies and the review of the existing legislation allowing the subnational and local governments to plan and manage the cities […] in a sustainable and participative manner”, to “allocate enough and adequate resources allowing a long-term transformation” or to “use information and communication technologies in the service of populations and public decision making”.

Related content:

The Toluca Declaration for Habitat III, 20 april 2016 

Habitat III Open-ended Informal Consultative Meetings, New York, 25-29 april 2016