IDB launches call for proposals for urban challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean
WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Wednesday launched the challenge “Cities for All,” which seeks to identify urban challenges that accentuate inequality in Latin American and Caribbean cities.
The initiative, through the bank’s Cities Laboratory, will support challenges that can be solved through experimentation processes, such as prototype schemes, pilots, and iterative models of solutions, among others, to design innovative, replicable, and scalable solutions.
Cities from the IDB’s 26 borrowing member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are eligible to participate, specifically, entities that promote urban innovation as part of or in partnership with city governments.
Urban innovation laboratories, universities, innovation agencies, or civil society groups associated with one or more city governments are encouraged to apply.
The call focuses on identifying problems in several areas, including poor access to financing and quality housing solutions; inadequate access to basic services; the socio-spatial disconnection of informal neighbourhoods from formal ones and limited or no access to information and communication technologies.
In addition it is also aimed at identifying vulnerability and resilience to climate change and natural disasters; and Limited formal employment opportunities
The IDB said six semi-finalist teams will be selected to participate in a mentoring process to improve the definition of the challenge, which will be presented at a pitch day.
“From these, three teams will be selected to receive technical assistance from the IDB, up to US $35,000, to work on an iterative process of experimentation consisting of the co-design, implementation, and evaluation of a prototype or pilot project that will contribute to solving the posed challenge.”
The IDB said that the initiative is aligned with Vision 2025 – Reinvesting in the Americas: A Decade of Opportunities, created by the IDB Group to achieve sustainable recovery and inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the digital economy, gender and inclusion, and climate change.
