Challenges and opportunities in the implementation of a National Urban Agenda: The Ecuadorian experience

As the host country of the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development - Habitat III, Ecuador has begun a participatory process for the collective construction of a National Urban Agenda (NUA) developed under the framework of the New Urban Agenda and the Regional Action Plan (RAP) for the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean developed by MINURVI with the support of ECLAC.

As a result of these efforts, various policy documents and legislation have been developed to serve as the theoretical framework for the construction of the National Urban Agenda (NUA). These documents include the Organic Law for Territorial Planning, and Land Use Management (LOOTUS) and a draft document of the NUA that serves as the base document for the collective construction of the final version of the NUA and its Implementation Plan.

The event aims to share the Ecuadorian experience of constructing and implementing urban development policies under the framework of international and regional agendas. The event will also serve as a platform to share the challenges related to the collective construction of the NUA, which range from technical capacities at the national and local levels, to challenges related to the implementation and monitoring of the Agenda.

The event is contributing to the implementation of the New Urban Agenda by presenting the on-going process and commitment of the Ecuadorian government in the collective process of the construction of a NUA, which will help build an integrated national system of cities and human settlements, toward the achievement of national development targets. This event will share the challenges and opportunities of this ongoing process and will be useful for MIDUVI to receive feedback and suggestion for the development of the implementation strategy of the NAU.