URBsociAL II Journal. September 21st by Verónica Sanz

SECOND MEETING

Journal

Rosario, 21st September 2011

SEGUNDO ENCUENTRO

River Paraná crosses the city of Rosario.

Rosario, a place for discussion and dialogue between two continents Rosario will be, from today and up to September 23rd, the meeting point for the second edition of URBsociAL, a forum for Euro-LatinAmerican Dialogue on Social Cohesion and Local Public Policy. Under the slogan “Innovate to govern the local,” European-Latin American representatives from the private and public sectors will discuss the main challenges faced by the region in relation to social cohesion. The second edition will take place at the events and convention centre Metropolitano de Rosario and will include, among other new features, a fair that will promote the exchange of experiences regarding local public policies. Workshops will also have a relevant role in the new edition as they will be structured based on eight actual case studies. URBsociAL is an initiative of the European Commission's URB-AL III Programme fostered by the Coordination and Orientation Office (OCO). The objective of this initiative is to promote the exchange of experiences among local groups in Europe and Latin America. The second edition of the programme will resume the 2010 Sitges Agenda and establish new commitments to promote policies that improve the quality of life of the citizens. •

Dr. Hermes Juan Binner Governor of the Province of Santa Fe

innovate to govern the local

ince the beginning of our administration in the Province, we took on the challenge to transform the Provincial Government and the way the administration is run, “from demand-based politics to politics that allows warranting rights.” Efficiency, solidarity, participation, transparency, and closeness to people are the concepts that guide these transformations within the process of State reform, regionalisation and construction of a participatory Provincial Strategic Plan.

September 21st Agustí Fernández de Losada Director of International Relations of the Diputació de Barcelona and General Coordinator of the OCO

As part of this challenge, we have decided to work on the construction of a public international cooperation policy that, integrated into the Provincial Strategic Plan, will progress along Santa Fe's transformation. We specifically value the contributions made by the cooperation between sub-national groups, and that is why we consider public decentralised cooperation a priority.

NEW CHALLENGES AT LOCAL LEVEL

“I

nnovate to govern the local.” It is a great challenge, but it also constitutes a compelling need in today's context. Today we open the second edition of the forum for Euro-LatinAmerican Dialogue on Social Cohesion and Local Public Policy URBsociAL with a challenging invitation to reflect, based on specific experiences, on the role of local governments in a changing environment where territorial administrations have a growing prominence. If one year ago at Sitges we gave the starting signal for this forum, today in Rosario we continue reflecting on and analysing the best practices to move towards the articulation of a shared agenda for local action in matters of public social cohesion policies. The Rosario Agenda will take up the baton of the Sitges Agenda for promoting policies that, at the local level, influence in the improvement of the quality of life of the citizens.

The Province of Santa Fe shows great pride, commitment and responsibility for addressing the challenge of hosting the second URBsociAL meeting We consider public decentralised cooperation a priority This explains our decision to actively take part in the third phase of the URB-AL Programme, coordinating one of the 20 projects: “Institutional innovation in intermediate governments: Regionalisation as a key instrument for the promotion of proximity democracies”; taking part in the consortium lead by the Diputació de Barcelona, responsible for the Coordination and Orientation Office of the URB-AL III Programme; and as the host of the Southern Cone Regional Office.

Today's context is complex and demands finding innovative strategies. Latin America is a region that evidences attractive macroeconomic data and that is immersed in various decentralisation processes, and its great challenge is to fight inequalities and establish the bases for inclusive growth. In a Europe affected by the international financial crisis, the challenge is to turn difficulties into opportunities, and to safeguard the achievements obtained in well-being and cohesion by keeping a development cooperation model that has proven to have encouraging results.

For this reason, the Province of Santa Fe shows great pride, commitment and responsibility for addressing the challenge of hosting the second URBsociAL meeting “Forum for Euro-Latin-American Dialogue on Social Cohesion and Local Public Policy.” As in the first URBsociAL (Sitges, October 2010), this new meeting brings us together to work on defining agendas, talk and exchange ideas and experiences on local/regional public social cohesion policies.

URB-AL III, an opportunity to analyse and exchange replicable and sustainable best practices in matters of social cohesion

This time, three specific themes regarding social and territorial cohesion will be discussed: the potentialities of local development; land use planning and sustainable development; and institutional innovation. It is not a coincidence that the focus on these topics -how to innovate to govern the localrepresents a continued concern in the process of transformation that has been initiated in the Province of Santa Fe. •

At the Coordination and Orientation Office (OCO) of the URB-AL III Programme, we presented the second edition of the URBsociAL meeting as an opportunity to analyse and exchange replicable and sustainable best practices in matters of social cohesion. In order to encourage this exchange, there will be, in conjunction with the plenary sessions and the workshops, a fair of experiences where URB-AL III projects will play a leading role. In the final stage of the programme, the projects have started showing relevant results that evidence the importance of decentralised cooperation and the European-Latin American partnership model fostered by the European Commission in the search for local public policies contributing to the construction of unified societies.•

Dr. Hermes Juan Binner Governor of the Province of Santa Fe

URBsociAL Newsletter // Interview

September 21st

Joan Carles García Cañizares Councillor Adjoint to the Presidency, Diputació de Barcelona

“The closeness of local governments is essential to restore confidence” García Cañizares, Councillor Adjoint to the Presidency, Diputació de Barcelona, sets URBAL III as an example of how decentralised cooperation allows promoting the construction of more cohesive societies.

Photo by: Òscar Ferrer

URBsociAL Newsletter // Editorial

What role should local governments play in today's context? In times of crisis, the closeness that local governments have to their people is essential to restore confidence. Citizens seek -and need- the affinity of their close representatives. Local governments should become proactive and innovative so that we may address the needs of our citizens in an effective manner.

Local governments should become proactive and innovative so that we may address the needs of our citizens in an effective manner.”

It is necessary to develop tools that create hope among citizens, to innovate and move forward in terms of economy and business, and to establish adequate cooperation between the different levels of government in order to improve resources and achieve the most effectiveness. Here at the Diputació de Barcelona we are strongly committed to promoting decentralised cooperation. In this sense, where do you think the importance of URB-AL III lies? The URB-AL Programme allow us to approach joint solutions to shared

problems. Analysis, reflection and debate bring together actors with very different backgrounds but who, in the end, share one single objective: to provide the right solutions to citizens' demands. The URB-AL III Programme is an exam-

ple of how decentralised cooperation allows promoting the construction of more cohesive societies. How does URBsociAL contribute to promoting social cohesion in Latin America? URBsociAL is a tool of the URB-AL III Programme driven by the OCO (lead by the Diputació de Barcelona) created to generate a series of tools for developing and consolidating local public policies, as well as other tools to help these policies become sustainable over time and contribute to territorial social cohesion. We have to bare in mind that the OCO of the URB-AL III Programme provides technical assistance and strategic guidance to warrant the development and coordination of 20 projects implemented in more than 75 territories (approximately 500 municipalities) in Latin America, and offers a place for reflection, harmonization and exchange of experiences between local government in Latin America and in Europe. •

URBsociAL Newsletter // Report

September 21st

1. Representation of a stand at the URBsociAL fair of experiences on local public social cohesion policies

The URB-AL III projects, the guest cities and the organizing institutions will have in this fair a space for the presentation and exchange of their public policies

2. Facade of the events and convention centre Metropolitano de Rosario

In order to promote mutual learning, certain Latin American territories with outstanding experiences will also take part in the fair

The fair takes up over 1400 m2 and is located at a strategic place, it will be open permanently and in parallel with the plenary sessions and workshops. In addition to the OCO and the European Commission stands, the fair will have a central space assigned for the projects in the first part of the programme.

space for introducing the institutional partners of the OCO Consortium.

main results have been achieved and what lessons have been learned.

Urb-al III projects

This is an optimal opportunity to demonstrate the progress made in the final stage of the programme and exchange experiences, regarding their potential replicability, with other projects and actors in the region.

The fair will establish a specific area for presenting the 20 projects conducted in Latin America, that are divided according to the OCO Regional Office to which they belong. There are eight projects corresponding to the Southern Cone Office (hosted in Rosario); seven projects are coordinated by the Office of Central America, Mexico and Cuba (hosted in San José), and five projects belong to the Andes Zone Office (hosted in Bogotá). Participants will use their stands to show the main contributions made to date in relation to public social cohesion policies in response to three specific directives: how the project generates processes aimed at public social cohesion policies; what tools or instruments are adopted; and what

There will also be an area to share outstanding experiences on social cohesion fostered by different Latin American territories and a separate

By Amio Cajander (CC)

social cohesion fair

he events and convention centre Metropolitano de Rosario will host, from today and up to September 23rd, the first URBsociAL fair of experiences on local public social cohesion policies. Promoted by the Coordination and Orientation Office (OCO) of the URB-AL III Programme, the format of this innovative exhibition is aimed at presenting, analysing and exchanging social cohesion initiatives developed at the local level.

September 21st

and the Brazilian city of Curitiba, in At the institutional terms of its urban mobility policies. level, in addition to the OCO and the European institutions Commission stands, At the institutional level, in addition the fair will have an to the OCO and the European Comarea for the partners mission stands, the fair will have an of the Consortium exclusive area for the institutional partners of the Consortium.

Guest cities

These are the Diputació de Barcelona, Leader of the Consortium; the Government of the Province of Santa Fe (Argentina); the International and IberoAmerican Foundation of Government and Public Policy (FIIAPP); the Tuscany Region (Italy); the Mayoral Office of Bogotá (Colombia), and the Municipality of San José (Costa Rica).

In order to promote exchange and mutual learning, certain Latin American territories with outstanding experiences on social cohesion matters will also take part in the fair. These cities are Rosario (Argentina), Lima (Peru), Río Grande do Sul (Brazil), the Departamento Central (Paraguay), Medellín (Colombia), and Curitiba (Brazil). The last three cities mentioned will also participate as case studies in the URBsociAL workshops.

These stands represent the strong commitment of these institutions with decentralised cooperation and the promotion of local public policies that influence in the improvement of the quality of life of the citizens.

Medellín, in Colombia, has been analysed in terms of an innovative city;

URBsociAL Newsletter // Report

September 21st

September 21st tive cities, as illustrated by the case of the City of Medellin, Colombia.

URBsociAL will include three workshops, divided into eight working tables organized around practical case studies conducted across Latin America.

Land Use Planning and Sustainable Development

INNOVATION FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

Pictures: Camaleó

The discussion of land use planning and sustainable development will be carried out during the second URBsociAL workshop. In this case, the debate will be divided in two working tables. On the one hand, the debate will focus on the concept of integrative urban design and its implications to generate social cohesion. As an example, we will review the case of Quito (Ecuador), a partner of the URB-AL III INTEGRATION project. The second theme to be analysed will focus on urban mobility and its implications: traffic, air and acoustic pollution, traffic accidents, degradation of the cityscape, high life costs, etc. Mobility plans need to be a main agent of cohesion in the local environment. As an example, we will mention the city of Curitiba, Brazil.

he URBsociAL meeting returns to its workshop format in 2011. With the goal to share reflections and experiences, sessions will be the starting point to issue recommendations regarding activity strategies, public policies and innovative tools. As the slogan of this second Euro-LatinAmerican meeting states "to govern local matters requires innovation." This includes methodological aspects as the step previous to political innovation. For that purpose, workshops will be based on practical case studies, and these experiences will provide lessons as regards their contribution to social cohesion.

All attendants registered in a workshop will be able to participate in the working tables. The concept of urban integration will also be a major topic for reflection.

tables, following the "World Café" methodology that is already being applied in some European Commission seminars. Each subtopic discussed at the workshop will have its own table. Once the first debate period concludes, the participants at each table will change their topic to deal with the next debate, so that all participants can contribute with their opinions on all the topics discussed at the workshop. Ideally, working tables should not include more than fifteen participants. If this is not possible, a line of observers will be set up. As for the roles at each table, there will be a workshop invigorator, a rapporteur, and a host who will steer the workshop.

Potentialities of Local Development

Sessions will start with the presentation of the analysed cases through a brief video, as well as the intervention of the political representative acting on the studied territory. After providing this necessary background information, the group will be divided in smaller working

The first one of the three workshops will deal with the potentialities of local development, a theme that is

Institutional Innovation closely related to the territorial competitiveness and innovation cluster (Good Practices' Capitalisation). The working tables in this workshop will be organised around three case studies. The first of them will review employment creation. The starting point for this topic is complex given the lack of direct competence of local governments on this matter.

The "World Café" methodology will be applied, with separate discussion groups to facilitate debate.

However, the foundations for the creation of employment can be generated and settled at the local level. To illustrate this point we will use the case study of the Departamento Central from Paraguay, framed in the PACEF URB-AL III project. The other two subtopics will be territorial competitiveness, based on the case study of the Province of San Juan (Argentina), a partner of the URB-AL III COCAP (Social Cohesion through Strengthening of Production Chains) project; and the concept of innova-

The third workshop will be centred on the concept of institutional innovation, a theme related to the basic social services management, urban integration policies, and cross-border cooperation cluster. The concept will be divided in three subtopics, starting by the articulation of territorial actors, based on the study of the experience in the province of Santa Fe (Argentina), the coordination centre of the "Institutional Innovation in Intermediate Governments" URB-AL III project. The second subtopic, devoted to the development of local pooling and associativism, will be illustrated by the actions carried out in the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador under the Social Responsibility (RESSOC) project. The last aspect to be analyzed will be the advantages and possibilities of cross-border cooperation, as shown by the example of the cities of Calacoto and San Pedro de Quemes, partners in the "Tourist Borders" URBAL III project.

URBsociAL Newsletter // URB-AL III Projects

September 21st

URBsociAL Newsletter // URB-AL III Projects

September 21st

PROJECTS (I) REGIONAL OFFICE OF THE SOUTHERN CONE (ROSARIO, ARGENTINA) URB-AL III projects are characterized by their wide variety of themes: Institutional innovation, local governance, cross-border cooperation, waste management, violence prevention, women's employment, and urban development are among the main working topics in the range.

Rosario, Argentina

Region of Veneto Diagnosis and Strengthening of Productive Chains

Municipality of Borba Environmental Recovery and Economic Growth

Intendencia of Montevideo Restoring La Goes Social Wealth in Montevideo

State of Pernambuco Prevention of exposure to violence and its effects

Gaining in social cohesion. The COCAP project arouse from the experience in the region of Veneto, serves as a model to stimulate the aggregation of productive chains and territorial development in three areas of the Mercosur region. The first step is to identify the weaknesses in this sphere and then to develop institutional strengthening activities, focused mainly on productive chains, including SMEs and territorial development.•

Ecologic and Environmental Benefit The URB-AL Pampa initiative, originated at Borba (Portugal) is aimed to analyze the problems faced by the population in municipalities with environmentally protected areas in the Pampa region, at the border between Uruguay and Brazil. The objective is to improve applicable regulations and enable socioeconomic growth through the recovery of local environment and culture values.•

Revitalisation of an impoverished area. This is the objective of the Habitar GOES project: To recover the lost social, cultural and economical wealth of La Goes in Montevideo for all the inhabitants of the area. The initiative includes four major interventions: economic reconversion, urban rehabilitation, rescuing the local identity, and strengthening public participation.•

Prevention against violence. This project promotes different lines of action to minimize exposure to violence in Pernambuco (Brazil). The actions range from strengthening relevant institutions to creating awareness in the members of society and increasing their participation in local development. Another major goal is to coordinate the efforts of community organizations, the private sector, and NGOs.•

Leader: Region of Veneto. Partners: Province of San Juan (Argentina), Department of Misiones (Paraguay), State of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), and Fondazione di Venezia

Leader: Municipality of Borba. Partners: Departmental Office of Rivera (Uruguay), Municipalities of Alegrete, Quaraí, Rosário do Sul and Santana do Livramento, Fundación Maronna (Brazil) and comune di Pigna (Italy).

Leader: Intendencia of Montevideo. Partners: Intendencia of Florida (Uruguay), Municipalities of Rosario (Argentina), Bilbao and Tenerife (Spain), Mayor Office of San Salvador (El Salvador), Municipal Government of La Paz (Bolivia).

Leader: State of Pernambuco. Partners: Comune di Bergamo (Italia), Loreto Region (Peru), Intendencia of Paysandú (Uruguay), and Cesvi (Italy).

Emilia-Romagna Region Re-focusing Local Welfare Policies

Municipality of Ponta Porã Twinning of neighbouring cities

Province of Santa Fe Institutional Innovation in Intermediate Governments

Sicilian Region New tools to foster women's employment

Perspectives on welfare policies. The EU-LA-WIN project, coordinated by the Emilia-Romagna Region, provides a new perspective on social welfare policies in three local governments. This perspective is supported by three aspects: cross-sector integration, and multilevel and multiparty governance.•

Strengthening bonds. Promoted by Ponta Porã, the International Border project is aimed to re-urbanising the border strip between the Municipalities of Pedro Juan Caballero (Paraguay) and Ponta Porã (Brazil) so as to strengthen the commercial infrastructure in the region. This project also implies reinforcing the relations between the municipal organisations and civil associations living in the territory.•

New perspectives on local administration. This project is a tool to support the institutional innovation activities carried out by the Government of the Province of Santa Fe, with the purpose of finding a new configuration for policy-making and territorial administration. The guiding principles in this perspective are strategic planning based on the main characteristics of the territory and greater public participation.•

Creating economical benefits for the citizens. The PACEF project, coordinated by Sicily, seeks to foster women's employment and territorial development in different Latin American areas particularly burdened by these issues. With this in mind, tools related to Gender Training Pacts –centred on education– and local plans for gender policies –centred on prevention of discrimination in the labour market– have been developed. •

Leader: Municipality of Ponta Porã. Partners: Municipality of Pedro Juan Caballero (Paraguay), Peace and Development NGO (Paraguay Delegation), Provincial Council of Malaga (Spain).

Leader: Province of Santa Fe. Partners: Mayoral Council of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador (El Salvador), Regional Government of Arequipa (Peru), Diputació de Barcelona (Spain), and FUNDE (El Salvador).

Leader: Sicilian Region. Partners: Buenos Aires (Argentina), Central Government Department (Paraguay), Mayor's Office Sacaba, Mayor's Office Vinto, Andes Region of Cochabamba and Association of Municipalities of Cochabamba (Bolivia).

Leader: Emilia-Romagna Region. Partners: Province of Buenos Aires, Municipality of General Pueyrredon (Argentina), Secretary of Agriculture of Paranà (Brazil), Government of Antioquia, Institute for the Development of Antioquia (IDEA, Colombia), Marche region, XVII Municipality of Rome, CESTAS, CISP (Italy), and Ribera Alta (Spain).

URBsociAL Newsletter // Interview

September 21st

URBsociAL Newsletter // Agenda

September 21st

TODAY’S AGENDA

Tarso Genro Governor of Río Grande do Sul (Brazil) tools, combining digital inclusion with the deepening of democracy. Which are the main obstacles that Latin America faces to move towards in matters of social cohesion? Latin America, from the political point of view, is about to overcome the hegemony of the unique neoliberal thought. And the policies adopted by the left and progressive governments have allowed the growth of economy and the reduction of poverty. But we did not succeed in clearly constituting a feasible alternative model which moves towards a qualitative transformation of the development model. Nowadays, the great challenge is to consolidate and deepen changes.

B-41601/2010

"Local governments should promote a new development model"

In the last few years, different decentralisation processes have started in the region. What will the local and intermediate Latin-American governments' role be at medium term?

The Governor of Río Grande do Sul and former minister under Lula's government analyses the political challenges from his privileged perspective

They are responsible for being the main characters in the building of a new development model, as far as they assume increasing commitments in the management of public policies. Decentralisation makes it more likely that our governments will have a leading role and it should be approached as an opportunity for the democratisation of public policies.

What role do you think multilevel coordination should play in the promotion of effective public policies?

In this decentralisation context, what role should sub-national governments play in terms of cooperation and international relations?

The complexity of the contemporary State demands building an effective articulation among different government levels. This offers public policies more efficiency and also constitutes a way of deepening democracy. Different government levels operate in different scales and show differences in terms of proximity to people. Political sensitivity of a mayor, who is always closer to his voters, is different from that of a president. That is the reason why an articulated action accounts for greater ability to dialogue between policies and different social groups, from Organization of Urbsocial: OCO-URB-AL III

organised civil society institutions to informal movements that articulate around more immediate claims. The participatory budgets of Porto Alegre, a city where you were mayor, have become known around the world. The slogan of this edition of URBsociAL is “Innovate to govern the local.” Should local governments innovate to address their challenges? Undoubtedly, true democracy should be a process of permanent qualification of the relationship of government officials with the citizens. To increase participation and improve control mechanisms are the tasks of committed rulers. We are now trying to find out how to use new technologies as participation

URBsociAL Newsletter

15.15 - 15.30 h From Sitges to Rosario: Building a network of local governments with a strong commitment to social cohesion Agustí Fernández de Losada, General Director. URB-AL III Coordination and Orientation Office; Director. International Relations Directorate of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Spain

Sitges, 20 de octubre de 2010

SITGES ABRE UNA NUEVA CULTURA DEL DIÁLOGO EURO-LATINOAMERICANO Sitges será, desde hoy y hasta el 22 de octubre, el punto de encuentro de los participantes en la primera edición Urbsocial, un espacio de diálogo entre representantes del ámbito público y privado eurolatinoamericano comprometidos con la creación y la promoción de políticas de cohesión social y territorial en América Latina. Urbsocial es una iniciativa del programa URB-AL III de la Comisión Europea impulsada por la Oﬁcina de Coordinación y Orientación (OCO), que está liderada por la Diputación de Barcelona. El espacio aspira a convertirse en un foro anual de debate y análisis de las políticas locales y regionales en materia de cohesión social. El encuentro reunirá a más de 360 personalidades de la sociedad política y civil euro-latinoamericana, con el objetivo de propiciar el diálogo y el intercambio de experiencias entre los gestores de la política local para generar propuestas de solución a problemáticas compartidas. El foro de diálogo nace con el reto de elaborar una agenda estratégica euro-latinoamericana en la que se plasmen aspiraciones y retos comunes y que asegure el desarrollo futuro del proyecto. •

15.00 - 15.15 h Welcome Antonio Bonfatti, Minister of Government and State Reform, Province of Santa Fe, Argentina

Antoni Fogué Presidente de la Diputación de Barcelona

COOPERACIÓN LOCAL Y DESARROLLO

as necesidades de la ciudadanía son el motor del desarrollo social y económico. En este sentido, la cohesión territorial hace imprescindible incorporar a las administraciones y a los actores locales para crear políticas basadas en la realidad de las comunidades. A partir de este principio, nace en 1995 el programa URB-AL, una iniciativa comunitaria que pretende crear lazos de colaboración duraderos y estables entre ciudades europeas y latinoamericanas.

The URBsociAL Newsletter is an initiative of the Coordination and Orientation Office of the URB-AL III Programme whose objective is to gather all the information of interest about the project and contribute to the dissemination of the analysis in relation to social cohesion. From these pages, participants of the meeting will be aware of the new features, debates and conclusions of the second edition of URBsociAL and will have a collective memory of the project.

15.30 - 17.00 h Dialogue Panel: “Innovate to govern the local” Attended by: Eduardo Zegarra, Deputy Mayor of Lima, Perú María Sara Ribero, Deputy Mayor of Montevideo, Uruguay Mónica Fein, Member of the National Argentine Congress for the Social, Civic and Progressive Front (FPCS) and Rosario elected Mayor, Argentina Claudia Serrano, Director of RIMISP (Latin American Centre for Rural Development) and former Minister of Labour and Welfare, Chile Massimo Toschi, International Cooperation Adviser, Tuscany Region, Italy 17.00 - 17.30 h Coffee break 17.30 - 18.30 h URBsociAL II Opening Session. Opening video. Hermes Binner, Governor of the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina Joan Carles García Cañizares, Councillor Adjoint to the Presidency, Diputació de Barcelona, Spain Alfonso Díez Torres, Head of the European Union Delegation in Argentina Julia Levi, National Director of Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of the Argentine Republic Miguel Lifschitz, Rosario Lord Mayor, Argentina 18.30 - 19.30 h Opening conference Tarso Genro, Governor of the State of Río Grande do Sul (Brazil) 19.30 - 20.00 h

Opening of the URBsociAL the Fair of Local Experiences on Social Cohesion

20.00 h

Welcome cocktail

I am very optimistic about this situation. Sub-national governments may have an essential role in cooperation, as a new voice in the international context, closer to their populations. In the international crisis context, we see how national States are immobilized by the fiscal crisis, but also by a political paralysis derived from the influence of financial corporations on governmental structures. States, provinces and regions can play a more leading role if they become organised at the international level and establish themselves as actors in the debate about development sustainability. •

OCO Consortium: Diputació de Barcelona, international and Ibero-American Foundation of Government and Public Policy, FIIAPP (Spain); Province of Santa Fe (Argentina); Mayoral Office of Bogotá (Colombia); Municipality of San José (Costa Rica) and Region of Tuscany (Italy). Diputació de Barcelona, September 2011. Coordination and supervision: Office of Coordination and Orientation of URB-AL III Programme. Edition and layout: Pauta Media S.L. Photography: Diputació de Barcelona (Òscar Ferrer, Camaleó), Government of Santa Fe (Marcelo Beltrame, Silvio Moriconi), OCO and proyectos URB-AL III archives.

URBsociAL Newsletter // Back page

September 21st

rosario, desired city Rosario thinks, builds and manages its public spaces in tune with the expectation of a more just, more pleasant and safer city

osario has become, around its talent, planning and sustained efforts, a unique place in the regional, national and international map of tourism, and this is certainly not due exclusively to the enchantment of the river and its natural landscapes. The desired city extends over a horizon of colourful silos, reclaimed warehouses, green areas restored for public use, where urban artists improvise, and craft fairs connect with traditional flavours and innovative enterprises, a place for street actors and musicians, and for citizens to live in. A city that thinks, builds and manages its public spaces in tune with the expectation of a more just society and, therefore, a more pleasant and safer city, has turned culture into the distinctive feature of its social policies. This is the image that has permeated tourism agendas, and every day fills museums, cultural centres, historical monuments, and children's spaces with visitors. Among Rosario's successful features, it has raised the stakes and keeps projecting works, such as the Puerto de la Música, the Ernesto Che Guevara Centre for Latin American Studies, and the Bicentennial Central Library, firmly nested in the memory of the citizens. •

Cultural spaces Rosario's beat is set by its intense cultural life. The Paraná River accompanies this Argentine city from North to South, where a creativity and innovation centre is deployed, as evidenced with its more than 30 public buildings intended for art, design, games, science, and knowledge.

Children's triptych The Children's Triptych (Tríptico de la Infancia) materialises a new way of envisaging the city and constitutes an urban circuit essential for the coexistence of different generations, games, imagination, and creation.

ALCALDÍA MAYOR DE BOGOTÁ D.C.

Municipal Astronomy Complex

Museum of the Memory

The Planetarium Building, the Experimental Science Museum and the Astronomy Observatory offer scientific dissemination from a recreational point of view.

A reference institution for the development of public actions focused on the memory of the last military dictatorship period in Argentina, and on the conveyance of democratic values.