The cities of the Americas are experiencing dramatic and accelerating changes. Significant demographic variations and technological advances are having an increasingly powerful impact on how people live in the region. According to recent studies, Latin America and the Caribbean have the highest rate of urbanization in the developing world. Furthermore, the proportion of the regions’ population living in cities has doubled from 41% to 80% in the last 60 years.

Coastal communities and cities face a specific set of challenges related not only to rapid urbanization, but also to climate change and tourism centered economies. Given that over 70% of residents in the Caribbean reside in coastal areas, vulnerability to increased severity of natural phenomena and other potential threats has become a key aspect in sustainable urban planning. According to the Inter-American Development Bank, currently the Caribbean’s urban population is growing two to three times faster than the current average in South America. While countries like Chile (88% urban) or Uruguay (95%) have already experienced their urban transition, only 45% of residents in several Caribbean countries including St. Lucia live in urban areas. Urbanization in the Caribbean will increase pressures on natural resources, urban infrastructure and public services.

With the objective of highlighting advancements in sustainable cities, the Organization of American States, the St. Lucia National Trust and the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology have convened a group of urban and social transformation professionals. The Sustainable Cities course provides an integral overview of the different aspects that contribute to building sustainable communities targeting different topics relevant to the First Summit on Sustainable Development in the Americas held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in December 1996. In this context, section II.3 Sustainable Cities and Communities recognized:

• The incorporation of the poorest and most disadvantaged sectors of the population into the productive process by, inter alia, creating jobs through public and private investment and expanding and enhancing access to credit and to environmentally sound technologies;
• Growth in job creation in small and micro-enterprises by simplifying paperwork, bureaucracy, and operations that affect them and by promoting the economic competitiveness and environmental efficiency of these production units in urban as well as rural areas;
• Narrowing of the housing unit gap and expansion of basic infrastructure services through a comprehensive approach to the problem of rapid urban growth, including the use of clean, safe technologies;
• Promotion of the quality of life in cities and communities, taking into account their spatial, economic, social, and environmental circumstances; and
• Assurance of the most efficient and least polluting industrial and transportation practices so as to reduce adverse environmental impact and promote sustainable development in cities and communities.