Historic centres for urban equity

Partnership
Initiative

Background

Barranquilla (Colombia) and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic )have been sister cities since 2021. Thanks to their shared geographical and cultural characteristics, they have carried out cooperation activities in the restoration of public spaces, the environment, urban development, tourism, historical and cultural heritage, highlighting the exchange of insights into their historic centres.

Málaga and Barranquilla are part of the network of cities of the European Union's International Urban and Regional Cooperation Programme (IURC), which aims to promote sustainable urban development and innovation. This has led to the creation of a General Agreement for Joint Action (MoU) between the two cities to foster cooperation on common issues, such as urban regeneration.

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation - AECID (Spain) has a long history of cooperation in Colombia and the Dominican Republic in the field of urban development, both through its own funds and with funds from the Latin American Investment Facility (LAIF). AECID provides funding to strengthen the registration and care of migrants and their socio-economic and cultural integration in Barranquilla. In addition, through the Spanish Cultural Centre, a space for bilateral cultural exchange, support has been lent to the design and implementation of projects for the cultural enrichment and renovation of the historic centre of Santo Domingo.

The District City Hall of Barranquilla (Colombia), together with Puerta de Oro Empresa de Desarrollo Caribe - Puerta de Oro Caribbean Development Company (Colombia), the City Hall of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), the City Hall of Málaga (Spain) and AECID have formed a Triangular Cooperation Partnership, with the aim of carrying out an Initiative for the transfer of experiences and good practices between the Partnership member entities, in order to provide technical resources and guide the city of Barranquilla towards strengthening its historic centre revitalisation programme.

Entities and roles

Beneficiary entities

Alcaldía Distrital de Barranquilla

Colombia

Puerta de Oro Empresa de Desarrollo Caribe

Colombia

First provider entities

Ayuntamiento del Distrito Nacional de Santo Domingo

Dominican Republic

Second provider entities

Ayuntamiento de Málaga

Spain

Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo

Spain

Development challenges

Thanks to this Triangular Cooperation Initiative, the knowledge of the Partnership member entities will be used to promote the development of the most disadvantaged areas of the historic centre of Barranquilla, addressing the lack of economic opportunities and existing social inequalities, and positioning it as a key area for the sustainable urban development of the city.

The Initiative will promote the development of a comprehensive strategy to reduce poverty, the informal economy, unemployment and inequality by identifying and addressing the most relevant challenges in the area, such as assistance to the homeless, the level of perceived safety, the deterioration of public spaces and the supply of adequate housing.

This Triangular Cooperation Initiative aims to share the knowledge of the Partnership's provider entities to develop solutions for strategic plans to foster the rehabilitation and revitalisation of historic centres, focused on sustainable development and urban equity.

Triangular approach

Most of Latin America's major cities have a historic centre whose potential has not yet been explored, in many cases due to a lack of resources. This initiative seeks to open up new possibilities for the historic centre of Barranquilla, through a model that will be developed, studied and replicated in other cities on the continent.

The creation of this model will draw on the experience and knowledge of the Santo Domingo City Council in hotel infrastructure, nightlife, local cuisine and entertainment businesses for both tourists and locals. Special attention will be paid to examining how it has managed to position its historic centre as an attractive and sustainable area for the city's residential network, with an accessible housing offer for people of different socio-economic levels. This experience will be of great value to Barranquilla, as both Caribbean cities share similar population and developmental characteristics.

To add to the Initiative, the experiences of the Málaga City Council in the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the rehabilitation and revitalisation of the historic centre of Málaga will be applied, along with its experience in the development of programmes for socio-economic inclusion and assistance to vulnerable populations, projects to improve water drainage and sanitation, and the creation of an Office for the Renovation of the Historic Centre.

AECID's expertise in urban regeneration will also be consulted, based on its experience in supporting the revitalisation of historic centres in Latin America, such as Santo Domingo through its Cultural Centre, and Cartagena through its Training Centre.

The knowledge gathered will be reflected in a model, known as the Integrated Socio-economic Recovery Plan, which will be decisive in updating the Special Management and Protection Plan - PEMP; the planning and management instrument for the protection and conservation of Barranquilla's cultural heritage, which will serve as an input for measures taken in the historic centre of Barranquilla.

Sectoral approach - Contribution to the 2030 Agenda

Primary SDG

Goal 11.1 By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums

Goal 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

Secondary SDG

Goal 8.2 Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors

Goal 8.3 Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services

Goal 8.5 By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value

Goal 8.9 By 2030, devise and implement policies to promote sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products

ADELANTE SDG

Goal 10.1 By 2030, progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average

Goal 10.2 By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status

Goal 17.2 Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries

Goal 17.9 Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the sustainable development goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation

Goal 17.16 Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals in all countries, in particular developing countries

Goal 17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships

Territorial approach

Intervention methodology

The work plan of this Initiative is based on five activities that initially aim to conduct an on-site case study in the cities of Málaga and Santo Domingo, and then to jointly identify the critical issues in Barranquilla. With these initial inputs, guidelines will be drawn up for the development of the Integrated Economic Recovery Plan, which will be developed together with the support of a company specialising in urban development.

The Initiative will start with a study visit to Málaga, where the Málaga City Council will host meetings showcasing public policy measures and actions implemented by the city to revitalise its historic centre.

A second study visit will take Partnership member entities to the city of Santo Domingo, where they will examine how the city has managed to position its historic centre as an attractive and sustainable area, especially for young people, as well as serving as an important economic and business hub for the city.

In the city of Barranquilla, the third study visit will be carried out, in which the Provider entities will explore the target area and observe the existing challenges and opportunities in the historic centre of Barranquilla. Priority intervention points will be jointly identified, seeking to adapt and incorporate the knowledge acquired in Málaga and Santo Domingo. During the visit, focus groups will be organised with beneficiary groups (migrants, LGBTQI+, people with disabilities, women, the local business community and youth), with the objective of obtaining inputs to formulate participatory and representative guidelines for the Integrated Economic Recovery Plan.

This Plan will be the main outcome of a study, featuring a comprehensive proposal that seeks to guide the development of the historic centre of Barranquilla through the identification of real estate opportunities and economic activities, in order to promote its renovation, accompanied by strategies aimed at ensuring its sustainability over time.

For the final activity, a series of workshops will be held to synthesize the knowledge and lessons learnt, which will be shared with other cities, primarily in Colombia, through a set of tools to enhance visibility and knowledge transfer. This activity will ensure that the solutions outlined for the existing problems in the Integrated Economic Recovery Plan are not limited to benefitting the historic centre of Barranquilla, but that they are shared; aiming to benefit the greatest possible number of cities and countries that collaborate with the Partnership's entities.

Direct beneficiaries (individuals)

According to Rule 9 of the Guidelines for Applicants: all persons participating in the activities of the Initiative.

This initiative will directly benefit at least 90 people, including 50 officials and employees of the Partnership member entities, who will improve their technical capacities through study visits and support in the development of the Integrated Economic Recovery Plan. In addition, at least 40 members of the general public are expected to participate in the focus group workshops that will take place within the context of the study visit to Barranquilla.

The Initiative also has the potential to benefit the more than 50,000 people who live or work in the target areas in the historic centre of Barranquilla, following the implementation of the Integrated Economic Recovery Plan.

Budget

EU contribution: 128,803.14 €

Co-financing - Triangular Cooperation Partnership: 45,186.35 €

Total budget: 173,989.49 €

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