The Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) is an initiative of the UN-Habitat World Urban Campaign that serves as a knowledge-sharing platform that brings together diverse professionals, researchers, experts, academics, community leaders, and other stakeholders to discuss and address the contemporary urban challenges in the face of climate change.

This Urban Thinkers Campus seeks to foster collaboration and co-creation of solutions related to sustainable urban development following the New Urban Agenda. In that sense, the manifesto "The City We Need" advocates the construction of inclusive, equitable, safe, and sustainable cities. It seeks to raise awareness and promote positive changes to obtain green, healthy, well-planned projects to achieve SDG 11. Urban Thinkers Campus is integral to this process, providing a space for reflection and collective action around critical urban issues.

This UTC discusses how land-based finance can assist governments in financing projects and meeting public needs like transit systems, environmental resilience and affordable housing. Experience has shown the potential and increasing adoption of those policies and instruments to address the challenges of the accumulated backlog of infrastructure investments and of the generation of more inclusive cities.

Agenda

12 pm to 3 pm GMT (9 am – 12 pm Buenos Aires time)

12 pm to 12.15 pm GMT (9 am to 9.15 am Buenos Aires time). Opening Session: Introduction to Urban Thinkers Campus and Its Goals. 

Overview of the event’s alignment with the New Urban Agenda (NUA)

• Cynthia Goytia (Director of the Master's Degree in Urban Economics and Director of the Urban and Housing Policy Research Center (CIPUV), Di Tella University)
• Analia Pastran (Co-Chair of the World Urban Campaign-UN Habitat and Founder of Smartly Social Enterprise on the SDGs)
• Christine Auclair (Coordinator of the World Urban Campaign, UN-Habitat Secretariat)*
• Dario Judzik (Executive Dean of the School of Government, Di Tella University)
  

12.15 pm to 1.30 pm GMT (9.15 am to 10.30 am Buenos Aires time). Global Innovations in Land-Based Finance.

Presenting international examples and learning opportunities.

• Enrique Silva (Vice President of Programs at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Professor at Harvard University)*
• Jane Katz (Vice Chair and Washington Office Representative, Global Urban Development (USA) and CSO Co-chair UN-Habitat World Urban Campaign Steering Committee and General Assembly of Partners)*
• Andrés Fuentes Hutfilter (Head of Unit, Environmental and Land Use Economics, Center for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, OECD)*
  
• Moderator: Cynthia Goytia (UTDT, Argentina)

1.30 pm to 3 pm GMT (10.30 am to 12 pm Buenos Aires time). Roundtable: Addressing Climate Change through Land-Based Finance. 

A focused discussion on the role of land-based finance in climate change adaptation and mitigation.

• Cynthia Goytia (UTDT, Argentina)
• Anthony Boanada-Fuchs (Representative of St Gallen University -Switzerland, Colombia-)*
• Daniel Kozak (Argentina)
• Alex Lord (UK)*
• Moderator: Eric Heikkila (University of Southern California)*

3 pm to 4.30 pm GMT: Break (12 pm to 1.30 pm Buenos Aires time)

4.30 pm to 7.30 pm GMT (1.30 pm to 4.30 pm Buenos Aires time)

4.30 pm to 6 pm GMT (1.30 pm to 3 pm Buenos Aires time). Panel: Land-Based Finance into Urban Policy for New Urban Agenda. 

Debating the integration of land-based finance strategies in urban planning, and the provision of affordable housing.

• Anaclaudia Rossbach (Director Latin American Program at Lincoln Institute of Land Policy)*
• Carlos Zeballos Velarde (Co-director of the Sustainability Commission of the UIA, National Director of Technological Affairs of the College of Architects of Peru)*
  
• Geoffrey Payne (UK)*
• Moderator: Robin King (WRI)*

6 pm to 7.30 pm GMT (3 pm to 4.30 pm Buenos Aires time). Roundtable: Land-Based Financial Models: Opportunities and Challenges. 

A focused discussion on lessons and recommendations towards the implementation of land-based finance in cities worldwide.

• Bautista Pino (Chief of Cabinet, Municipality of 3 de Febrero, Buenos Aires, Argentina)
  
• David Amborski (Canada)*
• Martim Smolka (USA)*
• Andres Blanco (BID)*
• Moderator:  Claudio Acioly (International Consultant)*

7.30 pm to 7.45 pm GMT (4.30 pm to 4.45 pm Buenos Aires time). Closing Session: Action Plans and Future Directions. 

Summarizing key takeaways and developing actionable plans for future implementation.

 *These speakers will be participating online