Peña spoke these words on behalf of President Luis Abinader, as he led the opening ceremony of the Central American Forum on Interventions in Precarious Human Settlements - Implementation of the “New Urban Agenda”.
SANTO DOMINGO.– Raquel Peña, Vice President of the Dominican Republic, highlighted the Mi Vivienda and Dominicana se Reconstruye plans as part of a new urban development model in the country that seeks to combat the housing deficit in order to create urban centers with a better quality of life and equipped with basic services.
Peña spoke these words on behalf of President Luis Abinader, as he led the opening ceremony of the Central American Forum on Interventions in Precarious Human Settlements - Implementation of the “New Urban Agenda”.
The Vice President indicated that over the past few decades, countries have faced major demographic and territorial changes at an accelerated pace, which in her opinion has exacerbated the degree of vulnerability, risk, and backwardness of some of their populations and territories.
“This is the case, for example, of SICA, which is presented as the second region with the fastest urbanization rate worldwide after Africa, with 59% of its population living in urban areas, and a third of them in capital cities.”.
Peña pointed out that for the government headed by President Luis Abinader, housing is fundamental and it is not possible to build anything solid and sustainable without government plans that guarantee the right of all Dominicans.
He added that these objectives are framed within the United Nations recommendations for urbanism of the people and for the people.
“In addition, we must add strategic plans for our major cities, such as the one presented a few days ago for Santo Domingo 2050 or Santiago 2025,” recalled the Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña.
He added: “We want to use the transformative power of urban planning and the environment to include, to empower, and to tell all inhabitants that they are full citizens of this country.”.
He argued that there is a social consensus to move in that direction, the same direction taken by the most advanced societies committed to efficiency, health, and climate justice.
The event, led by the Minister of Housing and Buildings, Carlos Bonilla, in his capacity as pro tempore president of the Central American Council for Housing and Human Settlements (CCVAH), seeks to continue the dialogue on the urban and territorial challenges of the region and obtain an in-depth analysis of the opportunities represented by the development of comprehensive improvement interventions for precarious human settlements, as a solution to the local challenges experienced by Central American cities and which could contribute to catalyzing the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and sustainable development in the region.
“This is a great opportunity for the Dominican Republic in terms of urban planning and housing; we seek to develop housing plans that allow for the dignification of families in vulnerable situations; to build a better future for those who do not have a home today,” said Bonilla.
The Dominican Republic is hosting this Forum where interventions in precarious human settlements are evaluated for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, an event that brings together decision-makers, representatives of central government, local governments, and key actors, both in the field of national urban policy and the improvement of informal settlements.
Those present included Maike Friedrichsen, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Dominican Republic; the Secretary General of SISCA, Anita Zetina; the Minister of Housing and Territorial Planning (MIVIOT) of Panama, Rogelio Paredes Robles; the Executive Director of the Ministry of Housing of El Salvador, Roberto Calderón; the Vice Minister of Urban Development and Housing of Guatemala, Cristina Lemus Alvarado; and the Vice Minister of Housing and Human Settlements of Costa Rica, Roy Allan Jiménez Céspedes.
Also present were Gabriela Palacios, co-director general of the Nicaraguan Institute of Urban and Rural Housing; Héctor Rolando Estrada, executive director of the Housing and Human Settlements Program in Honduras; and Elkin Velásquez, regional director of UN-Habitat.
