Emerging and Sustainable Cities (ESC) initiative launches in Hermosillo, Sonora
- Initiative promoted by NADB, IDB and COLEF in Hermosillo
- Co-financed with grants from NADB and IDB
- Hermosillo, first Mexican border city to adopt this urban sustainability planning tool
San Antonio, Texas – An Emerging and Sustainable Cities (ESC) initiative was launched today aimed at implementing this methodology in Hermosillo, Sonora—the first border city to adopt this urban sustainability planning tool.
The inaugural work meeting was led by Manuel Ignacio Acosta Gutiérrez, the mayor of Hermosillo; Ricardo De Vecchi, the ESC Coordinator in Mexico for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Gerónimo Gutiérrez, Managing Director of the North American Development Bank (NADB); María de Lourdes Romo Aguilar, Northwest Regional Director for the education/research institute, Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF); and Mario Vázquez, Program Director of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC).
ESC is a non-reimbursable technical assistance program of IDB that provides direct support to national and subnational governments in the development and implementation of urban sustainability plans and uses a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to identify, organize and prioritize urban actions to tackle the main roadblocks that prevent the sustainable growth of emerging cities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
During this initial meeting, the general characteristics of the municipality of Hermosillo were presented, including its main problems, challenges and opportunities in various sectors, as well as the plans, programs and projects the City is considering to address these issues. Moreover, the phases, timetables, resources and people responsible for implementing ESC in Hermosillo were defined.
This meeting is a follow-up to the NADB-IDB Memorandum of Understanding, signed this past June, for the purpose of identifying, prioritizing and supporting financial structures for actions and projects related to environmental, urban, governance and fiscal sustainability in different areas of the Mexican border region through ESC.
“We are pleased to collaborate with IDB on this initiative for Hermosillo, a city that meets the necessary requirements for carrying out environmental sustainability actions and projects,” stated Mr. Gutiérrez. “Once this plan is implemented in Hermosillo, we hope to replicate it in other communities throughout the border region.”