Aiming to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future, the U.S. Department of State, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, Resilient Cities Catalyst, and the Institute of the Americas recently announced the list of Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. cities that will participate in the “Cities Forward” program. The city of Rosario, Argentina, was selected to work in connection with Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the United States.
Launched during the Cities Summit of the Americas, the “Cities Forward” program was established to help cities implement solutions that foster environmental, economic, and social sustainability. It aims to achieve urban sustainability, resilience, and inclusion in local neighborhoods through knowledge sharing, co-design, and high-impact projects. By developing local action plans and prioritizing the needs of citizens and underserved communities, the initiative seeks to build partnerships with local leaders and experts in the United States, opening up investment and funding opportunities to implement these municipal plans across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Among the 24 participating cities in the program—which pairs Ambato, Ecuador, with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Cali, Colombia, with Baltimore, Maryland; Renca, Chile, with Evanston, Illinois; Cartagena, Colombia, with Denver, Colorado; Fortaleza, Brazil, with Hawaii County, Hawaii, and many others—is Rosario, paired with Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Located in the southeastern corner of the Santa Fe province in Argentina, Rosario sits on the right bank of the Paraná River. Its waterfront was reclaimed during the last decade of the 20th century through the reorganization of the port and railway lands that once occupied it. According to a report by the Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative, the city was declared the “greenest” urban enclave in the country, boasting an average of 12 square meters of green space per inhabitant.
As Pilar Bueno, the municipality's Undersecretary of Climate Change and Just Ecological Transition, explained, the selected project is part of the Local Climate Action Plan concerning climate risk and resilience actions. These climate risks refer to potential damage caused to people and ecosystems as a result of climate change impacts, including droughts, floods, and heatwaves. The goal is to support micro-businesses and micro-entrepreneurs in identifying and assessing their primary climate risks, and developing specific actions to address them.
Why was Rosario chosen to partner with Chattanooga, Tennessee? Chattanooga's history dates back to the late 1960s, when the U.S. government labeled it ‘the dirtiest city in America.’ The economic, social, and health impacts of high industrial pollution forced the city to change. Consequently, Chattanooga transformed itself into a “sustainable development capital,” featuring electric buses, miles of riverfront parks, and one of the largest bike-share programs in the region. Although the city is still evolving and continues to face challenges like chronic urban sprawl and the loss of habitat and agricultural land, the President's Council on Sustainable Development has recognized its success as a model of sustainability for other cities, inspiring communities worldwide.
Over the next two years, all participants in the “Cities Forward” program will share their progress in areas of mutual interest. These include extreme heat, watershed and water resource management, greenhouse gas reduction, renewable energy, mobility and transit access, green infrastructure and green spaces for underserved communities, circularity, and plastic pollution control.
This article was written by Agustina Iñiguez. The translation is powered by AI.
