Urban Expansion Assists Colombian Policymakers

The Urban Expansion team assisted Fedesarrollo, a Colombian think tank, in reforming the policy and legal frameworks of territorial planning in Colombia to comply with the Paris Agreement, with funding from UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions), a program under the International Climate Finance portfolio. The Urban Expansion team updated the initial version of the Colombian Atlas of Urban Expansion for 109 Colombian municipalities. The updated data allowed Fedesarrollo and the NYU team to analyze the last decade of conurbation and growth trends of Colombian cities, evaluate the instances where metropolitan areas have consolidated, and identify deforestation patterns resulting from unplanned, rapid urban expansion. The project delivered a policy brief and a book with practical recommendations aimed to help policymakers and practitioners plan for urban expansion with a focus on environmental sustainability.