The last several decades have seen significant changes in territorial, demographic, climatic, social, economic, technological and cultural dynamics, which have accelerated urbanization processes throughout the world. Insufficient policies and a shortfall of adequate housing interventions and development models have added to the arena high rates of exclusion, inequality, inequity and rights violations, as well as increases in the cost of land relative to income, precarious housing conditions and urban poverty. These changes, their related consequences and the various intents to address them are central to discussions surrounding development agendas.

For the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population resides in cities, and more than 90 percent of urban growth is occurring in developing countries.

Globally, approximately one billion people are living in slums. They lack access to basic services, suffer inadequate housing conditions and insecure tenure, and face issues related to environmental degradation, vulnerability and a host of social problems such as unemployment, violence and crime. Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is the developing world’s most urbanized region, with more than 75 percent of its housing in urban areas. We must work together to seek solutions that will help improve the housing conditions of more than 120 million Latin Americans.

The First Forum on Adequate Housing for Latin America and the Caribbean, “Shared solutions for inclusive cities," took place in Bogota, Colombia in 2012, with the objective of building partnerships and solutions to increase access to safe, adequate housing.

The Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, to take place in 2016, will lay out a “New Urban Agenda” focused on policies and strategies that will create more sustainable and equitable urban spaces. This New Urban Agenda will influence decisions and priorities over the next 20 years—both within the region and throughout the world. Accordingly, the Second Forum on Adequate Housing for Latin America and the Caribbean, “Housing for Life” (May 6-8th, 2015), will unite stakeholders from the various sectors (private, government, civil organizations and academia) that play a role in the region’s urban agenda to discuss ideas, experiences and proposals that turn innovative solutions and models into effective, multi-actor systems, and establish the pathways needed to institutionalize these systems and ensure the urban future we envision.