Bruno Incau
Academy
Costa Rica City Academy
The second UrbanShift City Academy in Latin America brought together participants from 30 cities for trainings on nature-based solutions and integrated climate action planning.
UrbanShift Costa Rica City Academy participants and organizers
From 4-6 July in San José, Costa Rica, and in partnership with the project Transitioning to an Urban Green Economy (TEVU), with support from the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UrbanShift hosted the second City Academy for Latin America and the Caribbean, offering hands-on courses on Nature-Based Solutions and Integrated Climate Action Planning.
Over the three days, 57 participants, representing 30 cities from Argentina, Brasil, Colombia and Costa Rica, heard from international and local experts on using green infrastructure and promoting biodiversity to create more resilient, thriving cities, as well as strategic planning for climate action. Key speakers included the Resident Representative from UNDP, José Vicente Troya, the ex-vicepresident of the republic of Costa Rica, Ana Helena Chacón, the General Director of OTS for Costa Rica, Miguel Mendez, the Mayor of Alajuelita, Modesto Alpizar, and representatives of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, C40’s City Finance Facility, ICLEI Africa Cities Biodiversity Center, and more, as well as organizing partners and participating cities.
The World Resources Institute led the training on Nature-Based Solutions, and C40 Cities the training on Integrated Climate Action Planning. Both courses featured presentations by experts and participants, interactive exercises, and fostered exchange on lessons learned and best practices. The academy culminated in a site visit to two local projects. The La Guapil Park, where participants learned first-hand from the successful community-led conversion of a dump site into a green urban space that now offers security, leisure, and ecosystem services to its neighbors. And the Pedregal Plastics Barrier, a partnership between the UNDP and Pedregal, as part of the joint 'landscapes without plastics' initiative. The barrier is the first of its kind in Costa Rica and collects bottles and other floating materials from the Virilla River, responsible for around 80% of the country's plastic ocean pollution, converting these materials into aggregates for the construction sector.
Below, you can find the agendas, presentations and photographs from the UrbanShift City Academy in Costa Rica.
AGENDAS
PRESENTATIONS & CERTIFICATES
PHOTOGRAPHS
Contributors & Acknowledgments:
- Alber Mata, TEVU
- Ana Arce, Pedregal
- Carina Arvizu, WRI Mexico
- Cristina Argudo, C40
- Diego Restrepo, CI
- Frabrício Ballestero, TEVU
- Ingrid Coetzee, ICLEI Africa
- Keily Mena, TEVU
- Laura Bulbena, WRI Colombia
- Martina Ferrarino, C40
- Miriam Miranda, TEVU
- Natalia Acero, CI
- Paulina Soto, ICLEI Mexico
- Ronja Bechauf, IISD
- Tea Garcia Huidobro, UNEP
- Tony Nello, IUCN
UrbanShift Speakers
Guide
Climate Action Guide for Urban Planners
From C40, UrbanShift, and Community Jameel, this guide leads urban planners and practitioners through how to effectively infuse climate action into the development of urban plans.
Analysis
Strategic City Planning with Nature: Assessing Urban Biodiversity in San José, Costa Rica
UrbanShift’s geospatial analysis for the San José metropolitan region will support urban actors to incorporate biodiversity into planning mechanisms and transform decision-making processes toward valuing the benefits of nature.
Lab
San José Strategic Planning Lab
The first UrbanShift Lab brought together 48 participants representing 23 institutions from the San José Metropolitan Area, Costa Rica, offering a hands-on workshop on urban regeneration.
Event
GREEN & RESILIENT URBANSHIFT AFRICA FORUM 2025
UrbanShift's forum for Africa will gather leaders from cities and national governments from across the continent to collectively discuss the role of urban planning amidst rapid urbanisation and climate breakdown.
