In the third week of the 2nd Ibero-American Forum, on 20th June, the relation between urban resilience and time organisation was debated. The event was moderated by Rosa María, Executive Director of the Ibero-American Centre for Urban Strategic Development (CIDEU), and counted with the participation of representatives from municipalities from both continents and organisations working on the issues of time and proximity.
Firstly, Marta Junqué, secretary of the Local and Regional Governments Time Network, explained how the Network is the space for sharing and creating knowledge between municipalities and regions. Then, the conversation started with a first dialogue between Esteban León, leader of UN-Habitat’s Urban Resilience Programme, and Carlos Moreno, Scientific Director of the Chair “Entrepreneurship, Territory, Innovation” at the Sorbonne University. Both reflected on the need to look at time from an urban point of view, either to adapt the liveability and resilience of a city, or to build the necessary proximity of services in a world of hectic pace —which causes great discomfort to population.
Afterwards, a shared space of European cities counted with the participation of Sonia Ruiz, Director of Gender and Time Policies at Barcelona City Council, and Sylvia Profanter, Director of the Office for Time and Statistics at the Municipality of Bolzano, World Capital of Time Policies 2023. Both reflected on how time has been organised historically in Europe, either through urban schedules participatory spaces, such as the Barcelona Time Agreement, or through a transversal municipal office that analyses municipal policies with time lenses, such as the Bolzano Time Office.
Finally, the event closed with reflections by Natalia Oviedo, Advisor to the Office of the District Secretary for Women in the Bogotá City Council, and Natalia Fidel, Member of the Legislative Chamber of Buenos Aires. On the one hand, the former reflected on how Bogotá is using time to improve urban development and well-being, paying special attention to the needs of time-poor groups, such as women caregivers. On the other hand, the Argentinean representative emphasised the possibility for citizens to know how to enjoy the right to time through the policies developed by the local government, whether in terms of mobility or gender.
You can watch the session in this video:
