On 16 and 17 August 2022, the 3rd International Forum on Urbanism – Portoviejo Vision 2035, for urban development and design of cities on a human scale with a focus on climate change, was held in the Las Vegas Park in the city of Portoviejo. The event was organised by the Autonomous Decentralised Municipal Government (GADM) of the Canton of Portoviejo and was attended by representatives of municipalities and research institutions from Ecuador, the United States, Colombia and Germany. Natalia Burgos Cuevas, Researcher at Ecologic Institute, was invited as keynote speaker to talk about on the promotion of nature-based solutions in Latin America drawing on the insights gathered from the Urban Governance Atlas, developed in INTERLACE.

The objective of the conference was to create a space for the exchange of knowledge and to learn about the experiences of other countries that have developed comprehensive strategies in the design of cities on a human scale, as well as in the generation of policies and new sustainable practices, which are fundamental to combat climate change.

Agustín Casanova, Mayor of the GADM of the Canton of Portoviejo, opened the event and presented the management model implemented through the Portoviejo 2035 Plan, as well as the various challenges that this entails to ensure that Portoviejo becomes the best city in Ecuador to live in. Natalia Burgos Cuevas, Researcher at Ecologic Institute, and part of the INTERLACE team, spoke about the importance of mainstreaming Nature-based Solutions in urban planning and the specific challenges that the Latin American cities face in doing so regarding access to information, financing, and governance approaches. Also, Natalia shared best practices on NBS policy instruments gathered in the Urban Governance Atlas. During the open exchange spaces in the conference, several discussions were held on how to improve the participation of civil society in NBS design and implementation, highlighting the importance of trust and ownership building as a core condition to advance in mainstreaming NBS in urban planning.

More than 200 people attended the event, and it proved to be an experience of discovery and inspiration for the exhibitors and participants, who expressed gratitude to see a group of professionals exchanging on innovative topics, who bet on the future, on public space from a human, architectural and urban planning point of view. The city of Portoviejo was also recognised as a benchmark in transformation through planning under leadership and decisive management.