São Paulo, Brazil, 11/02/2015 - Members of the Red de Áreas Metropolitanas de las Américas (RAMA, Metropolitan Areas of the Americas Network) held their first technical group meeting in São Paulo, Brazil. The major objectives of the meeting were to strengthen land use and planning principles at regional and metropolitan level, as well as addressing financing issues.

Furthermore, the meeting also helped to identify elements that can contribute to the continuous and collective capitalization of good practices on metropolitan issues among the partners of RAMA. The first day was devoted to the presentation of the Network, the ratification of the statute, the presentation of the work plan and the priorities for 2015-2016.

A seminar, divided in two sessions, was organized the second day. The first, "Metropolitan Planning: Perspectives and Solutions" was hosted by UN-Habitat's Inter Regional Advisor, Jean Yves Barceló, and the Chief of the Metropolitan Planning Unit, Remi Sietchiping.

The second session was on project finance and metropolitan policies. Barceló presented the principles and lessons learned from international experiences on this subject. The Director of the Empresa Paulista de Planejamento Metropolitano (Emplasa is Paulista Company on Metropolitan Planning), Rovena Negreiros also addressed this issue.

The last day, participants were invited to a technical visit to the Subway Operational Control Center and to a presentation on urban logistics in the metropolitan region of São Paulo.

This article in Spanish: http://www.onuhabitat.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1474:creada-en-2014-rama-reune-especialistas-para-organizar-trabajo&catid=161:noticias&Itemid=171