In 2017, the newly elected Government of Argentina  requested support from UN-Habitat to develop a policy to support balanced regional development of its large territory, and foster inclusive development of its cities.  With 91 per cent of Argentina urbanized, the project was aimed at harnessing urbanization and enhancing its benefits, working in close collaboration with key national stakeholders.

UN-Habitat and the Ministry of Interior, Public Works and Housing set up steering committees comprising of representatives from the public and private sectors, academia, civil society, development banks and international organizations. Participants from 18 provinces and 75 municipalities took part in a participatory consultative process resulting in consensus being built on priority actions. They acknowledged that the exercise was critical in determining the future direction of urban development in Argentina.

The Government of Argentina is now establishing a National Urban Observatory to monitor the urban development, identify what works, and highlight gaps where evidence of urban program effectiveness is lacking. The observatory will enable policymakers to use evidence based approaches to budgeting and policy making, and provide reliable mechanisms to monitor implementation and measure outcomes.

The National Urban Policy is now a reference for sectoral ministries and service providers and is the key reference for legislative institutional reform being undertaken in 2019.