HUD Archives: News Releases

HUD, Inter-American Development Bank Sign Agreement to Cooperate on Housing and Urban Issues Across the Americas

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez and Inter-American Development Bank President Enrique V. Iglesias signed a Memorandum of Cooperation today to undertake joint studies on ways to improve housing and living conditions for low-income people in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The IDB, which works in 26 countries in the Americas, is a principal source of financing for economic, social and institutional development projects in the region. This is the first time that HUD and the IDB have entered into a formal agreement to share their knowledge and experiences on pressing public policy issues.

"HUD is proud to partner with the IDB to work on improving housing and living conditions for the people of Latin America and the Caribbean," Martinez said. "This partnership will combine HUD's expertise in housing and urban development with the Bank's ability to mobilize financing for development projects."

"Policies that strengthen housing construction and its relationships with the financial markets in Latin America and the Caribbean are critical for realizing the objective of sustainable economic growth with equity," Iglesias said. "We look forward to a partnership with an institution that has developed a reservoir of expertise in promoting affordable housing."

Under the agreement, HUD and the IDB agreed to undertake joint policy research studies on diverse housing and urban development issues, including ways to strengthen the housing finance system and mortgage capital markets; create public-private partnerships for neighborhood revitalization; reconcile socio-economic and environmental goals in cities; and institute fair housing and fair lending policies to reduce discrimination against the poor and minorities.

HUD and the IDB are now completing work on a Guide to Housing Market Analysis to assist governments in Latin America and the Caribbean develop policies to strengthen the housing finance system and residential real estate markets within each country. Based in large part on the U.S. experience, the "Guide" will help structure the collection of critical data on national housing markets using the Internet. This data would be helpful in informing the development of housing policy.

In addition, HUD has had a long standing cooperative program with the Mexican Government in housing and urban development under the Cabinet-level U.S.-Mexico Bi-National Commission and has recently completed projects in community revitalization, land use planning, housing construction training, and housing finance in Central America and the Caribbean as part of a broad U.S. program of post-disaster reconstruction in the region.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities, creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans, supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet.

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Content Archived: April 9, 2010