The Urban Development and Housing Network (Urban Network) is constituted of senior public officials responsible for housing, urban development, and habitat in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Urban Network is one of IDB's main instruments to foster spaces for exchange between officials and Bank specialists in exploring possible areas of regional cooperation in the sector, strengthening institutional capacity in the formulation of public policies.

The Urban Network promotes peer learning by supporting the development of encounters with activities that seek to: (i) build consensus on the needs for the construction of inclusive housing and urban development policies; (ii) foster areas of discussion at the governmental level for the definition, design, and implementation of urban policies; and (iii) identify solutions in urban policy based on evidence-based analysis and the dissemination of knowledge and good practices among participating countries.

Some of the topics addressed by the Network include: (i) urban strategies for mitigation and adaptation to climate change and risk management for natural disasters; (ii) strategies for land use and management in the face of accelerated urbanization processes; (iii) revitalization of degraded central areas and underutilized urban voids; (iv) social and urban integration of precarious and informal settlements; (v) sustainable financing of infrastructure in cities and mechanisms for attracting capital gains; and (vi) institutional mechanisms of metropolitan governance.