Planning and Urbanization in Argentina with Horacio Larreta and Milagros Maylin

Please join a conversation on approaches to informal settlements in Argentina, reflections on achievements, and perspectives on current challenges with Horacio Larreta, economist, politician and former Chief of Government of the City of Buenos Aires (2015-2023); and Milagros Maylin, social inclusion policy expert and former Executive Director of the Provincial Agency for Social and Urban Integration for the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires.

Moderated by Bish Sanyal, Ford International Professor of Urban Development and Planning and Director of the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS).

Thursday April 25, 4:00-5:30PM

Room 9-451 (MIT Building 9)

105 Massachusetts Avenue

Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Argentine economist, politician and the former Chief of Government of the City of Buenos Aire (2015-2023.). Larreta holds a BA in economics from Universidad de Buenos Aires and a MBA from Harvard University. After completing his MBA, he returned to Argentina to pursue a career in politics. He was in charge of the Social Security System and of Arg IRS. In 2002, he founded the PRO Party with Mauricio Macri. He was the Chief of Cabinet of the city when Macri was mayor (2007-2015). In 2015, he was elected mayor of Buenos Aires. Under his leadership, the city underwent a remarkable transformation in terms of social integration, transport infrastructure, education, and security. He was re-elected in 2019 with a record 56% of the vote, becoming the first mayor in history to win in the first round. During a second term marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, he worked with other Argentine and international cities to confront the health crisis. The city’s evidence-based, comprehensive strategy to flatten the curve, care for citizens, and strengthen the health system was internationally recognized, and paved the way to a strong post-pandemic recovery. In 2023, he ran as a presidential candidate with an agenda based on development, job creation, dialogue, and consensus.

Milagros Maylin, social inclusion policy expert. She holds an Executive MBA from the IAE Business School and is currently pursuing a doctorate in Political Science at the School of Government at the Universidad Austral. Her current focus lies in research and policy formulation for social inclusion, particularly related to urban development, new technologies, and the elderly. Milagros leads the Moais Foundation, which aims to promote social well-being and to strengthen vulnerable communities. Her public service roles include Director General for the Elderly and Provincial Director of Management Control for the Province of Buenos Aires (2015-2019); Executive Director of the Provincial Agency for Social and Urban Integration (OPISU) for the Government of the Province of Buenos Aires (2018-2019) where she and her teams were primarily responsible for developing public policies related to social and urban integration in 20 prioritized informal vulnerable neighborhoods; and Secretary of Elderly and Comprehensive Well-being for Older Adults at the Ministry of Health of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (2021-2022). During 2020 and 2021, she was responsible (as General Coordinator) for the strategy of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, Milagros collaborated with the Inter-American Development Bank on consultancy projects related to socio-urban integration and taught classes at Harvard University on “Urban Design and Planning for Climate Transformation, Intense Migration, and Rapid Urban Growth.” She is an active participant in the Pensar Foundation, where she developed a National Villa Reurbanization Plan aimed at transforming the social and urban reality for the 50% of the population residing in slums and settlements in the Province of Buenos Aires within just four years.