On Monday 26 October, participants joined the ‘Cities against Abelardo, Bogotá against Galán’ demonstration, which took to the streets to voice popular demands in response to policies affecting people’s lives, housing, the environment, security and territories. That same day, at 9.30 am, the main social organisations and leaders involved in urban issues held a press conference at the Macarena campus of the District University in Bogotá.
The organisers of the meeting maintain that the current situation is characterised by a housing shortage, evictions and a humanitarian emergency in cities, the effects of the earthquake on communities’ living conditions, the advance of gentrification and the deepening environmental crisis.
“We will come together to share our experiences, develop proposals and strengthen grassroots organisation. The central aim is to advance the Comprehensive and People-Centred Urban Reform. It is an agenda developed at the grassroots level to guarantee the right to the city, decent and adequate housing, environmental justice and the ability of communities to decide on their present and their future,” stated the social leaders backing the summit.
The organisations maintain that, amidst the debate over the model of the city and the responses to the urban crisis, communities will come together to demonstrate that alternatives exist, built on organisation, solidarity and people’s power.
Among the serious difficulties affecting people in cities, spokesperson Juliana Ramírez explained: “Cities are places where multiple forms of oppression converge, given that they are also capitalism’s favoured arena, in the way this model of the city—which exploits and dispossesses—is reproduced. Some of these factors, for example, relate to the housing shortage, which is nothing other than the fact that millions of households currently lack decent housing.”
The figures highlight the scale of the crisis: between 4.8 and 5.2 million households in the country — approximately 31 per cent of Colombian households — are without housing, and 7.3 million people live in conditions of housing deprivation, that is, in dwellings with poor structural conditions, substandard materials and limited access to public services.
Furthermore, households in the lowest 10 per cent of income spend up to 50 per cent of their monthly income on rent. Added to this is the fact that, over the past year, purchases of social housing fell by 36 per cent, which shows that it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to buy a home.
Prior to the first summit, held in September 2025 and attended by nearly 3,000 people from more than ten cities across the country, a series of meetings, community work days, forums and themed festivals were organised around various social demands that challenge the model of a city designed for capital.
In June this year, the organising team met to analyse the current situation, draw up a campaign agenda, assess and elect their own spokespersons, and collectively define decision-making mechanisms. They also analysed the political climate, provided feedback on the campaign agenda and staged artistic performances.
Over the three days of the summit, there were opportunities for debate, meetings between organisations, workshops, cultural activities and the collective development of proposals. The event also provided a chance to hear directly from those defending their homes, territories and livelihoods, and to learn about initiatives seeking to address the main challenges facing Colombian cities.
The summit thus presents an opportunity to hear directly from those defending their homes, territories and livelihoods, and to learn about initiatives seeking to address the main challenges facing Colombian cities. The press conference on Monday 26th provided a forum for dialogue with national spokespersons, to learn about the main conclusions and proposals emerging from the summit, and to address the political reasons driving communities to mobilise in defence of the right to the city.
