This document was prepared by the Forum of Ministers and High Authorities of Housing and Urban Development of Latin America and the Caribbean (MINURVI), with the collaboration of the Human Settlements Unit of the Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat/ ROLAC) and support from French cooperation.The aim of this document is to provide inputs to the preparatory activities being carried out in the region during the process of the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), which will take place in Quito in October 2016. The document sets out three principal goals:(1) to describe and analyze the processes and predominant urban trends in Latin America and the Caribbean in the last twenty years; (2) To identify the main challenges and dilemmas faced by the region, emphasizing their urban dimension; (3)to establish guidelines and outline responses to these challenges and dilemmas in urban public policy through a Regional Action Plan that is in accordance with the New Urban Agenda.