June2014

Bilbao has been chosen host city for the first UCLG 2015 Culture Summit during the meeting of the UCLG Executive Bureau held in Liverpool. The UCLG Committee on Culture began the draft of the new Culture Agenda 21 in 2013 in Lille, Buenos Aires and Rabat, and will continue in 2014 through meetings, seminars, articules, questionaires and visits to the pilot cities.

http://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/bilbao-host-city-first-uclg-2015-culture-summit

Udine: Roma integration made possible with URBACT

In 2009, while a number of cities (and governments) in Europe hardened their approach to Roma communities (evictions, destruction of camps, etc.), the city of Udine (IT) decided to explore inclusive solutions with 10 other EU cities in the URBACT network, ROMA-NeT. Here is how the URBACT Method has allowed the city to engage with the Roma community and find sustainable solutions to improve their living conditions ever since.

http://urbact.eu/en/news-and-events/view-one/news/?entryId=5353

Towards resilient regions

In How Density Makes Us Safer During Natural Disasters by Vishaan Chakrabarti, the author uses the example of Hurricane Sandy’s effects within New York City to highlight urban resilience:
…higher-density neighborhoods—from downtown Brooklyn and Battery Park City up to Harlem—were up and running within a week. By contrast, lower density areas like Staten Island and Breezy Point—with their single-family homes, elevated power lines, timber construction, and auto-dependency—took longer to recover.

http://chicago.urbdezine.com/2014/06/09/towards-resilient-regions/

Check out the new classification of local government set up by the European Commission

The European Commission published a “Harmonised definition of cities and rural areas”, based on precise population density rates. One of the purposes of this classification will be to have a precise overview of the funding distribution in the framework of the 2014-2020 period of cohesion policy, for instance in domains like employment or education.
This “new degree of urbanisation” defines three categories of local government : cities (or urban centres), towns and suburbs and rural areas.

http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/work/2014_01_new_urban.pdf

Travel demand forecasts - are they accurate?

Travel demand forecasts play a crucial role in the preparation of decision support to policy-makers in the field of transport planning. The results feed directly into impact appraisals such as cost–benefit analyses and environmental impact assessments, which are mandatory for large public works projects in many countries. Over the last few decades, there has been increasing attention given to the lack of demand forecast accuracy. However, since data availability for comprehensive ex-post appraisals is problematic, such studies are still relatively rare. This study presents a review of the largest ex-post studies of demand forecast accuracy for transport infrastructure projects. The focus is threefold: to provide an overview of observed levels of demand forecast inaccuracy, to highlight key contextual and methodological differences between studies and to highlight key focus areas for future research in this field. The results show that inaccuracy remains problematic for road, rail and toll projects alike, but also how the lack of methodological clarity and consistency calls for a careful interpretation of these results. Mandatory, systematic ex-post evaluation programmes are suggested as a necessary tool to improve decision support, as data availability for ex-post studies is often remarkably poor even for internal audits.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01441647.2014.926428?journalCode=ttrv20#.U6cwf8KKDIU

The perfect time to visit India as urbanisation takes off

The 11th Metropolis World ?Congress to be held in Hyderabad this October will see a resurgent India with a new energy coming with the election of Mr Narendra Modi as the new Prime Minister. Already there have been statements about re-energising the education system and of building many new cities across the country. It will be the large number of existing and proposed cities on the sub continent that will most gain from the pro development policies of the Modi government.

http://www.metropolis.org/news/perfect-time-visit-india-urbanisati

Cities blaze the trail for a livable, carbon-neutral world

Local and subnational governments have a prominent role in addressing climate change. A clarion call for their greater empowerment in a new climate agreement expected as an outcome of the Paris Conference of the Parties in 2015 was sounded at the recently concluded UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany.
Two key mechanisms were created to explore this role in the framework of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP). The “Forum on Cities and Subnational Authorities” and the “Technical Expert Meeting on Urban Environment” were organized, presenting groundbreaking examples on how local action in diverse areas such as low-carbon transport, renewable energy, carbon trading, climate finance and climate change adaptation reduce cities’ carbon emissions and enhance their livability globally.

http://www.iclei.org/details/article/cities-blaze-the-trail-for-a-livable-carbon-neutral-world.html

Moving an entire Swedish city

Although some architects may be known for moving the masses with their jaw dropping designs, few can say they have literally moved entire cities. Sweden-based White Arkitekter recently triumphed over 10 other firms to win an international competition to move the city of Kiruna, Sweden.
Over a century of iron mining has caused numerous underground cracks to destabilize the ground underneath the small town, and the architects' amazing Kiruna 4-Ever plan will gradually relocate it over the course of many decades.

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/white-arkitekter-going-move-entire-swedish-city

Why Stockholm leads the green economy

Green Economy Leader Report clarifies Stockholm’s leadership position in the field of green economy. The general goal of the report is to provide an overview of Stockholm’s green economy and assess major challenges and opportunity for the city to stimulate green economy. The report is divided into three main parts: framework for assessing green economy leaders, drivers of Stockholm’s green economy, and Stockholm’s policy programmes. Overall, Stockholm’s low carbon economy remains highly competitive and well-positioned in the future in spite of the global downturn.

http://www.eukn.org/E_library/Economy_Knowledge_Employment/Urban_Economy/Urban_Economy/Why_Stockholm_leads_the_green_economy

Paris becomes first city to extend bike sharing scheme to children

Paris adds 300 children's bikes, including balance bikes and bikes with stabilisers, to hugely successful Velib scheme.
It's difficult to know how Londoners would react to the sight of a Boris Bike with stabilisers, but in France, Parisians have welcomed the launch of a new cycle hire scheme that encourages children as young as two to hop on the saddle.
The P'tit Vélib program, which is an extension of the city's pioneering Vélib cycle hire network, launched on Wednesday with 300 bikes for children located at five green and pedestrianised spaces across the city.

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/jun/19/paris-city-bike-hire-cycling-children-family

Parents and cities – a winning partnership for boosting the employment of young people?

URBACT PREVENT network thinks so. The 10 partner cities work with parents to prevent Early School Leaving (ESL). Their aim is to guarantee better school to work transition, making sure that young people have the skills and qualifications necessary for better jobs and for a more active role as citizens.

http://urbact.eu/en/news-and-events/view-one/news/?entryId=5352

Urban River Revival Projects

As urban areas become more expensive and world population becomes more city-based, it follows that residents are demanding more from their cities. Although many urban areas were located near bodies of water at the time of their founding to provide a reliable source of nutrition and transport, the evolution and expansion of cities has led to the neglect of rivers, which have either become inaccessible centres of pollution or buried under concrete and forgotten about entirely.

http://urbantimes.co/2014/06/check-out-these-13-urban-river-revival-projects/

Growing Cities: Can Urban Farming Spread Across the USA?

“80% of people in the United States now live in cities. They have to be fed.” So begins the trailer for Growing Cities (embedded below) and the film itself stays true to this simple but important idea. Visiting urban farming projects across the USA, stars and creators Dan Susman and Andrew Monbouquette witness farming ideas that closely mirror the culture of the city they are located within.
With space at a premium in New York City, their urban farming project of choice takes Susman and Monbouquette to a rooftop so green, you have to wonder about its structural integrity. Over in Chicago, density is also a defining force, with many levels of urban agriculture happening inside Chicago’s The Plant, aided by no shortage of UV lights and aquaponics.

http://thisbigcity.net/growing-cities-can-urban-farming-spread-across-the-usa/

Call for Speakers: 2014 Annual Polis Conference (27-28 November, Madrid)

The Annual Polis Conference provides an opportunity for cities, metropolitan areas and regions to showcase their transport achievements to a large audience and for the wider transport community to engage with representatives of city and regional authorities on innovative transport solutions.

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/661/45/Call-for-Speakers-2014-Annual-Polis-Conference-27-28-November-Madrid

Which Italian cities developed the "best" Sustainable Energy Action Plans?

The 3rd ceremony of the A+CoM Awards was held on 15 May 2014. Coordinated by Climate Alliance Italy and the Kyoto Club, the A+ CoM award evaluates each year the "best" Italian SEAPs which were submitted the year before to the European Commission via the Covenant of Mayors Office.
The winners of this year's award ceremony are: the municipalities of Sardara & Fiavé (<5,000 inhabitants), the municipality of Castrolibero (5,000-20,000 inhabitants) the Joint SEAP of the Elba Island (20,000-90,000 inhabitants) and the municipality of Novara (>90,000 inhabitants).

http://www.eumayors.eu/news_en.html?id_news=575

ECOMM: 'mobility management should be integrated into EU policy'

Delegates at the European Conference on Mobility Management called for mobility management o be integrated into national and EU policies
Gathering in Florence on 7-9 May, delegates at the European Conference on Mobility Management (ECOMM) called upon the EU institutions for joint efforts to accelerate mobility management throughout Europe. The ECOMM is organised annually by the European Platform on Mobility Management (EPOMM).
The delegates stressed that mobility management should be an integrated part of national and EU policies. This would mean creating and supporting mobility management networks at national level to facilitate this process and promote exchange of knowledge and good practice between policy makers, stakeholders, experts and practitioners.

http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/ECOMM-mobility-management-should-be-integrated-into-EU-policy-WSPO-9L6K3E

Liverpool welcomes city and regional leaders to discuss how to generate sustainable economic growth

The BT Global City Leaders Summit began on Wednesday 18th with more than 200 city and regional leaders of local governments from around the world – United Cities and Local Governments members and leaders – who were gathered in Liverpool’s St George’s Hall to discuss how they can generate sustainable economic growth in times of austerity.
The Summit was organised by the Mayor of Liverpool in conjunction with the UCLG Executive Bureau of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), taking place in Liverpool from 17th to 19th June. Members of the Executive Bureau demonstrated their full participation in the Summit, bringing the benefit of their wide experience to the full scope of the event agenda.

http://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/liverpool-welcomes-city-and-regional-leaders-discuss-how-generate-sustainable-economic

A River Inspires Urban Regeneration

At a recent panel discussion on urban regeneration, Andy Altman, former director of planning for Washington, D.C., pointed to an ad in the local paper for a jazz festival at the city’s waterfront. “What was a derelict piece of land has now become such a big part of the life of the city,” he said.
The waterfront is an area that was reborn through the Anacostia Watershed Initiative, a 30-year, $10 billion program launched by the District of Columbia government in 2000 which links economic development with watershed restoration through a public-private partnership.

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/06/18/river-inspires-urban-regeneration

Rio de Janeiro's anti-World Cup street art

Art is tricky to pin down. It means nothing and it means everything. Images are rarely held to account, as words are. When you say you are angry about something and why, this is a clear statement. Yet even the most vicious caricature of a politician can become a cherished image whose victim hangs it over the mantelpiece with pride. That's why Spitting Image never brought down Margaret Thatcher and Steve Bell has yet to claim a leader's head.
It is also is why street paintings that adorn walls in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, joking vividly about the World Cup will soon be shown by global television stations as part of the carnival atmosphere of the tournament. No doubt they will be juxtaposed with shots of roaring crowds and street parties, even though many of the pictures are filled with scepticism and rage.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jun/09/let-them-eat-football-rio-de-janeiro-sao-paulo-anti-world-cup-graffiti

Buenos Aires to host second Future of Places conference

The second Future of Places conference, organised by UN-Habitat, the Project for Public Spaces and the Ax:son Johnson Foundation, will take place 1-3 September 2014 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, it has been announced.
This is the second in a series of conferences organized to annually, in the run up to the third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development – Habitat III – in 2016, which explores the importance of planning, design, and management of public space in addition to access.
The theme of the conference is “Streets as Public Spaces and Drivers of Urban Prosperity”, also the topic of a recently published UN-Habitat report, of the same name.

http://unhabitat.org/buenos-aires-to-host-second-future-of-places-conference/

Linking resilience and sustainability in city planning

Cities around the world are making plans, developing agendas, and articulating goals for urban resilience, but is urban resilience really possible? Resilience to what, for what, and for whom? Additionally, resilience is being used in many cases as a replacement for sustainability, which it is not. Resilience and sustainability need to be linked, but with care and clarity.

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/linking-resilience-and-sustainability-city-planning

Debate: does London need more tall buildings?

There are now proposals for over 230 new tall buildings to be built in London over the next decade, 80 per cent of which are residential. As London’s population continues to expand, is this high-rise vision of London’s future the right one for our city and its people?

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/debate-does-london-need-more-tall-buildings

How urbanization is driving decline in immunization levels

NEW DELHI: If you thought the decline in immunization levels must be in India's rural areas, you would be surprised to learn that the decline seen in high performing states seems to have happened largely among the urban poor in peri-urban and newly urbanized areas due to rapid urbanization leaving these areas neither rural nor fully urban.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/How-urbanization-is-driving-decline-in-immunization-levels/articleshow/36238280.cms

Learn more about new funding models for local government

How to rethink local management and the allocation of funding for territorial development at the outcome of the financial crisis? To find answers to this question, join us on 3 and 4 July in Paris for the conference on “New funding models for local governments: how to effectively mobilise resources?”!
This event is co-organised by CEMR and several partners such as the Global fund for cities development. CEMR co-president and Mayor of Santander, Iñigo de la Serna and CEMR secretary general, Frédéric Vallier, will represent our organisation during the conference.
Interested? The programme and practical information are available on the conference’s website.

http://www.resolutionstofundcities.org/en

EU pushes for better multimodal travel planning solutions

Simultaneously to the 10th European ITS Congress in Helsinki, the European Commission released its analysis on the state of the art of multimodal travel planners and plans for the way forward.

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/658/45/EU-pushes-for-better-multimodal-travel-planning-solutions

10 of the most innovative sustainability solutions from cities across the globe

These ideas are taken from the 2014 Sustainia 100 report – an “annual guide to 100 innovative sustainability solutions from around the world” that launches today. One chapter in the report focuses specifically on city solutions, and this year’s ten are below. All these ideas are already in use in cities.

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/10-most-innovative-sustainability-solutions-cities-across-globe

Cities don’t plan to increase spending on traffic management

A survey sponsored by Siemens of over 2,000 traffic management professionals in Regional and National Capitals (RNCs) in Europe - Traffic Management Transformed - claims less than half of these cities expect to increase their spending on traffic management in the next five years.
This is despite developments in technology and the emergence of cloud computing that provides opportunities for cities offering to deliver improvements in traffic management, and not just manage its maintenance.

https://connect.innovateuk.org/web/intelligent-mobility/article-view/-/blogs/moving-cities-forward-most-european-and-north-america-don-t-plan-to-increase-spending-on-traffic-management-in-the-next-five-years

Call for cities: Join the ICT-Emissions exploitation group

The ICT-Emissions project is looking for cities to join the exploitation group. The project offers the possibility to apply its integrated methodology to evaluate the impact of ICT-related measures on mobility, vehicle energy consumption and CO2 emissions of vehicle fleets at the local scale.

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/653/45/Call-for-cities-Join-the-ICT-Emissions-exploitation-group

Sensor-based smart cities may be difficult to justify

As Santander, Rio and other cities have demonstrated, sensor-based solutions have the potential to impact a broad range of urban issues, from traffic and transportation to energy, public safety and the environment. Less understood is the value of some of the other projects that have been rolled out around the world.

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/sensor-based-smart-cities-may-be-difficult-justify

Uniting stakeholders to achieve the city's CO2 reduction objective

Since 2010, the Covenant signatory city of Zagreb organises each year an ambitious awareness-raising event: Zagreb Energy Week. This year's edition was held from 12 to 17 may 2014, under the motto "Development we don't want to stop, but pollution we can!".
During 6 days, 43 workshops and conferences were organised, involving a wide range of players: local kindergartens,schools and faculties, cities from the EU and beyond, private companies from the energy sector, representatives from the EU institutions, and European networks of local authorities such as Energy Cities, EUROCITIES and ICLEI.

http://www.eumayors.eu/news_en.html?id_news=573

World’s Large Cities Move Water Equivalent to Ten Colorado Rivers to Meet their Annual Water Needs

As cities grow in population and economic activity, they reach further and further out to find water to meet their needs.
Now, a new study has estimated that collectively the world’s large cities, defined as those with at least 750,000 people, move 504 billion liters (133 billion gallons) of water a day a cumulative distance of some 27,000 kilometers.
Positioned end to end, the canals and pipelines transporting that water would stretch halfway around the world. The volume transferred annually is equivalent to the yearly flow of 10 Colorado Rivers.
Many large cities tap supplies not only in their own watersheds, but also in others far afield.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/06/06/worlds-large-cities-move-water-equivalent-to-ten-colorado-rivers-to-meet-their-annual-water-needs/

CIVITAS awards 2014 open now

Apply by 14 July for the chance to showcase your sustainable urban mobility initiative
The CIVITAS awards 2014 are now open. The awards are an opportunity for CIVITAS Forum member cities to highlight their most ambitious, innovative and successful efforts in the field of sustainable urban mobility.

http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/CIVITAS-awards-2014-open-now-WSPO-9L8BNL

Webinar: Prepare your city for extreme weather events

4 July 2014, 11:00 - 12:00 CEST
Unusual and extreme weather events are likely to increase in frequency as a result of climate change. This presents significant social and economic risks for Europe’s cities. To ensure your city or region is ready to adapt, attend this webinar designed to help public authorities and the private sector to develop adaptation capacity for extreme weather events.
The webinar will focus on how to assess your a city’s preparedness and capacity to adapt and what measures are needed to address climate change in the long-term. How companies can improve cities’ economic climate resilience, and how businesses can best position themselves to support the climate adaptation agenda will also be discussed.

The webinar is completely free of charge. You can register online at http://bit.ly/CityWeather.

Pension Funds, Endowments Investing in Urban Revitalization

Large pension funds and university endowments are investing significant portions of their portfolios in walkable community and infill development projects. The trend, called "social impact investing," has attracted the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), which recently invested $200 million in the sustainable redevelopment of older apartments in inner cities. The $800 million Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a New York-based foundation, has committed to making social impact investing a core part of its investment strategy.

http://www.pionline.com/article/20140526/PRINT/305269975/urban-real-estate-investing-is-back-with-a-new-name-look

Climate action transparency key to trustworthiness

New carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) report reveals that global voluntary reporting of local climate action triggers trustworthiness, access to finance and citizen engagement
422 local and subnational governments from 44 countries serving 12% of the world’s urban population are on track to trustworthiness, according to the carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) 2013 Annual Report released today at the ongoing UN Bonn Climate Change conference in Bonn, Germany.
The cCCR is the world’s largest public database of local climate action. It contains 3870 mitigation and adaptation actions, 870 climate and energy commitments, and 771 inventories covering around 2.25 Gigatons Co2e of annual GHG emissions. The cCCR catalyzes the trustworthiness of local and subnational governments by improving transparency, accountability and comparability of local climate actions.

http://www.iclei.org/details/article/climate-action-transparency-key-to-trustworthiness.html

Smog-eating roof tiles to cut urban pollution

A team of ambitious students at the University of California at Riverside have developed an incredible new weapon in the battle against air pollution. For their entry in the Environmental Protection Agency student design competition, the UC students created roof tiles coated with titanium dioxide that can break down smog-forming particles in the atmosphere, essentially eliminating a large percentage of harmful nitrogen oxide gas emitted by vehicles and power plants.

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/smog-eating-roof-tiles-cut-urban-pollution

Economic benefits of sustainable transport measures

The EVIDENCE project is looking for evidence of the proven economic benefits of sustainable transport measures and initiatives. The reviewed evidence will lead to a report whose purpose is to help politicians and transport practitioners understand the economic return on investment that can be achieved through increasing expenditure on sustainable transport.

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/656/45/Economic-benefits-of-sustainable-transport-measures

A call to extend the “big data” revolution to urban poor

The “big data” revolution must extend to the world’s urban poor. That's the point of a recent essay by David Satterthwaite, senior fellow at the International Institute of Environment and Development. A billion citizens live in informal urban settlements, but little information is collected about them to improve their lives, Satterthwaite writes.
As the international community forges a new set of goals for sustainable development starting in 2015, he recommends more emphasis on “the knowledge and capacity of the urban poor as collectors and users of information.”

http://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/call-extend-%E2%80%9Cbig-data%E2%80%9D-revolution-urban-poor

New U.N. “Scorecard” helps cities prepare for resiliency

Everyday, each of us is reminded that fire, flood, earthquakes and other hazards make all of us here on planet earth vulnerable. No city or region is completely immune. Disasters happen. They often erupt suddenly with little or no warning.
One city, Coimbatore, India is leading the way in learning to prepare and respond in the face of natural hazard. Coimbatore is a thriving industrial hub with a population of more than 1.5 million people located in Southern India. In a moderate to high seismic zone, Coimbatore is focused on improving energy and power resiliency, better water quality management and improved ecology.

http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2014/06/new-u-n-scorecard-helps-cities-prepare-resiliency.html

Transit-oriented development — What does it take to get it right?

A recent trip to Addis Ababa really brought the imperatives of transit-oriented development as a complement to mass transit investments home to us. As a strategic response to rapid urbanization and growing motorization rates, Addis is one of several African cities currently developing public mass transit systems such as light rail and bus-rapid transit. Similar initiatives are budding in Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, and other cities in South Africa.

http://blogs.worldbank.org/transport/transit-oriented-development-what-does-it-take-get-it-right

Appraising transport/infrastructure projects

At the recent Modelling World Conference in London, economic appraisal of large (infrastructure) development projects was very much at the core of presentations and discussion.

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/657/45/Appraising-transport-infrastructure-projects

A population boom in Africa will strain cities, create opportunities

Africa’s cities are poised for a population explosion that will strain resources, infrastructure and services and widen income inequality. But African leaders can manage the influx through inclusiveness, eco-friendly development and economic opportunity.
That’s the conclusion of a new report, Tracking Africa’s Progress in Figures, published by the African Development Bank.

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/population-boom-africa-will-strain-cities-create-opportunities

Cities contributing to better energy security

Energy savings through the Covenant of Mayors could be a key contributor to Europe's energy security
On 28 May, the European Commission published its energy security strategy. The strategy is in response to the political crisis in the Ukraine, which has put an emphasis on the need to have stable supplies of energy for the EU. Actions have been proposed in order to ensure uninterrupted supplies during the winter of 2014-15. Better energy efficiency is among the key actions proposed in the strategy, and cities have been recognised for their role in contributing to this.

http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/Cities-contributing-to-better-energy-security-WSPO-9KSE3P

Climate change now a mainstream part of city planning

An increasing number of cities around the world now include preparations for climate change in their basic urban planning — but only a small portion of them have been able to make such plans part of their economic development priorities, according to a unique global survey of cities released today.
The Urban Climate Change Governance Survey (UCGS), based on responses from 350 cities worldwide, underscores the extent to which city leaders recognize climate change as a major challenge — even as they are trying to figure out how their responses can create jobs, growth, and cost savings in areas ranging from cities’ transportation networks to their distribution of businesses.

http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/global-survey-climate-change-now-mainstream-part-city-planning

City leaders share common challenges, solutions

Over 130 Mayors and city leaders, together with urban partners, discussed strategies to develop smart cities at the World Cities Summit 2014. The Summit — a premier platform to address urban sustainability challenges and develop solutions — concluded with new partnerships being forged and a stronger collective resolve to develop liveable, more resilient and attractive cities for urban residents around the world.
The Fourth World Cities Summit that took place in early June was organized by the Centre for Liveable Cities and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and held in conjunction with Singapore International Water Week and Clean Enviro Summit Singapore. It was attended by a record participation of more than 20,000 participants from 118 countries including ministers, mayors, government officials, business leaders, academics, representatives from international organizations and civil society. The World Cities Summit Pavilion, together with the Water Expo, Waste Met Asia and Clean Met Asia, also showcased the latest developments and technologies from almost 1,000 companies globally.

http://unhabitat.org/city-leaders-share-common-challenges-solutions-at-world-cities-summit-mayors-forum/

11 nominees chosen for Procurement of Innovation Award

The Public Procurement of Innovation Platform consortium has today announced the nominations for the Public Procurement of Innovation Award, which rewards the very best innovation procurement in Europe. The Award recognises successful public procurement practices that have been used to purchase innovative, effective and efficient products or services.
The nominees reflect the geographic diversity of entrants, with Spanish, Dutch, French, Norwegian and Austrian contracting authorities represented.

http://www.innovation-procurement.org/award/

Call for cities: Join the ICT-Emissions exploitation group

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/653/45/Call-for-cities-Join-the-ICT-Emissions-exploitation-group

Linking resilience and sustainability in city planning

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/linking-resilience-and-sustainability-city-planning

America’s first urban food forest

Seattle has had a thriving community garden scene since the 1970s, when the P-Patch program first opened up city land to gardeners. With the recent planting of the Beacon Food Forest, however, the trend is reaching new heights. Read on to see how food forest permaculture gardening is changing the face of urban agriculture in this great city.
“A food forest is a gardening technique or land management system, which mimics a woodland ecosystem by substituting edible trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals,” writes Beacon Food Forest co-founder Glenn Herlihy. In other words, this community garden will produce food in the canopy, at the shrub level, in the shady understory, and even from vines that twine their way through the edible jungle.

http://inhabitat.com/americas-first-food-forest-from-ground-level-to-canopy-urban-agriculture-is-growing-seattle/

Call for applications: Two local governance Talent programmes

Application Deadline: 13 July 2014
The Hague Academy for Local Governance calls for applications from young local government practitioners for two of its Talent for Governance programmes organised in the second half of 2014.
Through Talent for Governance, The Hague Academy for Local Governance invests in the capacity building of young ambitious local practitioners from developing countries through unique professional training and internship Talent programmes.

http://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/call-applications-two-local-governance-talent-programmes

World Council on City Data (WCCD) launched

The World Council on City Data (WCCD) and the new ISO Standard for Cities: ISO 37120 Sustainable Development of Communities – Indicators for City Services and Quality of Life were launched at the Global Cities Summit on May 15, 2014. The WCCD will be a global hub for creative learning and partnerships across cities, international organizations, corporate partners, and academia. The WCCD Foundation Partners Cities are: Amman, Barcelona, Sao Paulo, Bogota, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Haiphong, Helsinki, Johannesburg, London, Makati, Makkah, Minna, Rotterdam, Shanghai, and Toronto.

http://www.cityindicators.org/

From Watch Dogs to GTA V, why 'video games are going to reshape our cities'

The virtual cityscapes of Assassin’s Creed or Grand Theft Auto are astonishingly lifelike – and now they are changing how we plan real cities
On 16 November 2009, police found the distended body of a 60-year-old man in the Chicago river. It was Michael Scott, president of the Chicago Board of Education. A single, close-range gunshot to the left temple suggested foul play.
That is, until a month later, when the police department revealed that pioneering data analytics had been used to sift through a haystack of video footage from the city’s CCTV cameras. The all-seeing eyes had tracked Scott’s blue Cadillac to its terminus on the river's east bank. He was alone: it was suicide.

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jun/10/watch-dogs-gtav-video-games-reshape-cities-sim-city-will-wright

Europe-wide service platforms – towards an “Internet of mobility”

A mass market for intelligent mobility & transport services is almost ready for lift-off, but there are still obstacles on the runway! There is broad consensus that end users and content and service providers in Europe need a way to connect with each other, and that service platforms and market-places will be part of the solution.
A number of European R&D projects as well as national deployments are tackling these barriers, each in their own way. They will offer a lively debate at the Helsinki ITS European Congress next week, and explore paths towards convergence and - eventually - a single service platform supporting all mobility data and services in Europe. We are proud to announce the Special Interest Session Europe-wide service platforms – towards an “Internet of mobility” on Tuesday 17 June 2014, 11:00 – 12:30 at the Messukeskus Expo and Convention Centre Helsinki (SIS04, Room 205). The panel includes experts from MOBiNET, Simpli-City, SuperHub, Green eMotion and TEAM European projects, and from the German Mobility Data Marketplace as well as the Dutch Data Warehouse for Traffic Information*. This session is aimed at policy makers, ITS data and service providers, users’ representatives, transport, IT and telecom operators and suppliers.

http://www.erticonetwork.com/ertico-news/entry/2091-europe-wide-service-platforms-%E2%80%93-towards-an-%E2%80%9Cinternet-of-mobility%E2%80%9D

UN-Habitat chairs cities forum at UN climate conference

UN-Habitat has chaired a dedicated cities forum at a conference held by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change aimed at highlighting sustainable urbanisation as a key factor in addressing global climate change.
The forum is part of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, known as ADP2014, and brought together key actors from the global debate on climate change.
Speaking at the event, Christine Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said that the world cannot address climate change without addressing urban liveability.
The session was chaired by UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN-Habitat Deputy Executive Director, Aisa Kirabo Kacyira. In her closing remarks, she emphasised the importance of sutainable urbanisation in tackling climate change.
“It is in cities where the battle for sustainable development will be won or lost”, she said.

http://unhabitat.org/un-habitat-chairs-cities-forum-at-un-climate-conference/

Local leaders champion resilience building

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/local-leaders-champion-resilience-building

First announcement and call for speakers 2014 ANNUAL POLIS CONFERENCE

The call for speakers is covering a wide range of topics open under the core Polis themes of environment & health, traffic efficiency & mobility, road safety and the social and economic challenges. All abstracts should highlight the innovative dimension as well as the results achieved and lessons learned.
Abstract submission for the 2014 Polis Conference is possible until 4 July 2014:

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/2014conference

SAFE: School Approaches for Family Empowerment

A European project headed by the municipality of the City of Reggio Emilia, with the involvement of the Intercultural Centre Mondinsieme, which encourages social integration of foreign families through initiatives that involve local schools with diverse students.
The project, called SAFE, is carried out in partnership with the Italian municipalities of Arezzo and Torino and the City of Lewisham (UK). It is co-financed by the European Fund for the Integration of non-EU immigrants and the Italian Government.

http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/Newsletter/newsletter33/safe_en.asp

Call for Abstracts: ERF RoadSide Safety Design Conference

The European Union Road Federation has announced the Call for Abstracts for the next European meeting of the AFB20 Roadside Safety Design Subcommittee on International Research Activities, which will take place on 5 November 2014 in Brussels.

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/651/45/Call-for-Abstracts-ERF-RoadSide-Safety-Design-Conference

How Cars, Not Subways, Will Make Us Richer

For decades, urban planners have preached mass transit as the key to economic mobility, but new studies show that improving access to cars may be the best way to help the poor.
Sometimes academic studies are good at officially validating what people already know intuitively. For Americans who wait through lengthy public transportation commutes, it’s common sense that owning a car would offer advantages. Now two recent studies show that cars offer more than just convenience: they can give lower income Americans an economic leg up.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/04/how-cars-not-subways-will-make-us-richer.html

New CASCADE toolkit to help signatories improve their energy policies

The IEE funded project CASCADE enabled 75 cities from 19 European countries, the majority Covenant signatories, to work together and make tangible improvements in their local sustainable energy policies.CASCADE ran a three-year European-wide peer-to-peer learning and networking programme (June 2011 - May 2013), bringing together more than 300 city experts, decision makers and local stakeholders.It tested four peer-to-peer learning methods: peer review, mentoring, work shadowing and study visits.
CASCADE has published a toolkit to share the knowledge and experience acquired over its three-year peer-to-peer learning and networking programme. The CASCADE toolkit pulls together methods to share experience with other cities and good examples of local energy policy implementation. It aims to offer inspiration and guidance to city experts and decision makers and help them meet their local energy targets.

http://www.eumayors.eu/news_en.html?id_news=571

China’s urbanization lessons can benefit the global community

We all know urbanization is important: Nearly 80% of gross domestic product is generated in cities around the world. Countries must get urbanization right if they want to reach middle- or high-income status.
But urbanization is challenging, especially because badly planned cities can hamper economic transformation and cities can become breeding grounds for poverty, slums and squalor and drivers of pollution, environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions.
That’s why it’s important for us to build cities that are livable, with people-centered approaches to urbanization and development. That will allow innovation and new ideas to emerge and enable economic growth, job creation and higher productivity, while also saving energy and managing natural resources, emissions and disaster risks. When the process is driven by people, it can lead to important results, the same way London and Los Angeles addressed their air pollution problems.

http://blogs.worldbank.org/eastasiapacific/china-s-urbanization-lessons-can-benefit-global-community

Businesses can save our cities in 15 years

Addressing the complex problems of the 21st century requires a new solutions toolbox. Innovation will be absolutely essential and business will lead the way — not just in technology, but also in building new models of collaboration that harness leadership and collective problem-solving to drive effective action.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development Urban Infrastructure Initiative, a groundbreaking program to promote strategic collaboration between cities and business to drive sustainable development, is a great example of this type of innovation. The release of the UII final report, which captures the lessons from three years of work in 10 cities around the world, presents a great opportunity to highlight how leading businesses can drive new collaboration models forward.

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/businesses-can-save-our-cities-15-years

The social housing stars who really know what makes a city tick

An exhibition of projects by Karakusevic Carson Architects proves that they are crafting a future for London housing of simple, robust and generous new homes. And the real miracle? They're all driven by local councils themselves
The story of the regeneration of Woodbury Down estate in Hackney, recently subject to a six-month investigation by the Guardian, is a common tale of the nature of “affordable” housing provision across London. It is one of local councils unable and unwilling to build their own housing, left enfeebled and emasculated by Thatcher's vicious legacy, and so in thrall to private house-builders, with whom partnering has seemed the only option in order to make more homes.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/jun/11/karakusevic-carson-architects-social-housing-stars-london

Save the date: 4th EPA-Polis workshop - on-street parking - 19 September Lisbon

The 4th EPA-Polis workshop will take place in Lisbon on the 19th of September. The workshop will be part of the Iberian Parking Congress, and will focus on standardised approaches for on-street parking. Polis members and technology providers will build a case for a best practicies to manage the streets!

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/648/45/Save-the-date-4th-EPA-Polis-workshop---on-street-parking---19-September-Lisbon

Greening our cities

Solutions to halving energy consumption, costs and greenhouse emissions in cities may be on the horizon, as long as partners find suitable ways to cooperate.
Imagine a city could halve its energy consumption, costs and greenhouse gas emissions. This would get closer to levels that would ensure sustainability of resources. In a planet under constant threat of environmental and energy crises, this would be a welcome change. Suppose also that this city finds a strategy to upgrade its household energy system with a budget of as little as €100 per square metre. This too would be a tremendous change.

http://www.erticonetwork.com/ertico-news/entry/2086-greening-our-cities

Dubai “smart” city to feature air-conditioned sidewalks

Who says a “smart city” can’t be luxurious? Desert Rose, a new, eco-conscious city planned for Dubai, will include outdoor air conditioning of sidewalks during the hot season, Emirates 24/7 reports. The article emphasizes that the AC would be powered by renewable energy.
Shaped like a flower, Desert Rose will be a residential enclave with a city center and train connections to other points in Dubai. Sewage water would be used to irrigate public gardens and an “agricultural belt,” and there would be ample recycling facilities.

http://citiscope.org/citisignals/2014/dubai-smart-city-feature-air-conditioned-sidewalks

Support your sustainable energy action plan with transport audit tool

Transport-sector CO2 emissions represent around 30% of overall emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Efficient mobility planning and policies with Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP) can help significantly in the reduction of CO2 emissions. Therefore, an audit of local authorities' mobility planning and policies can contribute to reduce CO2 emissions and increase energy efficiency.
The ADVANCE project, which developed an audit tool analysing strengths and weaknesses in the mobility planning in cities, gives clear indications for improvement and is available for Covenant signatory cities. It provides a local action plan which can be used as a basis for the development of a new or updated SUMP and gives audited cities suggestions for concrete measures and areas of action to improve their sustainable mobility planning.

http://www.eumayors.eu/news_en.html?id_news=570

Shared Space and Slow Zones: Comparing Public Space in Paris and New York

Every day, high-density global cities are home to millions of pedestrians in their streets. Paradoxically though, many streets and transportation policies have placed more space and importance on cars rather than people.
In Paris, where I hail from, 60% of journeys are by foot - far beyond car trips (7%) – and 60% of Parisians do not own a car[1]. In the heart of New York City, 53%[2] of those who live and work in Manhattan never use a car, bus, subway or train in their everyday trips but instead walk, ride a bicycle or motorcycle, take a taxicab, or work at home. Not to mention the large and increasing number of tourists visiting the city (more than 50 million people yearly in 2011[3]), who widely enjoy Manhattan on foot.

http://www.pps.org/blog/shared-space-and-slow-zones-comparing-public-space-in-paris-and-new-york/

Structural funds with respect to Roma

Commissioned by the Making the Most of European Union Funds for Roma Programme of the Open Society Foundations, the Migration Policy Group (MPG) critically investigates exactly how Member States are complying with their obligations under Article 16 of the programming and implementation of Structural Funds. The report addresses the extent of progress being made to reinforce the principles of non-discrimination and equality with respect to Roma and whether Roma mainstreaming needs to be accorded the same level of protection as gender mainstreaming.

http://www.eukn.org/E_library/Social_Inclusion_Integration/Integration_of_Social_Groups/Ethnic_Minorities/Structural_funds_with_respect_to_Roma

Study of the Sustainability Implications of Differing Urban + Suburban

The research study is aimed at understanding what factors really do contribute to “sustainability” in an urban/suburban context.
Though the belief in the sustainability benefits of "dense" versus "dispersed" is driving the development of cities over the world, the principal has never actually been examined at a detailed level. This study is thus focused on demystifying the myths on both sides of the density vs. sprawl debate. The fundamental objectives of this research project are two-fold; (i) to investigate the true sustainability aspects of people’s lifestyle through a comparison of Chicago downtown high-rise and suburban low-rise living, and (ii) to develop a methodology for this evaluation for the benefit of other cities globally.
http://ctbuh.org/TallBuildings/ResearchDivision/UrbanSuburbanSustainabilityImplications/tabid/6416/language/en-US/Default.aspx

France to launch cycle-to-work schemes

As part of the Action Plan of Active Mobility (PAMA) published in March 2014, France started a six-month experiment with paying people to cycle to work.

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/646/45/France-to-launch-cycle-to-work-schemes

Nostalgia, in the city of Sydney, is for the weak

What we think of as 'heritage' in Sydney's central business district is really whatever has survived the ruthlessness of our first and largest city
If a house is a machine for inhabiting, as Le Corbusier's famous aphorism went, then central business districts are machines for compressing, containing and concentrating an economy. Sydney's CBD, specifically, is a machine for concentrating a very large number of white-collar workers, dominated these days by financial and professional services, and reaping the aggregation effects: get all of those lawyers, accountants, financiers and managers together, close enough to go to the same coffee shops and have cigarette breaks on the same corners, and you've got yourself a powerful economic entity. For better or worse, Sydney's centre is a business park on steroids.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/03/nostalgia-in-the-city-of-sydney-is-for-the-weak

Empowering Youth to Empower Parents

It’s the most Canadian of stories. In 2010, two young people meet at a Tim Horton’s coffee shop to talk about an idea. Inspired by their own lived experience, they see the potential of youth helping newcomer adults in their community integrate faster, feel more at home, less isolated and more connected. Why not flip the education model on its head? Youth teach adults.
Having identified the problem and and a viable solution, Agazi Afewerki and Mohammed Shafique quickly put their coffee shop talk to work. They skipped the usual planning stages and scouted their Regent Park neighbourhood to recruit youth tutors and adult learners. Ten days later, with 10 youth paired with 10 adults based on their native language, they launched Youth Empowering Parents, better known as YEP (‘yep’ is colloquial English for ‘yes’).

http://citiesofmigration.ca/good_idea/empowering-youth-to-empower-parents/

Local Governments Sued for Ignoring Climate Change

Farmers Insurance Group has filed lawsuits against local governments in the Chicago area, claiming that they were aware that climate change is leading to heavier rainfall, but failed to prepare accordingly. The lawsuits state that nearly 200 Chicago-area communities are responsible for flood damages caused by a major rainfall in 2013. The lawsuits could foreshadow a legal reckoning of who is ultimately liable for the costs of climate change.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/05/19/3439048/insurance-climate-class-action-flood/

Renault delaying electric Twingo because no one wants one

Renault has a problem. Last year, Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn said the two companies would not meet their collective goal of selling 1.5 million EVs a year by 2016. While sales of the Nissan Leaf have been strong – 115,000 globally so far - Renault sold less than 20,000 its EVs like the Zoe, the Fluence ZE and the Twizy last year.
This year was supposed to see the introduction of the Twingo ZE electric vehicle. The problem is that people aren't clamoring for the Twingo, leaving the order books fairly empty. The company now says it will delay the model's debut to an undetermined future date, Bloomberg News says, citing an interview with Renault executive Jerome Stoll.
And it looks like that delay will be indefinite, says Renault spokeswoman Rie Yamane, who didn't address the lack of demand but cited the automaker's current range of EV models.

http://green.autoblog.com/2014/05/26/renault-delaying-electric-twingo-because-no-one-wants-one/

New film captures how Asian cities are responding to climate change

According to Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, released by the UN intergovernmental panel on climate change in March this year, Asian cities are expected to suffer particularly acutely from the impacts of global warming. Flooding, heat stress, extreme precipitation, drought and water scarcity are already having a profound effect on city dwellers across the continent. Through a three year project to increase local urban resilience, eight cities in India and the Philippines have been working to lessen climate change impacts in their cities.

http://www.iclei.org/details/article/new-film-captures-how-asian-cities-are-responding-to-climate-change.html

UCLG poster competition ends; and the winner is...

A winner has been chosen for the poster competition launched by UCLG to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the World Organization. The poster from the designer Marcal Prats has won by a majority vote of the jury. The general public also participated in choosing the winning piece, having voted for the posters that they liked best via the UCLG website. The 5 works that received the most public votes from the online selection were taken into account for the judges' deliberation.

http://www.uclg.org/en/node/22484#sthash.QhF3XkGC.dpuf

Chinese cities learn from Green Digital Charter & NiCE

On 28-30 April 2014, the NiCE (Networking intelligent Cities for Energy Efficiency) project participated in the EU-China Green Smart City Cooperation Exchange Forum in Beijing. This was organised by European Commission DG CONNECT and the Chinese ministry of industry and information technology.
We presented our Green Digital Charter (GDC), through which cities commit to improved energy efficiency through the uptake of smart ICTs, and the outcomes of the NiCE project, which supports cities in their charter commitments, to Chinese government officials and city delegations.

http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/Chinese-cities-learn-from-Green-Digital-Charter-NiCE-WSPO-9KAPQJ

Introducing Newcomers to Indigenous People

Bringing Maori Culture to Newcomers: The Wellington Regional Settlement Strategy – Judi Altinkaya
The Vancouver Dialogues Project: Where the Gold Mountain Meets Turtle Island – Baldwin Wong
The two different case studies above in immigrant inclusion were examined in a Cities of Migration webinar in July 2013. Five months later, in November 2013, the program leaders of these initiatives got the opportunity to meet and share professional insights in Wellington, New Zealand.
Henry Yu, Associate Professor of History at the University of British Columbia and Co-Chair of the Vancouver Dialogues Project, met Judi Altinkaya, National Manager, Settlement Unit Immigration New Zealand at an event organised by her unit as part of the Wellington Regional Settlement Strategy, under which the Newcomers Marae Welcomes project was initiated.

http://citiesofmigration.ca/ezine_stories/introducing-newcomers-to-indigenous-people/

Smart grid applications: The case of islands

A high level meeting was held in Athens 15 & 16 May 2014, entitled "Smart Grid Applications in Europe and the case of Islands: A new green technology revolution". This conference, organised by the Network of Sustainable Aegean Islands (a Covenant Supporter), brought together the scientific and technical community, the central administration, local authorities & especially island authorities and stakeholders, the industry, and the consumers, who had the opportunity to get an overview of the new possibilities and energy management approach offered by smart grids technology, and to get an idea of the range of applications, products and opportunities with benefits for the end users that can come out of this evolving market.

http://www.eumayors.eu/news_en.html?id_news=569

Welcome to 'boring' Belgium where even the pigeons are on cocaine

Antwerp, Belgium's genteel port city, is now revealed as a global drugs gateway and the cocaine capital of Europe

A country probably has to admit to a drugs problem when even its wildlife is on cocaine. As of yesterday morning, an online petition calling on the Belgian government to protect the country's racing pigeons from being doped with performance-enchancing cocaine was 200 shy of its target of 45,000 signatures.
That nefarious pigeon fanciers have apparently been using the drug as their doping agent of choice is a reminder that a nation often pilloried for being boring is also partial to South America's most notorious export.
According to last month's Global Drug Survey, Belgians are the most enthusiastic consumers of cocaine in the world, giving the drug a rating of 5.5/10 compared with just 2.2/10 from Australians, who rated it the least highly.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/01/antwerp-belgium-cocaine-capital-drugs-trade-pigeons

Turbines Popping Up on New York Roofs, Along With Questions of Efficiency

A dozen construction workers gathered around a flatbed truck in Long Island City, Queens, one recent Tuesday, marveling at the final piece of a new 15-story apartment building they had just finished assembling. As a mobile crane hoisted the 20-foot-long black contraption over Pearson Street, many of the workers used their phones to film its ascent.
What looked like a huge carbon-fiber strand of DNA strung around a 10-foot mast was the last of three wind turbines being installed atop the Pearson Court Square, a 197-unit luxury apartment building.
In an industry, a city and a society obsessed with being green, wind turbines remain scarce — only two apartment buildings in New York City harvest the skies for energy, with limited yields.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/nyregion/turbines-pop-up-on-new-york-roofs-along-with-questions-of-efficiency.html

Cities Alliance call for proposals for the New Catalytic Fund 2014

Cities Alliance has launched a call for proposals for the 2014 edition of Catalytic Fund (CATF), a Cities Alliance funding instrument which provides grant support for innovative projects that strengthen and promote the role of cities in poverty reduction and in sustainable urban development. This year’s edition will be based around the theme: ‘Know your city: Information for transformation’. This topic is in-line with Cities Alliance’s approach to promoting better knowledge about cities and to foster innovative and collaborative ways to generate information with view to bridging the engagement, information and accountability gaps between city governments and their citizens.

http://www.uclg.org/en/node/22318#sthash.6wSZ7qUC.dpuf

Cities “crucibles of innovation and advancement,” says Clos

United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UN-Habitat Executive Director, Dr Joan Clos, has said that “Cities and towns have been, and continue to be, crucibles of innovation and advancement”.
He made the comments at the first Integration Segment on sustainable urbanisation held by the UN Economic and Social Council at the UN headquarters in New York, which was opened by Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations and John W. Ashe, President of the UN General Assembly and Vladimir Drobnjak, Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council. Keynote speeches were also made by Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, Angelino Garzon, Vice-President of Colombia and Michael Bloomberg, Former Mayor of New York City and UN Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change

http://unhabitat.org/cities-crucibles-of-innovation-and-advancement-says-clos/

Resilient Cities 2014

Making cities resilient to disaster and the impacts of climate change has undoubtedly become a responsibility of all local leaders. This became evident during deliberations by over 400 experts, and practitioners who convened for Resilient Cities 2014: The 5th Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation in Bonn Germany. The Congress brought together 90 local government representatives as well as experts from international organizations, national governments, research institutions, business and media.
Local leaders are realizing the need for an integrated approach that works towards building resilience in their cities. As His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales said in his opening message to Resilient Cities 2014, “ The need for this integrated approach is now urgent and that is why meetings such as this are vitally important in order to articulate fully the vision and help establish ways to build the evidence base and galvanize the wheels of change. So I can only congratulate ICLEI for their leadership in this area over the past few years.”
The Resilient Cities Forum saw a move forward in resilience financing with a big improvement in understanding barriers to financing adaptation measures and a great increase in partnerships to address these challenges. However there is still little improvement in implementation and impact on the ground so local governments are getting creative towards financing their resilience efforts using their own existing assets, local revenue streams and fiscal mechanisms to leverage other funds. From Mayor Diane Watts’ (Surrey, Canada) solution of a “green fund” to Nancy Saich’s (European Investment Bank) suggestion to take the climate label off and find funding in smaller sectoral packages that include adaptation. The congress also saw avid interest and innovation in creative infrastructure projects, especially in the ecosystem-based adaptation sector. Singapore’s projects, Garden by the Bay project and the Bishan Ang Mo Kio Park, are great examples of turning domestic water deficits and concrete drowning-traps for floodwater into tourist-attracting self-sufficiency and much-needed green leisure areas in the space-constrained city-state.
Cities are looking for innovative means for financing resilience and designing infrastructure while adapting to the changing climate. This has become even more apparent as most parts of the world see frequent weather events and other disasters. There is an urgency for all cities to do vulnerability assessments and, based on these assessments, to work towards risk reduction and resilience-building by engaging multiple stakeholders. Multiple stakeholder engagement is necessary not only between researchers and practitioners but also different levels of government to further drive and fund efforts in resilience building.
Resilience building was also the focus of the Mayors Adaptation Forum (MAF). This forum convened by the World Mayors Council on Climate Change saw the inclusion of resilience as a key component of the Urban Sustainable Development Goal (Urban SDG). The phrasing of the Urban SDG focuses on creating an inclusive productive resilient city.

www.iclei.org/bonn2014

Experts convene on urban safety indicators

Fifty-five international experts on urban development and security gathered in Barcelona for a two-day meeting on the Urban Safety Monitor; a new initiative that promotes the use of indicators for evidence-based policy and practice. The Expert Meeting was organized by UN-Habitat with the support of the City of Barcelona.
Held in the Sant-Pau complex, the meeting analyzed the relationship between urban governance and planning and citizen security, with the aim of developing safety indicators to be tested in a number of pilot cities. Prototype indicators will serve local governments in cities like Beirut and Port Moresby to set urban safety targets, benchmark progress, demonstrate accountability, and strengthen political commitment.

http://unhabitat.org/experts-conveneon-urban-safety-indicators/

Playground Access on Urban Planning Radar

Better access to playgrounds is rising in importance to city planners. "Playability" is complementing walkability and bikeability in many cities, as planners realize that children's overall health, creativity, and critical-thinking skills may be linked to the availability of playgrounds. The city of Chicago is working to ensure that every child lives within a seven-minute walk of a park or playground. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, now has a mobile recreation unit that brings play equipment to underserved neighborhoods.

http://kaboom.org/take_action/playful_city_usa/stories

Wind turbines allow cities to quietly make their own power

The newly introduced Liam F1 Urban Wind Turbine developed by The Archimedes will allow those in cities to quietly make their own power as easily as their country cousins. Besides it’s almost silent operation, the windmill boasts 80% efficiency, much higher than the 25-50% of other turbines.
The unit is 5 feet wide, so a bit of space is still necessary, but it makes up for that in efficiency. According to a press release from The Archimedes:
“The Liam F1 generates an average of 1,500 kilowatt-hours of energy [per year] at a wind-speed of 5 m/s [16.4 ft/s], which resembles half of the power consumption of a common household.”
While that may not seem like much, free power is still free power. The unique shape of the turbine, inspired by the nautilus shell, increases the efficiency and silence of the unit, and helps it to stay pointed in the right direction to get the most out of any breeze.
The Liam F1 will be officially for sale on July 1, though 7,000 units have been sold in over 14 countries. The developer’s web site says the turbines will sell for approximately $5,450 US.

http://greenbuildingelements.com/2014/05/30/urban-wind-turbine/

New collaboration explores technological solutions to urban resilience

UN-Habitat’s City Resilience Profiling Programme and the Autonomous University of Barcelona’s School of Engineering have announced a new collaboration to work together in the design and construction of software to increase cities’ resilience to disasters.
One of the main objectives of this collaboration is transforming the City Resilience Profiling Tool into a more robust and user friendly Web Application with greater potential.
The software developed will generate urban resilience indicators based on data provided by the partner cities of the programme. These cities are: Balangoda (Sri Lanka), Barcelona (Spain), Beirut (Lebanon), Dagupan (Philippines), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Lokoja (Nigeria), Portmore (Jamaica), Concepción/Talcahuano (Chile), Tehran (Iran) and Wellington (New Zealand).

http://unhabitat.org/new-collaboration-explores-technological-solutions-to-urban-resilience/

A cemetery’s revival signals “womb to tomb” city services

MANDALUYONG CITY, Philippines — A mayor does not normally make his name by digging up bones of the dead. But Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr., saw no other way.
For years, the garbage-strewn public cemetery in his city, part of Metro Manila, had become overstuffed with bodies. Families of the dead stacked new concrete apartment niches five-high atop the old ones. But it wasn’t enough to handle 1,000 new arrivals each year. Gravediggers would make room by pulling out bones and tossing them to the ground or shoving them into unmarked plastic sacks. Babies were buried under the pathways, marked only by small marble stones inscribed with the child’s name.

http://citiscope.org/story/2014/cemeterys-revival-signals-womb-tomb-city-services#sthash.FIFMSH2C.dpuf

Why the 'Garden City' Is Making an Unlikely Comeback

I am finding my way past the Diane von Furstenberg table settings, Viking stoves and Knoll chairs at the Architectural Digest Home Show in New York City, cradling Robert A.M. Stern’s 12-pound, 1,000 page book, Paradise Planned: The Garden Suburb and the Modern City, and wondering if this could possibly be worth it, trying to understand the evolution of human settlement.
The rendezvous with Stern, the dean of the Yale Architecture School and anti-starchitect of traditional design — he is the keynote speaker at the Congress for the New Urbanism in Buffalo at the beginning of June — was at the Potterton Books library at a far end of the tradeshow floor, decked out like the reading room of a Hudson River mansion. The interview was wedged in between book signings and a rollout of his furniture line, and yes, Stern was sporting his signature brightly colored socks, a tulip yellow.

http://www.citylab.com/design/2014/05/why-the-garden-city-is-making-an-unlikely-comeback/371717/

Urban areas most at risk from Climate Change

Cities account for 37–49% of global greenhouse gas emissions and urban infrastructure accounts for over 70% of global energy use. This is just one of the facts found in the “Climate Change: Implications for Cities - Key Findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (Cities Summary) – drawing attention to the need for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The Cities Summary is one of thirteen reports that summarize different sector findings of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). ICLEI President David Cadman stressed the relevance for integrated climate action at the local level, a process led by local governments in partnership with business, industry and civil society. “This Cities Summary succinctly summarizes the key implications for urban areas. It is a must read for all local decision-makers”, said Cadman. The role of local governments in driving community emissions reduction and protecting their inhabitants and infrastructure against the impacts of climate change is central to effective climate policy. The briefing, published jointly by ICLEI, and the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Sustainability Leadership and Judge Business School, with the support of the European Climate Foundation, demonstrates the urgency for climate change mitigation (and low emission development) as well as adaptation.

http://www.iclei.org/our-activities/our-agendas/low-carbon-city.html

European elections 2014

CEMR president emphasises the need for the EU to reconnect with the European citizens
In a letter sent to new members of the European Parliament, CEMR president and Mayor of Almere (The Netherlands), Annemarie Jorritsma, reacted to the European election results.
“The result and the low percentage of voters show that the EU should have the ambition to close the gap with the citizens. Municipalities and regions are the closest governments to the citizens. CEMR, representing over 100.000 municipalities and regions through over 50 national associations of local government in the Europe, offers to work with the EU institutions to realise this ambition.”

http://www.ccre.org/en/actualites/view/2871

Local and regional governments at the heart of disaster risk reduction strategies

In March 2015, United Nations (UNISDR) will organize the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will take place in Sendai, Japan. In recent years, this topic has taken on great importance within UCLG, since it is directly linked to the issues of development, climate change and urban planning, among others. UCLG, along with ICLEI, will have an important role to play in the Conference, working to ensure mobilisation, participation and the involvement of local and regional governments.

http://www.uclg.org/en/node/22440#sthash.2X4LgsKI.dpuf

Hamilton – The Latest Sanctuary City

In February 2014 the city of Hamilton unanimously passed a motion making it a sanctuary city for undocumented individuals. Coming exactly a year after neighbouring Toronto took similar action, Hamilton joins dozens of other cities in the United States and Europe by “re-affirming its commitment to ensuring access to services without fear to immigrants without full status or without full status documents.” -

http://citiesofmigration.ca/ezine_stories/hamilton-the-latest-sanctuary-city/

Dangerous by Design 2014

The National Complete Streets Coalition has published this report, which documents preventable pedestrian fatalities and what can be done to make our streets safer for everyone. The 10 metropolitan areas that suffer the least and most pedestrian fatalities are also identified. Older cities with densely populated street grids were the safest for pedestrians, while low-density sprawling cities were the most dangerous.

http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/research/dangerous-by-design/dbd2014/national-overview/

EPTA project presented outcomes at its final conference

EPTA aimed at identifying a Model of a Public Transport Authority (PTA) as a powerful tool of governance. One of the main findings of the project is its PTA model for small and medium-size cities.

http://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/650/45/EPTA-project-presented-outcomes-at-its-final-conference

World Environment Day 2014: Cities and regions, the greatest challenge and hope for a sustainable future

World Environment Day (WED) is the United Nations’ principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the environment. Many of the solutions to the challenges of climate change and urbanization are found in cities themselves. UCLG and its members celebrate WED 2014 with the conviction that cities represent both the greatest challenge and the greatest hope for a sustainable future.
The density and innovative capacity of cities provide a unique opportunity for cities and local and regional governments to promote more sustainable consumption and production patterns. Local governments are leading on climate change from the bottom up. Through effective urban governance and planning, they are harnessing the agglomeration advantages of cities to limit urban sprawl, and reduce disaster risk and greenhouse gas emissions.

http://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/world-environment-day-2014-cities-and-regions-greatest-challenge-and-hope-sustainable

Health: From Knowledge Capital to Local Specialisation

12 ideas for cities to take advantage of their potential linked to innovation and knowledge to strengthen health and socioeconomic areas. URBACT project 4D Cities gives some clues on the role that local authorities can play in this process.

http://urbact.eu/en/news-and-events/view-one/news/?entryId=5351

WCS 2014 focuses on best practices in urban development

Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Hsien Loong at the opening of the World Cities Summit 2014, explained that the city is set to learn from other cities as expectations of making Singapore an even better place continues to grow. Increasing population and urbanisation rates are a concern as Mr Lee notes more than 100 million people have moved to cities in the past two years itself. Further by 2050, 70% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities. “People’s expectations are rising,” Mr Lee said, “Other cities continue to move ahead, developing innovative solutions and setting new standards.” Priorities included on the agenda are provision of affordable housing, better public transport, more number of green spaces and developing Singapore as ‘City in a Garden.’

http://www.urbannewsdigest.in/?p=10388

China’s city of clones

Boasting 56 famous replica bridges as well as Venetian- and Dutch-style villages, the Chinese city of Suzhou is the home of ‘duplitecture’. But what’s driving this passion for urban mimicry?

http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jun/03/from-tower-bridge-to-sydney-harbour-welcome-to-chinas-city-of-clones

Glasgow publishes results of Citizens' Survey on Energy and Environment

Glasgow is currently working towards reducing its carbon emissions by 30% by 2020. As part of this commitment, Glasgow City Council aims to engage stakeholders and citizens to better understand the actions which can be taken city-wide to reduce energy use and improve Glasgow’s environment. This survey provided citizens with an opportunity to have their say on energy, transport, green events and carbon reduction measures in Glasgow.

http://www.stepupsmartcities.eu/ViewNews/tabid/3242/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/3605/Glasgow-publishes-results-of-Citizens-Survey-on-Energy-and-Environment.aspx

Driverless cars - no fines, no funds for law enforcement

Local government has long looked to speeding tickets to increase revenue. What will they do when autonomous cars stick to the speed limit?
Shortly after the state of Washington voted to legalize recreational marijuana late last year, opponents made a very interesting, if somewhat counterintuitive, argument against legalized pot – law enforcement would miss out on the huge revenue stream of seized assets, property, and cash from pot dealers in the state.
Justice Department data shows that seizures in marijuana-related cases nationwide totaled $1 billion from 2002 to 2012, out of the $6.5 billion total seized in all drug busts over that period. This money often goes directly into the budgets of the law enforcement agencies that seized it. One drug task force in Snohomish County, Washington, reduced its budget forecast by 15% after the state voted to legalize marijuana, the Wall Street Journal reported in January. In its most fruitful years, that lone task force had seen more than $1 million in additional funding through seizures from marijuana cases alone, according to the report.
Naturally, this dynamic is something law enforcement either is or should already be preparing for as driverless cars make their way onto the roads. Just as drug cops will lose the income they had seized from pot dealers, state and local governments will need to account for a drastic reduction in fines from traffic violations as autonomous cars stick to the speed limit.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/driverless-cars-could-cripple-law-enforcement-budgets

India has announced that every home will be powered by solar in 2019

India’s new government anticipates that by 2019 at least one light bulb in every home will run on solar power, Bloomberg news agency has reported.
With 400 million Indian citizens unable to access electricity, new Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to harness the power of solar energy. Over the past three years the production cost of the alternative energy has dropped 61% in India, making it an attractive alternative to fossil fuel.
“We look upon solar as having the potential to completely transform the way we look at the energy space,” explained Narendra Taneja, convener of the energy division of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/india-has-announced-every-home-will-be-powered-solar-2019

Cities and transport 'key' in battle against climate change, says UN Secretary-General

At the opening of the Abu Dhabi 'Ascent' conference in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon characterised climate change as 'the defining issue of our time'.
Mr Ban outlined nine key areas with the greatest potential for fast and meaningful results. They include cities and transport, agriculture, energy, finance, and climate resilience. He added that many of the solutions required already exist, while others are being rapidly developed.
The 'Ascent' is the first international meeting to build on the conclusions of the recent reports from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which found that the impacts of climate change are already evident and that significant advances towards a low carbon future could still minimise these consequences.

http://www.eltis.org/index.php?ID1=5&id=60&news_id=4583

INFINITE Solutions: financing the energy transition of your city

INFINITE Solutions (INnovative FINancIng for Local SusTainable Energy Solutions) is a project launched in the beginning of 2014 under the IEE programme and coordinated by Energy Cities.
INFINITE partners will carry out peer coaching activities aiming at developing the expertise of local staff and at replicating two proved financing schemes tested by the cities of Stuttgart (DE) and Delft (NL) in learning local authorities: Agueda (PT), Almada (PT), Udine (IT), Koprivnica (HR), Brussels-Capital Region (BE), Frederikshavn (DK), Riga (LV), Parma (IT) and CU Bordeaux (FR.

http://www.energy-cities.eu/INFINITE-Solutions-financing-the?pmv_nid=2

Paris to limit speeds to 30 km/hr over entire city

The just-elected new Mayor of Paris, Madame Anne Hidalgo, has prepared a revolutionary sustainable mobility project whereby virtually all of the streets of the city will be subject to a maximum speed limit of 30 km/hr.
The only exceptions in the plan are a relatively small number of major axes into the city and along the two banks of the Seine, where the speed limit will be 50 km/hr, and the city’s hard pressed ring road (périphérique) where the top permissible speed has recently been reduced from 80 to 70 km/hr. At the other end of the slowth spectrum are a certain number of “meeting zones” (zones de rencontre) spotted around the city in which pedestrians and cyclists have priority but mix with cars which are limited to a top speed of 20 km/hr. A veritable révolution à la française.

http://worldstreets.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/paris-to-limit-speeds-to-30-kmhr-over-entire-city/

Tree planting brings a sense of community

John Hantz wanted to make the urban desert bloom. Today, a thousand-plus volunteers showed up to plant 15,000 trees on 20 acres of east-side land, transforming blight into landscape.
It took two hours of labor to achieve this transformation — and five years of backstory. Hantz, a financial services entrepreneur who lives only a few blocks from the new Hantz Woodlands, last summer bought 1,500 lots from the city, promising to clear the land and plant trees.
He encountered plenty of resistance from community activists, city politicians, and other interests who worried that his urban agriculture plan was a land grab. But residents of the streets being planted backed his plan and many were on hand to plant three-foot oak and maple saplings Saturday.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140517/METRO01/305170036#ixzz32xPswcou

Free parking for electric cars in Madrid

Madrid is introducing new smart parking meters that will charge extra for cars that pollute more, and reduce parking costs for efficient vehicles - with electric cars able to park for free.
Starting on 1 July, the price a motorist pays to park in the city streets will be based on a complex table governed by the engine and the year of the car. Hybrids will pay 20 per cent less to park, while a diesel car made in 2001 will see a 20 per cent mark-up.

http://www.eltis.org/index.php?ID1=5&id=60&news_id=4581

Urbanists and ped-bike advocates should team up

Bicycle and pedestrian advocacy has become a huge movement, with more than 220 state, provincial, and local advocacy organizations that are members of the Alliance for Biking & Walking. The alliance recently published out its annual Bicycling and Walking in the United States, 2014 Benchmaking Report.
The 260-page book, which can be downloaded online or purchased in print, is a tremendous research effort — despite the criticisms I am about to deliver. I would recommend it to anyone interested in this subject.

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/urbanists-and-ped-bike-advocates-should-team

The Bristol Pound: UK's first city wide local currency

Chosen to be a European Green Capital in 2015, in Bristol (United Kingdom) it is the local currency, the Bristol Pound (£B), that is headlining. See for yourself, as Mayor George Ferguson provided Energy Cities with a quick, personal introduction to this innovative way of boosting local economy.
"Launched in September 2012, the Bristol Pound is the UK’s first ever city-wide local currency. Its development across the city is designed to benefit the local supply chain, boost new business growth and the city’s economy.
As a complementary currency, designed to work alongside the Pound Sterling, the Bristol Pound encourages people to shop and do their business locally. This has benefits such as encouraging our local and independent businesses to employ locally and reduce the need to travel, thereby improving Bristol’s local economy and environmental performance.
I take my full mayor’s salary in Bristol Pounds and enjoy spending it in the interesting range of local businesses now signed up to take £B. Similar initiatives are springing up in other European cities, and we are open to welcoming visitors to Bristol and sharing experiences. The Bristol Pound will play a very visible role during the European Green Capital 2015."

http://www.energy-cities.eu/The-Bristol-Pound-UK-s-first-city?pmv_nid=2

Local Government and Decentralization Brochure

The Local Government and Decentralization Unit at the Urban Land, Legistlation and Governance branch, has launched a new brochure, higlighing the unit's agenda to support local governments as key players in development. The brochure highlights the multi-pronged approach to developing tools and products to support logal governments.
http://www.urbangateway.org/sites/default/ugfiles/lgd_unit_brochure_1_1.pdf

Do-it-Yourself Urban Planning

In 2006, my friend Jenny Roberts organized an urban guerrilla action that took over parking spaces across Chicago. The group consisted of artists who paid the meter and set up a performance in the parking space—playing a dulcimer or encouraging passersby to make bumper stickers (honk if you like to honk).
The goal: “a citywide series of action/performances intended to question the monolithic structures and unimaginative uses of urban space.” Jenny loves nothing more than to disrupt our perception of public space. I later read of similar projects in San Francisco and elsewhere
https://urban.uchicago.edu/news/do-it-yourself-urban-planning

Using social networks in city planning processes

We live in a world where four out of five millennials prefer to live in walkable places with a variety of commuting options, a world where people want to drive less and socialize more. However, while the next generation’s desires are apparent in their choices of where to work and live, this new vision of walkability has been more slowly realized in the planning profession. Engagement with younger generations throughout the planning process is still lacking. Social networks and mobile platforms offer a way to educate and involve this demographic in the planning process on their own terms, fostering a truly shared vision for a sustainable urban future.

http://www.urbangateway.org/news/using-social-networks-city-planning-processes

Bad call: Wide streets in the name of fire safety

Fire officials often push for wider streets so that their biggest trucks can move more swiftly — but the wider streets lead to more deaths and injuries. They do this, supposedly, in the name of safety.
It shouldn't be too difficult to see that if fire protection policies add to a public safety problem of much greater magnitude — i.e., traffic injuries and fatalities — a different solution must be found.
For comparison, 2,500 civilians die and 16,000 are injured annually in building fires in the US, while 33,000 people die and 2.3 million people are injured in automobile crashes.
A member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has written a long-overdue piece on this issue called Fire Departments Are Standing in the Way of Good Street Design, published at citylab.com.

http://bettercities.net/news-opinion/blogs/robert-steuteville/21128/bad-call-wide-streets-name-fire-safety

The 10th European and Regional Planning Awards

ECTP-CEU, with the support of the Committee of Regions, is proud to announce the Winners of the 10th European Urban and Regional Planning Awards 2013-2014.
The 10th European Urban and Regional Planning Awards were awarded by Mr Petr Osvald 1st Vice-Chairman of the COTER commission, Mr Petter Wiberg, Chair of the ECTP-CEU Awards Jury and Mr Henk van der Kamp, President of the European Council of Town Planners on 5th of May 2014 at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels.
This prestigious award recognizes innovative urban and spatial planning projects that demonstrate the role of urban renewal and territorial cohesion.
The winners of the 10th European planning awards are good examples of adaptation to climate change, especially with regard to how energy solutions have been made an integral part of spatial planning.

http://www.ectp-ceu.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=292

Local and regional governments at the heart of disaster risk reduction strategies

http://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/local-and-regional-governments-heart-disaster-risk-reduction-strategies

OurCitiesOurWorld Days at the UN ECOSOC: "Urban areas at the heart of great challenges, opportunities and promises"

"Cities and other urban areas should be taken into account when setting future development goals" Angelino Garzon, Vice-president of Colombia. "Urbanization cannot be seen as a demographic phenomenon, but as a transformative force shaping societies" Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN Habitat. ?The conviction that sustainable urbanization must be at the core of the development agenda has been the general trend at the three-day UN ECOSOC Integration Segment in New York.

http://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/ourcitiesourworld-days-un-ecosoc-urban-areas-heart-great-challenges-opportunities-and