NewsAug19

The City of Glasgow, the UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management, the Glasgow Academy of Urbanism and the Geneva UN Charter Centre at the Glasgow School of Art, and the Glasgow City-Region Partnership cordially invite you to the UNECE Conference on City Living which will take place on 12-13 September 2019 in Glasgow, UK.

https://www.academyofurbanism.org.uk/events/the-glasgow-conference-on-city-living/

ASSURED workshop Deployment of e-trucks in urban logistics

Within the ASSURED project (www.assured-project.eu), Polis coordinates the ASSURED Urban Freight User Group (UF UG), to exchange on and validate the project innovations. The next meeting will be held in Bilbao (Spain) on Friday 27 September 2019.

The ASSURED project aims at boosting the electrification of urban commercial vehicles and their integration with high power fast charging infrastructure. To achieve this, ASSURED will test number of electric buses, waste collection and delivery trucks as well as one light commercial delivery vehicle with automatic fast charging solutions.

The goal is to showcase the interoperability between different brands of vehicles and charging solutions, providing more flexibility to the public transport and freight providers in their daily operations.

More information here: https://assured-project.eu/

Smart Cities Need to Spend More on Security Tech

The world’s largest cities need to invest billions of additional dollars into their infrastructure in order to secure citizen data, new research suggests.

Of the roughly $135 billion expected to be spent globally on cybersecurity for critical city infrastructure in 2024, 44% will be split across data protection provisions for energy, health care, public security, transport, water and waste industries, analyst group ABI Research concluded in a study published Tuesday.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-20/smart-cities-need-to-spend-more-on-security-tech-study-suggests

Dockless in Dallas

At one point, there were 18,000 rental bikes in Dallas. Now, they’re all gone.

At the height of the dockless bike craze a couple of years ago, the streets of Dallas were filled with 18,000 of the rental bicycles, making that city the center of a fast-growing trend in the United States. The bike rental companies, flush with venture capital money, saw Dallas as a testing ground for a new mobility option. Dallas officials encouraged deployment of the bikes by choosing not to regulate them when they were first introduced. They imposed rules only after residents complained about the proliferation of bikes and all the inconvenient places people were leaving them.

https://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-dockless-dallas.html

Smart City Expo World Congress 2019

Smart City Expo World Congress started back in 2011 with a vision, questioning whether smart initiatives could make sustainable cities flourish. Not because it was a nice thing to do but because environmental footprints were quite alarming. New governance models and new approaches to equity and a circular economy have also emerged along with IoT, Artificial Intelligence, drones, self-driving cars and new forms of micromobility. New ways of processing and distributing information such as blockchain and IOTA have also come into the picture.

http://www.smartcityexpo.com/en/home

Energy Cities' Annual Conference - Heerlen 2020

Every year, Energy Cities organises its major conference in one of its member cities to discuss latest developments in local energy policies.

Each Annual Conference is a milestone for getting updates on city initiatives, sharing best practices and coordinating policy work towards EU institutions. It is the meeting point for decision-makers and practitioners from public organisations, business, research and civil society.

http://www.annualconference.energy-cities.eu/

The supply obsession won’t solve the housing crisis

House prices are at record levels. Home ownership languishes near its lowest rate for a generation. And hundreds of thousands of young people can no longer afford to fly the nest.

In response to these three problems, the Chancellor is doling out cash for housing infrastructure. Meanwhile the new housing minister promises to “strain every sinew” to tackle what the Leader of the Commons recently referred to as the UK’s house-building “catastrophe”.

https://www.citymetric.com/fabric/supply-obsession-won-t-solve-housing-crisis-4758

Re-enchanting Our (Smart-)Cities

I’ve been involved in smart-city projects for a few years now, and the experience has been extremely enriching, at times challenging, but always fulfilling.

Been immersed in this multidisciplinary field is a great opportunity to learn a lot about a plethora of disciplines, from urbanism and governance (with the challenges faced by the transport and energy sectors, among others) to sustainable growth (with its elements of economics, technology and environment) to citizen engagement (with campaigns for behavioral change aiming to improve sustainability and optimal use of resources).

http://smartcitiesconnect.org/re-enchanting-our-smart-cities/

Horizon 2020 Transport Information Day

The 2019 Horizon Transport information day will present upcoming funding opportunities of approximately €356 million, under the Mobility for Growth (MG), Automated Road Transport (ART), Green Vehicles (GV), and Next Generation Batteries (BAT) calls.

It will also give an overview of the application and evaluation process, and present tips for writing a good proposal.

The info day will cover the Horizon 2020 Transport Work Programme in 2020. Check out the draft agenda of the event and pick the sessions most relevant for you.

https://www.eltis.org/participate/events/horizon-2020-transport-information-day

The eightieth session of the Committee on Housing and Land Management of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe will take place on 2 to 4 October 2019; and the UNECE Sustainable Cities Week on 1 to 4 October 2019. The events will be held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Meetings during the Sustainable Cities Week will discuss progress and challenges related to the implementation of recent international agreements such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the New Urban Agenda and the Geneva UN Charter for Sustainable Housing. The main theme of the Week is “Affordable housing and urban infrastructure for all groups of the population”.

http://www.unece.org/housing/sustainablecitiesweek.html

Netherlands bans using mobile phones on bicycles

In the Netherlands, since 1 July 2019 it is has not been permitted to cycle while holding a mobile phone.

This is in recognition of the fact that cyclists using their phones are cognitively and visually distracted. Before the ban, 49% of Dutch people used their mobile phone while cycling, while amongst young people (aged between 18 and 24 years old) the proportion was higher at 75%.

The fine for anyone caught holding a mobile phone while cycling is €95. Cyclists must keep their phone in a pocket, jacket or bag.

https://www.eltis.org/discover/news/netherlands-prohibits-use-mobile-phones-bicycles

Enhancing the vitality of small cities

How can small towns thrive today? Here we highlight an array of local actions to help small and medium sized cities become more vibrant.

From unique shopping experiences, distinctive local products and cultural events to community engagement and financial incentives, smaller cities are looking for ways to stay attractive – and convince enough business, talent and visitors to resist the pull of larger urban areas.

Hundreds of small towns and cities have joined URBACT networks over the years, working with local groups and international expertise to find sustainable, cross-sector solutions to problems such as empty high streets, dwindling jobs or ageing populations

https://urbact.eu/vitality-small-cities-priority

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Mayor’s Office of Nur-Sultan will be organizing the 8th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan on 9-12 October 2019, under the theme ‘Smart Cities, Smart Destinations’.

The 8th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism will focus on how developing smart cities can contribute to address complex urban challenges faced today by many destinations across the world. The most critical issues in sustainability, accessibility, urban management, innovation and technology will be discussed, while stressing the importance of including tourism in the wider city agenda as a means to make tourism a true contributor to the development of inclusive, resilient and sustainable cities.

https://www.cvent.com/events/8th-unwto-global-summit-on-urban-tourism-smart-cities-smart-destinations-/registration-a02ef8b6d9834e0c87196886be552d4a.aspx?fqp=true

ITS4Climate Congress - Mobility and Climate change !

The first international Congress on smart mobility and climate

17-18 + 19 September 2019 Cité Mondiale - Bordeaux, France

https://www.its4climate.eu/programme-en/

Cities are heating up. How can we keep them cool?

Vineyards in Copenhagen and searing desert-like heat in Rome? That could be a reality in both European capitals by 2050, according to temperature projections for 520 cities worldwide.

"We found that 77% of future cities are very likely to experience a climate that is closer to that of another existing city [in a different bioclimatic region] than to its own current climate," wrote the scientists from ETH Zurich, a Swiss university for science and technology. The scientists based their calculations on a global temperature increase of 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit).

https://www.dw.com/en/cities-are-heating-up-how-can-we-keep-them-cool/a-49824029

World's largest urban farm to open

It’s a warm afternoon in late spring and before us rows of strawberry plants rustle in the breeze as the scent of fragrant herbs wafts across the air. Nearby, a bee buzzes lazily past. Contrary to appearances, however, we are not in an idyllic corner of the countryside but standing on the top of a six-storey building in the heart of the French capital.

Welcome to the future of farming in Paris – where a whole host of rooftop plantations, such as this one on the edge of the Marais, have been springing up of late. Yet this thriving operation is just a drop in the ocean compared to its new sister site. When that one opens, in the spring of 2020, it will be the largest rooftop farm in the world.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/aug/13/worlds-largest-urban-farm-to-open-on-a-paris-rooftop

European Mobility Week

Any town or city worldwide is warmly invited to participate in EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK. To take part, each town or city must commit to one or more of the three criteria below, which must be held during the week of 16-22 September (the week takes place on the same dates every year) to be eligible for registration. Only the official local authority of the participating town or city may register for EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK. Please remember to register online as soon as possible (until 15 September)!

https://www.eltis.org/participate/events/european-mobility-week-2

Green-Powered Urban Regenerators at reSITE 2019

Meet the up-and-coming green-powered regenerators tackling climate change head-on at reSITE 2019.

Every year at reSITE, architects who are breaking away from the mold are always part of the roster. This year, we are bringing in actors regenerating their cities and communities for more resiliency in times of climate change.

https://www.resite.org/stories/meet-the-up-and-coming-green-powered-regenerators-resite-2019

Apply for European Green capital and European Green leaf awards now

The prestigious titles of European Green Capital (EGCA) and European Green Leaf (EGLA) are awarded every year to European cities for their commitment to environmental, social and economic sustainability. The European Commission's competition to find the next winner of the EGCA and EGLA titles are open for applications.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/

Mobility as a “Public” Service in Cities

Most cities are faced with the same three challenges: how to reduce pollution, congestion and CO2 emissions? In the last decade hundreds of billions of dollars has been invested in EV companies, new charging infrastructure, mobility startups and public transport infrastructure. However the results have not been in line with the investment. Cities are still polluted and congested and 2018 was a record year for CO2 emissions. The reason for this is that cars are often still the best door-to-door solutions in cities.

https://urbanmobilitydaily.com/mobility-as-a-public-service-in-cities/

Meet Some of the Women Making Cities “Smart"

Join us from September 11-13, 2019 at Smart City Expo Atlanta to hear from a series of inspiring women who are on the forefront of redefining what it means for cities to be “smart”.

https://smartcityexpoatlanta.com/

ECTP Biennial Plymouth 11-13 September

REGISTRATION DATE EXTENDED TO 31/08/2019

Plymouth City Council, along with Plymouth University, are busy preparing for the ECTP-CEU Biennial which will be held on 11th – 13th September, 2019 in Plymouth.

Come to Plymouth to experience a city which has won many awards for its exciting and visionary planning!

The full programme has now been published and it offers a diverse range of European speakers who will talk about their experiences of planning in their country.

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/european-council-of-town-planners-biennial-conference-2019

Smart Cities still need a Human Touch

Toronto and Barcelona are currently implementing ambitious smart city initiatives. The two cities represent very different interpretations of the smart city vision, and the evolution of these projects will provide important lessons, informing policy makers around the world.

https://www.urenio.org/2019/08/07/smart-cities-still-need-a-human-touch/

Open Data for Better Public Services

To improve public services and increase transparency, the City of Buenos Aires has developed various open data applications.

Data is being created everywhere at an unprecedented rate. According to the World Economic Forum, it’s estimated that by 2025, 463 exabytes of data will be created each day globally. Data has become the main input of the economy and the most valuable and strategic asset that organisations have. Global consulting firm McKinsey estimates that open data—public information and shared data from private sources—can help create US$3 trillion of value per year in seven areas of the global economy: education, transport, consumer products, electricity, oil and gas, health care, and consumer finance.

https://www.urbanet.info/open-data-for-better-public-services/

Join SDGs events at the European week of Regions and Cities

Here you will find a list of selected events on the Sustainable Development Goals that will take place during the European week of Regions and Cities in October (7-10)

http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/Join-SDGs-events-at-the-European-week-of-Regions-and-Cities-7-10-October-WSPO-BESKN4

European Transport Conference 2019

The European Transport Conference (ETC) is the annual conference of the Association for European Transport, which attracts policymakers and researchers from across the transport industry.

The conference will offer three days of networking with international colleagues, thought-provoking panel sessions and the opportunity to engage in free interactive activities across Dublin. In addition, the event will provide access to conference papers, with over 250 papers presented across the conference.

https://aetransport.org/

The Parking Garages of the Future

Knightley’s Parking Garage opened for business in Wichita, Kan., on March 13, 1950, a shining example of mid-century auto-centric architecture. An announcement in The Wichita Eagle hailed the newest addition to downtown as “The Midwest’s Largest and Most Modern Parking Garage.” Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it charged 50 cents to park for the day, 75 cents for the evening and one dollar to leave a car overnight.

Navigating the five-level facility and finding a parking spot was not a problem. Motorists would leave their cars at the entrance and a Knightley’s valet took care of everything. At the end of a shopping trip or workday, customers relaxed in an air-conditioned waiting room while an attendant fetched the family Ford or Chevy. Downtown stores sent purchases directly to the garage where they were stored in a safe until they were transferred to the car for the drive home.

https://www.governing.com/topics/transportation-infrastructure/gov-garages.html

Riding in the right direction: a Turkish city goes back to cycling

Tepebasi is a town of Eskisehir in western Turkey embracing a return to urban cycling albeit with a novelty – the bikes are electric

A few decades ago, the town enjoyed a relatively high proportion of non-motorised transport due its geographical and industrial features. However, other more polluting modes of transport gradually took over – something the municipality is now keen to reverse.

As part of the EU-funded REMOURBAN project, the municipality has introduced an e-bike-sharing scheme along with new cycle lanes. Murat Aksu, director of Tepebasi's EU Coordination Centre, said, "We have a Sustainable Mobility Master Plan, which includes pedestrianised, bicycle-friendly modes of transportation. Our plans already exist to use the e-Bike Sharing System and extend the bicycle lanes and its coverage to the other parts of the Tepebasi district. We want to see cycling in Tepebasi transformed, and we will do all we can to make it happen."

http://www.remourban.eu/news--events/press-releases/riding-in-the-right-direction-a-turkish-city-goes-back-to-cycling.kl

Efus General Assembly: “free, safe and just” cities

On the occasion of its General Assembly meeting held in Augsburg (DE) on 26 June 2019, the European Forum for Urban Security (Efus) adopted the Declaration of Augsburg, “Free, safe and just cities – a European success story and its future”. It includes a series of recommendations for the European Union and MEPs.

http://efus-network.eu/efus/en/topics/%activity%/17659/

Upcoming Smart Cities and ICT Conference

Given that the digital technology is now ready, and that there is demand by the citizens and visitors of the smart city, the main challenge is to bring the solutions and exploit the opportunities in the most efficient way.

This conference aims at tackling the issues raised by introducing digital technologies in smart cities, including both theoretical as well as practical aspects, considered from a multi-disciplinary perspective.

https://www.cttefitce2019.eu/

How cities can tackle climate change?

Harriet Bulkeley, professor of geography at Durham University, UK conceded last week an interview to the Horizon: the EU research and Innovation magazine, pointing out how cities are to play a major role in the fight against global warming.

https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/2042/45/How-cities-can-tackle-climate-change

Why Speed Kills Cities

U.S. cities are dropping urban speed limits in an effort to boost safety and lower crash rates. But the benefits of less-rapid urban mobility don’t end there.

“Slow the hell down.” That’s the message New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio delivered on Twitter as he announced the revival of the city’s speed camera program. The cameras went live in July with expanded hours, issuing hefty tickets to any driver who creeps above 36 miles per hour—that’s 11 mph above the city’s 25 mph posted limit—in 750 school zones throughout the city’s five boroughs.

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/08/low-speed-limit-vehicle-safety-crash-data-traffic-congestion/588412/

Climate.Cities.Communities. — Strategies for a liveable future

The tide is changing. Thanks to grassroots campaigning, increasing numbers of local, regional and even national governments worldwide are now declaring the climate as a priority. Many other municipalities and regions have long taken climate change seriously and are already pursuing ambitious climate goals. For them, some of the most pressing questions revolve around how best to act on this all-encompassing issue when only parts of its root causes are under municipal control. Which local strategies can contribute to a liveable future, how can we implement them and what can we learn from global partnerships along the way? How do we realise necessary transitions in mobility and the built environment, how can we engage the public in our strategies and how do we adapt to the changes we cannot avoid?

Climate.Cities.Communities. explores the role of municipalities in climate action and the implementation of local strategies with the power to foster a good future for all. Join us in shaping our future!

http://www.climatealliance.org/events/international-conference/2019-conference.html

District heating and cooling: cities going circular for a carbon neutral Europe

Cities and their managers are key stakeholders to ensure successful energy transition that would lead us towards carbon neutrality by 2050. The local technical, financial and managerial innovation takes place precisely in urban settings, which are also pioneers of integrating circularity in the concept of energy transition. There are many paths that can be taken by city leaders to reach their energy, climate and circularity goals, but one solution in particular stands out: district heating networks can become modern vectors of territorial energy integration and sector coupling.

https://europa.eu/regions-and-cities/programme/sessions/399_en

Transport for London launches the world’s largest cycling database

The Cycling Infrastructure Database contains the location of more than 240,000 pieces of cycling infrastructure in London, including places to park and the location of cycle lanes

https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/2040/45/Transport-for-London-launches-the-world-s-largest-cycling-database

Truly sustainable cities are all about balance

urban developments kick off daily. But are we getting closer to sustainable city ideals? How many of places with an abundance of greenery and smart tech are really cases of sustainable humans flourishing?

Essential elements of a sustainable city include renewable and local resources, self-sufficiency, green infrastructure, closed material loops and overall efficiency. Add sustainability culture, equality, and wellbeing, and you have it. Many cities around the globe are getting closer than ever towards that ideal.

https://www.sustainability-times.com/in-depth/truly-sustainable-cities-are-all-about-balance/

Urban October

Every October UN-Habitat and partners organize a month of activities, events and discussions on urban sustainability. This year, Urban October kicks off the month with World Habitat Day on 7 October 2019 and it will end with World Cities Day on 31 October 2019.

We encourage local, regional and national authorities, and partners, to plan and organize activities during the month.

https://unhabitat.org/urban-october/

Experiences from Placemaking Week Europe 2019

JPI Urban Europe participated in and collaborated with Placemaking Week Europe 2019 in Valencia, 12- 15th June. As part of the SRIA 2.0 implementation process, we organized two workshops, one about the urban dilemmas of public space in relation to placemaking, and one about the future of Urban Living Labs (ULL) and experimental approaches in urban governance. We looked into how placemaking can be used to create value in urban development processes, the dilemmas that “placemakers” face, and what kind of research is needed to understand and make use of these values.

https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/news/experiences-from-placemaking-week-europe-2019/

4 Emerging Concepts that Could Transform Cities

Big ideas can forever alter the fate of cities when they are written into cement, steel and stone. When St. Petersburg, Russia, was created in 1703 by Peter the Great, he envisioned the new capital as an emblem of a modern Russian empire, inspired by Western European trade hubs, such as Amsterdam. In the 20th century, Chandirgarh, India, was modeled on English “Garden Cities” in order to make a statement about progress and aspirations of prosperity in post-partition India. Half a world away in the United States, Detroit transformed itself into one of the world’s industrial megacities, shaped by the ideals of the American Dream and Henry Ford’s visionary manufacturing.

https://thecityfix.com/blog/4-emerging-concepts-that-could-transform-cities-anne-maassen-madeleine-galvin/

Cities massively declare a state of climate emergency

More than 300 European cities have now declared climate emergency at a municipal level. Covenant signatories are at the heart of the movement, and many examples of climate emergency declarations can already be listed amongst the Covenant of Mayors Community.

Reacting to an increasing awareness about the risks faced by cities and communities, many cities have declared different forms of climates emergencies. Despite some criticism stating that they are not always translated into concrete climate action plans, these declarations are still a way to send a powerful message about a city’s ambition regarding climate action.

https://www.eumayors.eu/news-and-events/news/1703-cities-massively-declare-a-state-of-climate-emergency.html

What is Mountain Towns 2030 and the Net Zero Summit?

Mountain Towns 2030 is a coalition of mountain towns committed to achieving aggressive carbon reduction goals by 2030. The MT2030 effort begins at the Net Zero Summit from October 2-4 in Park City.

At this three-day event, join mayors, elected officials and staff from 40 over mountain towns as we work together with leaders from prominent NGOs and businesses to set bold yet achievable goals. Speakers include renowned environmentalist and humanitarian,Jane Goodall, and environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist, and author Paul Hawken of Project Drawdown.

http://icleiusa.org/news/events/mountain-towns-2030-net-zero-summit/

International Transport Forum (ITF) 2020 Summit

The International Transport Forum (ITF) is hosting its annual Summit in 2020 on the theme 'transport innovation for sustainable development'.

The Annual Summit of the ITF is the premier global transport policy event. Since 2008, the Summit has brought together ministers from around the world to share policy perspectives with CEOs, heads of international organisations, thought leaders from civil society and academia, and media.

https://www.itf-oecd.org/itf-2020-summit-transport-innovation-sustainable-development

How Much Traffic Do Uber and Lyft Cause?

A new analysis by the ride-hailing giants sheds some light on a long-asked question about their congestion impacts on U.S. cities.

After the 2008 economic crash, Americans began driving less. But it didn’t last long: In every year since 2013, U.S. drivers have packed on more miles behind the wheel. This rise in vehicle-miles traveled (VMT, in wonk-speak) can be seen and felt in the nation’s metropolises. Congestion on major arteries like L.A.’s I-405 or San Francisco’s Geary Boulevard is getting worse; pedestrian death counts are reaching record heights; tailpipe emissions are growing thicker.

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/08/uber-lyft-traffic-congestion-ride-hailing-cities-drivers-vmt/595393/

The five As for digital transport inclusivity

There are 5 main inclusivity requirements to be fulfilled by transport systems and Bax & Company have created a matrix summarising, for each requirement, how introducing digital technologies to the transport sector can provide more inclusive services for vulnerable users.

https://www.eltis.org/discover/news/five-digital-transport-inclusivity

Le Monde Festival Montréal

Reinventing the city: from words to action

For the second year in a row, Le Monde, in partnership with Le Devoir, will convene in Montréal Le Monde Festival, a two-day event on the trends that are transforming our world (culturally, politically, scientifically, economically, etc.)On October 25, Le Monde, Concordia University, and NewCities are partnering to curate a half-day program dedicated to the urban perspective, in the wider theme of the Festival — ”Agir”, “to act”.

https://newcities.org/le-monde-festival-montreal/

Smart City Expo Atlanta Announces New Speakers

Join us from September 11-13, 2019 at Smart City Expo Atlanta to hear from the world's leading CIOs and CTOs who are on the forefront of redefining what it means for cities to be “smart”.

https://smartcityexpoatlanta.com/

Transforming Cities for Inclusion

Inclusion of all citizens is a challenge to rapidly urbanising societies. Federico Batista Poitier outlines how the Global Compact on Inclusive and Accessible Cities is an important tool in this regard, providing local governments with a framework that allows them to measure inclusion in their municipalities.

https://www.urbanet.info/transforming-cities-for-inclusion/

Bringing (more) sustainability to cities: 5 golden rules

The second URBACT City Lab took place in Brussels (BE) on 2nd and 3rd July 2019: “How are cities putting sustainable urban development into practice?” was the core question that drove us through general and specific considerations in the fields of Air Quality and Mobility, Energy Transition and Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Food Systems. When seeking to feed into the work of the updated Leipzig Charter, it appeared that on the one hand sustainability is still a complex paradigm to get into and embed for a city, but on the other hand, cities are leading the way in what can be done.

https://urbact.eu/sustainability-cities-5-must-haves

CitiesSHIFT webinar #3: Improving urban air quality through ecomobility

With an estimated 90% of the global population now breathing unhealthy air, the World Health Organisation has identified air pollution as the single greatest global health risk today. Excessive dependence on conventionally-powered motor vehicles worsens air quality, increasing the risk of respiratory illnesses. In addition, traffic congestion is a major sunk cost for economies.

Many cities are on the forefront to improve air quality through ecomobility, by changing the means of transport from private vehicles to active mobility, such as walking, cycling, and using public transport. This webinar will share international best practices around the prevention and mitigation of urban air pollution in the transport sector and discuss examples of mobility solutions – how they impact air quality and potential trade-offs.

https://ecomobility.org/citiesshift-webinar-improving-urban-air-quality-through-ecomobility-global-overview-and-practical-solutions/

Velo-city 2020

Velo-City is the world's premier cycling summit, focusing on cycling infrastructure, bicycle innovations, bicycle safety and the social and cultural changes driven by cycling.

https://velo-city2020.com/

Cities Ban Government Use of Facial Recognition

Three American cities have now banned the use of facial recognition technology in local government amid concerns it's inaccurate and biased.

https://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-cities-ban-government-use-facial-recognition.html

Smart Cities still need a Human Touch

https://www.urenio.org/2019/08/07/smart-cities-still-need-a-human-touch/

EcoMobility Days 2019

ICLEI EcoMobility Alliance and Autonomy are partnering to host this year's EcoMobility Days, convening mayors and transport experts from Alliance Cities and ICLEI Members. We hope to connect with you there from 16-17 October in Paris, France!

https://ecomobility.org/ecomobility-days/#2019

ETC 2019: Programme announced for Rail Planning & Policy

The Rail Planning and Policy is focused on developing the knowledge on planning, economics and use of heavy rail. Enhancement of the quality of the rail network and its use is pivotal. The political and economic organisation of developing rail networks and customers' satisfaction with train use are key elements in the programme. Also this year, lots of interesting presentations will be available on those topics.

https://aetransport.org/etc/this-year-at-etc/booking

Why can’t London or New York clear cars from the city?

The past few months have seen an uptick in cycling deaths in cities around the world. In New York City alone, 18 people had been killed in cycling collisions by the middle of 2019, nearly doubling the city’s total for the whole of 2018.

It’s a sad irony that the increase in fatalities comes as countless municipalities have committed to Vision Zero – a plan to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries.

While the ethos behind Vision Zero is commendable, the vision itself is only as good as the actions taken to support it. The commitment from elected officials needs to be more than just lip service or nothing will get better – in fact, it will just get worse. The first step is prioritising safer space on our streets.

https://www.citymetric.com/transport/netherlands-cleared-cars-its-cities-why-can-t-london-or-new-york-4737

Mayor Announces Boston’s Zero Waste Plan

Mayor Martin Walsh of the City of Boston on June 18 made an announcement regarding the first-ever zero-waste plan of the city. The proposals include plans, both near and long-term, that aims to reduce how the city consumes natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions. The plan will involve crucial parts such as the development of the composting program of Boston, which will increase access to different recycling opportunities, as well as get a recycling education campaign going across the city.

https://ecourbanhub.com/bostons-zero-waste-plan/

2020 Washington DC – Urban Affairs Association Conference

The Urban Affairs Association (UAA), the international, interdisciplinary professional organization for urban scholars, researchers, and public service professionals will be hosting its 50th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. from April 2-4, 2020.

We are currently accepting proposals for individual papers, paper panels, colloquy sessions, posters, and roundtable discussions to stimulate thinking and re-thinking of urban affairs, and to widen intellectual and professional networks. UAA considers abstract/session proposal submissions from a wide array of topic categories with all abstracts and proposals due October 1, 2019 (11:59pm CDT).

https://urbanaffairsassociation.org/conference/

Last call for Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award

UNEP/MAP is pleased to inform you that the deadline for the submission of applications for the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award has been extended until 18 September 2019. We encourage a broad participation from Mediterranean coastal cities and towns.

Funded by the Government of Turkey, the Istanbul Environment Friendly City Award was created in the framework of the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) to recognize efforts of local authorities in promoting sustainable development in Mediterranean coastal cities.

https://www.uclg.org/en/media/events/last-call-istanbul-environment-friendly-city-award-deadline-extended

What Cities Can Learn From Burning Man

The plaza was too big. That was Victoria Mitchell’s thought two years ago as she surveyed a neighborhood in the city where she works as a planning manager and associate director of operations.

A few years earlier, the city had created the plaza in an effort to breathe new life into an underdeveloped part of town. But residents weren’t making use of it in the way the planners had hoped. “I went to the plaza and sat as a fly on the wall,” Mitchell recalls. “I watched how fast people were moving through the space.” The plaza was lined with lots of fun places to grab a drink or a bite to eat, or meet up to socialize with friends, but “everyone just kept zooming by.”

Oh well, she figured. Next year they’d redraw the city with smaller plazas.

https://www.governing.com/topics/urban/gov-burning-man.html

Mobility prominent in new compendium of best practices on smart tourism

Capital of Smart Tourism Compendium of Best Practices.

The practices have been divided between the individual award categories, which were accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation, cultural heritage and creativity.

The purpose of this collection of best practices is to raise awareness about existing smart tourism measures and to strengthen peer-to-peer learning and innovative development of tourism in the EU.

http://smarttourismcapital.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Compendium_2019_FINAL.pdf

Upcoming Polis Working Group meetings in 2019

Polis activities cover a wide range of areas which are structured into thematic pillars and delivered through Working Groups (WG). The working groups are open only to Polis members. However, external experts may be invited to attend as well. Here you can find the Polis Working Group meetings as of September 2019.

https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/2039/45/Upcoming-Polis-Working-Group-meetings-in-2019

Call for Candidate Cities to host the next UCLG Culture Summit 2021

Since the founding Congress of Paris, culture has been at the heart of UCLG's policy agenda.

Since 2015, UCLG has convened three editions of the UCLG Culture Summit, which were respectively hosted by the City of Bilbao (Basque Country, Spain, March 2015), the Jeju Self-Governing Special Province (Jeju-do, Republic of Korea, May 2017), and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (Argentina, April 2019). Following the success of the three first Culture Summit of UCLG, and considering the growing importance of culture in the framework of sustainable cities, the Executive Bureau of UCLG has decided to convene a fourth UCLG Culture Summit in 2021.

https://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/call-candidate-cities-host-next-uclg-culture-summit-2021

Launch of brand new EcoMobility website

ICLEI Sustainable Mobility team’s website ecomobility.org has been completely redesigned and upgraded. We’ve redesigned our user experience and content to make the latest information more available to our users. The new website is also fully mobile-adaptive.

Our new website provides a clear message of who we are, what we stand for and where our value lies when developing and delivering our ecomobility projects.

We’ve introduced a range of new content to the website, including our program areas, initiatives and projects, our impact featuring a detailed virtual map that walk users through our available data.

http://ecomobility.org/

Call to towns and regions for the integration of migrants

“Take part in the ‘Towns and regions for integration' initiative", stated the President of the Committee of the Regions during a seminar organised with CEMR on this topic. To date, the initiative counts more than 100 local and regional governments. It constitutes a political forum to develop and promote EU policies and funding to help with migrant integration, as well as to exchange best practices on the topic.

https://www.ccre.org/en/actualites/view/3907

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Further archived news available on request from: Kate More