NewsDec19

Ten years ahead of the SDGs global deadline, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) invites you to its congress with the motto: “Local action. Global shift. Living the Sustainable Development Goals.”

One of a kind, the CEMR2020 congress brings together the whole SDG family in one place: mayors, local and regional leaders from across Europe, as well as other passionate people who drive change towards a more sustainable future in every city, town and region.

Will you take the lead and trigger global shift through local action? Join us, from 6 to 8 May 2020, in the beautiful city of Innsbruck, a city that embodies sustainable development!

https://www.cemr2020.at/en/information/index/1-0.html

EUROCITIES Awards 2019 presented for excellence

The winners were awarded in three permanent categories – cooperation, innovation and participation - linked to this year’s theme, ‘cities at a crossroads’. This reflects the new political landscape at EU level, as well as the changing landscapes in our own cities. How can we retain genuine urban life within the historic cores of modern European cities, and how can we bring back city life and find new purpose for old municipal or industrial sites that no longer serve their original purposes?

http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/EUROCITIES-Awards-2019-presented-for-excellence-WSPO-BJ6DU4

Cincinnati’s Bid to Make Renting More Affordable

Recent surveys have shown that 58 percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in savings. While this has obvious consequences for their ability to cope with emergencies or plan for retirement, it also has implications for housing. Without savings for a down payment, homeownership has dropped to the lowest rate in half a century, and is particularly bad for millennials, most of whom will remain renters for the foreseeable future.

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2019/11/renters-choice-cincinnati/602473/

Urban profiling provides insight for crisis response

As the rate of urbanization accelerates worldwide, cities tend to become increasingly susceptible to disaster risk. The rapid population growth of urban settlements is often associated with an increase in poor planning and construction, resulting in high-risk built environments such as informal settlements. Crisis situations such as conflict or severe environmental degradation often lead to mass migration which can further amplify urban disaster risk when authorities have not properly planned for new refugee or migrant populations.

https://unhabitat.org/story-urban-profiling

Outcomes from EUROCITIES Annual Conference 2019

“It’s incredible to witness how all cities across Europe are transforming, every day”, remarked Anna Lisa Boni, EUROCITIES secretary general, in her opening remarks to 400 urban experts gathered in Prague for the EUROCITIES Annual Conference 2019.

Focussed on ‘cities at a crossroads’, the conference reflected on the new political landscape at EU level, as well as the changing landscapes in our own cities. How can we retain genuine urban life within the historic cores of modern European cities, and how can we bring back city life and find new purpose for old municipal or industrial sites that no longer serve their original purposes?

http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/Cities-at-a-crossroads-outcomes-from-EUROCITIES-Annual-Conference-2019-WSPO-BJ6NDU

Nature for Cities workshop

The workshop will be composed of 3 sessions:

Nature4Cities: a knowledge and decision platform for renaturing cities - The project team will present what they have learnt from 3 years of collaborative work on Nature-Based Solutions.

Interactive demo-workshop on Nature4Cities tools and solutions - Contribute to design a platform in line with your needs!

Posters forum: A special opportunity to discuss with the project team

https://www.nature4cities.eu/

How interactive is your city?

The Interactive Cities Lab in Lisbon saw the participation of some of the Interactive Cities Network partners, as well as people interested in the IC project. The session was dedicated specifically to present the project activities and results, as well as the URBACT methodology developed and the positive outputs achieved.

https://www.blog.urbact.eu/2018/11/how-interactive-is-your-city/

Key ingredients for a smart urban district

Smart city expert Ali Vasallo Belver shares the lesson learnt from an innovative integrated retrofitting strategy across Europe

As awareness grows about the need to live more sustainably, policy action towards "greening" our towns and cities is also more intense. Buildings for example consume up to 40% of all the energy used in the EU, so a lot is at stake. However, energy efficiency measures need to be integrated into "the bigger picture" of the urban environment, which includes ICT, mobility, citizen engagement and governance.

http://www.cityfied.eu/news/articlesinterviews/key-ingredients-for-a-smart-urban-district.kl

New initiative for 2020 Shared Mobility Summit

Together, we can Create a New Climate of Mobility and Equity.

We are bringing together public and private sectors, transportation leaders, community activists, city planners, nonprofits, scientists, and startups to develop innovative, mobility solutions that work for all. We ask you to share the news about our summit in your networks, on your calendars and websites, and in your publications.

https://summit.sharedusemobilitycenter.org/

Record numbers for Polis conference

A record number of participants will attend the 2019 edition of the Annual Polis Conference, taking place in Brussels on 27-28 November. Over 600 urban mobility practitioners and experts signed up to attend one of Europe's leading events on transport innovation in cities and regions.

https://www.polisnetwork.eu/news/polis-conference-2019-to-welcome-record-number-of-participants/

Why FOMO Is the Enemy of Good Urban Mobility Policy

Fear of Missing Out does not make good transportation policy. Sometimes a new bus shelter is a better investment than flashy new technology.

https://www.citylab.com/perspective/2019/06/city-transportation-policy-mobility-plan-sustainability-tech/591745/

Innovating in Urban Security

Why should we innovate in urban security? What, indeed, is innovation and how does Efus view it? How can we support it? These are the topics that are being covered in Efus’ working group on Innovation & Security. It was established in the wake of the Medi@4sec project on the use of information technologies, and held a session on the occasion of Efus’ General Assembly meeting in Augsburg (Germany), in June. Paul Ekblom, visiting professor at the Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science, University College London, gave an overview of the field, which he summarised here.

https://efus.eu/en/topics/activity/18023/

Final conference of the Solidify project

The Solidify project's final conference will be held on 5 and 6 December in Lisbon (PT). It will gather elected officials, security and health practitioners, representatives of national and international organisations and of NGOs and civil society who will exchange on local policies against drugs, the specific role of Supervised Drug Consumption Facilities (SDCFs) in this respect and the political challenges they pose.

https://efus.eu/en/topics/activity/17444/

Watch the Autonomy & the Urban Mobility Summit 2019 Aftermovie!

Whether you were unable to attend the worlds largest event dedicted to urban mobility or you simply want to relive the magic, check out the Autonomy & The Urban Mobility Summit 2019 Aftermovie now! Plus, don't forget to mark your calendars for next year's edition to be held in Paris on 4 - 5 November 2020!

https://urbanmobilitydaily.com/autonomy-the-urban-mobility-summit-2019-aftermovie/

A tale of two scooter cities

Spending a weekend in the city center last month the craze was impossible to miss. Scooters parked in clusters vying for pay-to-play time. Sometimes lined up tidily. All too often not.

The bright Lime rides really stood out, though it’s not the only brand in town. Scooter startups have been quick to hop on the international expansion bandwagon as they gun for growth.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/11/a-tale-of-two-scooter-cities/

Can cities become smart without being sustainable?

This article explores whether smart city policy and sustainability outcomes are intertwined, through a systematic literature review. The review highlights limitations of smart cities to achieve sustainability and reveals that cities cannot be truly smart without being sustainable first. Overall, authors advocate the sustainable and knowledge-based development of smart cities and emphasize on the need for a post-anthropocentric urban turnaround for sustainability.

https://www.urenio.org/2019/11/20/can-cities-become-smart-without-being-sustainable/

Building Climate Resilience into Infrastructure

The undeniable reality of climate change has forced planners of infrastructure projects to design for increased temperatures, wind and water in the near future and farther on. This forum presents speakers grappling with how to incorporate climate resilience into planning, financing and maintaining infrastructure systems.

Keynote Speaker Jesse Keenan is a social scientist and a member of the faculty at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. Professor Keenan has written, consulted and spoken widely on climate adaptation as it affects the built environment. His remarks will frame the morning’s program by providing a compelling overview of the methodologies and criteria under development in the public and private sectors about how to evaluate public and private investments under the name of resiliency and adaptation.

Join us for this EBC/UMass Boston Climate Adaptation Forum to learn about how climate change is impacting infrastructure November 22nd!

https://climateadaptationforum.org/event/building-climate-resilience-into-infrastructure/

Smart City Expo Atlanta Announces 2020 Dates

Smart City Expo Atlanta convenes the world’s leading government officials, CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, venture capitalists, and innovators to build inclusive and prosperous 21st century communities.

We are redefining what it means for a city to be “smart” with equity, prosperity, humanity, inclusion, and justice serving on par with blockchain, A.I., IoT, big data, and automation.

https://smartcityexpoatlanta.com/

How Green Banks Help Cities Transition to Clean Energy

Over one hundred global cities already get the majority of their electricity from renewable sources, with more than forty cities powered fully by renewable energy. Nineteen cities have announced their pledge that all buildings, old and new, will meet net-zero carbon standards by 2050.

However, despite this progress, fossil fuels have the same market share of the global energy system today that they had thirty years ago. As some cities, countries, and economic sectors have decarbonized, others have risen up to take their place. The pace of investment, and ultimately, the pace of change, must increase if we are to gain ground on fossil fuels.

https://meetingoftheminds.org/how-green-banks-help-cities-transition-to-clean-energy-32439

Co-creating Inclusive Green Cities

“Co-creation” has garnered much buzz as a promising enabler of greener and better cities for all. During a hands-on session (“Co-creating inclusive green cities: European examples and global learning opportunities”) at the Nature of Cities Summit in Paris (June 4-7, 2019) with co-creation experts and cities—co-organised by Connecting Nature partners Alice Reil (ICLEI Europe) and Katharina Hölscher (DRIFT)—local policymakers, scientists, practitioners and civil society representatives jointly learned about why and how to co-create nature-based interventions in cities. Co-creation was unanimously embraced as an opportunity for designing more innovative, inclusive and multifunctional nature-based interventions as well as boosting community capacities and empowerment. However, co-creation is no panacea, and different contexts pose different challenges, including cultural issues like criminality, ethnicity and gender.

https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2019/10/16/co-creating-inclusive-green-cities-european-examples-and-global-learning-opportunities/

Meeting of the Minds - early registration closing

Each year, 425+ urban practitioners convene at the Meeting of the Minds Annual Summit to showcase recent successes and to discuss the ongoing challenges facing the future of smart and sustainable cities. What sets this event apart from others is the inimitable list of speakers and attendees — city leaders, innovators, providers, and practitioners from across sectors and silos who meet at this unique event to share best practices, lessons learned, and new solutions for a sustainable urban future.

Early registration closes 22 November

https://events.meetingoftheminds.org/motm2020

2nd International Conference on Mobility as a Service

The second International Conference on Mobility as a Service (ICoMaaS) aims to further increase our knowledge on the preconditions of MaaS, experiences from trials and commercial services, and the effects of MaaS, in particular on climate change, travel behaviour and transport poverty. The purpose of the conference is to build bridges between government, research and business and to identify knowledge gaps requiring further research.

http://www.tut.fi/verne/icomaas/

Poland plans tax on congestion caused by superstores

Poland is planning to introduce a “congestion tax” on large superstores such as supermarkets, furniture shops, and other large-scale retail stores. With this tax, the Polish government wants to hold these superstores responsible for the increase in traffic volumes and congestion in their proximity. Jadwiga Emilewicz, the Polish Minister for entrepreneurship and technology, stated that “increased congestion results in higher costs to answer to insufficient transport infrastructure”. Using an algorithm, the shares of stores on increase congestion would be calculated and attributed.

https://www.eltis.org/in-brief/news/poland-plans-tax-congestion-caused-superstores

The Era of Car-Clogged City Streets Is Over

As cities become denser, the old rationale of designing them around automobiles must give way to a new use of streets that includes walking and micro-mobile solutions. The result: greater efficiency, equity and safety.

https://www.governing.com/news/headlines/The-Era-of-Car-Clogged-City-Streets-Is-Over-Contributed.html

Final Urban Lunch Talks of 2019

The Urban Lunch Talks makes cross-cutting research and innovation in urban transitions useful and usable for extended stakeholders and localities. With a particular focus on success stories and cutting-edge knowledges, the Urban Lunch Talks is an easily accessible and interactive space for knowledge exchange, networking and capacity building. Tune in and enjoy the talk through chat, polls and Q&As. What do you want to talk about?

https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/urban-lunch-talks-a-webinar-series/

Upcoming SGN Webinar: Perfect City

How do we maintain a vigorous urban economy? Develop necessary transit systems in real time? Practically address affordable housing? Moderate seemingly ever-widening income gaps? What kind of a machine, really, is a city? And how can planners create answers to the questions these issues pose?

Join the Smart Growth Network for the December 4 webinar.

http://smartgrowth.org/perfect-city-lessons-challenges-and-pitfalls-of-the-worlds-greatest-cities/

Support grows for road safety city declaration

The urge for sound and effective action for traffic safety is gaining momentum in European cities. Local authorities are showing their commitment for safer city streets by signing “The New Paradigm for Safe City Streets”, a city-declaration developed by Polis and EUROCITIES.

With this declaration on road safety, local and regional authorities recognise their key role in building safe systems. “We hope it will inspire many more cities across Europe and beyond to not only promote walking and cycling but to also invest in making these modes safe”, said Polis Secretary General Karen Vancluysen.

https://www.polisnetwork.eu/news/support-grows-for-road-safety-city-declaration/

How Advertising Conquered Urban Space

In cities around the world, advertising is everywhere. We may try to shut it out, but it reflects who we are (or want to be) and connects us to the urban past.

https://www.citylab.com/design/2019/11/ads-city-billboards-neon-signs-design-branding-history/601393/

Urban Future Global Conference - early registration

The URBAN FUTURE Global Conference gathers CityChangers from all over the world – passionate people who drive change towards more sustainable cities.
Early bird tickets are available until January 14, 2020
http://www.urban-future.org/

RISE Africa 2020

RISE Africa aims to inspire and connect diverse stakeholders to accelerate action for more sustainable African cities.
The first RISE Africa event will be held at the Century City Conference Centre, located 11km outside Cape Town CBD in Century City Square. This mixed-use precinct showcases green buildings, public transport, waterways and indigenous vegetation, and has been awarded a 4-star rating by the Green Building Council of South Africa. With a variety of hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and bars in safe walking distance, the location provides the perfect opportunity for networking between scheduled events, guaranteeing that attendees will leave inspired and re-energised to play their part in a better African future.
https://riseafrica.iclei.org/

The Future of Bike Share

Electric bikes (e-bikes) will transform urban and suburban transportation. With a little bit of pedaling, you get up to 20 mph. These mobility marvels come with a hefty price tag to purchase outright. But dockless electric bike share is rolling across the country at price points comparable to standard pedal bikes.
https://urbanmobilitydaily.com/the-future-of-bike-share/

Can the Paris Metro Make Room for More Riders?

The good news: Transit ridership is booming in the French capital. But severe crowding now has authorities searching for short-term solutions.
After five years of unprecedented passenger growth, the Paris Metro system is now perilously close to full. According to data from transit authority RATP released this week by newspaper Le Parisien, the French capital’s subway saw its annual ridership leap between 2013 and 2018. Rising from 1.76 billion to 1.84 billion trips annually over the period, the system is now hosting a remarkable 217,837 extra trips every day compared to 2013.
https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/11/paris-metro-transit-ridership-congestion-mobility-hidalgo/601903/

Addressing Informality in Cities - UCLG CONGRESS

The overarching objective of this policy paper is to provide recommendations to national and local governments on how to address informality in cities. The policy paper focuses on the two main features of urban informality; the informal settlements and the informal sector.

https://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/addressing-informality-cities-uclg-congress-town-hall-track

Cities and Citizens Energy Forum – Save the date

If you are seeking to rethink the boundaries of our actions, or dreaming of a place to make your work visible and find new partners, the first Cities and Citizens Energy Forum is for you.

We want our annual conference to be more than 3 days of pleasant social gathering: the Forum should drive debates and provide inspiration to the participants and the hosting city. We want to be challenged by the local community!

https://energy-cities.eu/cities-and-citizens-energy-forum-save-the-date/

Climate Emergency, Urban Opportunity

How national governments can secure economic prosperity and avert

climate catastrophe by transforming cities is a flagship global report from the Coalition for Urban Transitions. The report

is underpinned by a three-year research effort by a coalition of 50 of the world’s foremost research institutes, networks

of national and city governments, investors, infrastructure providers, strategic advisory companies, non-governmental

organisations and social movements.

https://urbantransitions.global/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Climate-Emergency-Urban-Opportunity-Briefing-for-mayors.pdf

How cities can accompany consumer change practices

Who hasn't tried to get rid of old habits, whether in relation to the way we eat, sleep, interact with each other, work, travel, or do sports? Who hasn't ever faced the difficulty of moving away from anchored routines to newly adopted ones? Who has ever struggled to unravel the complexity of the psychological but also social, technological and infrastructure-related mechanisms that make it difficult to transition?

https://urbact.eu/cities-accompany-consumer-change

European energy transition conference

From 28 to 30 January, the 21st edition of the European Energy Transition Conference – the annual appointment for the local and regional players committed to energy transition and adaptation to climate change – will be held in Bordeaux.

https://www.assises-energie.net/en/

Metropolis Canada Conference

The Metropolis Canada Conference on immigration aims to facilitate dialogue and exchange between researchers, government, and non-government (community and private) sector partners. Join over 700 researchers, policy-makers and community practitioners from across Canada for research, practice and networking. The call for proposals is now open!

https://metropolisconference.ca/en/event/winnipeg-metropolis-conference/?view=Information

Horizon 2020 City Mission - Climate-neutral and smart cities

Details are emerging of the EU's next research and innovation funding programme, which will replace Horizon 2020 from 2021.

The Commission's proposal for Horizon Europe is an ambitious €100 billion research and innovation programme. Part of the programme will include research and innovation 'missions', which aim to increase the effectiveness of funding by addressing clearly defined targets. Each mission will have a dedicated mission board composed of 15 members and assembly, which will help to specify, design and implement their respective mission.

https://www.eltis.org/in-brief/news/horizon-2020-city-mission-climate-neutral-and-smart-cities

Should we ban SUVs from our cities?

Statistically less safe than regular cars and with higher CO2 emissions, campaigners argue the heavily-marketed cars have no place in urban areas

Some campaign groups believe regulators should force car manufacturers to produce and sell zero-emission and suitably sized vehicles.

“SUV insanity” shouted the front page of German business newspaper Handelsblatt earlier this month, showcasing a weekend special questioning the aggressive marketing by carmakers of highly profitable 4x4 vehicles.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/oct/07/a-deadly-problem-should-we-ban-suvs-from-our-cities

Webinar on culture as a rocket fuel for urban regeneration!

Through the EU-funded ROCK project, EUROCITIES and Julie’s Bicycle invite you to a webinar - 'Culture as a rocket fuel for urban regeneration: a critical look' - on 22 November. The webinar will explore how culture is being used as a development strategy in many European cities, particularly those hit hard by deindustrialisation, and how culture policy can contribute to more just, sustainable and healthy cities.

http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/Join-our-webinar-on-culture-as-a-rocket-fuel-for-urban-regeneration-WSPO-BHGKHQ

Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicators eCourse

The Sustainable Urban Mobility Indicators (SUMI) project invites you to save the date for the launch of its online indicator training course!

The course is aimed at representatives of urban areas that want to measure and track the performance of sustainable mobility and mobility professionals that would like to better understand the collection of urban mobility data.

http://www.civitas.eu/event/sustainable-urban-mobility-indicators-ecourse

Barriers and drivers to urban climate change actions

Recent studies suggest the setting of climate targets can be an important driver of policy action. Yet, we still know too little about the ways in which cities move from identifying problems to setting of climate targets and implementation of climate actions.

https://www.eumayors.eu//news-and-events/news-and-events/news/1725-barriers-and-drivers-to-urban-climate-change-actions-take-part-in-a-research-study.html

Geo-powering resilient cities

Over the last decade, an urban data revolution has taken shape, as cities all over the world started mobilizing geospatial data to address complex urban challenges. In the face of large financing gaps, geospatial intelligence can help cities prioritize investments for more resilient and sustainable growth.

http://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/geo-powering-resilient-cities-indonesia

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/

CEMR seeks conference & congress hosts

We are looking for towns or cities to host our next conference and congress

We invite European local and/or regional governments, in cooperation with their national association or CEMR section, to submit applications to host the following two events:

Our next conference on “Citizens’ Engagement in Local Public Life” to be held in 2022

our next European congress to be held in 2024.

You may apply to host either or both of these events.

https://www.ccre.org/en/actualites/view/3942

How Cities Are Bringing 911 Into the 21st Century

An ambulance’s wailing sirens, a fire truck’s flashing lights: These are a constant feature of urban life, as ubiquitous as a Starbucks on every corner or a traffic jam at 5 p.m.

But nearly a third of the times an ambulance or a fire truck speeds by to answer a 911 call, there is no actual emergency. The number of 911 callers who don’t need to go to a hospital emergency department sits at around 30 percent, according to Kevin McGinnis of the National Association of State EMS Officials.

https://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-911-systems.html

Toronto Smart City Development to be Scaled Back

The new Quayside smart city being developed in Toronto by Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Alphabet, is probably the most talked about smart city project currently in development. Last week, a decision was made to significantly scale back the project.

https://www.urenio.org/2019/11/08/toronto-smart-city-development-to-be-scaled-back/

Webinar: Municipal leadership on Immigrant Attraction and Retention

December 4: Small and mid-sized cities across Canada and the U.S. are investing in immigration as a strategy to unlock their community's future.
Join us online to learn how municipal leaders in Moncton (Atlantic Canada) and Anchorage (Alaska, U.S.A.) are mapping out new strategies for inclusive community growth. Register here

http://citiesofmigration.ca/webinar/webinar-a-roadmap-to-regional-prosperity-municipal-leadership-on-immigrant-attraction-and-retention/

2019 Annual Polis Conference

The Polis Annual Conference provides an opportunity for cities and regions to showcase their transport achievements to a large audience of mobility experts, practitioners and decision makers.
It is also an opportunity for the wider transport community to engage with representatives of city and regional authorities on innovative transport solutions. The 2019 Annual Polis conference will take in Brussels on 27 and 28 November.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/2019-annual-polis-conference/

'Smart pods' blaze a trail for autonomous public transport

The NEXT Future Transportation module is a far cry from the sleek visions of self-driving cars designed by Tesla or Mercedes.
With an average cruising speed of 20 kilometers per hour, the electric pods are unlikely to set pulses racing.
But perhaps the most crucial distinction is that this self-driving vehicle is passenger ready.
Following trials in 2018, several NEXT units are expected to be in action at the Expo 2020 site in Dubai, providing short-distance rides for some of the estimated 25 million visitors attending the six-month world fair.
https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/dubai-autonomous-public-transport/index.html

LA Asks Residents to Design Their Own Parks

Land trusts have gained attention across the U.S. as a means to preserve affordable housing, but the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT) has a different focus: it hones in on access to parks and gardens. Yet parks can also be drivers of gentrification, and so Los Angeles County officials and green-space activists — including LANLT — have been conducting outreach to ensure that some of the county’s most vulnerable residents have a say in how parks are developed and renovated.
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/los-angeles-asks-residents-to-design-their-own-parks

Steven Higashide on "Better Buses, Better Cities"

Join Next City for our webinar with guest presenter Steven Higashide, who will discuss his new book “Better Buses, Better Cities: How to Plan, Run, and Win the Fight for Effective Transit,” on Wednesday, November 20 at 1 p.m. Eastern time.
https://nextcity.org/events/rsvp/steven-higashide-on-better-buses-better-cities

Highlights from the EUROCITIES culture forum

100 representatives from 57 cities met in Leeds, United Kingdom, on 9-11 October 2019. Discussions focused on how cities celebrate diversity through innovative cultural partnerships.
http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/Highlights-from-the-EUROCITIES-culture-forum-in-Leeds-WSPO-BHDF8U

UCLG World Cities Day Statement

UCLG Celebrates World Cities Day by reminding that transformation that will need to be brought about in our development model will only be possible if it responds to the dreams and expectations of the communities and if collective responsibility is taken to adjust and make sacrifices on a fair, equal and sustainable basis.
https://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/uclg-world-cities-day-statement-innovations-and-better-life-future-generations

Green streets: which city has the most trees?

Urban trees offer huge benefits for climate regulation and personal wellbeing – and cities from Tampa to Frankfurt are intent on boosting their numbers
The Florida city of Tampa claims a number of firsts: the world’s largest pirate festival; America’s longest continuous sidewalk (at 4.5 miles); and Babe Ruth’s longest ever home run (587 feet).
And now the city has another accolade to its name – it’s a world leader for trees. According to calculations by the Senseable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), more than one third (36.1%) of the city is given over to tree cover.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/nov/05/green-streets-which-city-has-the-most-trees

57th IMCL Conference - Call for Papers

From Sprawl to Neighborhoods: Livable Cities (and Suburbs) for ALL

June 2-6, 2020

Our 2020 conference will take place in the livability success story of Carmel, Indiana - a fascinating showcase of transformation from a sprawling bedroom suburb of Indianapolis into a thriving, successful community. We'll share concrete examples of what has worked in this and other suburbs, where such a high percentage of the population now lives - either by choice, by plan, or too often because they have been unwillingly displaced from gentrifying city cores. We'll examine tools and strategies that are effective in building a new generation of walkable, equitable, livable cities - AND suburbs - for all!

https://www.livablecities.org/conferences/57th-conference-carmel

INTA43 rescheduled to January 2020

Due to adverse circumstances INTA43 World congress is postponed to the second half of january 2020.

https://inta-aivn.org/en/news/inta-news/2902-inta-43-postponned-to-january-2020

London’s ULEZ cuts NO2 pollution by a third

Since its introduction in April 2019, London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has cut nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution by a third. Quarterly averages from roadside monitors in the UK capital show that levels have fallen by 36% in six months, from 89µg/m3 (January to March) to 57 µg/m3 (July to September).

https://www.eltis.org/in-brief/news/londons-ulez-cuts-no2-pollution-third

The US city preparing itself for the collapse of capitalism

From a festival that helps artists trade work for healthcare to a regional micro-currency, Kingston is trying to build an inclusive and self-sufficient local ecosystem

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/oct/31/us-city-preparing-itself-for-the-collapse-of-capitalism

Save the date for Urban Transitions 2020

Urban Transitions 2020 aims to promote healthy urban development by bringing together different disciplines working within cities to discuss current challenges and solutions.

Keynote talks and workshops will be supplemented by concurrent oral presentations and posters for which abstracts are invited by 5 June 2020:

https://www.elsevier.com/events/conferences/urban-transitions

Programme theme #DevelopmentCongress: City Water

At the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition 2019, top experts will discuss water and sanitation technologies and services in the cities of the future.

https://www.waterdevelopmentcongress.org/programme-2019-2/

UN-Habitat seeks support to address increasing waste challenges

UN-Habitat has made a call to all governments, regional and city authorities to join its Waste Wise Cities campaign.

The campaign, which was launched during World Habitat Day by Ms. Maimunah Mohd Shariff on October 1 2018, aims at supporting cities identify gaps in their treatment of rubbish as well as finding interventions that suit the needs of each city.

https://unhabitat.org/un-habitat-calls-for-wide-support-to-address-increasing-waste-challenges/

The path to sustainable urban mobility

Three trends will shape the evolution of mobility in our cities: decarbonisation, demand and digitalisation. A European Green Deal should encompass and shape these trends if we are to achieve our vision.

The cities of today face challenges of climate change, air pollution, traffic accidents, noise, accessibility and managing urban space, among others. Only through collaboration between all levels of government can we deliver solutions that meet our citizens’ expectations for a better future and provide a just transition.

http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/The-path-to-sustainable-urban-mobility-WSPO-BHLJ72

Mannheim2020: Join the Transformation!

From 30 September to 2 October, Mannheim2020 will take transformation forward!

Make sure you are part of this event!

Societal awareness of climate change, loss of biodiversity and global resource depletion is widespread today. The urgently needed transformation to address these challenges is happening too slow. It requires changing established systems, ways of thinking and behaviour.

http://conferences.sustainablecities.eu/mannheim-2020/

City street 4 - call for papers

On behalf of the Organizing Committee, we would like to cordially invite you to participate in the upcoming International Conference City Street 4 (CS4) to be held at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture (UL FA), in Ljubljana, Slovenia, between 23-26 September 2020.

City Street4: Streets for 2030: Proposing streets for integrated, and universal mobility

Detailed information about the Conference can be found at:

http://www.ndu.edu.lb/city-street-4/home

The Conference is organized by University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture (UL FA) , Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (UI RS) and Notre Dame University - Louaize, Ramez Chagoury Faculty of Archi¬tecture, Art and Design (NDU FAAD).

Authors are invited to submit abstracts no later than 17 December 2019. You can start the process by registering in the webpage of Registration and Submission

https://cs4.uirs.si/

Co-creating Positive Energy Cities

ISOCARP Institute contributes to the EU-funded project +CityxChange aimed at enabling the co-creation of Positive Energy Blocks and Districts in seven European cities by developing tools to enable a common energy market and recommendations for new policy intervention, market (de-)regulation and business models that deliver positive energy communities, integrating e-Mobility as a Service (eMaaS), and fostering active citizen engagement.

https://mailchi.mp/c8c0d766b853/cityxchange-newsletter-august-294513

LOUD organises focus groups in nine partner cities

The Efus-led LOUD project (Local Young Leaders for Inclusion) organised in September a series of focus groups with representatives of the nine partner cities*, their local partners and the project’s experts with the aim of assessing local needs and preparing campaigns against intolerance and extremism.

http://efus-network.eu/efus/en/topics/activity/17919/

Highlights from UNECE Sustainable Cities Week

We would like to thank all those of you who attended the Sustainable Cities Week 2019 and the Eightieth session of the Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management!

Presentations, documents and the unedited version of the report of the Committee session (as adopted in session on 4 October) are available at

https://www.unece.org/housing/committee80thsession.html

Call for papers #WorldWaterCongress & Exhibition 2020

We are looking forward to receiving your papers, workshop and training submissions for the upcoming IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition. The deadline for submissions is the 30th October 2019.

https://worldwatercongress.org/programme/

Launch of EU Urban Mobility Package Consultation

In 2013, the European Commission put forward the Urban Mobility Package which supports the mission of enhancing urban mobility while reducing congestion, accidents and pollution. To achieve these goals, proposals for relevant action at local, Member State and EU level were outlined.

Since its inception, several developments have had both direct and indirect impacts on urban mobility. This has necessitated an evaluation of the original framework of the Urban Mobility Package to determine the suitability for post-2020 challenges. Therefore, the European Commission has released a public online consultation to gain feedback from relevant stakeholders.

https://www.eltis.org/discover/news/launch-eu-urban-mobility-package-consultation

How US Cities Are Reinventing Their Train Depots

Get them talking, and you’ll quickly learn that train buffs and history buffs alike still haven’t recovered from the demolition — 56 years ago this week — of the original Pennsylvania Station’s great hall in New York City. Even as the wrecking balls did their work on the marvelous stone landmark and its soaring glass-roofed atrium, critics were already inconsolable: The New York Times that month called the affair a “monumental act of vandalism against one of the largest and finest landmarks of its age.”

https://commercialobserver.com/2019/10/back-on-track-train-depots/

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Further archived news available on request from: Kate More