NewsDecember2017

As the world becomes more urbanized, better budgeting has become a key concern for city leaders everywhere. Unlocking the public value of poorly utilized real estate, for example, or monetizing transportation and utility assets, could and should become core urban strategies.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/city-planning-urban-wealth-funds-by-dag-detter-2017-11

Are Hydrogen Vehicles the next Big Thing?

You may not see a lot of hydrogen vehicles around town, but by 2050 they could be the most popular way of moving around. Good news for the planet since green hydrogen is produced with renewable energy sources. How does hydrogen power a car? Why are hydrogen vehicles having a hard time taking off? What are their advantages compared to electric vehicles? And what challenges remain? Here are the questions we’ll be answering in this post dedicated to the new generation fuel.
http://blogurbanmobility.com/are-hydrogen-vehicles-the-next-big-thing/

Challenges for the Interoperability in public transport fare collection in LATAM

The 16th and the 17th of November 2017, Calypso Networks Association held in Bogota a successful 2 days of seminar dedicated to Ticketing, focused on Interoperability challenges and perspective in the LATAM region.
Reserved to Transport operators and local authorities, around 50 attendees coming from Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Equator participated to this event co-organized with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, GSD+ and CNA.
With a strong focus on interoperability, CNA emphasized very much the importance of standards, certification and the open supply eco system. The presentation of the Lisbon case study highlighted in a practical way the implementation of these focus points.
In addition the latest evolutions of Calypso in terms of Open Source approach and the white book on ABT have been presented as well as the innovative services such as the Calypso Applet and Hoplink.
https://www.calypsonet-asso.org/node/325

COP23 Final Report from a Transport Perspective

The 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was convened in Bonn, Germany in November 2017 to build upon the pledge of action established at COP22 Marrakech, and to emphasize the need for clear action and rapid progress toward a 1.5-degree Celsius scenario (1.5DS), the aspirational goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change. This final summary report is a culmination of a series of daily reports on COP23 by the Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT) under the Paris Process on Mobility and Climate (PPMC) to highlight implications for sustainable transport in the UNFCCC process and to emphasize opportunities for greater engagement in this process for non-Party actors, including the global transport sector.

http://www.ppmc-transport.org/cop23/

IWA WDCE 2017 - First Conclusions

Over four days the Water and Development Congress & Exhibition has brought together 3,072 professionals from 82 countries of the global water community. New ideas were discussed and shared, new collaborations fostered, and new solutions to some of the greatest water, wastewater and sanitation challenges were identified.
http://docs.iwa-exhibitions.com/documents/2017/11/iwa-wdce-2017-first-conclusions.pdf

Global Mobility Report: First report on global mobility

The Global Mobility Report is the first-ever study to assess the global performance of the transport sector and the progress made toward four main objectives: universal access, efficiency, safety, and green mobility. The publication covers all modes of transport, including road, air, waterborne, and rail transport.
https://ecomobility.org/global-mobility-report-2017/

These 12 Cities Will Buy Only Electric Buses From 2025 on

The mayors of 12 major cities from around the world have taken a landmark step to increase the use of zero-emission public transportation late last month.
Mayors of London, Paris, Los Angeles, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Quito, Vancouver, Mexico City, Milan, Seattle, Auckland, and Cape Town all signed the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration, which pledges that they will add only fully electric buses to their cities' public transportation from 2025.
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1113794_these-12-cities-will-buy-only-electric-buses-from-2025-on-more-expected-to-join

Energy Cities 2018 Conference: Powering Partnerships

Save the date 18-20 April 2018!
Where are those places in Europe where policy-making and partnerships are intrinsically tied? At Energy Cities’ Annual Conference in Rennes (France) we invite you to sync up our brains around stories from cities with outstanding approaches in planning, mobility, housing, H&C, smartness in cities, participation or financing.
http://www.energy-cities.eu/Energy-Cities-2018-Conference-18-20-April-Powering-partnerships?pmv_nid=2

New Smart Cities project MatchUp to facilitate uptake of 2030 Covenant of Mayors objectives

The new MatchUp Smart Cities project will make it easier for several Covenant cities to take up the 2030 objectives of the Covenant of Mayors.
MatchUp - Maximizing the upscaling and replication potential of high-level urban transformation strategies - is a 5-year EU-funded project (October 2017 - September 2022) that aims to drive the transformation of Smart Cities in Europe, as part of the EU Smart Cities and Communities initiative. The MatchUp project seeks to facilitate this urban transformation process by leveraging innovative solutions in the field of energy, mobility and ICT areas, with the involvement of citizens.
http://www.eumayors.eu/news_en.html?id_news=877

The 25 most high-tech cities in the world

Cities are the way of the future.
In less than 35 years, the World Health Organization estimates that two-thirds of the world population will be living in urban areas. That's an additional 2.5 billion people. The cities that will flourish the most are those that rely on cutting-edge technologies and create opportunities for people to develop new ones.
To get a sense of which cities do that the best, Business Insider consulted 2thinknow, a research firm that specializes in analyzing innovative cities, to rank the most high-tech cities in the world.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-most-high-tech-cities-in-the-world-2017-8?r=UK&IR=T#1

Google Maps: Is Toronto showing the way to future city governance?

Do you ever feel that Facebook, Google and Twitter are taking over your life? Well, that may be happening for real to some Toronto citizens. In a recent deal, the city authority teamed up with Sidewalk Labs, to regenerate Quayside, part of its disused waterfront. Sidewalk Labs is a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent company. The proposed development will eventually create 306,580 square metres of residential and commercial space that will house, amongst others, Google Canada’s new HQ.
http://urbact.eu/google-maps-toronto-showing-way-future-city-governance

Cities are struggling under the strain of their own popularity

The world is becoming increasingly urbanized, as more people are choosing to live in towns and cities than ever before. The trouble is, most urban areas are unprepared to manage the influx.
Cities around the world face a looming investment crisis that makes them less livable than they should be. The maintenance of vital social and economic infrastructure, not to mention development planning, is being delayed because of a lack of cash. With local governments’ finances burdened by continuously expanding spending commitments, public resources in many cities are highly constrained.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/11/why-cities-arent-prepared-for-their-popularity

Ten Cities Win C40 Climate Action Awards

Ten cities have been recognised for their actions on climate change by C40 Cities and Bloomberg Philanthropiesduring the North American Climate Summit in Chicago.
Two winners were announced in each of the five award categories–a US city and a non-US city–to emphasise their efforts on climate change despite President Trump withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. Categories included energy, mobility, reducing waste, climate action plans and adaptation.
http://www.urbangateway.org/news/ten-cities-win-c40-climate-action-awards

Smart Cities made even smarter by new technologies

As city dwellers swell in number, reaching half the world’s population for the first time in history, the need to increase quality of life in cities is more pressing than ever. In this respect, the sudden availability of new technology comes at exactly the right time.
New technologies can make smart cities even smarter, by incorporating new solutions and capabilities such as artificial intelligence, sensor-driven analytics to solve pressing challenges that cities face, easing traffic, boosting economic growth, and improving access to government services for all residents.
http://www.urenio.org/2017/12/01/smart-cities-made-even-smarter-new-technologies/

Final event of the project “Just and Safer Cities for All”

Discriminatory violence workshop
Efus has organised the final event of the “Just & Safer Cities for All” project. Representing local and national authorities, civil society organisations, polices forces and citizens, around 90 participants Coming from 14 different European Countries took part in this workshop on discriminatory violence. This event was embraced by the three days Efus International Conference “Security, Democracy & Cities: Coproducing Urban Security Policies”, which took place at the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona (DHUB).
https://efus.eu/en/topics/risks-forms-of-crime/hate-crime/public/14434/

Cities can now measure tranquility, on a scale of 1-10

When you think about somewhere that is tranquil, what do you imagine? Whether it’s a wide open meadow, a deserted beach, or a river as it lazily flows along on a warm summer’s afternoon, research shows tranquillity is mainly found in natural outdoor environments.
These tend to be places where man-made noise is at a low level, but where natural sounds – such as bird song – can be relatively high. Such studies have also shown a link between these types of environments and levels of relaxation, stress reduction and even longevity and pain relief.
http://www.citymetric.com/fabric/cities-can-now-measure-tranquility-scale-1-10-3278

All about the EcoMobility World Festival in October 2017

The EcoMobility World Festival 2017 celebrated its closing on October 31. The one-month event attracted more than 300,000 people to visit Hamasen neighborhood to experience the ecomobility lifestyle. Kaohsiung showcased the possibility of cleaner ways of mobility within the city, the EcoMobility World Congress discussed solutions to urban mobility challenges worldwide, and The Kaohsiung Strategies for the Future of Urban Mobility were presented and brought to COP23. Since 2015, when Kaohsiung won the bid to host the EcoMobility World Festival in 2017 the city has held more than 110 conferences and meetings on local communication and municipal work. On the first day of October 2017, Kaohsiung officially launched the festival and officially ended on the 31st of the same month.
https://ecomobility.org/all-about-the-ecomobility-world-festival-in-october-2017/

INTA41 WORLD CONGRESS, Malmö, Sweden, 16-17 April 2018- SAVE THE DATE!

The next annual Congress of INTA is announced! Themed Partnerships for sustainable cities and communities, it will tackle the new opportunities of partnerships among all urban stakeholders, citizens, and governments to implement the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals from the UN.
https://inta-aivn.org/en/activities/exchange/congress/inta41

6 Opportunity Areas Cities Can Pursue to Expand Shared Mobility

It’s no secret that bikesharing, carsharing, ride-hailing and other forms of shared transportation are doing well in dense urban neighborhoods, where auto ownership rates are low and incomes are relatively high. While these core areas have been instrumental to the growth of the shared mobility industry, it is important to recognize that other markets may also have the necessary qualities to support shared mobility services.
http://sharedusemobilitycenter.org/news/6-opportunity-areas-cities-can-pursue-to-expand-shared-mobility/

How should we design disability-inclusive cities?

Urbanization has been one of the most significant driving forces of recent global development, with more than half the world’s population now living in cities. And this proportion will continue to rise. Add to this, the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 11 that calls for “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” cities.
In this edition of the Sustainable Communities Blog, Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez (@Ede_WBG), Senior Director of the World Bank’s Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice, sat down with Dr. Shazia Siddiqi, Executive Director of Deaf Abused Women’s Network (DAWN), for a conversation on the disability dimension of inclusion and how we should conceive and design cities that are truly inclusive of all, including persons with disabilities.

http://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/how-should-we-design-disability-inclusive-cities

Kazan to host conference on connected and automated driving

“Modern problems of life safety: intelligent transport systems and situational centers”. This is the theme of the 2018 International Research and Practice Conference – ITS Forum, which will take place in Kazan, Russian Federation, on 27 and 28 February.
Many important stakeholders are taking part in the organisation of this event: the Scientific Center for Life safety of the Republic of Tatarstan and ERTICO – ITS Europe, with the support of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan and Rostec State Corporation.
http://erticonetwork.com/kazan-will-host-5th-international-research-practice-conference-forum/

Is urban transport disruption good or bad? Cities will decide

The public sector used to be the primary provider and contractor of local and regional transport services and data, but third parties - vehicle manufacturers, telecom companies, app developers - have entered this domain. This brought Polis to stage a debate on the question what should be the role of local authorities in the transport system of tomorrow. The session Who’ll take the chair? - The changing role of the local authority closed the Polis Annual Conference 2017.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/1553/45/Is-urban-transport-disruption-good-or-bad-Cities-will-decide

Unintended consequences of autonomous transportation

Even though full level-5 autonomy is probably some years away, autonomous vehicles are now not just a probable future but an inevitable one
We are on the threshold of a revolution in urban mobility. Three distinct streams of innovation are converging on a future that is significantly different from what any of us would have imagined possible even five years ago.
On-demand transport solutions are insinuating themselves into our lives so rapidly that car ownership is no longer the aspirational choice of the upwardly mobile urban professional. There is no longer a need to own a car when other, more convenient transport options are easily available. At the same time, the internal combustion engine, which has served us well for decades, is on its way to being permanently replaced by the electric engine.
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/9lfFd6BAVeFllic0ru3HHO/Unintended-consequences-of-autonomous-transportation.html

Cities of the Future, where Local Authorities Lead on Migration

The Global Conference on Cities and Migration was held in Mechelen, Belgium (16-17 November). Hosted by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation and the City of Mechelen, the conference was co-organized by partners UN-Habitat; IOM, the UN Migration Agency; and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The conference aimed at helping to build a more positive narrative on migration from the perspective of local and regional authorities, recognizing that people migrate mainly to cities and to reinforce the need to recognize local authorities as key actors in migration management and policy making, as reflected and embedded in the process of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM).
https://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/cities-future-where-local-authorities-lead-migration

Review: Agora Workshop on Migration/Forced Displacement

On 14 November 2017, the JPI Urban Europe hosted its first thematic Agora – Stakeholder Involvement platform workshop on “the effects of recent migration dynamics and forced displacement on urban areas in Europe” in Berlin. The workshop brought together experts to jointly discuss most pressing challenges, connect between nationally funded projects, exchange on policy recommendations and identify the research/innovation needs to inform future JPI Urban Europe actions.
http://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/news/review-agora-workshop-on-migrationforced-displacement/

Waste-to-energy plants burn bright in China’s cities

$1 billion sales in two minutes. More than 250,000 purchases every second. Singles’ Day, China’s annual retailing extravaganza, absolutely crushes Black Friday: E-commerce giant Alibaba raked in $17.8 billion in gross sales during last year’s event, more than double the combined total of $6.8 billion in sales during the United States’ 2016 holiday shopping kick-off. The shopping spree lasts only 24 hours, but its environmental impacts will extend for decades.
Couriers delivered more than a billion packages after 2016 Singles’ Day sales, and just 10 per cent of the packaging was recycled. Packing tape, bubble wrap, and plastic bags contain non-biodegradable materials that take hundreds of years to break down, and cardboard boxes covered with adhesive tape are difficult to recycle.
http://www.corporateknights.com/channels/waste/hot-times-15126228/

Smart cities might not be such a bright idea

Anjana Ahuja, Science Commentator of FT.com, comments that it is a fallacy to think that more data, by itself, can make life better. The future is not just bright but blindingly illuminated, if one buys into the buzz around “smart cities”. Bill Gates is rumoured to be building one from the ground up in Arizona, complete with autonomous vehicles. Google is giving urban planning a shot in a Toronto suburb.
Smart cities are being rolled out across the globe, particularly where populations are rising quickly, in countries such as India, China and parts of Africa. On paper at least, these urban fantasies share the same Fritz Lang aesthetic: metallic skyscrapers, pleasingly empty highways, attractive landscaping, lighting schemes to make eco-warriors weep — and very few people.
http://www.urenio.org/2017/11/24/financial-times-smart-cities-might-not-bright-idea/

How to build safe, smart cities on a budget

As cities become smarter and data becomes an even bigger driver for digitalisation, systems are working increasingly harder to develop pathways for the communication of information. Low power, wide area networks are becomming increasingly popular with smart city development, which enable partnerships that increase cost efficiencies between a number of collaborators. Open-source and open-community projects can help bridge the gap between cost and collaboration, creating well-funded smart city projects.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/2017/11/29/how-can-we-build-safe-smart-cities-on-a-budget_a_23291405/

With the right tools, we can mine cities

From 1900 to 2010, the amount of materials accumulated in buildings and infrastructure across the world increased 23-fold. We are depleting our resources at unprecedented rates. Instead of extracting dwindling raw materials from nature at ever-increasing cost, the time has come to start re-using materials from buildings and infrastructure in our cities.
https://theconversation.com/with-the-right-tools-we-can-mine-cities-87672

CEMR Bilbao 2018

Programme, speakers: the latest update on our conference in Bilbao
#metoo, migration, labour market inclusion: social challenges are increasingly urgent, complex and intertwined. This is particularly true for inequality, discrimination and exclusion. The world is changing. Why don’t we change too?
Join us in Bilbao, from 11 to 13 June 2018, on the occasion of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions’ (CEMR) conference. Discover how to build communities that value everyone.
This groundbreaking event is one of a kind in Europe. It will gather over 500 mayors, local and regional leaders, distinguished guests and experts in the fields of equality, diversity and inclusion.
http://www.ccre.org/en/actualites/view/3634

Governing in the Age of the Artificially Intelligent City

The public sector needs a discussion about issues of transparency, fairness and the preservation of human values.
The last few years have seen cities around the world embarking on the journey to make their infrastructure and operations more intelligent. Not only are cities investing significant resources to upgrade their physical infrastructure with technology, but analytical solutions are being deployed at ever-increasing rates to exploit large and ever-growing data reservoirs. And governments are seriously exploring machine learning and cognitive computing systems that hold the promise of creating artificially intelligent cities.
http://www.governing.com/commentary/col-governing-age-artificially-intelligent-city.html

Cities Forum 2017: working together for a sustainable future post-2020

The third cities forum took place in Rotterdam from 27-28 November, aboard the SS Rotterdam. The forum is the European Commission’s biennial event for and with cities. It brings together key stakeholders from European, national and local levels to debate the progress of the Urban Agenda for the EU.
This year, the debates also focused on investments tools for cities, the urban dimension of cohesion policy as well as the EU response to the urban dimension of the 2030 Agenda and the New Urban Agenda. The event saw strong support for the urban agenda for the EU and its continued implementation.
http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/Cities-Forum-2017-working-together-for-a-sustainable-future-post-2020-WSPO-ATKHT9

A global agenda for a world of smart cities

The world has agreed that it has to change, fundamentally, in order to successfully accommodate the urbanization wave that is to come in the next few decades. Urban innovation has to be advanced, along with the integrating capacities of the cities, to achieve the ideal smart city of the future. Future Cities Catapult has just published its first global review of the strategies that make smart cities…smart.
The goal of the report was to provide city leaders with an analysis of what leading cities are doing to create smart city strategies. A clear and coherent agenda or at least a general framework is needed worldwide in order to successfully reach the achievement of a smart future city.
http://urbanizehub.com/global-agenda-smart-cities/

European cities and automobile manufacturers kick off dialogue on Urban Vehicle Access Regulations

Brussels - Recently representatives from European cities and automobile manufacturers came together for the first time in order to explore solutions to the challenges of increasing urban road traffic.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/1549/45/European-cities-and-automobile-manufacturers-kick-off-dialogue-on-Urban-Vehicle-Access-Regulations

Why should we deal with abandoned urban spaces?

Cities are constantly transforming, and societal development leaves marks in urban space. When industries decline or parts of cities are abandoned due to migration, urban wastelands or gaps in the built environment are left behind. How can cities make use of these empty spaces? Anja Graner looks at repurposing wastelands and the “dense city”.
http://www.urbanet.info/abandoned-urban-spaces/

Mayors sign Chicago climate charter

As growing population centers and leading producers of greenhouse gas emissions, cities have a responsibility to lead the way forward on climate change mitigation. At this year’s North American Climate Summit, leaders from cities across the globe honored that duty on Tuesday by signing the Chicago Climate Charter.
This first-of-its-kind international charter is meant to reiterate cities’ commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, from which the U.S. withdrew per the decision of the Trump administration.
https://www.smartresilient.com/mayors-around-world-sign-chicago-climate-charter

How Cities Get 'Granny Flats' Wrong

A Vancouver designer says North American cities need bolder policies to realize the potential of accessory dwellings.
If you walk down just about any residential alley in Vancouver, you’re bound to run across one of the city’s thousands of accessory dwelling units (ADUs), known locally as “laneway” or “lane” houses. These little houses range from about 600 square feet to 1,000 square feet. They’re lived in by renters, downsizing homeowners, and relatives of the owners of larger houses they stand next to, including—yes—some grannies. (I personally hate the term “granny flat,” because they’re just as often for young people, and can be thoroughly modern in design.)
https://www.citylab.com/design/2017/11/how-cities-get-granny-flats-wrong/546392/

Local and regional leaders lead the debate on city innovation and technology at the UCLG World Council

From 6 to 9 December 2017, the City of Hangzhou, China, hosted the UCLG World Council and Executive Bureau meetings at the invitation of Xu Liyi, Mayor of Hangzhou. The meetings gathered more than 500 participants and were held back-to-back with the Forum on Smart City and Big Data organized by the City of Hangzhou and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC)
https://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/local-and-regional-leaders-lead-debate-city-innovation-and-technology-uclg-world-council

How the smart city could transform citizenship

Smart city-policy makers and technology vendors are increasingly stating they want to bring about citizen-centered smart cities. Yet, it often remains unclear what exactly that means, and how citizens are envisaged as actors in smart cities. This article wants to contribute to this discussion by exploring the relation between smart cities and citizenship.
http://www.urenio.org/2017/12/06/how-smart-city-could-transform-citizenship/

CIVITAS Forum 2017: Small Communities, Big Ideas

From 27-29 September, close to 500 participants convened in Torres Vedras, Portugal, for the 15th CIVITAS Forum. A diverse community of policy makers, practitioners, academics, and city representatives debated the most pressing issues surrounding sustainable urban mobility, and set out clear pathways for bringing cleaner, better transport to Europe.
This year's Forum had the theme of “Small Communities, Big Ideas”. Across Europe, pioneering sustainable mobility initiatives are emerging from small communities, such as expert groups or small towns. The Forum gave them a platform to showcase their ideas and a wider audience the opportunity to experience them: it was proved that size is no limit to innovation.
http://www.eltis.org/content/civitas-forum-2017-small-communities-big-ideas

Putting Cities Center Stage

In an age of angry populism, 'New Localism' is demonstrating how empowering them can bring transformative change.
President Donald Trump's election in the United States and the vote by Euro-skeptics in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union were both fueled by a populist turn in politics, a nostalgic desire to bring the center of economic and political power "back home." The implications for cities in both countries were entirely different.
http://www.governing.com/commentary/col-putting-cities-center-stage-empowerment-new-localism.html

TRA 2018 registration is now open

Register for the Transport Research Arena 2018 (TRA 2018) and get your Early Bird ticket.
Registration for the upcoming Transport Research Arena (TRA 2018) in Vienna, Austria, from 16-19 April 2018, is now open. TRA 2018 is the 7th edition of Europe's largest transport research and technology conference and this time features the theme of ”A digital era for transport”. The conference addresses representatives from politics, administrations, research and industry alike to shape the future of transport and mobility and facilitate a common exchange. All modes of transport will be covered.

REAL CORP 2018 Abstract deadline extended

After having received multiple requests we decided to extend the abstract submission deadline (almost) until Christmas. So you have time to submit your abstract until
23 December 2017
www.corp.at

Replay the Autonomy 2017 conference

For those who couldn’t come to Autonomy & the Urban Mobility Summit this year, we have decided to bring it to you. We filmed all the conferences that took place in the auditorium and uploaded them on Youtube. There are a lot of great speakers and topics, be sure to check them out!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5XJznJ54lunULsoEXbHNvWYw4zd1cZHo

How do decision makers think about and approach congestion reduction in their cities?

To find the answer to this question, the FLOW project has launched a survey aimed at decision makers in transport policy from the city, regional, national and European levels.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/1530/45/How-do-decision-makers-think-about-and-approach-congestion-reduction-in-their-cities

Can people power help cities fight urban challenges?

As rapidly growing cities face increased pressure on their existing services and infrastructure, urban dwellers have an important role to play in helping local governments tackle the challenges, speakers at a cities conference said this week.
Citizens can help city authorities improve waste management, healthcare, urban planning and reduce violent crime, they said at the 2017 Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona.
Cities in both the developing and developed world need to build “participatory communities” in order to make improvements to urban living, said Hany Fam, executive vice president of Mastercard Enterprise Partnerships.
https://news.trust.org/item/20171117130726-6s4ia/?source=dpagetopic

European smart mobility presented at ITS World Congress

ERTICO hosted the European Pavilion at the 24th ITS World Congress last week in Montreal. The European Pavilion, which is organised at every ITS World Congress held overseas, represents the opportunity for European companies and organisations to showcase their latest technology and projects.
This year, ERTICO, co-organiser of the Congresses together with ITS America and ITS Asia-Pacific, presented its new vision to bring smart mobility to the next level through its four activity areas: Connected and Automated Driving, Urban Mobility, Clean Mobility and Transport and Logistics. These four areas represent the basis on which build the future of mobility for the befit of people and businesses.
http://erticonetwork.com/european-smart-mobility-state-art-presented-world-congress-2017/

Smaller Cities Are Getting Smarter About How They Buy Things

Performance-based contracting has been a best practice in big cities for years. Now some mid-sized municipalities are adopting the approach.
When cities contract with the private sector for goods and services, they tend to go with the lowest bidder—at least, that’s what they’ve done historically. But performance-based contracts, in which governments also look at how well a contractor delivers on their promises, can help ensure higher-quality contracts and a better value in the long run.
http://www.governing.com/cityaccelerator/blog/lc-smaller-cities-performance-contracting.html

Towns and regions take the future of the planet into their own hands

Why should the COP23 climate summit remain a states-only club when towns and regions are so deeply affected by climate change, and true hubs of innovation for climate solutions?
Let’s take our future, the future of the planet, into our own hands. That’s what towns and regions from the world over decided to do in Bonn, during the climate summit of local and regional leaders, on 12 November.
http://www.ccre.org/en/actualites/view/3608

WiFi4EU Free Wi-Fi for Europeans

The European Commission wishes to promote free Wi-Fi connectivity for citizens and visitors in public spaces such as parks, squares, public building, libraries, health centres, and museums everywhere in Europe through WiFi4EU. The budget of the WiFi4EU scheme is EUR 120 million between 2017-2019. It will support the installation of state-of-the-art Wi-Fi equipment in the centres of community life.
http://www.urenio.org/2017/11/15/wifi4eu-free-wi-fi-for-europeans/

Bill Gates is building a smart city in Arizona

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has purchased nearly 25,000 acres of land in southwestern Arizona for the construction of a brand-new "smart city," AZ Central reports.
In conjunction with Belmont Partners, who holds the property, Gates's investment firm Cascade Investment LLC has committed $80 million to build a community composed of offices, stores, schools, and homes. The community will be known as Belmont.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/11/bill-gates-is-building-a-smart-city-in-arizona

The progress of African Smart City initiatives

African countries are still at the early stages of the urbanization process, but they are quickly catching up with the rest of the world. While Africa was the least urbanized region in the world in 2015, it is now the second fastest urbanizing region behind Asia, which it is expected to surpass by 2020.
http://www.urenio.org/2017/11/08/progress-african-smart-city-initiatives/

Imagine your street transformed into a beautiful green meeting place

How can we organise our daily lives without using our cars as much as we do today? How to make the city of tomorrow visible today?
Following the pioneer initiative from Ghent, the cities of Brussels, Milton Keynes, Ivanic-Grad, Zadar, Rotterdam, Turin and La Rochelle are co-organising Living Streets events with inhabitants, to temporarily transform streets into a sustainable place they have always dreamed of.
http://www.energy-cities.eu/Imagine-your-street-transformed-into-a-beautiful-green-meeting-place

More Than 7,000 Residents Helped to Shape Atlanta’s New Resilience Plan

Atlanta has released a resilience strategy in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities. Like other “RC” cities, Atlanta’s strategy folds disaster mitigation into a deeper examination of the inequalities that have created stark economic and racial divides.
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/residents-helped-shape-atlanta-new-resilience-plan

The Gentrification of City-Based Sitcoms

How the future ‘Living Single’ reboot can reclaim the urban narrative ‘Friends’ ran off with.
You might remember this TV show about how a group of homies got along with each other and with urban life in New York City. The characters were all in their 20s and 30s, and some of the guys in this group shared an apartment together. Some of the ladies in the group shared an apartment, too, in the same building as the guys. There was occasional romantic tension between some of the male and female buddies, and some of them even morphed into real romantic couples. There seemed to be no real point to this show other than to say, This is how our squad gets down in the big city.
https://www.citylab.com/life/2017/01/the-gentrification-of-city-based-sitcoms/513302/

Antibes, France Digitizes City Infrastructure

The town of Antibes in southeastern France is focusing on digitizing the entire city’s infrastructure – including the water distribution system. As a resort town, its population triples in the summer, putting a strain on city services and citizen safety. Antibes looked for a solution that would help the city anticipate breakdowns, optimize maintenance schedules, and plan future infrastructure investments.
Patrick Duverger, CIO for the City of Antibes, seeks to integrate structured data from city services with the unstructured data from city cameras and social media, to create an interconnected and coordinated view of events in the city in real time.
http://smartcitiesconnect.org/antibes-france-digitizes-city-infrastructure/

The Role of Smart Batteries in Resilient Cities

Hurricane Maria created immense devastation in Puerto Rico, leaving the island and its people facing a long recovery process. Crucially, its electric grid suffered such widespread damage that, a month after the storm, 75 percent of the island remains without electricity, and it could take up to six months before all the power is restored.
There is little the average resident can do but wait. While thousands of diesel powered generators have been delivered to the island, only the wealthy can afford to purchase and operate them. Fuel is in short supply, and the units are the target of thieves, as they have been in the wake of earlier Caribbean hurricanes.
http://meetingoftheminds.org/role-smart-batteries-resilient-cities-23789

Smart Cities: Are they smart enough?

Where do Energy Cities members stand? Two French members have shared with us their definition of a “smart city” with, hovering in the background, a few question marks.
http://www.energy-cities.eu/Smart-Cities-Are-they-smart-enough

The best ist yet to come: The city of the future

The momentum of tomorrow’s cities, the momentum of their industry and economies, their governments and administrations, their standard of living – this was the core topic of the third CREATING URBAN TECH summit on October 25 in Berlin. “The Berlin Summit: connected.urban.smart” – under this motto, 300 business leaders, managers, and representatives of government and administration presented, discussed, and debated the most important urban-tech trends and strategies for the coming years.
http://www.creatingurbantech.com/en/urban-tech-analyses/analyses/2017/11/die-stadt-der-zukunft/

25 Great Ideas of the New Urbanism

These 25 ideas offer a panoramic view of the New Urbanism, one that reaches to the horizon and beyond. Not all of these ideas were invented by New Urbanists, but new urbanists have contributed significantly to them all.
https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2017/10/31/25-great-ideas-new-urbanism

We need to get better at integrating migrants into our cities

Today, there are more than one billion migrants in the world, representing a seventh of the world’s population. This level of human mobility is unprecedented and continues to rise at a rapid rate.
This one billion is comprised of an estimated 244 million international migrants and 763 million internal migrants – over three times the number. Yet it is international migration that seems to monopolize the attention both of the media and of politicians.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/we-need-to-get-better-at-integrating-migrants-into-our-cities-here-s-how

Challenging energy rennovations of buildings

To make new energy efficient buildings or to renovate the existing stock? That is the question. Experts from the construction sector, gathered in Rome, discussed solutions to make the second option worthwhile and cheaper
Energy consumption in the construction sector is a key issue in the fight against climate change. It is often approached when planning new buildings, but there is little tendency to renovate the existing stock.
http://www.buildheat.eu/challenging-energy-renovation-buildings/

Tallin Conference showcases future of digital transport

The Digital Transport Days, an initiative of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) and the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, took place in Tallinn from 8 to 10 November 2017.The three-day conference gathered more than 500 public and private stakeholders from all transport areas to discuss the future of digital transport, the ways in which this can be implemented and the future challenges that this field might face.
http://erticonetwork.com/tallinns-conference-showcases-future-digital-transport/

Winter is coming: the effect of cold-spells in cities

The Wuppertal institute need your help defining cities’ consideration of cold-spells (extended periods of significantly colder than ‘normal’ weather) and their effects on cities. As part of the EU FP7 project StratoClim (stratoclim.org, and below*), we are looking into the socio-economic effects of cold spells on European cities, including predictions of their frequency and severity into the future.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/1521/45/Winter-is-coming-the-effect-of-cold-spells-in-cities

The New 'Digital' Sanctuaries

Cities that were at the forefront of limiting their own participation in aggressive federal immigration enforcement are now expanding the scope of their work: Protecting their residents from data-collection and surveillance, too.
Wilmer Catalan-Ramirez has been awaiting deportation at the McHenry County Jail since seven Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered his home in March, and forcefully arrested him—fracturing one of his arms. Catalan-Ramirez, a father of U.S. citizen children, was a high priority for arrest because he was in Chicago police’s gang database. But according to the lawsuit recently filed on his behalf, he was never in a gang.
https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/11/new-digital-sanctuary-cities/541008/

These 10 cities are the most prepared for the future

In 2017, being a "smart city" isn't just about having fast internet.
Officials around the world are gathering all types of data — on traffic, pollution levels, and energy use — to make their cities safer, healthier, and more efficient. The definition of a smart city has recently broadened to include environmental sustainability, affordable and reliable transit, access to education, and a local economy with businesses that explore new technologies.
Although it sounds promising to make our cities smarter, however, some ethicists worry that as technology progresses, it will become harder for citizens to maintain privacy.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/11/these-10-cities-are-the-most-prepared-for-the-future-396a5603-c25b-4af7-8522-090fefa31117

The CIVITAS Urban Mobility Tool Inventory

The CIVITAS Tool Inventory is an online database of over 100 tools and methods that helps local authorities make better informed decisions about which planning tools to apply in their given local context.
It features a broad range of tools and methods – including guidelines, software, manuals, mobile apps, games, and planning approaches – that are useful for all steps of the urban mobility planning process, from scenario building and measure selection to implementation and evaluation. To find the tool most relevant to your needs, you can filter the selection in several ways.
http://civitas.eu/tool-inventory

London lamp posts to power electric vehicles

A new project which allows residents to charge their electric vehicles (EVs) by plugging into lamp posts has been launched.
Kensington and Chelsea Council has joined forces with OVO Energy and Berlin-based Ubitricity to install an extra 50 SimpleSockets, which are charging points that fit directly into existing lamp posts.
It follows a trial by the council earlier this year and is now being expanded across central London.
The charging points will be located next to pay and display parking bays and will have a tariff of £0.165 per kWh of electricity.
http://www.energylivenews.com/2017/11/14/london-lamp-posts-to-power-electric-vehicles/

Official launch of Front-line Cities and Islands

On 13 November 2017, mayors and leaders of islands at the front-line of climate change, from the President of Palau to Mayor of Cozumel, Mexico, came together with mayors and leaders of cities around the world joined forces in taking action to
address climate change and build resilience through the launch of Front-line cities and islands at COP23, the 23rd United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany.
http://www.iclei.org/details/article/official-launch-of-front-line-cities-and-islands-a-way-forward-for-sustainable-urbanization-in-isla.html

What can satellite imagery tell us about secondary cities?

The buzz around satellite imagery over the past few years has grown increasingly loud. Google Earth, drones, and microsatellites have grabbed headlines and slashed price tags. Urban planners are increasingly turning to remotely sensed data to better understand their city.
But just because we now have access to a wealth of high resolution images of a city does not mean we suddenly have insight into how that city functions.
http://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/what-can-satellite-imagery-tell-us-about-secondary-cities-part-1

Berlin public transport operator to employ refugees as bus drivers

A project by the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), Berlin's public transport operator, will soon see 16 refugees employed as bus drivers in the German capital.
To secure a place in the project, participants had to meet strict requirements: they needed a bus driver’s license, good German language skills, and a residency permit.
http://www.eltis.org/discover/news/berlin-public-transport-operator-employ-refugees-bus-drivers-germany

Is Britain’s housing crisis a myth?

I’ve been banging on about the need for Britain to build more houses for so long that I can no longer remember how or when it started. But at some point over the last few years, the need to build more homes has become My Thing. People ask me to speak at housing events, or @ me into arguments they’re having on Twitter on a Sunday morning in the hope I’ll help them out. You can even buy a me-inspired “Build More Bloody Houses” t-shirt.
http://www.citymetric.com/politics/britain-s-housing-crisis-myth-3495

2017
January	February	March	April	May	June
July	August	September	October	November

2016
January	February	March	April	May	June
July	August	September	October	November	December

2015
January	February	March	April	May	June
July	August	September	October	November	December

2014
January	February	March	April	May	June
July	August	September	October	November	December

2013
January	February	March	April	May	June
July	August	September	October	November	December

Further archived news available on request from: Kate More