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28/2/2019 - The Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum 27/2/2019 - Climate adaptation webinar series #1: risks and vulnerabilities 26/2/2019 - Conference: Innovative financing for creating green cities 25/2/2019 - Mayors at the Day of Cities, 8 April 2019, Geneva 22/2/2019 - REAL CORP 2019: 140 Presentations 21/2/2019 - ERTRAC Annual Conference to discuss road transport research under "Horizon Europe" 20/2/2019 - Heads up - European ITS Congress 2019 19/2/2019 - Webinar: The consequences of inequalities 18/2/2019 - Velo-City 2019 'Cycling for the Ages' 14/2/2019 - Walk21 Rotterdam - Call for Contributions launched 13/2/2019 - Save the Date! 2019 Polis Conference in Brussels on 27-28 November 12/2/2019 - Urban Mobility Summit Call for Speakers launches 14 February! 11/2/2019 - Official Post Event Report for International Security Expo 8/2/2019 - Save the Date: EFUS2019 General Assembly 11-12 April 2019 7/2/2019 - SUM Bilbao 2019: Moving the cities of the XXI century 6/2/2019 - Child In The City International Seminar 5/2/2019 - Register NOW for the EUROCITIES high-level political event 4/2/2019 - SUMPs-Up Webinar: Data Collection for SUMP 1/2/2019 - Preregister now - Autonomy & The Urban Mobility Summit 2019
The Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum The World Urban Forum, which is convened by UN-Habitat, is the world’s most important conference on cities. As a non-legislative forum open to all, it provides the opportunity for thousands of participants involved in all aspects of urbanization to share practices and knowledge on how cities are built, planned and managed. Participants include national, regional and local government, NGOs, community based organizations, research institutions, the private sector, development finance institutions, the media, UN agencies and other stakeholders. The first WUF took place in 2002 in Kenya and eight other WUFs have taken place. The last Forum (WUF9) took place in Kuala Lumpur in February 2018. In 2020, WUF will be hosted for the first time by an Arab nation – Abu Dhabi, the capital and the second most populous city in the United Arab Emirates and capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. URBinclusion Final Conference in Barcelona It will be held in Barcelona on the 27th and 28th of March 2019. It will present project key findings, offer the opportunity to learn from the experiences gained and to assist to a round table among members cities political representatives. https://urbact.eu/urbinclusion-final-conference-barcelona It's down to cities to limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2030 The science on climate change, and the scale of action needed to address it, are crystal-clear. People are rising in cities around the globe in direct consequence. We urge local leaders to respond to their concerned citizens, especially since newly released tools are available to support local decision-makers – tools to help cities align with 1.5°C maximum global warming. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/its-down-to-cities-to-limit-global-warming-to-1-5-c-by-2030/ Breathing new life into abandoned spaces Casoria is a heavily urbanised city that has suffered from years of political mismanagement. Thanks to participation in the URBACT sub>urban network, the municipality has been able to kick-start a process of community-led regeneration, beginning with the urban fringe. Located 10 km from Naples, in a mess of urban sprawl beneath a major airport flight path, Casoria has struggled through years of economic and social crisis. If it once benefited from the post-war boom, there is little evidence today beyond the shells of old factories. A maze of roads and railway lines chokes the chaotic modern city, which is home to an estimated 7 000 unauthorised buildings. Many of these sit empty, surrounded by concrete. Unemployment is at 30% — rising to 65% among young people — and more and more people are forced to leave the area to find work elsewhere. https://urbact.eu/breathing-new-life-abandoned-spaces Climate adaptation webinar series #1: risks and vulnerabilities The Covenant of Mayors is starting a webinar series on climate adaptation. Webinar #1 taking place on 7 March 2019 11:00-12:45 CET, will be on assessing risks and vulnerabilities. Planning adaptation at the local level requires understanding of the current and projected climate hazards and which sectors currently are or will become most vulnerable. Assessment of these risks and vulnerabilities is a first step towards the overall management of climate change risks. Planning on the edge: 2019 Biennial In 2020 Plymouth will play a major part as lead City for the UK for the Mayflower 400 commemorations, celebrating 400 years since the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth to the United States of America. It is fitting therefore that in 2019 Plymouth should play host to the European Council Of Spatial Planners by positioning Plymouth and the UK globally at the heart of this symbolic journey and showcasing our transforming city. http://www.ectp-ceu.eu/index.php/en/biennal-31/38-biennial/494-biennials-13 Cities sought for Traffic Management as a Service replicator programme Cities interested in Traffic Management as a Service (TMaaS) are invited to join a replicator programme by the city of Ghent, the architect of this approach. The essence of TMaaS is an online platform offering local government and citizens an efficient and multimodal view of what is happening in a city in real-time. 4 Ways Cities are Adopting Mobility as a Service Mobility as a Service (MaaS) has now offered a vision for the future of transportation for several years. The ideas are ambitious: Providing travelers with the services they need to get from point A to point B under a single payment account;. Integrating disparate modes of mobility under one customer experience to better serve the travelers in a city or region. Creating the most efficient possible transportation ecosystem with an economic model that promotes journey choices that ease congestion, whether fulfilled by public or private service providers. https://meetingoftheminds.org/4-ways-cities-are-adopting-mobility-as-a-service-29953 Conference: Innovative financing for creating green cities Green cities are healthy, liveable and resilient to climate and water risks. Investing in nature-based solutions helps cities to tackle flooding, heat stress, drought, poor air quality and unemployment, and helps biodiversity to flourish. Despite increasing awareness of the many benefits of nature-based solutions, barriers to their implementation remain. Obtaining sufficient and long-term financing for their development and maintenance is often a major challenge for city governments. This exciting conference, organised by GrowGreen, brings together city representatives, investors and business to connect, share experiences and find joint solutions for financing city greening. Interactive workshops offer participants in-depth capacity building on valuing natural assets and mobilising finance for nature-based solutions. http://growgreenproject.eu/conference-innovative-financing-green-cities/ Metropolis: Doing Immigration Differently Registered? Metropolis Canada, Halifax, March 21-23, 2019, is Canada’s premiere annual forum for researchers, policy makers, and practitioners to get together to share and exchange knowledge and experience. Don’t miss the opening night’s Canada Lecture & Visit to Pier 21. https://www.metropolisconference.ca/halifax/en/program.php The Town Where Retirees Can’t Retire In fast-aging pockets of rural America, older residents are going back to work. But not always because they need the money. At 86, Bob Bastion would be forgiven for sleeping in on the recent subzero mornings in Alcona County, Michigan, a one-stoplight former timber community of around 10,000 in the northeast part of the state’s lower peninsula. Instead, the retired dairy truck driver often wakes up at 3 a.m., climbs five feet into the seat of a six-wheel Champion road grader and drives the roads of Lost Lake Woods Club, the private gated community and resort where he lives with his wife, clearing snow so cars can get through. It often takes eight hours or more. https://www.citylab.com/life/2019/02/rural-aging-demographics-jobs-places-to-retire/582862/ The Inequality of Urban Investments A new study of Baltimore shows that private capital is more often spent in low-poverty places that don't need it as much. http://www.governing.com/topics/finance/gov-cities-combat-racially-driven-development.html Mayors at the Day of Cities, 8 April 2019, Geneva Mayors from the UNECE region will meet in Geneva on 8 of April 2019 for the Day of Cities. During two roundtables, Mayors will discuss how to create smart sustainable cities, focusing on ways to improve the quality of life of people and efficiency of urban operations, services and competitiveness. They will share their experiences and provide information on successful projects in their cities. Invited cities were selected on the basis of their work on, and dedication to, making their cities smarter and more sustainable. http://www.unece.org/housing/dayofcities.html City Launch - new smart city conference Organizers are putting the finishing touches on CityLaunch, the new conference aimed at city officials in the smart city and connected communities movement. Organized by the Connected Communities Collaborative, the three-day conference in San Diego is expected to attract up to 200 city officials and smart city practitioners for a series of panel discussions and workshop sessions from March 10 to 12. “We realized that the other smart city conferences out there were too heavily focused on technologies and vendors,” said Jim Madaffer, chair of the Connected Communities Collaborative. “Of course technology is important, but we wanted to build a conference that focused primarily on the things that matter most to city leaders — policymaking, equity, effective citizen engagement, and long-term planning. CityLaunch attendees are going to leave this conference with a clear and concrete set of next steps they can immediately begin working on back at city hall.” At the heart of Zürich, tucked out of the way on the peninsula where the river Limmat meets the river Sihl, sits the triangular Platzspitz. On a Friday afternoon in February there aren’t more than a couple of handfuls of visitors wandering through the park, and fewer still stopping to enjoy the somewhat brisk surroundings, but it’s not hard to imagine the rise in popularity in warmer months: Zürichers popping across the bridge to relax on their lunch breaks, or heading to an outdoor concert in the evening. https://www.citymetric.com/fabric/park-life-z-rich-park-which-decriminalised-heroin-4473 Denmark kick-starts green transition for taxis In 2025, Denmark wants to see only zero emission taxis on its roads. This objective, alongside a set of actions to support its achievement, was published by the Danish government in January 2019. http://www.eltis.org/discover/news/denmark-kick-starts-green-transition-taxis REAL CORP 2019: 140 Presentations After the second round of our double-blind peer review we are glad to announce that REAL CORP 2019 is going to feature some 90 presentations on reviewed papers and 50 presentations on non-reviewed papers. The detailed conference schedule is going to be published at the beginning of March. https://conference.corp.at/Download/CORP2019/realcorp2019programme.pdf 2019 Urban Mobility Summit Call for Speakers is now open! Do you have a vision for the future of mobility and want to contribute the larger conversation on how to reduce reduce carbon emissions, pollution and congestion in cities? Then we want to hear your big-picture idea now! The Urban Mobility Summit Call for Speakers is now open for our UMWeekly and UMDaily readers through Monday, 18 March. The Call will be announced to the rest of the Autonomy Community early next week. Apply today! https://autonomy2019.typeform.com/to/YGmZcl 10 Economic Benefits of Smart Cities The cutting edge technological innovations which make smart cities what they are require sizeable economic investments on behalf of the city, region or country. As with all investments, if smart city initiatives do not return any tangible value, they represent money going down the drain. With the way economies work, technological development or benefits to citizens might not be enough to sustain the continuous advancement of smart cities if they come at a great financial loss. Fortunately, the successful implementation of smart city initiatives comes with many economic benefits. https://www.urenio.org/2019/02/13/10-economic-benefits-of-smart-cities/ Too Many Cities Are Growing Out Rather Than Up Imagine Lagos, Nigeria, a city of 22 million. What was once a small coastal town just a few decades ago has exploded into a sprawling megacity spanning 452 square miles. Its rapid growth has stretched the city’s services impossibly thin: Less than 10 percent of people live in homes with sewer connections; less than 20 percent have access to tap water. Many houses are in slums and informal settlements at the city’s periphery. ERTRAC Annual Conference to discuss road transport research under "Horizon Europe" Registration is now open for the ERTRAC Annual Conference on the 4 April 2019 in Brussels. The conference will be dedicated to the preparation of the 9th Research Framework Programme "Horizon Europe": which place for Road Transport Research and which key research challenges? Three new Roadmaps will be presented and distributed: on "Connected Automated Driving", on "Road Safety", and on "Long Distance Freight Transport". The event will include an exhibition showcasing some examples of innovation in the automotive and mobility sector. Call for Submissions for TRA2020 now open The 2020 edition of the Transport Research Arena (TRA) biennial event will be take place in Helsinki on the 27-30 of April in 2020. The conference is organised by the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency and the European Commission. The Transport Research Arena (TRA) is a key European Research and Technology Conference on Transport and Mobility and it attracts more than 3000 visitors on average. The call for paper submissions at TRA 2020 has been opened on 11 January 2018 and will close on 30 April 2019. Why Parking Issues Should Matter to Cities As cities look to plan for rapid population expansion, and to make the most out of their infrastructure, one of the first places they might focus on is parking. An increasing number of cities have started to eliminate minimum parking requirements for developers, aiming to increase walkability and decrease car dependency. https://meetingoftheminds.org/why-parking-issues-should-matter-to-cities-29897 Crowdsourcing and Living Labs in Smart Cities “Crowdsourcing and Living Labs in Support of Smart Cities’ Development” focuses on exploring the contribution of crowdsourcing and living labs to smart cities’ development. It explores the possible combination and integration of such tools for smart ideas generation and innovation production by placing citizens ‘in the first line’. The authors propose a methodological approach that integrates urban sustainable development with stakeholders’ and citizens’ active participation. https://www.urenio.org/2019/02/08/crowdsourcing-living-labs-smart-cities/ Heads up - European ITS Congress 2019 03 June 2019 - 06 June 2019 Brainport (Eindhoven-Helmond) This year's ITS Europe Congress is jointly hosted by Polis members, Eindhoven and Helmond, in the so-called Brainport region. The congress hosts and organiser Ertico are keen to offer a congress experience that is relevant and interesting for cities and Polis is supporting them in this regard. Under the banner, “Fulfilling ITS promises”, the congress aims to show what ITS can do and how we can move forward to fully exploit the potential of smart mobility in modern day Europe. Energy in the hands of cities – Energy, transport and innovation Conference The conference aims to: • Explain practical and proven examples of energy savings, renewable energy use and sustainable transport at the local level both from home and abroad • Discuss the legal aspects of energy self-sufficiency and own energy and water resources • Show the benefits of system planning and the effective implementation of energy and transport measures • Inform about the current possibilities of financing energy saving projects, the use of RES and sustainable transport from domestic and European programs • Introduce possibilities for cooperation between towns and municipalities and professional partners with SEMMO and Healthy Cities. http://semmo.cz/konference2019/ The challenges of degrowth in cities City planners and politicians have long taken the view that the trajectory of a city’s evolution should and could only be seen in terms of growth, whether economic or demographic. This is what sociologist Harvey Molotch meant when he referred to the “urban growth machine”: historically, the driving force for cities has been growth and the idea that growth is constant. Yet some territories have experienced, and continue to experience, urban crises that are far from accidental and very far from transitory. New terms have started to appear to describe this lasting change of direction, such as “shrinking cities, legacy cities”. Other actors involved in the urban fabric have sought a more positive vision, seeking to identify “phoenix cities”. https://theconversation.com/the-challenges-of-degrowth-in-cities-110867 International Urban Cooperation (IUC) city-to-city exchange programme Cities in the member states of the European Union who wish to exchange with a city facing similar challenges in another global region are encouraged to apply for the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) city-to-city cooperation programme on sustainable urban development. The programme aims to foster links between EU cities and those in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North America. Through the programme, local leaders will be able to connect and gain new perspectives on pressing sustainable development issues. Webinar: The consequences of inequalities 19 Mar. 2019 06 Feb. 2019 Inequality is not only related to unequal access to economic resources, it has an impact that goes beyond the strictly material and is related to a series of imbalances that fracture the cohesion and well-being of our societies. These problems range from physical or mental health, school drop-out, insecurity, drug use, the increase in the prison population, violence and exclusion. The webinar will be the opportunity to learn about what inequalities supposes for a world where inequalities are higher than a few decades ago. Inequality is a huge social, health and economic problem?—?not only within countries but also between cities. The growth of mega-cities, particularly in the Global South and in Asia is creating massive social, health, economic, and environmental challenges. These cities are facing water and energy shortages, issues with waste management, and social unrest driven by economic inequality, to name just a few of their common problems. https:/goo.gl/forms/Y7YPM1Aq42wKxAuF2 First Announcement: 16th International Conference on Urban Health While urban infrastructure development and population dynamics continue to be major drivers of urbanisation, cities need to transform to achieve the ambitious goals of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). People’s health and wellbeing are at the heart of any urbanization process and calls for innovative, integrative and intelligent transformations in all sectors of the urban system. http://www.isuhconference.org/ How growing cities can support the electric vehicle revolution Rapid urban population growth is driving many cities around the world to reduce their carbon footprints. In Canada, two major policy agendas are designed to achieve this: boosting urban density and promoting low-carbon transportation such as electric vehicles (EVs). Despite their overlap, these goals are often pursued separately through disjointed planning strategies. In time, ad-hoc policies could be counterproductive and stall the shift to EVs, by making ownership expensive, inefficient and complicated. How 5G Impacts Smart City Traffic Safety 5G represents one of the hottest new developments in technology and will soon start to be implemented around the world, reaching download speeds of 4.5 GB per second and data transmission speeds of 1.4 GB per second. These speeds are highly anticipated by private users, but they also bring major benefits for smart cities, including the field of traffic safety. https://www.urenio.org/2019/02/06/how-5g-impacts-smart-city-traffic-safety/ Velo-City 2019 'Cycling for the Ages' Dublin City Council will host the Velo-City 2019 international cycling conference in Dublin, Ireland from the 25th to the 28th June 2019. The Velo-City conference is the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) annual global cycling summit organised by the ECF and selected host cities. The Velo-City conference is the world’s largest conference in the area of cycling, cycling infrastructure, bicycle innovations, bicycle safety, and the social and cultural changes driven by cycling on a global scale. The conferences also attract those involved in the area of technology, health, behavioural change, urban and infrastructure policies, mobility and in transport generally. https://www.velo-city2019.com/ Webinar: Collecting data to drive future mobility plans Collecting evidence on a city's existing mobility conditions and ensuring accurate data is available is the first important step towards developing a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP). This is the focus of the second SUMP webinar on 20 February - and you can register now. Analysing the existing mobility situation and developing scenarios of possible future mobility situations helps in setting SUMP goals. To know where you want to go and how you're going to get there, you first need to know where you're currently standing. Join the next SUMP webinar to find out more - and learn from one city's experience. Malmo will talk about how it collects and uses different data for planning its transport measures. The city combines several methods of collecting data and has recently piloted some innovative approaches based on a digital travel survey. You can register for the webinar, which will take place from 10-11.30 CET on 20 February, here https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8190513200303008002 When Umeå — northern Sweden’s largest urban community — joined the URBACT Freight TAILS network, its city centre faced increasing traffic problems, partly from vehicles delivering to shops and services. With a fast-growing population and e-commerce boom, Umeå needed to build a sustainable freight transport strategy to stay attractive. https://urbact.eu/new-urban-freight-plan European Parliament calls for no liability insurance for electric bikes The European Parliament is calling for there to be no mandatory liability insurance for pedal-assisted bikes, such as low-power pedelecs. In agreeing its position, Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee rejected a proposal by the European Commission that such vehicles should be subject to mandatory liability insurance. http://www.eltis.org/discover/news/european-parliament-calls-no-liability-insurance-electric-bikes Walk21 Rotterdam - Call for Contributions launched The City of Rotterdam is delighted to be hosting the 20th International Walk21 Conference on Walking and Liveable Communities from 7 – 10 October 2019. Rotterdam’s vision and commitments, the emerging National Walking Agenda, and the parallel achievements in other Dutch cities make a compelling package for politicians, professionals and advocates from around the world to experience the practical and visionary ways walking can be used as an accelerator for more equitable, healthy and smarter places. Now is the time to submit your ideas, papers and projects for the foremost global event about walking in Rotterdam. https://www.walk21.com/rotterdam Future Cities Show 2019 Propelling Globalization Exchange Ideas, Showcase Solutions And Form Valuable Connections at The Dubai World Trade Centre The third edition of the Future Cities Show (FCS) is coming to Dubai from the 8th to the 10th of April 2019 and will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre. FCS is an international platform where industry leaders from around the world will be able to meet and share knowledge with the goal of making the cities of the future smarter and more sustainable. Future Cities Show encourages participation by innovators with smart city solutions and will feature the latest innovative technologies and sustainable projects from various countries. The event anticipates participants about 20 countries. What’s It Like Living in a City Without Uber or Lyft? If you live in just about any North American city, you can whip out your smartphone and hail a ride whenever you want. In San Francisco, ride-hailing has been available since Uber launched in 2010, and breakneck expansion over the next five years brought the company and its competitors to cities as small as Easton, Pennsylvania. Places like Austin, Texas, might have temporarily booted Uber and Lyft over concerns with their business practices, but today you can use their services pretty much anywhere in the United States or Canada. Twenty-two million smart homes in Europe: from science-fiction to reality Energy-saving devices and ‘smart speakers’ are selling in record-breaking numbers, and driving hi-tech market development. However, obstacles remain due to a lack of digital skills among consumers and inconsistent service levels Door locks that open with fingerprints, networked security cameras, smart light bulbs, smart washing machines: technology is transforming our homes, turning the tech dreams of yesterday into the reality of today. Save the Date! 2019 Polis Conference in Brussels on 27-28 November Exhibitors and partners - The call for exhibitors and sponsors opens in February. Speakers - The call for speakers opens in March 2019. Participants - Registrations open in June 2019. http://www.polisnetwork.eu/2019conference Heads up - Smart Cities Connect Conference Smart Cities Connect Conference and Expo offers the most comprehensive conference, exposition and accelerator of smart city innovation in North America. The spring conference is April 1-4 in Denver. A call for posters is open. https://spring.smartcitiesconnect.org/ Four Steps to Food Security for Swelling Cities Combine pockets of rural land, reduce food waste, improve farming and encourage urbanites to eat less meat, urge Baojing Gu and colleagues. As the world’s population rises, and expanding cities pave over fertile soils, it is becoming harder to produce food for everyone1–3. By 2050, more than twice as many people will live in cities as did so in 2000, and on three times as much urban land. Around 2% of the world’s best croplands will be lost, mainly in Asia and Africa, where cities are growing quickest. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00407-3 Climate change: trees to the rescue Fighting climate change is the challenge of the century. The last UN Environment Emissions Gap Report warned that, in order to ensure global warming stays below 2°C, efforts should be tripled, and if we want to stay below 1.5°C, they should be increased around five times. Researchers think one weapon to use is something that could actually make cities much more beautiful and pleasant: this weapon is nature itself. The so-called "nature-based solutions" (NBS), such as vertical gardens or green roofs, are being studied in many cities to tackle environmental and societal issues. http://www.urbangreenup.eu/news--events/news/climate-change-trees-to-the-rescue_1.kl Urban Mobility Summit Call for Speakers launches 14 February! You are a founder, company executive, published expert or high-level city authority whose goal is to contribute to the larger discussion surrounding the mobility solutions needed to help combat climate change and pollution while decreasing congestion. Simply put, you’re not attending the Summit to sell a product. You're attending to share a greater vision as to how we can better move in cities. If you fit this description then we encourage you to apply for the 2019 Urban Mobility Summit Call for Speakers! The Call for Speakers officially opens on Thursday, 14 February and will run until Monday, 18 March. Further details to come next week! https://urbanmobilitydaily.com/summit/ Highlights video - Efficient 2019 Two of the leading urban water companies in the Philippines, Metro Pacific Water and Maynilad Water Services, hosted this year's IWA Specialist Conference on Efficient Urban Water Management. Follow #Efficient2019 on twitter for a recap about the conference and Seoul implements 'shared parking spaces' to improve parking The Korean capital Seoul faces a severe parking problem in its low-rise neighbourhoods. Altogether, around 80 % of the city's three million parking violations per year take place in these areas. One reason is that, in contrast to higher density areas, there are few car parks, including underground garages, while the available on-street parking spaces are largely reserved for residents. http://www.eltis.org/discover/news/seoul-implements-shared-parking-spaces-improve-parking New York City’s Self-Induced Transportation Crisis Mayor de Blasio and other city officials are heading for commuting calamity by failing to properly plan a coherent vision for subways, buses, e-bikes, and ride-hailing. The story of e-bikes in New York City is like a transportation parable. Official Post Event Report for International Security Expo International Security Expo 2018 was a remarkable success bringing together over 300 exhibitors and 11, 753 attendees over two days, including senior ministers, government officials and hosted international delegations from 75 countries. View all key statistics, testimonials and exclusive highlights in our Post Event Report below. https://www.internationalsecurityexpo.com/ISE-Review CTBUH Tall + Urban Innovation Conference The annual CTBUH Tall + Urban Innovation Conference explores and celebrates the very best in innovative tall buildings, urban spaces, building technologies, and construction practices from around the world. Incorporating what was previously known as the CTBUH Annual Awards event, this three-day conference sees the owner/developers, design, and engineer teams for 50+ Awarded projects present in front of an international audience and live juries for winning distinctions across several award categories. http://tallinnovation2019.com/ The Future of Global Health Is Urban Health “Cities were once the most helpless and devastated victims of disease, but they became great disease conquerors.” —Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities Urban history passed a landmark in 2017. For the first time, more than half the people in low- and middle-income countries live in cities. But as urbanization continues to accelerate, particularly in poorer nations, the world will need to work to make those cities livable and healthful for their inhabitants. https://www.cfr.org/article/future-global-health-urban-health City district reduces energy bills by €560 Thanks to an energy renovation programme targeting residential buildings in deprived neighbourhoods, Navarra Region has reduced households’ energy consumption by 70% compared to 2014 levels. In the Txantrea disctrict of Pamplona, the renovations consisted in the construction of new thermal envelopes for public and residential buildings constructed between the 50s and the 80s, the renewal of the old district heating systems, and the creation of a new district heating network using biomass. 600 apartments were renovated over the 2014-2017 period, resulting in an average reduction in energy bills of €560/year/household. http://www.energy-cities.eu/A-disctrit-of-Pamplona-reduces-citizens-energy-bills-by-EUR560-year Save the Date: EFUS2019 General Assembly 11-12 April 2019 Efus’ 2019 General Assembly will be held on 11-12 April 2019 in Augsburg, Germany. This meeting, a key moment in the life of our association, will be dedicated to reviewing the activities of last year and discussing Efus’ strategic plan. It is also a unique opportunity to all meet and exchange. Registration will be opened soon on Efus Network, where you will be able to complete the registration form, see the programme and find practical information. https://efus.eu/en/topics/%activity%/16781/ Report: 4th European Metropolitan Authorities forum in Rome Last October 25 and 26, Rome hosted the European Metropolitan Authorities (EMA) forum, an initiative led by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. On its fourth edition, the yearly conference has consolidated itself as the space of reference for the metropolises of the region to share experiences, foster joint projects and position themselves towards the European Union and national states. This year, the debates revolved around new metropolitan challenges regarding the environment, sustainable mobility and the global economy and social policies. https://www.metropolis.org/news/europe-metropolises-4th-european-metropolitan-authorities-forum-rome The time for cities to get smart is now Unprecedented urbanization is compelling cities to fundamentally reimagine and transform for the future – and fast. According to the 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects, roughly half of the world’s population lives in cities today and that figure is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. You don’t have to be a city planner to imagine the impact of urbanization on infrastructure, systems and resources. There are undoubtedly risks – increased pollution, poverty, crime and cost of living, among others. But cities that take steps now to get smart and prepare can make way for economic growth, efficiency and a better quality of life for citizens. https://europeansting.com/2019/01/10/the-time-for-cities-to-get-smart-is-now/ Digitalization is driving urbanization In today’s business world, it’s a well-recognized fact that a digital transformation journey needs to be adopted in order to stay competitive and relevant. It’s taken a while, but the construction industry is now fully on board with the opportunities that digitalization can bring. And, according to research carried out by Virgin Media Business with Oxford Economics in March 2016, the construction industry ranks as the third industry most likely to benefit from digital transformation. https://www.iloq.com/en/digitalization-is-driving-urbanization/ SUM Bilbao 2019: Moving the cities of the XXI century On 20-21 February, the city of Bilbao will host the international conference SUM Bilbao 2019, under the slogan: Moving the cities of the 21st century. This event was created with the aim of leading a global reflection on the future of mobility and its impact on the achievement of Sustainable Development Objectives (SDGs) in our cities. https://www.uclg.org/en/media/news/sum-bilbao-2019-moving-cities-xxi-century Join us for the Property Council of Australia’s inaugural Future Cities Summit at the Hilton Sydney on Friday, 24 May 2019. This dynamic one-day event will explore the ongoing theme of creating great places and thriving cities for people. The Future Cities Summit will examine innovation, disruption and the progress we are making to leave a legacy for our next generation and beyond. https://www.futurecitiessummit.com.au/ The Quest for the Multigenerational City The lives of the young and the old rarely cross in many American cities. After I moved to Austin, I used a volunteer opportunity as a way to change that. Faye is stressed out about the craft room in her condominium. “I get very overwhelmed when I try to clean it,” she tells me when I arrive on the doorstep of her condo one hot Tuesday evening in June. She’d submitted a request for volunteer help through Capital City Village, a nonprofit in Austin, Texas, that helps older people age in their homes and communities, and I, a volunteer, had responded. How Smart Cities can measure Traffic Performance Automatic Traffic Signal Performance Measures (ATSPMs) are a solution for optimizing traffic signal performance. Their use can help Smart Cities optimize traffic flow and improve congestion, a major problem of most urban areas. They can also facilitate the collection of data and decision-making, and enhance the time-consuming and expensive process of retiming signals. https://www.urenio.org/2019/01/30/how-smart-cities-can-measure-traffic-performance/ Child In The City International Seminar 20 - 21 May 2019 Antwerp Belgium The Child in the City International Seminar’s bringing together experts and policymakers from different relevant fields around a specific theme of the child-friendly city agenda. The Child in the City International Seminar are tailored to the specific needs of a city and therefore focused on one specific theme. The main theme of this international seminar is Children in the sustainable city. https://www.childinthecity.org/2019-antwerp/ Register your local event as EU Green Week partner event! EU Green Week is Europe's biggest annual conference on environment policy, bringing together participants from government, industry, non-governmental organisations, academia and the media, among others, for a unique exchange of ideas and best practices. EU Green Week 2019 will take place from 13-17 May with the theme, ‘Take the initiative! Applying environmental legislation’. EU Green Week is a European event. Therefore, as well as the high-level conference in Brussels, other events are organised in the Member States by a variety of different stakeholders. Your organisation or network can also take part and show your achievements and work in relation to EU environmental policies to a wider audience. Are you or your network members organising an event between 13 April and 9 June? Is it relevant to the EU Green Week 2019 theme? https://www.eumayors.eu/news-and-events/news/1644-register-your-eu-green-week-partner-event.html The Challenges of Managing Smart City Security The many Smart City initiatives being designed and implemented in municipalities across the world give rise to the question of how the changes brought about by this new technology can be efficiently managed, especially in terms of security. This is a relevant question for all technological fields, but even more so in the case of Smart Cities. https://www.urenio.org/2019/01/16/the-challenges-of-managing-smart-city-security/ Certified Sustainability Zones and Why We Need Them Municipalities, like all other human social systems (i.e., families, organizations, nations, etc.) are heavily dependent upon their ability to learn and adapt in order to survive. And this, in turn, means they must be capable of understanding their own impacts in the world in order to take effective action. We sense and respond, then sense and respond; and then sense and respond yet again, endlessly. Here it should be clear that if our ability to sense is in some way impaired, our responses will be compromised accordingly, and so will our well-being. If the traffic signal facing us at the intersection is really red and yet we think it is green, the action we take in response will very likely put us at risk. What, then, can we say about the quality and reliability of the tools, methods, and metrics we use to the assess the sustainability performance of municipalities and other human social systems? Could it be that the general decline or worsening of human impacts in the world – of our environmental impacts, in particular – are attributable in part to imperfections in our measurement systems? The answer, I’m afraid, is a resounding yes. https://meetingoftheminds.org/certified-sustainability-zones-and-why-we-need-them-29820 Register NOW for the EUROCITIES high-level political event EUROCITIES will launch a new political initiative to show cities’ concrete contributions to a more cohesive and inclusive Europe starting from local level. EUROCITIES deputy mayors will present their pledges to act on the principles of the EU Pillar for Social Rights through dedicated investments for city measures. This will take place at an event of EUROCITIES at the European Parliament on 21 February 2019 in the presence of Members of European Parliament and high-level Commission representatives. This high-level political event will consist of two policy debates on how to boost support for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights at local level. It will also feature the launch event of the new EUROCITIES political initiative committing city politicians to pledge to act upon Pillar’s principles. The event will focus on city pledges and will discuss active support to employment and social inclusion through affordable housing. Zero emission cities: exchange of best-practices Over 200 EU cities and regions have low emission zones (LEZ) in place, restricting access to their territory to certain vehicles in order to improve air quality. Yet, road transport is still a major cause of air pollution, causing thousands of premature deaths and serious illnesses in EU cities. Road transport is also a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions, thereby contributing to climate change. Therefore, several European cities have made announcements or taken steps towards banning specific fossil fuel vehicles, starting with diesel and petrol vehicles. This was the commitment made by the Brussels region in May 2018, announcing a strengthening of its LEZ in order to ban diesel vehicles by 2030 at the latest, and petrol vehicles at a later stage. The POLIS network, the TRUE Initiative and Bruxelles Environnement invite EU cities and regions to discuss their strategies and experiences in banning fossil fuel road transport vehicles at the city level. The workshop is open to all EU cities and regions Five Suggestions to Avoid Being a Ghost City Starting from the 1990s, over 100 new city projects have been launched around the world. This number does not include China, which has hundreds of its own state-driven new city projects underway. While some new cities have attracted tens of thousands of residents, others join the growing herd of white elephant projects that are stalled and sit largely empty.As a researcher of the new city trend, I have detected some common assumptions and practices among city builders that hinder their projects. I offer five suggestions for city builders to avoid becoming a ghost city. https://newcities.org/the-big-picture-five-suggestions-avoid-ghost-city/ To Harness the Benefits of the Bike-Share Revolution Introduced in a basic form in the 1960s, bike-sharing services are now seemingly ubiquitous in many major cities. The propagation of “dockless” systems, shared bicycles that can be parked nearly anywhere, has led to unprecedented growth, increasing the number of publicly accessible bikes from 1.2 million worldwide in 2015 to more than 16 million in China alone in just two years. Cities find themselves at a key inflection point on how to manage this revolution. SUMPs-Up Webinar: Data Collection for SUMP Analysing the mobility situation and developing scenarios of possible future mobility situations helps to set the goals for your city’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP). In order to know where you want to go and how you're going to get there, you first need to know where you are currently standing. Collecting evidence on the existing mobility conditions and ensuring availability of accurate data is the basis for SUMP development. Taking place on 20 February, this webinar from CIVITAS SUMPs-Up will focus on analysing the mobility situation and collecting data collection for SUMP. https://civitas.eu/event/sumps-webinar-data-collection-sump Transforming Transportation 2019: The Convergence of Old and New Mobility Why is Transforming Transportation (TT) 2019 focused on new mobility? Tech-driven disruptions in transport are already having huge impacts on our cities, said Ani Dasgupta, global director of WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. “What do we need to do as a community to help prepare so the end result is something we want?” With more than 1,100 ministers, mayors, businesspeople, researchers, practitioners and advocates taking part in the two-day conference co-hosted by the World Bank and World Resources Institute (see day one recap here), TT brought a wealth of ideas about how to make mobility more affordable, safe, equitable for everyone. IoT-enabled vehicles can make Smart Cities safer Dockless electric scooter and bike sharing initiatives, becoming increasingly widespread in the US, are still facing an initial backlash due to various issues, but they have the potential to make city traffic safer, as well as more efficient. https://www.urenio.org/2019/01/22/iot-enabled-vehicles-can-make-smart-cities-safer/ The key to resilient housing lies in the fine print From Canada to Kenya, nearly every country struggles to provide housing for all its residents. It’s a goal that has become a moving target: Migration – both rural-to-urban and cross-border – is placing mounting pressure on cities to house their newcomers. Three million people move to urban areas every week, and by 2030, three billion more people will need quality housing. The growing risks of climate change demand housing strategies that focus not only on affordability, but also on resilience. http://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/key-resilient-housing-lies-fine-print Preregister now - Autonomy & The Urban Mobility Summit 2019 16-17 October 2019 Paris, France Autonomy & The Urban Mobility Summit is an annual event that brings innovators and policy makers together to change the way we move in cities. Autonomy is a Business to Business and Business to Government event that takes place over two days in Paris. https://www.autonomy.paris/en/ 24-26 June 2019 Fortaleza, Brazil MOBILIZE is ITDP’s annual sustainable transport summit, which brings together practitioners and researchers together to celebrate best practices and accelerate implementation of sustainable transport projects. This year it will take place in the winning city of the Sustainable Transport Award, Fortaleza. The Great Divide in How Americans Commute to Work We are cleaving into two nations—one where daily life revolves around the car, and the other where the car is receding in favor of walking, biking, and transit. In a previous post, I pointed to the car as a key feature in the nation’s deepening economic and political fissures. It’s becoming clearer that how we get around our cities and towns is a significant aspect of these divides. That’s the big takeaway from my analysis, with my colleague Karen King at the University of Toronto School of Cities, of recently released 2017 commuting data from the American Community Survey. The dataset covers 270-plus metropolitan areas. Uber is exploring autonomous bikes and scooters Uber is looking to integrate autonomous technology into its bike and scooter-share programs. Details are scarce, but according to 3D Robotics CEO Chris Anderson, who said Uber announced this at a DIY Robotics event over the weekend, the division will live inside Uber’s JUMP group, which is responsible for shared electric bikes and scooters. https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/20/uber-is-exploring-autonomous-bikes-and-scooters/
Further archived news available on request from: Kate More |
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