NewsMay2018

For the 8th year running, the prestigious World Smart City Awards will reward innovative cities, projects and ideas promoting sustainable urban development around the globe.
For the chance to have your work recognized and shared at this leading global platform, send in your application by September 3.
The 2017 edition attracted 309 applications from 58 countries, with winners hailing from the Netherlands, Spain, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Argentina and USA. This year’s winners will be announced at SCEWC on November 14, in a ceremony that attracts an audience of more than 1,000 key public and private decision makers.
http://www.smartcityexpo.com/en/calls/call-for-awards

REMOURBAN Webinar on Urban Regeneration Model

On Tuesday, 05 June 2018 at 3 pm (CEST) the EU-funded project REMOURBAN will host a webinar on its Urban Regeneration Model addressing the transformation of energy in buildings and districts, urban mobility and the integration of city infrastructures through ICT. Please find attached the press release. I hope you may consider them for publication on your website.
http://www.remourban.eu/news--events/events/webinar-urban-regeneration-model.kl

Six Making Cities Work projects awarded

In April six projects were awarded in the Making Cities Work call. The projects will now begin to solve concrete urban challenges, developing proof of concept and learning in the process.
Successful Making Cities Work projects should make use of knowledge already produced to solve concrete urban challenges, developing proof of concept and learning in the process. The concrete challenge should be the starting point, giving direction to transdisciplinary co-creation between the problem owners – the cities – and industry, researchers and urban NGOs.
https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/making-cities-work/

China’s Electric Horizon

China, the most populated country and number one polluter in the world, is currently facing an urban mobility crisis. Looking for an effective solution, the government has bet on electric vehicles by introducing subsidies, green plates, and investing in charging stations. Combined with the right mindset and favorable economic circumstances, these measures are paying off: 770,000 electric vehicles were sold last year and many new brands are being born. It thus seems safe to predict that the future of Chinese urban mobility will be electric.
https://urbanmobilitydaily.com/the-future-of-urban-mobility-chinas-electric-horizon/

Local Renewables 2018: Registration open now!

The City of Freiburg, the City of Basel, and ICLEI Europe are proud to announce the opening of the registration of the Local Renewables Conference 2018. The conference will take place from 24 - 26 October 2018 in Freiburg (Germany) and Basel (Switzerland).
The 9th Local Renewables Conference will discuss the transformation from a linear to a circular economy and explore how cities and regions can take full advantage of renewable resources.
http://www.local-renewables-conference.org/freiburg-and-basel-2018/home/

Urban Mobility Summit - Ticket sales are now open!

Passes for both the Autonomy Salon and the Urban Mobility Summit are officially open to the public! To celebrate the big day, we will be offering exactly 100 Exhibition passes and 100 Summit & Exhibition passes at 1/2 price until Wednesday, 30 May at midnight (CEST). The prices of the tickets will increase each week and are alloted on a first-come basis, so the earlier you buy, the better the deal!
https://www.autonomy.paris/en/

Building a smart city from scratch is as hard as it sounds

Groundbreaking developments near Toronto, Boston and Phoenix are revealing early challenges around data privacy, social stewardship, and understanding the intangible qualities that entice people to move to a new city.
https://statescoop.com/building-a-smart-city-from-the-ground-up

The dream smart city

A Smart City is a city where life has become very easy.
Bus tickets can be bought directly from an App while private vehicles are replaced by cars and bikes shared by the public. Buses and cars don’t run on gas or other conventional fuels but are powered by electricity. Charging infrastructures are disseminated all around the city, so there is no need to go to the gas tank anymore! Consequences of all these improvements in mobility are the reduction of energy consumption and CO2 emissions and the reduction of the door-to-door journey time.
http://www.remourban.eu/news--events/news/the-dream-smart-city.kl

Save the Date: 7th Global Summit on Urban Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is pleased to inform that the 7th Global Summit on Urban Tourism will take place from 16-19 September 2018 in Seoul, at the kind invitation of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The provisional programme, general information note and registration online will be available shortly.
http://destination.unwto.org/7th-global-summit-urban-tourism

Disaster Counter-measures and Risk Management towards Resilient Cities Forum

Learn about the Japanese experience from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 and the experiences of other global cities on building water resilience strategies to help in recovery following a disruptive event.
http://worldwatercongress.org/forums/

Making cities more dense always sparks resistance

Urban density, done well, has all kinds of benefits. On average, people who live in dense, walkable areas tend to be physically healthier, happier, and more productive. Local governments pay less in infrastructure costs to support urbanites than they to support suburbanites. Per-capita energy consumption is lower in dense areas, which is good for air pollution and climate change.
Plus, dense, walkable areas tend to be buzzy and culturally vibrant. There’s a reason they are often so expensive to live in — lots of people want to live there. Demand exceeds supply.
https://www.vox.com/2017/6/20/15815490/toderian-nimbys

PARK4SUMP: First Horizon 2020 project on parking to start in September!

PARK4SUMP is an exciting EU project that will develop and carry out a capacity building programme: for external follower cities, as well as for national governments. It will also involve service providers and parking industry representatives. It will consist of trainings, shadowing programmes and webinars as well as of targeted policy transfers. The capacity building programmes will regularly be updated in order to incorporate new insights.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/1701/45/PARK4SUMP-First-Horizon-2020-project-on-parking-to-start-in-September-33

International Green Capital Congress (IGCC)

Konya Metropolitan Municipality is organizing an international congress with the Union of Municipalities of Turkey and 4 universities in Konya.
This event aims to elaborate a comprehensive city vision for the future by drawing a frame for livable cities with universal values and a projection of decades. Some of the topics that will be discussed are the climate change, sustainable local transportation, land usage, biological diversity or integrated environment management.
http://www.yesilbaskentler.com/

Save the Date: World Congress INTA 42, Rostock, Germany, 19-21 September 2018

Just a few months after the 2017 Annual Congress INTA41, INTA is organizing its 42nd Annual Congress, hosted by the city of Rostock. It will focus on Innovation in Middle-sized Cities and unlocking their hidden value. Rostock is a prime example of a medium sized city, unlocking its value to transcend the traditional role of a city of its size. The full programme and registration will be available online soon.
https://inta-aivn.org/en/activities/exchange/congress/inta42/inta42-homepage

The Living City vs The Mechanical City

A city is a living organism, and we should tend to it as such. A city dies when it is treated as, and functions, as a machine.
THE LIVING CITY
Cities are complex systems; they are made up of thousands, even millions, of individuals with their own aspirations and needs. A living city is one that is constantly evolving and optimizing to the needs of the people from the bottom up. Living cities are fairly organic and fairly dense (even if the city is small), with lots of small buildings that can be repurposed. They are incredibly green, contain a mixture of uses that tend to be close together and are fast to adapt to changing conditions. Living cities have plenty of small scale chaos (trial and error) at the local level, little restriction on using your property productively, and a high level of incrementalism (buildings that are adapted and added to over the generations as their needs change) — and that incrementalism is allowed by-right. These properties remain consistent, regardless of whether the city is wealthy or poor or what continent its on.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/5/1/the-living-city-vs-the-mechanical-city

A New Way to Rank America’s Best Cities for Bicycling

A new ranking of America’s top cities for bicycling, courtesy of the bike industry-funded advocacy organization PeopleForBikes, has a slightly different take on the usual suspects.
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/05/03/a-new-way-to-rank-americas-best-cities-for-bicycling/

Save the date! 2018 Metropolis Annual Meeting - Gauteng Province

Under the theme “Inclusive Metropolitan Cities and City-Regions”, the 2018 Metropolis Annual Meeting is hosted by Gauteng Province and will take place in Johannesburg.
Take part in a community dedicated to sustainable urban development with more than 500 decision-makers and practictioners from all over the planet
https://www.metropolis.org/gauteng2018

Basin Connected Cities Forum

A disruption in supply of freshwater resources to cities can have significant economic, environmental and health consequences. We will explore what actions by cities need to be taken today to achieve sustainable management of basins into the future. Watch the video.
http://worldwatercongress.org/forums/

Women and men are different in what they need from city living

Latin American women live in cities differently than men in the ways they use services and transportation, but their needs are often overlooked by male-run urban governments, experts say.
Decisions on how money is spent and cities are planned are largely made by men, stifling women's rights in the world's most urbanized region, according to urban experts and women's rights leaders at a conference on cities this week in Bogota.
Across the region, women account for just one in seven elected mayors, according to the United Nations.
Women live in cities differently from men mainly due to their traditional roles caring for children, elderly relatives and the sick, experts said.
http://www.thisisplace.org/i/?id=ac056e07-4774-4f5d-9e79-9a75b88d22b4

The Future of Urban Mobility: Five Key Insights

The urban mobility disruption is gathering momentum quickly. Companies that predict the future correctly have a greater chance of being the disruptors and not the disrupted.
From our Autonomy offices in Paris, our team of 16 spend every day interacting with thought leaders, innovators, funders and cities on what this future might be. In creating the annual Autonomy & The Urban Mobility Summit, we interact in various ways with 250 mobility speakers, 2000 mobility companies, 20 Innovation Labs, 500 mobility startups and more than 100 cities.
https://urbanmobilitydaily.com/the-future-of-urban-mobility-five-key-insights/

Auditorium session “Cities for girls and young women = cities for all”

PLATFORMA/CEMR, Plan International, UN HABITAT, and United Cities and Local Governments – Africa are organising an Auditorium session at the European Development Days 2018 on 6 June at 11.30 in Brussels. Speakers will focus on the importance of strengthening girls’ and young women’s representation and voices in urban spaces as a way of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (specifically 11 and 5) and the New Urban Agenda.
http://platforma-dev.eu/edd18-attend-our-auditorium-session-cities-for-girls-and-young-women-cities-for-all/

The INTA 41 Congress Report is now available

Relive or discover the INTA41 Conference on Partnerships for Sustainable Cities and Communities, which was held on the 16 and 17 April 2018 in Malmö, through our interactive report.
https://inta-aivn.org/images/inta/activities/exchange/Annual_Congress/INTA41/INTA41_report.pdf

The Path Toward Smart Cities: Best Practices for Action

?The awareness of the potential of Smart Cities has grown exponentially in recent years. Ruthbea Yesner, Vice President of IDC Government Insights and global director of its Smart Cities Strategies practice, identifies some best practices.
https://media.erepublic.com/document/Analyst-Brief-IDC.PDF

The Great Parisian Bikeshare Meltdown

Glitches and worker strikes have brought the world’s first modern bikeshare program to its knees.
There’s a twisted sort of good news for Parisian cyclists this week. This month, monthly and annual subscribers to Velib, the city’s pioneering bikeshare program, will be able to use its bikes completely free of charge. In fact, anyone who has paid upfront to subscribe to the service since January can apply to get their money back.
This deal may sound pretty sweet, but the background to its introduction is more than a little bitter. The reason for the free bike policy is to manage the fallout from an almighty urban screw up, one that for much of the past 12 months has left Velib’s day-to-day functioning and its overall reputation in tatters.
https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/05/the-paris-bikeshare-is-now-free-but-thats-because-its-broken/559913/

CEMR Conference on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: register before May 31!

In less than one month, you could join hundreds of local and regional leaders, experts and civil society representatives gathering in Bilbao. Your mission? To explore how equality, diversity and inclusion can be translated from words into concrete action for all the women, men and children of Europe’s towns and regions. Don’t miss out on this opportunity. You can register until 31 May.
http://www.ccre.org/en/actualites/view/3722

Smart Cities Conference Raises Concerns About Those Left Behind by Technology

Numerous panels during a recent smart cities conference in New York City—including a keynote from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel—highlighted how technology could exacerbate today's inequalities.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel isn’t known for pulling punches, and at a recent smart cities conference, he lived up to that reputation. During his keynote discussion, he spoke to a packed audience about the need for social inclusion, saying “if you can’t have people with the tools to access [smart city technologies], it’s just a good concept for a conference.” While the blunt comment may have been expected of Emanuel, that urgent warning wasn’t an aberration at the conference either.
http://www.metropolismag.com/cities/smart-cities-new-york-2018-recap/

Global Alliance Formed to Standardize Parking Data

Three major parking associations join forces to develop an international parking data standard. The Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS), recently formed by the International Parking Institute (IPI), the British Parking Association (BPA), and the European Parking Association (EPA), is a not-for-profit organization with the mission to develop, promote, manage, and maintain a uniform global standard that will allow organizations to share parking data across platforms worldwide.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/1700/45/Global-Alliance-Formed-to-Standardize-Parking-Data

Booming cities, unintended consequences

Roadways clogged by commercial vehicles and intense competition for affordable housing are imposing costs on prosperous cities and their most vulnerable residents.
Cities are the hubs of the emerging digital economy, attracting knowledge workers with higher pay and alluring lifestyles. One consequence of this concentrated prosperity is rising rents and a scramble for housing that places disadvantaged citizens in peril—as seen in the increasing rates of homelessness in cities such as Seattle. More people living in urban cores also means more commercial vehicles are needed to serve them, which is fueled by a surge in online deliveries. The resulting congestion is burdening cities with surprisingly high costs. The social stresses of the new growth should be on your radar.
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/meeting-societys-expectations/booming-cities-unintended-consequences

CIVITAS Urban Freight Conference: presentations and posters now available!

The EU-funded CITYLAB, NOVELOG, SUCCESS, U-TURN projects joined forces and organised the CIVITAS Urban Freight Conference, an interactive event including presentations, posters and exhibitions, breakout and training sessions, workshops and awards.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/1698/45/CIVITAS-Urban-Freight-Conference-presentations-and-posters-now-available-33

The Ninth International Cities for Mobility Congress will take place under the title "New mobility and the transformation of our cities"on 17-19 June 2018 at Stuttgart City Hall. On the first day of the event, Polis Secretary General Karen Vancluysen will give a keynote speech on "Mobility innovation in cities: Avoiding pitfalls, embracing opportunities".
https://www.cities-for-mobility.net/congress/international-congress-2018/

Cairo has started to become ugly

Why Egypt is building a new capital city
Billboards promising another way of life have long clustered alongside the clogged highways of central Cairo. Advertisements for gated housing developments called “Regent’s Park”, “Beta Greens” or “Uptown” promise “360-degree greenery” and open spaces. One, on a busy and polluted central road, invites onlookers to “just breathe”.
The promise of escape from the congestion of central Cairo to a new life 40km away on the city’s outskirts is fetishised for those able to afford it. Nowhere is this more clear than on the billboards advertising real estate in “Entrada”, a housing and commercial property development in Egypt’s new administrative capital, which is currently without a name. “Welcome to a supreme community,” proclaims one. The development is touted by its creators as “the entrance to a new city, a new lifestyle, a new community and a new worldwide centre of attraction”.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/may/08/cairo-why-egypt-build-new-capital-city-desert

Making cities cooler is a no brainer

You walk through a park in a city on a warm day, then cross out to a narrow street lined with tall buildings. Suddenly, it feels much hotter. Many people will have experienced this, and climate scientists have a name for it: the urban heat island effect.
Heavily urbanised areas within cities are between 1? and 3? hotter than other areas. They are contributing to global warming and damaging people’s health, and it’s set to get worse as urbanisation intensifies.
Numerous cities around the world are trying to do something about this problem. But there is a very long way to go. So what is holding us back, and what needs to happen?
https://theconversation.com/making-cities-cooler-is-a-no-brainer-so-why-are-we-doing-so-little-about-it-95607

International New Town Day 2018 date change

On popular request we now ask you to CHANGE THE DATE;INTD 2018 will be on NOVEMBER 15 (and not on October 18)!
After Almere 2016 and Milton Keynes 2017, this year's International New Town Day will be in Rotterdam.
Until July 1st we’re open to your suggestions and proposals for the program.
You can address us at: info@newtowninstitute.org
http://www.newtowninstitute.org/

Transforming Urban Mobility: Shaping the Future Together

What will happen to urban mobility in the next 10, 50, 100 years, and beyond? Following the quote “The future is not predetermined and waiting to happen – it is ours to shape” (Lyons & Urry, 2006), TUM understands that our situation in the future largely depends on decisions we make today. TUM invite you to share your ideas on how to develop urban mobility for the future, to give your contribution, today.
http://www.eltis.org/participate/events/mobiltum-2018

Urban Logistics - "The integrated perspective"

Study from the European Commission - Mobility and Transport Directorate General with the objective to develop guidance documents including best practices on six different aspects of urban logistics. The target group being local and regional administrations. Each topic includes one non-binding guidance document and one technical report (more detailed).
http://www.eltis.org/resources/tools/study-urban-logistics-integrated-perspective

U.S. Sets A Nationwide Goal To End Traffic Deaths By 2050

Traffic deaths continue to plague U.S. streets, with pedestrian deaths reaching a 33-year high last year. Federal safety agencies are stepping in with an ambitions strategy to completely eliminate road fatalities nationwide by 2050.
https://www.curbed.com/2018/4/25/17279202/traffic-deaths-safety-vision-zero-2050

ITF summit side event on road safety in cities and regions

On 23 May, from 9.-10.30h a seminar on innovative road safety approaches on local and regional level will be held in Leipzig, Germany at the annual summit of the International Transport Forum. Polis organised the event in cooperation with ETSC, iRAP, NACTO, NY City DOT, the Open Transport Partnership, TfL and Volvo Group.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/1693/45/Polis-organises-ITF-summit-side-event-on-road-safety-in-cities-and-regions

Save the date! C-ITS events

The European Project C-the Difference will be holding its final City Twinning workshop that will gather representatives from European cities and road authorities/operators. The aim is to foster knowledge sharing and exchange of best practices in the field of urban C-ITS pilots.
The European C-ITS Platform has made important progress towards a common C-ITS deployment strategy, and now it’s time to speed-up the cooperation between cities, road operators, businesses and professional users who need to work actively together if massive C-ITS deployment is to start in 2019.
Three leading European C-ITS initiatives supported by the European Commission (urban C-ITS pilots in “C-The Difference” and “C-MobILE” projects, together with the C-Roads Platform for national and regional deployment), are coming together to invite policy- and decision-makers and professional users to meet at the Urban C-ITS Roundtable on 6th June 2018 in Bordeaux to strengthen commitment and to gain momentum toward large scale deployment in Europe.
http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/Save-the-date-C-ITS-events-on-5-6-June-in-Bordeaux-WSPO-AYEE7C

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure: Guidelines for Cities

The paper provides critical insights so that municipalities can successfully develop and implement electrification plans
Ljubljana — Today, a new contribution to the electrification of European transport was launched at the TEN-T Days conference. The paper, Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure: Guidelines for Cities, draws on the experience and expertise from a wide range of professionals in the electric vehicle charging infrastructure industry to provide specific and actionable information for European city officials trying to plan and procure electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
http://www.eltis.org/discover/news/electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-guidelines-cities

Complaints as electric car points block city pavements

In the rush to accommodate increasing numbers of electric cars, some cities are letting bulky charging stations take space from pedestrians
Cities across the world are rushing to install charging points to encourage and keep up with demand from increasing numbers of electric vehicles. By the end of last year there were almost 600,000 street charging points globally.
But while some cities, such as Paris, are introducing charging points inconspicuously, many others are not. In some areas of London chargers have been taking over pavements and blocking pedestrians.
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/may/04/charged-complaints-electric-car-points-pavements-pedestrians

Will Recycling Survive in your Community?

China has changed it's acceptance criteria for imported recyclable commodities and the changes will effect how we recycle. This webinar will take a look at the changes, what recycling companies are doing to manage the changes, and offer suggestions on how cities can structure more successful partnerships to address these realities and keep recycling sustainable. May 23, 1:00-2:30 PM EDT.
http://smartgrowth.org/event/will-recycling-survive-in-your-community/

Urban Transitions 2018 - abstract deadline closes 8th June

There is still time to submit a paper for Urban Transitions 2018 and share your experiences and research of Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning with an international audience. The conference aims to promote healthy urban development by bringing together different disciplines working within cities.
Attendees wil have the opportunity to meet world leading experts on urban and transport planning, architecture, environmental exposures, physical activity, and public health and governance to discuss current challenges and solutions.
https://www.elsevier.com/events/conferences/urban-transitions/submit-abstract

Copenhagenize: The Definitive Guide to Global Bicycle Urbanism

The bicycle enjoyed a starring role in urban history over a century ago, but now it is back, stronger than ever. It is the single most important tool for improving our cities. Designing around it is the most efficient way to make our cities life-sized—to scale cities for humans. It is time to cement the bicycle firmly in the urban narrative in US and global cities.
https://www.amazon.com/Copenhagenize-Definitive-Global-Bicycle-Urbanism/dp/1610919386/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525460309&sr=1-1&keywords=copenhagenize

Cars Are Ruining Our Cities

We might be living through a new age of miracles. Last month, Los Angeles decided against adding lanes to a freeway, an unexpected move in a city that has mistakenly thought for years that more lanes mean fewer traffic jams.
Shortly before that, Germany’s highest court ruled that diesel cars could be banned from city centers to clean up the air. Mind you, Germany is the land where diesel technology was invented — and Volkswagen, the world’s largest automobile maker, invested heavily in pushing the cars before it was caught lying about their emissions. After the court ruling, Volkswagen sputtered that it was “unable to comprehend” the decision.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/opinion/cars-ruining-cities.html

Building resilience to climate change seminar

We are delighted to invite you to the Event "Building resilience to climate change: developing regional-urban approaches" organized by CPMR and ICLEI Europe on 23 May, from 14:00 to 17:00, in Brussels under the framework of the European Green Week.
Adapting to climate change is a major challenge that cuts across sectors and levels of government: from transnational to regional and local. Cities and regions must work together if they are to develop effective strategies to address their local vulnerabilities and boost resilience.
This half-day seminar introduces transferable best practices and scalable approaches on how cities and regions can together develop policies and actions to address risks, create resilient infrastructures, and foster a better quality of life for their communities.
https://form.jotform.com/80874243211956

The Latest from the Urban Mobility Summit

First Round of Speakers Announced!
The Urban Mobility team is excited to unveil the first six speakers selected to share their expertise at the 2018 Urban Mobility Summit, 18 - 19 October in Paris. The Inaugural Six include innovators from France, Europe and Silicon Valley who are leading some of the most disruptive projects in mobility. Head over to our conference site now to meet our speakers and pre-register for discounted tickets!
With over 100 more speakers to announce, the excitement has only just begun!
https://www.autonomy.paris/en/urban-mobility-summit-2018/

How local wastewater treatment is transforming city infrastructure

“At the heart of the sewer mining system is a technology called a membrane bioreactor (MBR),” writes Sandra Postel, in an excerpt from her book Replenish. “In recent years both the cost and energy requirements of the membranes have declined substantially. Each day, MBRs treat 3 billion litres, produce higher quality water, and cost roughly the same as other technologies.”
https://www.thesourcemagazine.org/how-local-wastewater-treatment-is-transforming-city-infrastructure/

Five Basic Steps Can Prepare the World For the Self-Driving Car

The autonomous future is coming at us at full speed and it poses a potential threat to daily life in our cities and suburbs not seen since the invention of the automobile.
In the much-discussed talk of our idealised, autonomous future, all city residents will have equal access to fast, efficient, and reliable transport to whisk them to their destinations at the touch of a button.
This is all true. AV technology has the potential to efficiently provide transport on a scale that individual human beings in private cars simply are not capable of achieving. It could result in reduced congestion on our road, less demand for parking facilities, and significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions. It seems to be the solution to all of our problems.
https://urbanmobilitydaily.com/these-five-basic-steps-can-prepare-the-world-for-the-self-driving-car/

UERA workshop and summer school coming up

International workshop: Nature based solutions for urban resilience
Organised by IEFE-Bocconi & Urban Europe Research Alliance (UERA)
5th June 2018, Milan
The aim of the workshop is to analyse and compare applications of planning, evaluation and management approaches to nature based solutions at urban scale and to assess their impacts in terms of economic development, environmental conservation, improved social cohesion and stakeholder engagement. The keynote speakers will shortly be announced and the program will be published on the IEFEBocconi website.
https://jpi-urbaneurope.eu/app/uploads/2018/05/NBSs-FOR-URBAN-RESILIENCE-Call-for-abstracts-1.pdf

Shifts in municipal finance required to implement SDGs

Last April 9, UCLG, together with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the City Council of Malaga, convened a High-level Policy Dialogue on Municipal Finance. The Metropolis Secretary General attended the event and joined mayors and representatives of local government networks, national ministries, development banks, and commercial banks in discussions about the importance of financial mechanisms for local governments to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
https://www.metropolis.org/news/2018/municipal/finance

Go with the flow – adaptive management for urban flood risk

The future is uncertain. It’s hard to know exactly how our climate will change. That means there is also deep uncertainty around its impacts on flooding, the most prevalent disaster worldwide. Floods account for 43% of all recorded disaster events in the past 20 years. Will climate change exacerbate flooding events? How much will sea level rise? How extreme will rainfall be?
What we do know is that the best way to cope with uncertainty is flexibility.
While it may be difficult to predict impacts, we can – and must – take action. Growing uncertainty means preparation is even more urgent. To meet future challenges, we need adaptable urban flood management today.
http://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/go-flow-adaptive-management-urban-flood-risk

Cities, CDOs and the Power of Networking

Chief data officers are not only working to solve their own cities' problems. They're working together to share their approaches among their peers.
As governments grapple with how to achieve data-driven efficiency improvements, often in the middle of the most successful efforts is a job that barely existed as a job a few years ago: the chief data officers, appointed in cities large and small, who are making rapid progress toward solving a range of vexing urban problems.
http://www.governing.com/blogs/bfc/col-cities-chief-data-officers-networking.html

Traffic management solutions at urban freight conference

As cities grapple with new challenges in urban freight and deliveries, the CIVITAS Urban Freight conference looks at the future of urban logistics — with insight from TM 2.0. The CIVITAS Urban Freight Conference was held on 23 & 24 April 2018 under the patronage of the projects CITYLAB, NOVELOG, SUCCESS, and U-TURN. This interactive event included presentations, posters and exhibitions, and breakout and training sessions on new cooperation models for engaging and supporting public and private actors, addressing more broadly what the future might hold for urban logistics.
http://erticonetwork.com/traffic-management-solutions-presented-at-urban-freight-conference/

How to promote clean mobility solutions in public procurement at the local and regional level?

Polis Member Gothenburg will host a discussion on how a revised Clean Vehicles Directive could streamline clean mobility solutions in public procurement.
The City of Gothenburg and Region Viistra Gotaland have high ambitions in reducing climate change. A cornerstone of this work is the regional objective to be fossilfree by 2030, which includes a fossil free public transport fleet.There are many on-going initiatives supporting the objective and as a result about 95 % of the procured public transport in the region ran on renewable fuels in 2017.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/1683/45/How-to-promote-clean-mobility-solutions-in-public-procurement-at-the-local-and-regional-level

Who Benefits When a City Goes Green?

Going green is a cornerstone of contemporary urban policy planning — and cultivating a green identity has become vital in boosting a city’s economic profile. But in the race to develop these initiatives, some cities are proving better at the branding than in actually creating affordable, equitable green spaces for all citizens, according to a new policy book examining urban greening and social equity.
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/who-benefits-when-a-city-goes-green

Do ride-sharing apps cause or relieve congestion?

A recent study has attributed increased congestion in urban areas to ride-sharing apps - effectively shifting city travellers from collective passenger transport to cars. The study Empty Seats (link is external), by Bruce Schaller uses data from traffic patterns of ride-sharing in Manhattan, New York. In four years, ride-hailing fares increased by 81% percent, and currently outnumber the yellow cabs with a taxi licence by almost five. Ride-hailing cars spend around 45% of their time unused.
http://www.eltis.org/discover/news/do-ride-sharing-apps-cause-or-relieve-congestion

Psychology and the city – imagining the urban future

Have we really invested enough time into understanding the psychology of our built environments?
In two keynote speeches to open the second event in our ‘imagine the urban future’ series of Brussels based seminars, Charles Landry and Chris Murray reflected upon how we interact with space and place.
“A city is more than a place in space, it is a drama in time” – quoting Patrick Geddes, Landry suggested that, while we know cities to be hubs of trade, transport and culture, the sheer weight of what makes a city can lead to a feeling among residents of being completely overwhelmed. We are constantly responding to and interacting with our built environment, which in turn shapes our behaviour.
http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/news/Psychology-and-the-city-imagining-the-urban-future-WSPO-AY8EE3

SmartCity Expo World Congress 2018

The event aims to be the place to collectivize urban power, to increase the strength of cities, to identify business opportunities, to establish partnerships and contribute to enacting common policies. A place to share research, best practices and potential common solutions, achieved through effective collaboration.
http://www.smartcityexpo.com/en/

The Urban Sustainability Framework: a comprehensive guide for more livable cities

Making cities smart is one thing. But making them green and sustainable in the future takes them to a higher level. Making cities sustainable makes them even smarter.
This is what the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility could have had in mind when they first conceived and launched the Urban Sustainability Framework (USF) during the 9th session of the World Urban Forum held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in February 2018.
http://urbanizehub.com/the-urban-sustainability-framework-for-cities/

New study praises Covenant of Mayors' impact on cities

How are cities planning to respond to climate change? Read the Assessment of local climate plans from 885 cities in EU28, in the Journal of Cleaner Production. This study praises the Covenant of Mayors for mobilising European local governments to plan and take action in the field of climate mitigation and adaptation.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618308977

Save the Date: EIP-SCC General Assembly, 27-28 June 2018

A catalyst for driving social and economic sustainability in cities across the European Union, the EIP-SCC Marketplace brings its 2018 General Assembly to Sofia, Bulgaria, 27-28 June.
This year’s event debuts an onsite matchmaking programme designed to stimulate investment in civic improvements, bringing city and industry representatives seeking support for projects together with motivated investors.
Other General Assembly 2018 highlights include the latest smart city trends, best practices and success stories presented by some of the brightest minds from the public and private sectors. Advanced technologies on display in the Exhibition Hall will showcase how smart solutions improve lives and livelihoods.
https://www.polisnetwork.eu/publicnews/1682/45/SAVE-THE-DATE-EIP-SCC-General-Assembly-27-28-June-2018

Local Renewables 2018: Programme released!

The City of Freiburg, the City of Basel, and ICLEI Europe are proud to release the preliminary programme of the Local Renewables Conference 2018. The conference will take place from 24 - 26 October 2018 in Freiburg (Germany) and Basel (Switzerland).
The 9th Local Renewables Conference will discuss the transformation from a linear to a circular economy and explore how cities and regions can take full advantage of renewable resources.
Together with practitioners and policy makers from leading and learning cities and regions, and representatives from European and national governments, business, and research and finance institutions, we invite you to join us.
http://www.local-renewables-conference.org/freiburg-and-basel-2018/home/

Is Sri Lanka one of the Least Urbanised Countries on Earth?

UN-Habitat is currently assessing the spatial dynamics of Sri Lanka’s urbanisation. The analysis is being conducted across the country’s 9 provincial capitals for the period 1995-2017. The project is on-going, with results to be published later this year in the State of Sri Lankan Cities Report, but the data generated so far suggests that Sri Lanka’s cities have expanded rapidly since the 1990s.
https://unhabitat.org/is-sri-lanka-one-of-the-least-urbanised-countries-on-earth/

5 Reasons for Cities to Value their Downtowns

Downtown signifies a city’s greater brand or identity. When you visit a new city, where do you go? How do you learn and get acclimated? Where is the economic, cultural and civic center? Chances are you turn to the city’s natural hub – the downtown. Downtowns have historically been the regional epicenter; they’ve evolved into vibrant city centers; and if we are thoughtful and strategic, they hold the potential for an inclusive future.
http://meetingoftheminds.org/5-reasons-for-cities-to-value-their-downtowns-26881

Le Monde Smart Cities Urban Innovation Awards

Le Monde newspaper launched the 3rd edition of the Urban Innovation Awards Le Monde Smart Cities, on 17 November 2017, during a conference on metropolises and their relationship with their territories, named Where can the city go? Metropolis, networks and territories.
The Award Ceremony for european projects will be held in Lyon in May 2018, and in a event aside World Cities Forum, in Singapore in July 2018, for non european.
http://www.lemonde.fr/smart-cities/article/2017/11/16/troisieme-edition-des-prix-de-l-innovation-urbaine-le-monde-smart-cities_5215704_4811534.html

The second annual Metropolis North America policy forum

The second annual Metropolis North America policy forum builds on the foundational understanding gained at the inaugural forum in Washington, and seeks to identify areas where cooperation is occurring, possible and/or desired. Amidst the backdrop of shifting migration patterns and evolving relationships, approaches can benefit from imagination and should consider actors beyond national governments, including subnational levels and other sectors of society. The key aim of the Mexico City forum is to explore where expanded cooperation across the continent on migration can both promote security and grow the economy in all three countries. Building on innovative approaches and ideas, organizers will seek to bolster a North American migration research agenda that can support these opportunities with insight and analysis from a continental perspective.
https://www.metropolisconference.ca/mexico/en/program.php

Climate battle will be won or lost in cities

Cities, which produce about 70 percent of carbon emissions, are driving green reforms and will be key to tackling climate change, the United Nations' climate chief said on Thursday.
Their contribution to global warming could rise as two-thirds of the world will live in cities by 2050, up from about half now, the United Nations (U.N.) says.
"Cities are where the climate battle will be won or lost," said Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), during a conference of city and government officials in Germany.
http://www.thisisplace.org/i/?id=5d9f456f-1eec-4b94-91ed-afa89348f561

Why It Matters Who Gets to Shape a City’s Economy

Good things happen when conversations about shaping a city’s economy are more representative of those who live in cities, according to a new study from the Urban Institute, released today.
The Columbus Partnership launched in 2002, bringing together over 60 CEOs in the Ohio capital to engage with projects and organizations from the city that typically struggle with capacity and funding. Together they strategized about how to work toward sustained economic growth and community development. Today the partnership continues to work with city government, anchor institutions like the Ohio State University, and philanthropic groups on projects focused on economic and racial inclusion.
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/why-it-matters-who-gets-to-shape-a-city-economy-matters

From 8 to 80: Creating Livable Communities for All Ages

May 9 @ 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT
Walkable communities are only truly walkable when they are able to be enjoyed and accessed by members of all ages. Learn how communities of all shapes and sizes are making sure they are livable for people of all ages and abilities. This webinar is intended for advocates just getting started on the walking path as well as anyone interested in learning more about this topic.
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6571714316381284099