31/12/2011 - Small City Parks Linked to Reduced Crime, Less Stress.
30/12/2011 - CEMR general assembly in Cádiz: a glimpse of what you can expect.
29/12/2011 - Even or Odd? Rome Restricts Car Use.
28/12/2011 - Survey on cities and the green economy by LSE Cities and ICLEI.
27/12/2011 - Smart Cities and the Future Internet Workshop.
27/12/2011 - Moscow searches for future.
26/12/2011 - New final results of URBACT projects now available!
25/12/2011 - What Happens To All That Trash?
24/12/2011 - EMI Public lecture: interactive session on juvenile crime prevention in cities.
23/12/2011 - The Benefits of Urban Forests.
23/12/2011 - Welcome to WUF6.
22/12/2011 - Urban Age Conference review.
22/12/2011 - Housing Guarantee Planned for Families in Mumbai Slums.
21/12/2011 - Michigan Cities See Placemaking as the Key to a Brighter Future.
21/12/2011 - Asia's "Instant" Cities: Perfect Cities or Perfect Storm?
20/12/2011 - The Intersection of Health and Urban Planning.
19/12/2011 - Cities say: Urbanize the climate agenda.
19/12/2011 - Best Smart Growth Projects in America.
18/12/2011 - Town Builds Restaurant to Lure Chef.
18/12/2011 - MIND-BOGGLING IDEAS FOR A NEW ENERGY CULTURE !
17/12/2011 - Porsche-Oriented Development?
16/12/2011 - Time to air your clean laundry in public: The European ENGAGE campaign has been launched! .
16/12/2011 - Urban Parks Grew in 2011, as Employment Declines.
16/12/2011 - Local and regional leaders call for their active participation in the European governance.
15/12/2011 - Launch of the Outcomes Report of the Mexico City Pact.
15/12/2011 - Mayor of Vancouver wants to stay committed to the Kyoto Protocol.
14/12/2011 - UN-HABITAT supports Youth and Environmentally Friendly Cities.
14/12/2011 - Better transport for better cities.
13/12/2011 - Flying the urban design flag at UNHQ.
12/12/2011 - LINKS Project - The Technical Issues of Eco-Restoration of the Built Heritage.
12/12/2011 - Reason London Failed in Becoming a Cycling City.
12/12/2011 - Leipzig triples number of bicycle riders.
11/12/2011 - African Urban Planning Gets an Upgrade.
11/12/2011 - Pelican crossing providing pedestrian green wave celebrates its 3rd year in operation (Austria) .
10/12/2011 - Chaotic Urban Growth Hinders Economic Development In India.
10/12/2011 - The 20 Dirtiest Cities in the U.S.
9/12/2011 - Spanish Cities Saddled with Half-Completed Infrastructure Projects.
9/12/2011 - Dublin joins Intercultural Cities .
8/12/2011 - Turning Old Schools Into Parkside Apartments.
8/12/2011 - Eurobarometer: ‘The future on Transport’ (NEW UPDATE) .
7/12/2011 - Bicycle Users Take Action Into Their Own Hands.
7/12/2011 - Urban road charge in European cities: a possible means towards a new culture for urban mobility? .
7/12/2011 - Train Cars Recycle Kinetic Energy.
6/12/2011 - How Transportation Planners Managed the Evacuation of Tokyo.
6/12/2011 - Three years of the Covenant of Mayors - cities show the way out of the crisis.
6/12/2011 - European Commission calls for submission of local governance and decentralisation projects.
5/12/2011 - CORP EXPO 2012: “LIVABLE CITY” .
5/12/2011 - London Experiments With Shared Streets.
5/12/2011 - ICLEI Members in Africa are upping efforts in greening their cities.
4/12/2011 - Mongolia Constructs Glacier To Cool Capital.
3/12/2011 - New Efforts To Liven Up Parks.
3/12/2011 - Safer cities, safer lives: no more child soldiers in Somalia.
3/12/2011 - San Diego Formally Adopts Sustainable Communities Strategy.
2/12/2011 - What is China Building in the Desert? .
2/12/2011 - The local level, at the core of European 2050 Roadmaps : 6th IMAGINE Seminar 2011.
2/12/2011 - Pocket Parks Coming to Los Angeles.
1/12/2011 - Copenhagen: Taking a Diversity Charter to the Business Community.
1/12/2011 - Mixed Feelings About Proposed Private-Public Space in London.
1/12/2011 - URBACT 3rd Call for Proposals - Project Proposals Database.

Small City Parks Linked to Reduced Crime, Less Stress
A recent article by Kaid Benfield of the Natural Resources Defense Council cites studies that found green spaces are linked to reduced crime rates. Green space was also associated with the reporting of significantly less stress in one city, and with increased exercise rates in another.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/11/how-small-community-parks-may-make-cities-safer-more-healthy/249017/

CEMR general assembly in Cádiz: a glimpse of what you can expect
More interactive, dynamic and innovative, CEMR general assembly will take place in Cádiz (Spain), on 26, 27 and 28 September 2012, under the motto of innovating in 3D: Decentralisation - Development - Democracy.
The innovating in 3D approach will be broken down into specific themes of primary interest for towns, provinces and regions, e.g. Governing in Partnership to build a sustainable future for Europe; migration and how we can innovate for better inclusion; decentralisation as an on-going process across the continent and in the world; our action for enhancing active and participatory citizenship.
In the particular context of Cádiz and its geographic location, a special session will be dedicated to the various transitions in the Mediterranean region, and the specific decentralized links between Europe and Latin America, and how very intertwined the 3Ds are in such contexts.
Small and dynamic interactive round-tables will allow for elected representatives and experts to exchange together directly on best practices in a number of specific fields – i.e. on reshaping public services to tackle challenges related to the environment, climate, energy, transport, territorial planning and financing.
Sustainability and innovation will take centre-stage in both thematic and practical terms. New electronic methods will provide for informative and interactive exchange, including with the speakers and panels, so as to bring a new dynamic to the debates. Online tools will provide updated information and news on the various outcomes throughout the Congress events.

Even or Odd? Rome Restricts Car Use
With pollution levels becoming dangerous in Rome, Italy, the government is taking a hard line on driving. In late November, only cars with even-numbered license plates were allowed to drive in the city, with odd plates the next.
Itir Sonuparlak reports that Rome's pollution levels exceeded air safety limits 56 times in 2011:
"The city has also been monitoring levels of nitrogen dioxide and PM10, dangerous particles that can bypass natural human filters in the nose and throat and settle into the bloodstream. The data for these particles are especially alarming, the article reports. Traffic is the main source of the alarming PM10 concentrations."
"In response to the alarming levels of pollutants, the city imposed an alternate license plate system last Thursday and Friday. Only cars with even-numbered license plates were allowed in the city on Thursday, and odd numbers on Friday."
While these types of restrictions are controversial, Sonuparlak says that in this case the effect was measurable.
http://thecityfix.com/blog/rome-restricts-car-use-to-reduce-emissions-improve-air-quality/

Survey on cities and the green economy by LSE Cities and ICLEI
LSE Cities at the London School of Economics and ICLEI will hold a survey on cities and the green economy.
Select cities will be invited in the next weeks to reflect upon the major green challenges and policies in cities today. The survey will identify city case studies to be profiled and results analyzed to be presented as a report for Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012.
The survey is conducted by a team of researchers led by Philipp Rode and Graham Floater from LSE Cities at the London School of Economics in close collaboration with ICLEI’s World Secretariat research team led by Richard Simpson. The survey will also inform the Programme on the Economics of Green Cities, chaired by Lord Stern.

Smart Cities and the Future Internet Workshop
Event on 25 January 2012 will present views and results to open up the discussion on shaping the future ‘Smart Cities’ agenda, starting from the needs of the cities, their citizens and partner organisations.
Smart Cities and the Future Internet Workshop, EUROCITIES, Square de Meeus 1, Brussels. January 25th 2012
This is a unique one-day workshop which brings together EUROCITIES member cities, FIRE (Future Internet Research & Experimentation), the Smart City Portfolio projects under the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) and ENoLL (European Network of Living Labs) to present views and results to open up the discussion on shaping the future ‘Smart Cities’ agenda, starting from the needs of the cities, their citizens and partner organisations.
The workshop also aims to create new linkages and enhance cooperation between different constituencies interested in Smart City development in order to help formulate policies for future problem solving and strategic actions, including collaboration on potential future projects.
In addition it provides an opportunity for those cities and partners already involved in Smart Cities Portfolio CIP projects to meet with other cities from the EUROCITIES Knowledge Society Forum (KSF) to discuss future collaboration, knowledge exchange and dissemination of results and best practice. It is being organised the day before the KSF meeting on Jan. 26th to maximise the opportunities for participation from KSF members.
A programme draft is available via the link below. Registration is open until 11 January 2012.
http://smartcitiesfutureinternet.eventbrite.com/

Moscow searches for future
Moscow is usually depicted as a dark, drab and dangerous place in US movies. In most of the plots there are big burley necked-less mafia as central characters in these thrillers. But the real Moscow isn't any more like the old gangster movie depictions of New York or Chicago. In fact, Moscow is an easy city to fall in love with. The Czars may have been brutal but they had pretty good architectural taste. On this old framework Moscow is actively and very smartly trying to become one of the world's mega-global cities.
Last week December 7-9, on the edge of Russian winter Moscow put on a spectacular Global City Forum with a stunning panel of international experts from all over the world, especially from China.
The Mayor of Moscow is taking some very bold to make Moscow a city of brains instead of factories. This is a hard task when one of Russia's largest steel mills in in the city and over 30% of all the city land is dedicated to industrial uses compared with New York's 8% and most Europeans cities less than 15% of land is used for industrial purposes. Moreover, the Mayor, with central Government permission, is expanding the boundaries of the city to make a region about the size of Greater London and Regional New York. His rationale for this expansion is to control unwanted and un-needed peripheral land uses like single family suburban housing that will gobble up more land and extend auto based infrastructure. Instead, the inner ring of the city with unused and under-used land on rail land and with surplus heavy industry oriented infrastructure is ripe for re-development into the kind of more knowledge intensive industrial activities that are emerging in Chicago's core over the last decade.
The Mayor and his team want to get much of the non-essential government work out of the core of the city into new nodes around the city much like Washington DC has achieved. Tame the automobile in a city where the car is the symbol of wealth and mobility with 8 lane streets is the most challenging agenda for the Mayor. These are daunting challenges.
www.blakelycitytalk.com

New final results of URBACT projects now available!
20 URBACT projects have completed their programme of exchange and learning activities. The project partners have been working relentlessly for three years looking for joint, effective and sustainable solutions to major urban challenges. These projects have brought to light solutions that have proven effective and providing valuable support for policy makers and practitioners involved in tackling these challenges. Each project has published its final publications and recommendations. Here is a look at the results, recommendations and outputs of 4 new projects!
http://urbact.eu/en/header-main/news-and-events/view-one/news/?entryId=5102

What Happens To All That Trash?
In New York, according to Urban Omnibus, "Each week, approximately 64,000 tons of household and institutional waste are collected. ... But public awareness of what happens to that trash once it leaves the curb is limited."
Urban Omnibus talks with Elizabeth Royte, author of the 2005 book Garbage Land on video, "who offers a snapshot of how New Yorkers have treated their trash from the 18th century onwards."
"The immense distances trash travels (and the amount of cost and energy used to transport, transfer, recycle, incinerate or dump it) pose obvious questions about how we expend environmental resources in support of our country’s vast consumption practices."
In another video, a team behind a project called Trash | Track (MIT’s SENSEable City Laboratory) created sensors that allowed them to track where their trash went once it was collected. According to Urban Omnibus, "They completed a pilot project in partnership with the City of Seattle that visualized these journeys and documented the ultimate fate of pieces of trash that are barely considered after being tossed in the garbage
http://urbanomnibus.net/2011/11/city-of-systems-waste-removal/

EMI Public lecture: interactive session on juvenile crime prevention in cities
During the EMI Public Lecture both Professor Wikström and the Mayor of The Hague, Mr. Van Aartsen gave a key-note speech on juvenile crime prevention. In addition, the participants got the opportunity to discuss the negative and positive aspects of crime prevention policy among youths. The participants came from a variety of cities: Stuttgart, Zagreb, Birmingham, Kaunas, Brussels, Amsterdam and The Hague. A true mix of researchers, policymakers and fieldworkers was present.
http://www.eukn.org/News/2011/December/EMI_Public_lecture_interactive_session_on_juvenile_crime_prevention_in_cities

The Benefits of Urban Forests
Poor air quality has led to an explosion of a health problems among vulnerable populations, claims the American Society of Landscape Architects. This video explains how urban forests provide environmental benefits to densely populated cities.
ASLA explains the "tremendous benefits" of urban forests:
"Urban forests reduce energy use by providing shade in the summer and wind breaks in the winter, reduce stormwater runoff, remediate soils, and provide animal and plant habitat."
Studies have shown that "...trees can reduce hourly ozone by up to 15 percent, sulfur dioxide by 14 percent, and particulate matter by 13 percent. U.S. trees remove some 784,000 tons of pollution annually, providing $3.8 billion in value."
http://www.asla.org/sustainablelandscapes/Vid_UrbanForests.html

Welcome to WUF6
The Sixth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF6) will take place in the ancient southern Italian city of Naples – Italy, from 1 to 7 September 2012 under the theme The Urban Future. UN-Habitat joins the Government of Italy, the Campania Region and the City of Naples in warmly welcoming you to attend and participate in the Forum.
The world’s premier conference on cities
This is largely because it is among the most open and inclusive gatherings of its kind on the international stage. It brings together national leaders, slum dwellers, cabinet ministers, womens’ groups, mayors, youth, academics, diplomats, community and business leaders, parliamentarians, local government groups, urban activists, and more; in short, all who share our vision for better, smarter cities of the future.
Theme
The WUF6 theme The Urban Future will be deliberated under six domains, which will form the dialogue sessions of the Forum as follows:
Dialogue 1 –­­­­ Productive Cities: Urban job creation
Dialogue 2 – Livable cites and Quality of life
Dialogue 3 – Urban Planning: Institutions and Regulations
Dialogue 4 – Equity and Prosperity of cities
Dialogue 5 – Culture and Prosperity of cities
Dialogue 6 – Urban mobility, Energy and Environment
DATES to note:
The call for online application for Networking events is ongoing and will close on 10 March 2012.
In addition, the call for application for Training proposals is as well ongoing and will close on 1 March 2012.
http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=3211

Urban Age Conference review
Watch and read details from the recent conference on Cities, Health and Wellbeing in HK in partnership with HKU. All the videos can be rewatched, and all the printed material (Research, graphics, newspapers) can be found on our website: www.urban-age.net/conferences/hongkong

Housing Guarantee Planned for Families in Mumbai Slums
ending government approval, state housing department plans to grant all slum-dwelling families in Mumbai houses may become reality. The houses are free for families settled prior to 1995.
"State officials said the proposal, if approved, would be a major policy shift. Politics over slum cut-off (a proposal for extending the cut-off to 2000 is under consideration) will no longer be significant, the official said. The proposal would also grant the right for a legal dwelling to second buyers of pre-1995 structures, negating the requirement of a separate proposal, which is also under consideration, in this regard."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/State-plans-to-give-all-city-slum-dwellers-a-house/articleshow/10913861.cms

Michigan Cities See Placemaking as the Key to a Brighter Future
Officials in recession-battered Michigan increasingly see placemaking as an important economic recovery strategy. The Michigan Municipal League, a coalition of local governments, is leading efforts to make the state's cities talent magnets.
Streetsblog profiles the efforts of The Michigan Municipal League to support placemaking efforts:
"The League is taking its "Eight Assets for 21st Century Communities" to struggling places around the state. These eight assets include a wide variety of interventions -- entrepreneurship and multiculturalism, for example -- but sustainable transportation is an important part of the strategy. The League lists its number one asset as walkability, and its number seven is transit.
In tiny former French industrial town Sault Ste Marie on the Upper Peninsula, the League is helping build economic synergy between the town and the local state university. In suburban Detroit's Lathrup Village, it is helping repair the damage done by a nine-lane road that bisects the community."
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/11/28/michigan-cities-bet-their-future-on-placemaking/

Asia's "Instant" Cities: Perfect Cities or Perfect Storm?
The "utopian" cities being built from scratch in Asia to accommodate its fantastic rate of urbanization are striving to be smarter and greener, but may also be financially risky.
Greg Lindsay considers several of Asia's best known "cities-in-a-box" that have sprung up seemingly over night: Shenzhen, Cyberjaya and the eco-cities of Songdo, Mentougou and Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City. Lindsay writes,
"Is it even possible to build a city from scratch, at least one we would want to live in? This may be the defining challenge of our era. The earth’s urban population will nearly double by 2050, requiring the construction of hundreds of new cities. China is already building the equivalent of a Rome every few weeks to absorb the 400 million migrants streaming in from the countryside. The question facing us as an urban species isn’t whether to build cities tabula rasa, but how. And nowhere is this dilemma more pressing than in Asia.
Whether out of greed, desire for prestige, or sheer necessity, instant-city builders of all stripes seem to believe new cities should conform to Moore’s law: faster, better, cheaper. Just as this mentality produced the high-speed rail crash that has shaken China’s faith in progress to its core, it has also produced a municipal debt bubble running into the trillions of dollars. Will the effort to build the perfect city produce the perfect economic storm instead?"

The Intersection of Health and Urban Planning
In Vancouver, B.C., Trevor Hancock is helping the city make the connection between the built environment and the health of the citizens.
Reporter David Ebner writes that there is "mounting research" connecting public health with the shape of cities:
"New research has found that cities designed for cars also foster obesity and diabetes. In studies from Atlanta to Vancouver, evidence shows that people who live in neighbourhoods that require cars to get around are fatter and less healthy than people who live near shops and grocers."
Ebner argues that urban planning used to be more connected with health, but over the decades got more obsessed with separating uses and planning for automobiles. Hancock says it takes a generation shift to change perceptions and policy.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/new-health/health-news/for-healthy-people-build-a-healthy-city/article2251518/

Cities say: Urbanize the climate agenda
Cities are calling for the global climate agenda to be urbanized. During the UN climate talks in Durban (COP17/CMP7) cities are putting on a powerful demonstration of their ability to find local solutions to the global challenge of climate change – and they need to be engaged in and empowered by a global climate framework to support their actions.
Cities are demonstrating political willpower to act, and are presenting real, tangible results of their actions through two major reports - the Annual Outcome Report of the Global Covenant on Climate (Mexico City Pact) and the carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) 2011 Annual Report. Both reports will be officially presented at and submitted to the UN climate talks tomorrow.
In the Mexico City Pact Report more than 50 global cities document their advances in battling climate change. The Mexico City Pact has been signed by 205 cities worldwide since its launch just before the UN climate talks in Cancun last year, and is demonstrating the determination of local governments to take action in the fight against climate change.
Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of Mexico City and Chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change underlines: ”The Mexico City Pact report shows not only the serious commitments of cities to combat climate change, but also highlights the strategic importance of cities to national governments when it comes to carrying out global-impact actions and decisions.”
The cCCR 2011 Report presents 51 cities - from 19 countries representing 83 million inhabitants - that have reported to the carbonn Cities Climate Registry. The cCCR is a global mechanism that encourages local governments to regularly and publicly report on their greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction commitments, GHG emissions inventories and climate mitigation/adaptation actions.
“The carbonn platform has given us the opportunity to reflect on and be acknowledged internationally for the steps we have taken in dealing with the climate change problems that face our communities, city, country and the world at large”, says Mayor of Durban, James Nxumalo.
Compiling 106 energy and climate commitments, 89 GHG inventories that amount to annual community GHG emissions of 447 million tCO2e, and 555 Actions, the cCCR report demonstrates what cities are capable of.
“75% of community commitments aim for greenhouse gas reductions of more than 1.0 % per year, which exceeds the reduction commitments of most national governments under the Kyoto Protocol, as well as scientific recommendations for the post-2012 period”, says the author of the cCCR report, Yunus Arikan, Manager of ICLEI’s Cities Climate Center that is hosting the cCCR.
Despite the lack of a supporting global climate framework, cities are aiming for ambitious targets, and they are set to reach them and report on it. The Mayor of Kyoto, Daisaku Kadokawa confirms: “In Kyoto city, in 2010 we revised all our regulations relating to global warming countermeasures setting the ambitious goals to reduce the city’s total GHG emissions by 40% by 2030 and 25% by 2020.”

Best Smart Growth Projects in America
This year, the Environmental Protection Agency looked at "articulate" city plans that aimed for a more sustainable future. There were five plans across that nation that were awarded for "achievement in smart growth."
Old North Saint Louis, became one of the country’s most disinvested urban neighborhoods. Recently, the neighborhood-based Old North St. Louis Restoration Group and the Regional Housing and Community Development Alliance worked with residents and newcomers to rehab the district’s great housing stock
According to Kaid Benfield, Old North "build new homes in character with the old; hosted block parties, house tours, farmer’s markets and a food co-op..." He also mentions that the community wins, and so does the environment, because the Old North neighborhood in Saint Louis is the very antithesis of sprawl.
Another honoree is the Uptown Normal Roundabout in Illinois. "Originally conceived just to manage traffic, the Uptown Normal (Illinois) Roundabout, winner in the civic places category, has evolved into a gathering place that increases business for local merchants."
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2011/12/best-smart-growth-projects-america/617/

Town Builds Restaurant to Lure Chef
Pocomoke City officials have funded the construction of a restaurant and bar in their city with no tenant on the horizon - just hopes to attract a star chef and spur economic development downtown.
Brian Shane writes in USA Today that Pocomoke City is not alone in the "if you build it, they will come" approach:
"Creative public-private partnerships are a growing trend, she said, the result of towns thinking strategically about just what they can do to boost hyper-local economies on a tight municipal budget.
'It is cool to see particularly smaller places doing relatively innovative things, where the city and the local elected officials really are taking a leadership role,' McFarland said. "That's what we're seeing more often.'"
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2011-12-06/on-spec-municipal-projects/51663910/1

MIND-BOGGLING IDEAS FOR A NEW ENERGY CULTURE !
Energy Cities Annual Rendezvous 9-11 May 2012, Guimarães (Portugal)
Europe is undergoing a major economic and socio-political crisis. What if, instead of just being shocked and passive, we were to come up with new ambitions and new ways of thinking – above all, in the energy field ? The more we base our activities on local assets, the more cities and regions will benefit in terms of job creation, financial savings, a stronger autonomy, citizen empowerment and a higher quality of life for all.
The 2012 Annual Rendezvous will demonstrate how local authorities can steer a new energy culture and make territories grow from the inside.
The 2012 European Culture Capital, Guimarães (Portugal), is the ideal place for meeting other “changemakers” as well as presenting, discussing and adopting mind-boggling ideas for innovative energy practices in cities.

Flying the urban design flag at UNHQ
UN-HABITAT has teamed up with the Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and the United Nations Academic Impact agency to stage a glittering urban design exhibition in the visitor's lobby of the world body's global headquarters.
The exhibition showing some 60 displays from 23 countries, is open daily to the public through 9 January 2012, and is intended to depict inclusive urban design showing how cities can improve the lives of those living in poverty.
"Placing people at the centre of the solution is paramount to gaining the required insight to meet the challenge of coping with the rapid expansion of informal cities," said Ms. Cynthia E. Smith, the museum's curator of socially responsible design. "Indeed, the participation of slum dwellers and the urban poor is changing the dynamics of design at all levels."
The CITIES exhibition shows ideas such as the way balloons or inflated garbage bags can be used to take aerial photographs of slums in Lima, Peru, how affordable building materials are used in Paraguay, or how boats are used as floating schools, or clinics in Bangladesh. Material at hand includes an urban design manual for use in Buenos Aires which carries information for new immigrants, and a series of urban best practices.
For further details on the exhibition and seminars being held, see http://designother90.org/cities/home

LINKS Project - The Technical Issues of Eco-Restoration of the Built Heritage
The URBACT LINKS project led by the city of Bayonne seeks to establish a positive relationship between living/housing in historic inner cities, promotion of the sustainable urban model and the preservation of architectural identity and heritage value. The 9 partners of this project organised their third thematic workshop in the Greek city of Veria in May 2011 on the topic 'The Technical Issues of Eco-Restoration of the Built Heritage'.
http://urbact.eu/en/header-main/news-and-events/view-one/news/?entryId=5098

Reason London Failed in Becoming a Cycling City
During WWII, thousands of bicycles were stolen from the Dutch by occupying Germans, leaving them unable to get around. In Britain, however, strict patrol rationing meant bicycle use rose considerably because it was the only way to get around.
According to Joe Peach, "As soon as the Brits had the opportunity to get off their bicycles they did, with car ownership increasing rapidly in the post-war years, and continuing to remain high. This despite the fact that, as in the Netherlands, campaigns to improve London’s bicycle provisions and encourage a return to bicycle use have been happening since the 1970s."
"Even during the earliest stages of the London Cycle Network, a lack of ambition was obvious, with the preface of the official design manual noting ‘the design of cycle facilities frequently requires a range of compromises to be made.’ These compromises are not only clear in functionality, but in a failure to increase cycling. Ambitious goals to increase the amount of trips taken by bicycle from 1998 levels of 1.36% to 10% in 2012 have not been achieved, or even come close to being achieved," says Peach.
http://thisbigcity.net/how-london-tried-failed-become-cycling-city/

Leipzig triples number of bicycle riders
The City of Leipzig in Germany (approx. 525,000 inhabitants) has tripled the number of cyclists in the city over the last 20 years. The key to this success was large-scale infrastructure development, a change in people's attitudes towards cycling and a supportive organisational structure.
http://www.eltis.org/index.php?uid=ZGZkZQLX&id=13&study_id=3040

African Urban Planning Gets an Upgrade
An interview with Nancy Odendaal, who is spearheading an effort by the Association of African Planning Schools to reform planning education across the continent.
In a Q&A with Eric Jaffee, Odendaal explains the significant difference between African needs and Western-style planning:
"Q. You write that too many current planners in Africa have based their knowledge on Western/colonial planning strategies.
ODENDAAL: The most common instrument used is the "master plan," after the British tradition embedded in the Town and Country Planning Act of 1947. This blueprint approach simply does not have the built-in flexibility to accommodate the diversity of livelihoods pursued in a typical African city. Conventional urban plans typically criminalize the informal economy, for example, where street vendors are harassed by police and have their incomes curtailed. This is often done in the name of "urban planning.""
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2011/11/improving-urban-planning-africa/549/

Pelican crossing providing pedestrian green wave celebrates its 3rd year in operation (Austria)
In autumn 2008, the City of Graz implemented a new type of pelican crossing on one the streets in the city that has particularly high pedestrian and cyclist flows. The typical pattern of vehicle priority was turned on its head. Now, cyclists and pedestrians always have a green, and only if a car approaches does the traffic light turn red for people on foot and on their bike.
http://www.eltis.org/index.php?uid=ZGZkZQLX&ID1=5&id=60&news_id=2907

Chaotic Urban Growth Hinders Economic Development In India
Amy Kazim explore how chaotic urban growth and a political preference for rural government is beginning to hinder the development of India's largest cities.
In the last two decades, rural migrants lured by factory jobs have poured into urban centers, but they cities they now call home are fast turning into dystopias undone by population pressure and neglected infrastructure. These conditions are already a serious drag on economic growth and could threaten India's prospects in competition with neighbor and rival, China.
"According to the 2011 census, the number of Indians living in urban areas has surged to 400m – about 31 per cent of the population. That is up from just about 285m, or 28 per cent, in 2001. That urban population is expected to surge to well over 600m in the next two decades, as increasingly mobile youth pour out of the countryside."
“These cities are going to start collapsing under their own weight,” Jahangir Aziz of JPMorgan, says of India’s 10 biggest conurbations. “Local governments are in a state of denial – they don’t accept that these cities are in such a state that within a short period of time it will become almost impossible for them to do any business. Business is there now only because there is a very huge cost of moving out.”
http://www.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F05b44caa-0616-11e1-ad0e-00144feabdc0.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.planetizen.com%2Fnode%2F52579

The 20 Dirtiest Cities in the U.S.
California has 7 of the 20 cities with the poorest air quality, according to a list complied by Forbes. Bakersfield, which has 60 days of unhealthy air a year, takes the top spot for its hot and dusty weather and proximity to oil fields.
On the state level, California regulations on carbon emissions such as a cap-and-trade programs, and reducing vehicle emissions should help improve the air quality in its cities.
Further improvements will be made at the federal level as well. The Environmental Protection Agency's expected rules on power plants will lead to companies either retrofitting plants with new technology, or closing power plants altogether, reports Christopher Helman.
Data from The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2011 report was used to compile this list.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2011/11/04/americas-20-dirtiest-cities/

Spanish Cities Saddled with Half-Completed Infrastructure Projects
Marc Herman writes that cities in Spain used the housing bubble as a way to finance major infrastructure projects that now, after the real estate crash, they really can't afford.
Herman says that while the crisis in the U.S. has primarily impacted homeowners, city governments are feeling the hit the worst in Spain. Herman digs into the case of the unfinished Castellon Airport:
"Castellon Airport has become one of the better-known examples of Spain's so-called "white elephant" problem. Across the country, local governments in the European nation of 44 million are saddled with thousands of publicly funded construction projects made in the starrier moments of a mid-2000s property boom."
Herman asks if the boom was just exuberance, or if there is corruption underlying the problem.
http://www.miller-mccune.com/business-economics/spains-vacant-airport-typifies-european-woes-37884/

Dublin joins Intercultural Cities
On September 23rd 2011 the city of Dublin officially joined the Intercultural Cities Network. Over a hundred people gathered in the City Hall as Lord Mayor Andrew Montague, and Robert Palmer, Director of Culture, Cultural and Natural Heritage at the Council of Europe, signed the agreement on working together on developing and improving urban integration and diversity management policies and strategies.
This, according to Robert Palmer, is of particular relevance as Dublin's brand of interculturalism is special because it is driven by civil society with the gentle and competent support of officials. It is amazing how much great work can be carried out by volunteers. One of Dublin's strengths is in engaging citizens in its intercultural efforts.
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/culture/Cities/Newsletter/newsletter18/dublin_en.asp

Turning Old Schools Into Parkside Apartments
In Grand Rapids, a number of no-longer-needed elementary schools are being transformed into apartment buildings, while the playgrounds and sports fields are turned into city parks.
The idea came about because a good percentage of the parkland in Grand Rapids already falls under the schools' department jurisdiction:
"The drawback to that is with the district right-sizing due to declining enrollment, the closure and sale of neighborhood schools can leave areas park-poor. The city is already below the national average in park acreage.
That’s why city planners, Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and the developer seeking to convert three of the schools into apartments are working together to preserve the green space," writes Monica Scott.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/10/vibrant_parks_being_designed_a.html

Eurobarometer: ‘The future on Transport’ (NEW UPDATE)
Which forms of transport are on a daily base used by European citizens? Is there support for ‘pay-as- you- drive’ policies among the EU population? Are people ready to buy a ‘cleaner’ vehicle instead of the traditional one? What are reasons for not making use of public transport and what can stimulate this use? The answer of these questions are of importance for establishing a sustainable, efficient and environmental friendly urban transport policy.
http://www.eukn.org/Dossiers/Sustainable_Urban_Mobility/Research/Eurobarometer_‘The_future_on_Transport’_NEW_UPDATE

Bicycle Users Take Action Into Their Own Hands
In 2007, Mexico City's government promised that it would build 300km of bike lanes around the city by 2012. According to Jimena Veloz, "the city still only has 22.2 km because most money is allocated to car infrastructure."
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and the National Network for Urban Cycling (BiciRed) began a campain, Veloz says, asking national legislators to assign at least that percentage of the transportation budget to non-motorized infrastructure.
"To promote that campaign and pressure legislators into action, several cycling and pedestrian organizations decided to paint their own bike lane in front of Congress on October 20th."
http://thisbigcity.net/wikilane-how-citizens-built-their-own-bicycle-network/

Urban road charge in European cities: a possible means towards a new culture for urban mobility?
The high traffic rates in European cities have a great impact on environmental and economic damages. Air pollution, noise and greenhouse gas emission, delays and traffic accidents are good for a 100 billion euros each year, corresponding to about 1% of the EU’s GDP.
http://www.eukn.org/Dossiers/Sustainable_Urban_Mobility/Research/Urban_road_charge_in_European_cities_a_possible_means_towards_a_new_culture_for_urban_mobility_NEW_UPDATE

Train Cars Recycle Kinetic Energy
A subway in Warsaw, Poland now features a system that captures the energy created by braking train cars for reuse elsewhere in the system.
Known as "regenerative braking", Earth & Industry Magazine explains that the generated energy is enough "to power a 60 watt light bulb for more than a week" each time a train car brakes.
It appears that Krakow is a step ahead of Warsaw, with a regenerative braking system currently in operation on a light-rail line.
http://earthandindustry.com/2011/11/train-recycles-braking-energy-to-power-other-trains/

How Transportation Planners Managed the Evacuation of Tokyo
InTransition magazine examined the daunting difficulties transportation authorities and the public faced while trying to evacuate Tokyo on the day of the Great Tohuku Earthquake in March.
The article reports that despite a "synchronous failure" of the region's transportation network, infrastructure and technologies, people overall managed to keep calm and get home safely.
"It was 2:46 p.m. on a Friday, three hours before most of Tokyo’s huge population of office workers would head home. The transit system was busy with typical off-peak riders, such as shoppers, tourists and children returning from school. With the confirmed detection of a major earthquake (the exact magnitude was, at first, underestimated), all of the major trains were shut down on the spot by operators whether they had power or not. ..."
"Of all places, Tokyo, with its huge LED displays and bright-as-daylight-even-at-night intersections, has so often served as the ultimate showplace: Here is how the future will look and how it will work. But the earthquake kicked it over as easily as Godzilla wreaked havoc on cardboard and plaster versions of Tokyo in one of the old movies. Those modern pieces of infrastructure—all hooked together like nerves and circuits to make the city actually run—failed. Sometimes they failed singly, sometimes in groups, but altogether they left a very large metro- politan area minus much of its vital infrastructure, including, of course, the rail systems that weave Tokyo and the larger Kanto area together. ..."
http://www.intransitionmag.org/Fall_2011/earthquake_evacuation_of_tokyo.aspx

Three years of the Covenant of Mayors - cities show the way out of the crisis
Faced with economic hardship, cities signatory to the Covenant of Mayors have still managed to allocate over €40 billion to their sustainable energy development.
Starting with a political commitment by the mayor signing the Covenant of Mayors declaration, cities invest in an ambitious agenda of local energy actions. They strive to bring better living conditions to citizens, benefit the local economy and create new jobs. EU funding, such as the structural funds, has an important role to play in facilitating this local sustainable energy development. Cities need the means to deliver their potential to curb climate change and to boost Europe's economic recovery.
http://www.ccre.org/news_detail_en.htm?ID=2189

European Commission calls for submission of local governance and decentralisation projects
The European Commission has launched a call for proposals dedicated to local and regional authorities, with the aim of supporting the enhancement of capacities of municipalities and regions to help reinforce local governance and to support decentralisation in EU partner countries.
The deadline for submission of all call for proposal concept notes is 1 February 2012 at 16:00, Brussels, Belgium, date and time.
Actions proposed in the concept note should focus on institutional capacity building, decentralised cooperation, development education and raising awareness of development issues in Europe. Actions should also engage European local authorities and associations of local government in campaigning on and fostering changes in local development-related public policies and issues.
Funding opportunities will be greater under the second objective, which revolves around global learning and campaigning on development cooperation in EU and candidate countries, which means that a greater number of projects will be selected than under the first objective (decentralisation in EU partner countries).
The call for proposal was launched in the framework of the EU thematic programme “Non-state actors and local authorities in development”, which co-finances initiatives put forward and implemented by local authorities and civil society organisations in EU member states and partner countries.

CORP EXPO 2012: “LIVABLE CITY”
1st Exhibition on Urban, Transport, Environmental & Energy Solutions, Quality of Life, Urban Ambient Assisted Living (UAAL)
14-16 May 2012, Multiversum Schwechat, Austria
www.corp-expo.at
The parallel fair CORP EXPO 2012 is brought to you in co-operation with the conference REAL CORP 2012.
There will be exhibitors from urban technologies, environmental technologies, energy technologies, transportation technologies, mobility technologies and solutions, quality of life, ambient assistant living (AAL), urban and spatial planning and many more presenting their businesses.
Participants of REAL CORP 2012 will have a free access to CORP EXPO 2012.
More information for visitors and exhibitors is available at www.corp-expo.at

London Experiments With Shared Streets
It may seem counter-intuitive, but "shared space" advocates say cars and bikes will get in fewer accidents if barriers and traffic lane markets are removed. London's Exhibition Road will open next month using this design concept.
From the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's website:
"The single surface design is kerb-free with the minimum of street furniture and barriers. By having a less distinct ‘track’ for through traffic, motorists will drive more cautiously and slowly, with greater awareness and consideration for pedestrians. It will also provide greater flexibility in the way Exhibition Road can be used in the future."
GOOD notes that the project isn't out of the blue:
"Similar projects on other streets in London have decreased accidents involving pedestrians, showing that both walkers and drivers tend to pay better attention when they realize that they can't rely on barriers to guide them."
http://www.good.is/post/goodbye-sidewalks-london-planners-break-down-boundaries-between-cars-and-peds?utm_campaign=daily_good2&u

ICLEI Members in Africa are upping efforts in greening their cities
Urbanization will be one of the major developments in Africa over the next few decades. It will therefore be very important for cities to figure out how to handle rapid urban expansion and much-needed economic growth, while creating more environmentally-friendly cities and reducing their carbon footprint at the same time.
Most of the world’s GDP is generated in cities, and urban centers are the powerhouses of the economy, the places from where innovation and change originates. But because of that, they also cause the most pollution and environmental damage.
According to Marlene Laros, policy and strategy advisor for ICLEI Africa, cities are responsible for more than 75 percent of greenhouse gases, because they are the places where most people live. By 2050, 60 percent of Africa’s population will be living in cities, up from currently 40 percent.
In order to deal with this urbanization phenomenon, climate change needs to be integrated with development and economic policies, so that poverty, employment creation and environmental issues can be tackled at the same time rather than in isolation.
One major hurdle to creating greener cities is, however, that African nations will need to double their infrastructure by 2050 to service their rapidly growing urban centers. That will mean major construction – with the construction industry being one of the biggest polluters. Finding different and especially environmental-friendly ways of building cities is therefore of utter importance.
Local governments are the closest to where the consequences of climate change will pan out and thus best positioned to build resilient cities, while avoiding major setbacks in hard-won economic and social development.
ICLEI Members in Africa are already upping efforts in greening their cities as showcased in ICLEI's case studies.
http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=717

Mongolia Constructs Glacier To Cool Capital
The Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator will begin construction this winter of an artificial glacier to cool the city next summer and provide melt water for drinking and irrigation.
Mongolian engineering firm ECOS & EMI will begin "building" the glacier by forming "artifical naleds–essentially, meters-thick sheets of ice formed over rivers in the winter as water pressure breaks through the ice envelope and the subsequent water seepage freezes." Layer by layer, the method will be repeated continuously over the coming months, ultimately yielding a full-fledged glacier.
If successful, authorities hope to use glaciers in northern cities to mitigate urban heat islands and provide additional water reserves.
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2011/11/mongolian-city-will-grow-glacier-cool-itself-summer/542/

New Efforts To Liven Up Parks
In Ohio, officials are looking at new ways to liven up their parks. They are providing incentives for volunteers to help beautify and maintain the parks, in addition to adding new programs to attract users to frequent the parks.
According to Ruthann Spears, manager of the Cincinnati Parks Explore Nature Program, Cincinnati Parks launched in August 'The Dog Days of Summer,' which quickly sold out. For $25, the course allowed pet owners to gather each Saturday and hear lectures by local pet experts and take their dogs through an agility course and on hikes, said Spears.
"In April, the Park Board launched 'Give a Day – Get a Game' to recruit local volunteers to help beautify the parks. About 7,000 volunteers each donated four hours of labor, planting flower beds and clearing away brush from walking trails in exchange for tickets to one of four Cincinnati Reds games," Spears says.
Other states hare trying their hands in similar programs. For example, in Sonoma County, California, they introduced a 'Park-n-Eat Program' where for a $25 fee, in which 10 percent of their profits are donated, six food truck vendors sold meals, from Mexican and Indian food to crepes every Tuesday, according to Gail Short.
http://americancityandcounty.com/pubwks/parks_grounds_pests/parks-funding-ideas-20111114/

Safer cities, safer lives: no more child soldiers in Somalia
In a rare visit to the Somali capital by a senior United Nations official, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, announced on Thursday that she had secured a commitment from the Prime Minister and President of Somalia to end the recruitment of children by the Transitional Federal Government.
"Completion of an action plan will ensure that the TFG is child-free," said Ms. Coomaraswamy who also met with child escapees from the Al-Shabaab militant group. "It will allow the United Nations to remove the Government from the 'list of shame' of parties that commit grave violations against children."
Both the transitional government and Al Shabaab are listed in the United Nations Secretary-General's Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict for recruiting and using child soldiers. Under Security Council resolution 1612 (2005), listed parties must sign and implement action plans to end this grave violation or face the possibility of Security Council sanctions. In June of this year, the Security Council expanded the criteria for sanctionable offenses in Somalia to include grave violations against children.
Ms. Coomaraswamy said President Sharif Sheik Ahmed, Prime Minister Dr. Abduli Mohammed Ali, and Minister of Defense Hussein Arab Essa had recommitted their government to the signing and implementation of a Security Council mandated plan to end the recruitment and use of children by its forces, and pledged to immediately nominate military and civilian officials to work with the United Nations towards this end.
http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=10618&catid=5&typeid=6&AllContent=1

San Diego Formally Adopts Sustainable Communities Strategy
The San Diego Association of Governments recently approved the first Regional Transportation Plan in California to contain a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). Under this strategy decision-makers will make land use, transportation and housing decisions to meet state-mandated greenhouse gas emission reductions. San Diego plans to invest an estimated $214 billion in enacting the regional sustainable communities plan over the next 40 years.
http://www.p4sc.org/san-diego-adopts-sustainable-communities-strategy

What is China Building in the Desert?
Huffington Post Canada has posted a series of satellite images featuring massive and unexplained structures and networks in the Kumtag Desert region of China.
The slideshow depicts wide, irregular lines, enormous factories and a circumferential design with airplanes in the center. According to HuffPost,
"Earlier this week, images from Google Maps surfaced showing a bizarre tangle of white lines etched into the Kumtag Desert in northwestern China. According to Gizmodo, the lines cover an area approximately one mile long by more than 3,000 feet wide.
Since the initial finding, however, people have discovered a number of other strange structures in the Chinese desert. Along with another, similar collection of white lines, there are also huge complexes that that resemble anything from a collection of antennas to a collection of water cooling tanks to targeting grids for spy satellites.
Military experiments or the remnants of some alien culture come to earth? No one's really sure."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/15/china-desert-photos-satellite-images-google-maps_n_1095838.html?ref=canada&ir=Canada#s4

The local level, at the core of European 2050 Roadmaps : 6th IMAGINE Seminar 2011
A one day seminar "Energy Roadmap 2050: Towards local and regional Energy Roadmaps" was organised in Brussels on 9th of November 2011 by the URBAN Intergroup of the European Parliament and Energy Cities.
The event focused on the role of local level in the implementation of different European roadmaps, such as Cities of Tomorrow, Roadmap for a resource-efficient Europe, Roadmap towards a competitive and resource-efficient transport system and the European Energy Roadmap 2050 to be published by the European Commission shortly. " The European Union must engage with cities to promote together an energy policy to match its ambitions, from the ground up, based on territorial cohesion, innovation, social inclusion and the creation of local jobs. The climate battle must be led from the front by cities." - Karima Delli, Vice-president of the URBAN Intergroup commented after the event.
The participants agreed that the energy roadmaps at European and local level that include a long-term vision are very important as a guide to make short term decisions and to improve energy sustainability in cities. During the conference, Energy Cities’ members, key European stakeholders and representatives of EU institutions shared their views on the expected Energy Roadmap 2050 and the designated role of the local level, and presented also their own visions towards 2040 - 2050. Moreover, the seminar provided the participants with numerous examples of cities making progress towards a low-energy future, including some best practices of cities that have set highly ambitious targets. Cities that shared their achievements were: City of Växjö, City of Munich, City of Delft and City of Lille.
IMAGINE Website: www.energy-cities.eu/imagine

Pocket Parks Coming to Los Angeles
Last week, Mayor Villaraigosa presented his vision for a more livable L.A., including the addition of fifty pocket parks.
Using film industry language, the Mayor said his staff had been "scouting locations" around the city to build pocket parks in underserved communities:
"Villaraigosa, who grew up in City Terrace and recalls playing on hills that are now industrial areas, highlighted the dearth of parks in Los Angeles. He noted that his administration has added 650 acres of new ball fields, picnic areas and playgrounds in six years, more than in the previous dozen years."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/villaraigosa-wants-a-more-livable-la-with-50-pocket-parks.html

Copenhagen: Taking a Diversity Charter to the Business Community
When the City of Copenhagen was developing the next iteration of its integration plan, it realized that it was missing an important element.
The previous plan had already targeted municipal responsibilities such as education, employment and housing. What it lacked were strategies to engage non-governmental actors, such as the business community, in the process of making immigrants feel like "Copenhageners."
http://citiesofmigration.ca/good_idea/engaging-in-copenhagen/

Mixed Feelings About Proposed Private-Public Space in London
The plan to create a floating public space along the Thames is a great idea, writes critic Rowan Moore, but the proposed London River Park will suffer from its private ownership and management.
The full 50 million pounds it will take to construct the space will be provided by asset-management company Venus, saving the city from any expense. But in return, Venus will be allowed to rent pavilions in the space and a prime vantage point for TV cameras during the upcoming Olympics:
"In this it is the latest example of a widespread type of the 21st century, the pseudo-public space, in which the City of London and its satellites are world leaders."
"In each the shapes and attributes of town squares are imitated – an oblong or round shape, outdoor art, cafe tables, fountains – and sometimes real public assets are created, but ultimate control is in the hands of private landowners."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/nov/13/london-river-park-floating-public-space

URBACT 3rd Call for Proposals - Project Proposals Database
During the second week of December and until mid-March, the 3rd URBACT call for proposals will be launched for the creation of 19 new Thematic Networks. But now, you can already start working on a project application and find city partners. Go to the project proposals database to help you do so!
http://urbact.eu/en/header-main/news-and-events/view-one/news/?entryId=5096

November 2011 News.