February Headlines - click to see the full story
28/2/2010 - The ten smartest cities in the world
27/2/2010 - Mons nominated as 2015 European Capital of Culture
26/2/2010 - UN-HABITAT, European Union sign new memorandum
26/2/2010 - The Knowledge Society Forum meets in the Estonian capital to discuss smart transport and mobility solutions.
25/2/2010 - Jobless migrants living in shanty towns offered free flights home
25/2/2010 - Vancouver Tops List of Livable Cities
24/2/2010 - Transforming an African lakeside city
24/2/2010 - Cities Alliance Annual Meetings, Mumbai, India
24/2/2010 - MEPs approve use of structural funds for social housing
23/2/2010 - High Speed Rail Spurring Economic Growth in China
23/2/2010 - SUGAR Awards 2010 for Rotterdam and Parma
22/2/2010 - Kanagawa Prefecture Renting Out Electric Vehicles for Official and Resident Use
22/2/2010 - Call for Submissions for Dubai Award for Best Practices Now Open
22/2/2010 - Mercedes Bresso new president of Committee of the Regions
21/2/2010 - UN-HABITAT launches essay competition for youth
21/2/2010 - Revitalizing a City With Technology
20/2/2010 - Latvia sells one of its towns!
19/2/2010 - EU should have clearer funding for cities, says Hague mayor
19/2/2010 - Detroit revitalizes urban farming to replace dying industry
18/2/2010 - Decentralised cooperation: new members join PLATFORMA!
18/2/2010 - Comparing Five of The Nation's Biggest Transit Systems
18/2/2010 - Funds for housing: “Broaden the scope to include all EU regions”
17/2/2010 - EurActiv.com opens its doors to local and regional governments
16/2/2010 - Nobel laureate scoops prestigious UN-HABITAT award
16/2/2010 - Fighting for the Right to Party in Amsterdam
15/2/2010 - Underused Olympic Stadium to Become Water Park
14/2/2010 - Building on 20 Years of Community Support to Urban Development
13/2/2010 - Grants Signal Shift in Federal Urban Planning Policy
12/2/2010 - Post of Secretary General of EURISY
12/2/2010 - Municipal Plan of Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change - Curitiba
11/2/2010 - US High Speed Rail Association (USHSR) applauds President Obama
11/2/2010 - Los Angeles Considers Replacing Traffic Lanes with Public Park Space
11/2/2010 - Blog Examines Cities with Low Car-Ownership Rates
10/2/2010 - Gov 2.0 On the Rise
10/2/2010 - Tunis meets Vienna
10/2/2010 - LEED 2009 Green Neighborhood Development Reference Guide
9/2/2010 - Public procurement rules: "Put the focus back on value for money"
9/2/2010 - ”It is of general importance to support young urban migrants”
9/2/2010 - Outside Vancouver, Smaller Towns Skeptical About Olympic Benefits
8/2/2010 - Berlin to Resurrect its Disgraced Monuments
8/2/2010 - New EUROCITIES Working Group on ‘city attractiveness’ launched
8/2/2010 - European Summit of Local Governments
7/2/2010 - The crisis should not be used to roll back democratic decentralisation
6/2/2010 - Fish: the Future of Urban Farming
5/2/2010 - Innovation through sustainable procurement
5/2/2010 - Miami HOT Lanes Getting Drivers Out Of Cars Into Buses
4/2/2010 - Gentrification in Hamburg: Can Ikea Save a Run-Down Neighborhood?
4/2/2010 - Cities in Constant Flux
3/2/2010 - Strasbourg on the road to gender equality
3/2/2010 - The Transformation of our Cities
3/2/2010 - Major cities join forces to make the Euro-Mediterranean partnership a success story
2/2/2010 - New CEMR Secretary General takes office
2/2/2010 - Call for participation: How does Europe impact on local government?
2/2/2010 - Finland best at crime prevention efforts among young people
1/2/2010 - Twinning: new deadlines for applications
1/2/2010 - EU Commissioner designate gives hope to cities
1/2/2010 - UN-HABITAT hits the ground running in Haiti
The ten smartest cities in the world
Forbes has composed a list of the ten smartest cities in the world. But what is a smart city exactly? Today being 'smart' often refers to having a green sustainable agenda. However, the list of Forbes was composed along a wider list of criteria, including upward mobility, economic progress and strong infrastructure. According to Joel Kotkin, composer of the list and presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University, cities often brag about being green and environmentally friendly. But in the end he believes "it will not be their clean air but their commercial prowess that will sustain their success in the decades ahead.
The ten smartest cities in the world according to Forbes:
Singapore
Hong Kong
Curtiba, Brazil
Monterrey, Mexico
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Seattle, Washington, USA
Houston, Texas, USA
Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Huntsville, Alabama, USA
Calgery, Alberta, Canada
Mons nominated as 2015 European Capital of Culture
The panel responsible for selecting the European Capitals of Culture for 2015 have recommended that Mons in Belgium should be one of the two cities that will share the title. Its formal nomination by the EU Council of Ministers will take place around November 2010. The Czech Republic will also host a European Capital of Culture in 2015. Its choice will be announced after a final selection meeting in Prague on 8 September 2010.
Mons was the only city to apply for the title in Belgium, however its selection was not automatic. It had to comply with strict criteria, assessed by an independent panel of 13 experts, six appointed by Belgium and seven by the European institutions.
Cities vying for the title must prepare a cultural programme which highlights the European dimension of the event and encourages participation by citizens. The European dimension is reflected in the chosen themes and through cooperation between artists from various countries, working together for the event. The programme must also have a lasting impact and contribute to the long-term cultural and social development of the city.
UN-HABITAT, European Union sign new memorandum
UN-HABITAT and the European Union’s Committee of the Regions on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at improving sustainable urban development in Europe and sharing best practices with the developing world.
The memorandum was signed by Mr. Luc Van den Brande, President of the Committee of the Regions, and Mr. Gerhard Stahl, Secretary General of the Committee, and Mr. Jean Bakole, Director of the UN-HABITAT Brussels office.
Representing 344 regions from 27 EU Member States, the CoR is the political Assembly that works with and on behalf of local and regional governments, especially on the elaboration of Community policies and legislation on sustainable development of cities and regions.
The Knowledge Society Forum meets in the Estonian capital to discuss smart transport and mobility solutions.
The conference, taking place from 24-26 March 2010, will focus on the topic of Intelligent Transport solutions and present a number of cases from across the EUROCITIES network, including Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallinn and Turku.
The conference day on 25 March 2010 will address, amongst other points, the following questions:
- How to integrate Intelligent Transport Systems across different transport modes? How to plan and model transport systems?
- What new partnerships are needed? National/regional/local governments, private businesses, transport industry?
- How to put the citizen at the centre of intelligent public transport and mobility planning?
- Inter- and multimodal travel for sustainability? For example, how can intelligent travel assistant applications and demand management support "soft" modes of transport?
- How to overcome organisational, institutional and financial barriers?
Following this thematic conference day, Friday 26 March 2010 will host the different Knowledge Society Forum Working Groups (eInclusion, eGovernment 2.0, Broadband, ICT&Energy Efficiency) and give room to a number of technical visits in the city of Tallinn.
Please contact Vaino Olev (Vaino.Olev@tallinnlv.ee ) and Helen Kovask (Helen.Kovask@tallinnlv.ee ) if you are interested in presenting activities and projects from your city.
For registration and further information please visit : www.tallinn.ee/KSF
Jobless migrants living in shanty towns offered free flights home
East Europeans ineligible for benefits and hoping for better times struggle to survive in rural camps. Homeless east European migrants are being offered free flights back to their home country by a government-funded scheme set up to combat the rise of shanty towns in rural Britain. The scheme, known as the National Reconnection Service, is expected to cost about £150,000 and is being trialled in Boston, Lincolnshire, and Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, two towns that have experienced a large influx of migrants seeking work.
In 2008, the government said that a quarter of Boston's population was made up of migrants and that 65 languages could be heard in the streets and fields of the county. Workers came to the Lincolnshire town to pick fruit and vegetables, but the jobs dried up during the recession and many migrants returned home. However, a significant number have remained, hoping that things would get better. As the economy faltered, some found themselves without work or any entitlement to social security benefits. Ultimately, a number became homeless. As a result, some of Boston's residents now speak of a new phenomenon – shanty towns. http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2010/02/Jobless-migrants-living-in-shanty-towns-offered-free-flights-home_1022.html
Vancouver Tops List of Livable Cities
As the Winter Olympics kick off in Vancouver, the city has been named the world's "most livable city".
"In the annual survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Vancouver scored 98 percent on a combination of stability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure -- a score unchanged from last year.
The city has also topped the index since at least 2007.
In the 2010 ranking, there was little change in the top positions with Vienna, Melbourne and Toronto still taking the second, third and fourth positions and the top 10 dominated by Canadian and Australian cities which took seven of the 10 slots."
Playing host to the Olympics helped the city score extra points in the sporting and social categories of the ranking criteria.
Transforming an African lakeside city
The Ugandan city of Jinja on the shores of Lake Victoria has launched a new City Development Strategy aimed at transforming it into "a sustainable and prosperous city with excellence in tourism, commerce and industry".
At a colourful ceremony last month attended by the town mayor, the area member of parliament, the regional youth member of parliament, and the district chairman among other dignitaries and residents of Jinja, the development strategy, which is the result of an inclusive and participatory process started in 2007 was officially launched amidst much pomp and glamour.
UN-HABITAT was represented by Senior Human Settlements Officer Mr. David Kithakye and Human Settlements Officer Ms. Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga. Ms. Njenga in brief remarks called for the transformation of Jinja into a viable economic, political, social and well-governed city for the benefit of the Lake Victoria region and EastAfrica.
Mr. Kithakye said that Jinja had the potential to be the industrial powerhouse of the region because of its location, but only if it could tap into its enormous resource endowment by incorporating the Strategy into all the municipal council’s activities. The people of Jinja, and ultimately the Ugandan economy would be the beneficiaries, he added.
Mayor Mohammed Kezala, declared that the municipality had now achieved a milestone in its long journey towards attaining a City Status. His call for Jinja to be elevated to a city was supported by the area member of parliament Mr. Nathan Babeta, the Eastern Region Youth member of parliament Mr. Zake Kibedi, and the Jinja District Chairman, Rt. Lt. Hannington Basakana who all applauded the efforts by the Jinja stakeholders to prioritize their development needs and aspirations in the strategic document.
Cities Alliance Annual Meetings, Mumbai, India
The Cities Alliance Annual Meetings shall this year be taking place in Mumbai, India, from 18 to 21 January.
Participants shall have the opportunity to hear about urban policies currently underway in India, featuring concrete examples and a special emphasis on the megalopolis hosting them.
The Annual Meetings also constitute the occasion for deciding the Cities Alliance work plan for the coming year. This includes the review and evaluation of the results of programmes already underway and of progress in the implementation of the strategy defined by its Executive Committee, which is chaired by United Cities and Local Governments for the period 2008-2011.
Metropolis, the metropolitan section of UCLG, shall on this occasion present their Global Fund for Cities Development to participants.
MEPs approve use of structural funds for social housing
Cities, local authorities and social housing providers allowed to use EU funds in favour of marginalised groups, including Roma people, following vote in the European Parliament.
On 10 February the European Parliament vote in favour of a report by MEP Lambert van Nistelrooij on a proposal to modify a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) regulation with the objective to grant the eligibility of housing interventions in favour of marginalised communities in all EU Member States.
As the latest report of social situation in the EU shows, affordability, adequacy and quality of housing are major preoccupations for most European citizens. But they are vital questions for the most disadvantaged of our fellow citizens – those who face extreme forms of deprivation and marginalisation. Local authorities, major cities in the EU, together with housing providers are in the frontline to cope with those situations which have often worsened over the past few months with the socio‐economic effects of the crisis.
EUROCITIES, CEMR and CECODHAS welcomed the report of Lambert van Nistelrooij which favours the use of structural funds to invest in housing, within the framework of an integrated approach, for marginalised communities, including Roma people, in all EU 27 Members States. This will clearly help local authorities, together with other stakeholders, in urban, but also rural areas, to carry out the necessary investments to provide marginalised communities not only with adequate homes but also with the necessary long term social support to them.
Before the vote, all three networks called on MEPs to adopt the report by MEP van Nistelrooij.
"Our cities are increasingly faced with the challenge of ensuring access to decent housing, especially for marginalised groups at risk of social exclusion", said Paul Bevan, EUROCITIES Secretary General. "We support the idea of strengthening the role that ERDF, and thus Europe, can play in tackling the critical problem of housing exclusion", he added.
Being aware of the crucial role of partnership on the ground in order to make the difference for marginalised communities, the three organisations envisage future cooperation on this issue to turn those new opportunities into real achievements.
High Speed Rail Spurring Economic Growth in China
A large-scale program of high speed rail projects is creating a huge economic impact in China. The fast timeline for these rail projects and the jobs they are creating have American officials looking on jealously.
"Indeed, the web of superfast trains promises to make China even more economically competitive, connecting this vast country — roughly the same size as the United States — as never before, much as the building of the Interstate highway system increased productivity and reduced costs in America a half-century ago.
As China upgrades and expands its rail system, it creates the economies of large-scale production for another big export industry. 'The sheer volume of equipment that they will require, and the technology that will have to be developed, will simply catapult them into a leadership position,' said Stephen Gardner, Amtrak’s vice president for policy and development."
By 2012, China will have 42 high speed rail lines in operation. The first U.S. project -- an 84-mile link between Tampa and Orlando -- is scheduled to open in 2014.
SUGAR Awards 2010 for Rotterdam and Parma
The awarding ceremony of the SUGAR AWARD 2010 was held at the premises of Emilia-Romagna Region in Bologna (Italy) on the 25th January 2010. The event took place within the SUGAR project (Sustainable Urban Goods logistics Achieved by Regional and local policies) financed by the European Union within the European Territorial Cooperation Programme INTERREG IVC (European Regional Development Fund).The award in the category of “Metropolitan areas and large cities” was assigned to the Municipality of Rotterdam, while the Municipality of Parma won the prize for “Small and medium sized cities”.
The Regional Minister of Transport, Alfredo Peri presented both awards. The event also included technical presentations of experts and logistics operators and a high level round table in which all the main Municipalities of Emilia-Romagna discussed the future of public policies for city logistics.
The SUGAR Award is a European prize for local authorities which have developed innovative and sustainable public policies and measures in city logistics.
Kanagawa Prefecture Renting Out Electric Vehicles for Official and Resident Use
The prefecture of Kanagawa, a member of ICLEI, launched a model project last fall to promote the use of electric vehicles (EVs) as a possible solution for environmental and resource problems. This is the first project of its kind in Japan. Under the project which will run until 19 March 2010, the prefecture uses two rented EVs for official use on weekdays, and then rents them out to residents on weekends and national holidays.
With a target of having 3,000 EVs on the road by fiscal 2014, Kanagawa is working to promote the use of EVs through a variety of measures. Kanagawa is also one of the "EV & pHV Towns" (pHV stands for plug-in hybrid vehicle) designated by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, a program aimed at promoting the use of eco-friendly cars.
For more information please go to: http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/029648.html
Call for Submissions for Dubai Award for Best Practices Now Open
UN-HABITAT and the City of Dubai have opened the call for submissions to the 2010 Dubai Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment (DIABP). The organizers are seeking submissions of best practices from around the world that “demonstrate a positive and tangible impact on improving the living environment of people particularly the poor and disadvantaged.”
The International Award has a total grant amount of $480,000 USD. It is open to NGOs, CBOs, research organizations, bilateral and multilateral organizations, foundations, cities and local authorities and even individuals.
A total of 12 winners will be selected from among the submissions. Two out of them will be reserved for Best Practices Transfers. Nearly $360,000 USD will be distributed among all the winners and the two finalists will be invited to the award ceremony that will be held in Dubai in October 2010.
There is a reporting format available which can be downloaded for submitting the application. The award organizers would also be providing feedback on submissions to ensure compliance with the set criteria. The deadline to submit applications is 30 March 2010. For more information about the Award and to download the submission form, go to the following websites:
www.bestpractices.at
www.unhabitat.org
www.dubaiaward.ae
Mercedes Bresso new president of Committee of the Regions
Mercedes Bresso has been elected president of the Committee of the Regions on 10 February 2010. Mercedes Bresso is the president of the Piedmont regions (Italy) and vice-president of the Council of European Municipalities.and Regions (CEMR) and president of CEMR's Italian section (AICCRE). She is the first woman to become president of the Committee of the Regions.
In her acceptance speech, Mrs. Bresso stated that the institutional debate is over. It is time to bring the Treaty of Lisbon to life. We will no longer just ask that regional and local authorities are taken into consideration. We will not just be the yes-man. We will enter the political debate with substantial proposals and we will not – if it is required - shy away from political controversy.
Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso, President of the Spanish region of Murcia, has been elected as the First Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions. He will hold this office until 2012 when he will, according to an agreement between the CoR's two biggest political group (PES and EPP), take over the presidency from Mercedes Bresso.
UN-HABITAT launches essay competition for youth
UN-HABITAT has launched an essay competition for the youth as part of the activities of the Fifth Session of World Urban Forum staging in Rio de Janeiro next month.
The agency is offering fantastic prizes to the winners with the number one bagging an invitation to attend World Urban Youth Forum, which will hold just before the World Urban Forum, as well as a laptop. The second and third placed winners will receive digital cameras.
Under the overall WUF theme of ‘Right to the city; bridging the urban divide’, the agency seeks to hear from the youth the challenges faced by young people in cities today, using their own cities as an example.
Revitalizing a City With Technology
The town of Holyoke, Massachusetts has hired Cisco to create a technology-led urban revitalization plan.
One of America's original planned industrial communities, Holyoke, Massachusetts is struggling to make ends meet today. Nearly a quarter of Holyoke's residents live below the poverty line, and over 12 percent are unemployed.
That's why the city has hired technology giant Cisco Systems to "transform the onetime mill town into a 'Smart+Connected Community' over the next six-to-twelve months.
From Cisco's point of view, the question is 'how are we going to fundamentally create sustainability in an existing neighborhood, and what role is technology going to play?' http://www.fastcompany.com/1546430/cisco-plans-to-make-a-massachusetts-city-smarter-rather-than-build-one-from-scratch
Latvia sells one of its towns!
Latvia has sold an entire town once used by the Soviet military. The deserted town formerly known as Skrunda-1, about 150km west of Riga, was auctioned off to a Russian firm for about €2m, on 5 February.
The lot includes 45 hectares of land and over 60 buildings including 10 apartment blocks, two nightclubs, a shopping centre, kindergarten, barracks and a sauna. The town was abandoned after Russian troops withdrew from Latvia in 1994, following the collapse of the USSR. It is not known what the property would be used for.
During the Cold War, Skrunda-1 was not marked on any maps because it was used as secret anti-missile radar base.
EU should have clearer funding for cities, says Hague mayor
EU's major cities are to push for "clearer budget lines" from Brussels, as most policies related to social inclusion, environment and public transport are being implemented in urban areas, says the mayor of the Hague. "We represent 120 million citizens in Europe – 140 cities from 34 countries – it's important for us to follow the many policies and budget lines coming from Brussels," Jozias van Aartsen, the mayor of the Hague and chair of the Eurocities network stated this on to the EUobserver website.
He was talking on the margins of an event marking the launch of a cross-party group within the European Parliament looking at existing and upcoming legislation from the perspective of cities and the costs entailed for local administrations. "We are engaged full-front in environment policy, public transport, fighting against congestion and pollution, all policies related to social inclusion – for instance how to integrate migrants – end up in cities," Mr van Aartsen said.
Also, in view of the upcoming talks related to EU's next multi-annual budget, he stressed the need for "clearer budget lines" and more focus on projects being developed by cities. As for concrete projects developed in the Hague, Mr van Aartsen said one district being completely renovated will be CO2-free within 10 years, while other districts used sea water or the warmth of the earth for heating apartment buildings.
These projects were "hardly EU-funded", however, with most of the subsidies coming from the Dutch government and the city itself. Paul Bevan, the secretary general of Eurocities, added that projects such as the ones developed in the Hague are "the future of cohesion policy."
Detroit revitalizes urban farming to replace dying industry.
As a city still haunted by the death of its auto and manufacturing industries, Detroit is looking for any alternatives to help it regrow. The answer to its economic woes, however, may require a little digging into its agricultural past.
Before becoming the bustling Motown, Detroit was a stretch of farmland. Today, it hopes to trade in abandoned buildings for rich soil.
"There's so much land available, and it's begging to be used," said Michael Score, president of the Hantz Farms, which is buying up abandoned sections of the city's 139-square-mile landscape and plans to transform them into a large-scale commercial farm enterprise. "Farming is how Detroit started," Score said, "and farming is how Detroit can be saved."
Can urban gardening put Detroit back on the map? http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2010/jan/03/business/chi-sun-detroit-farms-0103jan03
Decentralised cooperation: new members join PLATFORMA!
PLATFORMA, the European representative of local and regional authorities for development opened its ranks to five new members on 4 February 2010.
The five new members are:
. The Latvian association of local and regional government
. The Tuscany region
. The province of Barcelona
. The Commonwealth of local government forum
. The Forum of global associations of regions (FOGAR)
PLATFORMA has now 25 members: networks of local and regional authorities such as CEMR, national associations of local and regional authorities as well as towns, provinces and regions.
PLATFORMA was launched in November 2008. One of its aims is to coordinate the voice of local and regional authorities towards the European initiatives.
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) provides the secretariat of PLATFORMA. http://www.ccre.org/champs_activites_detail_news_en.htm?ID=1470&idca=3129
Comparing Five of The Nation's Biggest Transit Systems
GOOD takes a look at five of the nation's biggest public transit systems and compares their ridership, average speeds, and average miles per trip.
"Taking public transportation is one of the best way to combat congestion in our cities. But to encourage individuals to take mass transit, cities must invest to keep their transportation systems running efficiently and serving citizens' needs. See how the country's largest subway and rapid transit systems stack up in terms of how many riders they serve and how well they serve those riders."
This infographic compares the transit systems of New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area and the Boston region.
http://www.good.is/post/comparing-the-country-s-largest-public-transit-systems/
Funds for housing: “Broaden the scope to include all EU regions”
Marginalised communities from all over the EU should benefit from European funding for housing interventions. This is the common message of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), EUROCITIES (the Network of.major European cities) and CECODHAS (the European social housing network) to the members of the European Parliament.
On 10 February 2010, the European Parliament is due to vote a report by MEP Lambert van Nistelrooij on a proposal of modification of the European Regional Development Fund regulation (ERDF). One of the issues to be addressed in plenary will be the eligibility of housing interventions in favour of marginalised communities. http://www.ccre.org/news_detail_en.htm?ID=1778
EurActiv.com opens its doors to local and regional governments
EurActiv.com, the media portal dedicated to EU affairs, has created a new section covering news about cities and regions.
The new section entitled "Regional Policy" includes a series of thematic files, interviews of local and.regional stakeholders, analysis and opinions. It also covers EU policies directly affecting local and regional governments.
The website is available in English, French and German
Nobel laureate scoops prestigious UN-HABITAT award
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and also Director-General of India's Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has won the 2010 UN-HABITAT Cities Lecture Award. In a statement on Monday, the agency cited his "outstanding contribution and leadership" on climate change.
The award is presented by UN-HABITAT through the Global Research Network on Human Settlements (HS-Net), an international board that advises the agency on its Global Report on Human Settlements. The award seeks to recognize outstanding and sustained contribution to research, thinking and practice in the human settlements field. In selecting Dr. Pachauri for the 2010 UN-HABITAT Cities Lecture Award, UN-HABITAT wishes to recognize his outstanding contribution and leadership in the area of climate change and, in particular, his contribution to knowledge and global action on climate change and cities. Dr. Pachauri, who received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), also served as President of the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi 2004-06.
Fighting for the Right to Party in Amsterdam
Europe's nightlife is under threat and Amsterdam is no exception. Restricted opening hours, rent hikes and increased policing are all serving to dampen the party spirit in the Dutch capital. But some revellers are fighting back. Paris' renowned nightlife is on the brink of death -- so many locals say. Last Sunday, musicians, hospitality professionals and nightclub owners in the French capital sounded the alarm over the declining quality of Parisian nightlife by handing over a petition to their mayor. The assembled representatives of the town's party crowd collected 14,000 signatures to support their plea to their fellow Parisians, particularly the ones employed in law enforcement, to be more tolerant of the noise that nocturnal frolicking inevitably entails.
The French daily Le Monde went as far as to dub Paris the "European Capital of Boredom." So much for the City of Lights. Paris is not the only European city where people are worried about their nightlife. Last summer a grassroots group named Ai!Amsterdam, a pun on the Dutch capital's slogan "I Amsterdam," produced a manifesto that reads like a litany of complaints over city policy towards bars and clubs. In recent years, bars have been fined because their patrons were drinking on a terrace while standing, instead of sitting, as the law dictates. Opening hours are being further restricted, the group claimed. A ban on terrace heating is also under consideration. "Just imagine what would happen if we enjoyed ourselves!" the manifesto sardonically ponders.
http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2010/02/Fighting-for-the-Right-to-Party-in-Amsterdam_1014.html
Underused Olympic Stadium to Become Water Park
Underused since the end of the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Beijing Water Cube swimming stadium will be converted into a water park.
"The park will include seven-storey slides, a wave machine, shopping arcades, cafes, and performance stages when it reopens in July, the report said.
'A Canadian company is designing and building these facilities to make the venue one of the biggest and most modern water parks in the world,' Yang Qiyong, deputy general manager of the venue, was quoted as saying."
This effort to make sure the Olympics-related infrastructure does not go unused will cost roughly $29 million.
Building on 20 Years of Community Support to Urban Development
Urban areas host today over 70 percent of Europeans. By their very nature, conurbations are places where people meet; businesses thrive; ideas develop, gain momentum and are exchanged. Cities, or clusters of them, most often are the social, economic and cultural hearts of the surrounding region or even their whole countries.
Since 1989, the European Commission has endeavoured to support urban development while promoting inclusion and regeneration: using the untapped potential of the cities for the benefits of citizens throughout a growing EU. An initially timid support has greatly evolved and diversified, and today the urban dimension is a recognised element of Cohesion policy, with in excess of €10 billion allocated to urban priorities in the funded programmes. More importantly, the "urban acquis" - which has been fine-tuned over time - and its world-class integrated, participative approach are being increasingly placed at the core of urban actions. Exchange programmes among cities have also proved tremendously successful – both in terms of popularity with the local practitioners and for the knowledge cities have collectively produced.
Looking at these past 20 years and at how Cohesion Policy keeps helping cities grow is the core purpose of this meeting. Building on 20 years of achievements, current and future interventions have a solid legacy to improve upon.
Grants Signal Shift in Federal Urban Planning Policy
HUD announced this week the formation of a new Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities, along with $100 million in grants for regional integrated planning initiatives.
Seattle Times columnist Joel Connelly says the announcement reflects "radical changes" in how federal urban policy is made.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan told Connelly: "We are trying to reassert federal leadership and support, but do it in a way that is not one-size fits all: We're trying to reassert a federal presence, but as partnership."
That partnership will be led by HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims, who the agency says "won national recognition for turning King County, Washington into a model for sustainable communities." http://www.seattlepi.com/connelly/415068_joel05.html
Post of Secretary General of EURISY
http://www.eurisy.org/DocEurisy/VN_SG/VN_10_01_Eurisy_Secretary_General.pdf
Municipal Plan of Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change - Curitiba
The Management contract signed between the Mayor of Curitiba, Brasil and the Secretary of Environment consist in the elaboration, until 2012, of the Municipal Plan for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change.
To be able to reach the final plan, some steps must be fulfilled. The first was the accomplishment of the inventory of CO2 sinks in the municipal forests, this project was executed and delivered in June 2009 and it was found the fixing of 189.6 t CO2/ha. The second step is the accomplishment of the emissions inventory, which had the service order issued in 23/11/09, to be delivered in July 2010 and executed in accordance with approved methodology by the IPCC and finally the realization of a study of vulnerabilities with the production of specific climate models to the region of Curitiba, with completion scheduled for July 2011.
With these steps executed will be possible to elaborate the Municipal Plan of Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change, to be discussed with the population at Public Hearings to then be forwarded to City Council for its transformation into Law.
US High Speed Rail Association (USHSR) applauds President Obama
The US High Speed Rail Association (USHSR) applauds President Obama and Vice President Biden for starting the nation's first true high speed rail project. With the expected announcement Thursday morning by the President and Vice President in Tampa, Florida of the first round of high speed rail grants, this starts a new era in advanced transportation for America.
The US High Speed Rail Association has been a big supporter of President Obama's plans for high speed rail in America. The association was launched in June 2009 with the sole purpose of helping to build widespread public, political, and business support for a major national high speed rail network for America. "We congratulate the president and vice president on this great effort" said Thomas Hart, Vice President for Government Affairs, US High Speed Rail Association. "We also want to congratulate Congresswoman Corrine Brown, Congressman John Mica, and Congressman James Oberstar for their leadership in helping to advance this great project" said Mr. Hart.
Los Angeles Considers Replacing Traffic Lanes with Public Park Space
The Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles is proposing that traffic lanes between 9th and Olympic Avenue in downtown be reduced by two lanes and replaced with public green space. +In addition to providing desperately needed open space in dense downtown Los Angeles, the reduction in lanes would also serve the purpose of creating a more pedestrian-oriented environment.
''The bottom line is, we need more park space,'' said Mike Pfeiffer, president of a downtown neighborhood stakeholders group.
''According to this article in the Los Angeles Times, this is the first time the city has considered replacing asphalt with parkland. ''We decided with the city that we could close some of the lanes on the street and create a new street that was smaller and more pedestrian-friendly,” said Lillian Burkenheim, the redevelopment agency's project manager for downtown. As the article notes, the concept of street narrowing has become increasing popular in planning and engineering circles—as streets become narrower, drivers become more cautious, making the street more appealing for pedestrians and other modes of transportation.
The idea of turning asphalt to parkland has become so popular that a similar idea is being proposed a few blocks away at Hill and 9th streets. New residents to downtown want to convert an underused parking lot into a residential park.
Blog Examines Cities with Low Car-Ownership Rates
An article on the Human Transit blog looks at the three common factors that determine which cities in the United States have a lower rate of car-ownership. The author, public transit planning consultant Jarrett Walker, notes that different areas of cities may have different rates of car ownership and that it can be difficult to gain an actual picture of what is going on based on city-wide statistics. However, even with this caveat, three major factors can be determined in car-ownership rates: high rates of poverty, dominate universities, and the age when the majority of the city was built out.
The most common factor was age. Older cities often were built in a era before the automobile and continue to sustain an urban fabric that is unfriendly to automobiles. In addition, higher rates of poverty and established universities often are found in these older areas. The author notes that because older cities were designed for pedestrians, they exhibit a lower rate of car-ownership and that ''density + design'' might serve as a solution to getting more people out of their cars. http://www.humantransit.org/2010/01/three-kinds-of-lowcar-city.html
Gov 2.0 On the Rise
Twitter, iPhones, and new sites like SeeClickFix make it increasingly easy for citizens and governments to communicate. Along with newly available data sets, these "Gov 2.0" apps may signal a new era of active citizens and responsive governments.
Whether alerting governments to potholes and graffiti or finding the safest route home from work, an explosion of "Gov 2.0" apps and newly available municipal datasets make it easier than ever for citizens to find out what's happening locally and alert governments to problems in their neighborhoods. At the same time, these tech tools make it easy for governments to track citizens' concerns and requests and respond promptly.
"'I see [these applications] as the death of a passive relationship with government,' said Clay Johnson, director of Sunlight Labs, a group promoting Gov 2.0 apps."
From San Francisco to New York a number of larger cities are indeed embracing mobile and web-based technologies to make citizen engagement easier, though some cities and smaller towns are hesitant to take the plunge.
Tunis meets Vienna
In 2008, the cities of Tunis and Vienna signed a memorandum on friendship and cooperation in several areas, including culture, greenspace and urban technologies. From 15 to 16 January 2010, a delegation of the City of Vienna visited the Tunisian capital. The programme of the visit included a series of excursions and meetings of Tunis city officials with Franz Joachim Chen of Vienna’s Parks and Gardens Department (Municipal Department 42) and TINA VIENNA. Representing TINA VIENNA, Volker Schaffler provided a comprehensive overview of Viennese solutions in the field of environmental protection, which may also be of interest to the city of Tunis. The in-depth talks conducted with representatives of the zoological and botanic gardens, greenspace and park management, the directorate of hygiene and the environment and the waste disposal department clearly reflected Tunis’s interest in the approaches and solutions implemented by the City of Vienna. In this respect, Tunis attached particular importance to issues such as biological waste, recycling, efficient urban and street lighting and barrier freedom in the municipal districts.
In addition to the events focusing on urban and environmental technologies, the visit also featured two concerts of the Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra conducted by Uwe Theimer at the Theatre Municipal in Tunis. Guests of honour included the new Mayor of Tunis, Mohamed Béji Ben Memi, and the Austrian Ambassador to Tunisia, Johann Fröhlich. In the theatre’s foyer, pictures of well-known and less well-known Viennese buildings taken by the Vienna-based fine art photographer Iwona Szmidt were on display for several weeks.
LEED 2009 Green Neighborhood Development Reference Guide
The LEED 2009 Reference Guide for Green Neighborhood Development is a user's manual that guides a LEED-ND project from registration to certification. This guide is specifically designed to provide the tools necessary for sustainable choices to be made by developers, planners, architects and others involved in the vertical and horizontal development of a neighborhood development project. The Reference Guide includes detailed information on the process for achieving LEED-ND certification, detailed credit and prerequisite information, resources, and standards for the LEED 2009 for Neighborhood Development Rating System. For each credit or prerequisite, the guide provides: intent, requirements, point values, environmental, economic and social issues, related credits, summary of referenced standards, credit implementation discussion, timeline, and team recommendations, calculation methods and formulas, documentation guidance, examples, exemplary performance options, regional variations, resources, and definitions.
With each purchase of the Hardcopy LEED Reference Guide for Green Neighborhood Development, 30-day access to download and save a non-printable PDF version of the reference guide is available.
The E-book purchase option provides 30-day access to download and save a printable PDF version of the reference guide. Please save a copy of the guide to your computer within this time frame. This option does not include a hard copy delivery of the reference guide.
http://www.usgbc.org/Store/PublicationsList_New.aspx?CMSPageID=1518
Public procurement rules: "Put the focus back on value for money"
Public procurement rules have become such a complex matter that public authorities increase their focus on legal certainty and limitation of legal threat – rather than procedures that maximize ‘value for money'.
CEMR's expert, Robert Hann, Director legal services of Local Partnerships (part of the Local Government Association, England), expressed serious concern at today's hearing in the European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection.
Furthermore, the economic and financial crisis and some decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) have unexpected, unforeseen and unwelcome consequences for projects procured in different circumstances.
For example: ECJ case law on use of evaluation criteria and weightings suggests there is no ability to ‘flex' criteria due to changing market circumstances or to meet a contracting authority's requirements such as the credit crunch and funding crisis. “Is it appropriate to cement criteria and weightings in stone, prior to the dialogue stage where under the competitive dialogue process, dialogue can last 18 months?” asked Robert Hann.
With reference to other observations (uncoordinated initiatives from different services of the European Commission, extensive use of public procurement as a policy instrument, etc), CEMR's expert advocated for a fundamental review of the public procurement directives and urged the EU institutions to take into account experience from grass roots practitioners.
The challenges and opportunities related to the integration of young urban migrants are heavily discussed on national and the European level. But it is especially in cities where problems and chances regarding this issue are felt most strongly. According to Kent Andersson, vice mayor of the City of Malmö, many cities in Europe face similar obstacles in the integration of young people. Cities have gained a great amount of experience, which he feels should be shared and exchanged. That does not mean that best practices from one city can be copied directly to another city. One needs to take the specific socioeconomic context and the specific local dynamics of a city into account. In the City of Malmö, 30% of the inhabitants are foreign born and 50% of young people under 19 speak another language than Swedish with their parents. “We, as the City of Malmö, have a welcoming and supportive attitude towards ethnic and religious organisations. In that way we make it easier for their members to integrate,” Andersson says. He feels that it is of general importance to support young migrants to find work and to make them more employable. http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2010/01/interview-kent-andersson_1029.html
Outside Vancouver, Smaller Towns Skeptical About Olympic Benefits
Locals in some of the smaller towns of British Columbia are skeptical that they will see the economic benefits of the this year's Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Officials have been touting the Olympics as a benefit for the entire province, but some smaller cities and rural areas are highly doubtful that those benefits will trickle down.
"The province has also tried to spread around the Olympic spirit, using so-called legacy funds to pay for sports programs and facilities in communities like Prince George. For example, the province's 2010 Legacies Now program put $20 million into the $32-million Northern Sport Centre at the University of Northern B.C.
However, some people living outside of the Vancouver area and Whistler, in smaller cities and rural areas of the province away from the new sports venues and highways and the bright lights of the opening ceremonies, are skeptical their communities will be affected in any significant way."
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/olympics/83016887.html
Berlin to Resurrect its Disgraced Monuments
In a sign of how time is healing Berlin's wounds, the city plans to dig up the giant Lenin monument it famously buried in 1991 and place it in a new museum for disgraced statues. The works will span the communist and Nazi eras and date far back into Prussian times.
Berlin tore down its biggest statue of Lenin, a 19-meter (62-foot) high monster, in 1991, just two years after the fall of the Wall. The removal symbolized Berlin's desperate rush to rid itself of all reminders of its communist past, and was featured in the hit movie "Goodbye Lenin".
In a sign that Berlin has since gained a more dispassionate view of its history, the 3.5 ton head, buried in a sand pit on the outskirts of the city, is going to be resurrected and placed in a new permanent exhibition along with scores of other monumental statues from the Cold War era.
Nazi-era statues of idealized Aryan figures will also be put on show, along with monuments to generals that date as far back as the 18th century and exude the grandeur and militarism of Prussia.
"A certain amount of time has to pass before people can take a more relaxed approach to history," Andrea Theissen, the project leader, told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "The exhibition is a wonderful way to portray how historical monuments have been dealt with. It's typical of Berlin's turbulent history that nothing is left standing where it was once erected." http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2010/01/Berlin-to-Resurrect-its-Disgraced-Monuments_1031.html
New EUROCITIES Working Group on ‘city attractiveness’ launched
Grand Lyon will chair the new Working Group. The kick off meeting will take place in Lyon on 2-3 February and will gather representatives from more than 35 cities.
From next week EUROCITIES will host a new horizontal Working Group, focusing on brand management and city attractiveness. Reporting to the EUROCITIES Executive Committee, the group’s main objective will be to look at how cities combine strategic visions for their future with branding and marketing tools in a bid to reinforce growth and attract investment, business and people.
This working group will also provide advice and input into the programme for our upcoming annual conference, ‘EUROCITIES 2010 Zaragoza’, the theme of which will be ‘Successful cities – vision and identity’.
European Summit of Local Governments
Barcelona will host the European Summit of Local Governments 22-24 February 2010, bringing together representatives from local groups, governments, European institutions and the private sector. The question at the heart of the summit is how local governments need to go about strengthening the cohesion of cities and Europe in general.
The aim is to analyse the different models of governance, the public investments and the policies of European local governments, taking into account the close relationship between authorities and citizens. As a backdrop to the discussions: the economic crisis and the new European agenda. www.europeansummit2010.eu
The crisis should not be used to roll back democratic decentralisation
It is essential to avoid excessive central government controls over local government finances in the coming period. This is the main message of outgoing secretary general Jeremy Smith, at a public hearing at the European Parliament, on 28 January 2010.
Over the last 20 years or more, there has been a general move towards democratic decentralisation across Europe. But as national governments themselves feel the pressure to restrain public expenditure, there is a real risk that they seek to reverse this process and take more centralised control over local authorities, in terms of finances, but also in terms of more control over what services are delivered by municipalities and regions, and how.
In his speech, Jeremy Smith also called on members of the European Parliament to encourage the European Union and national governments to ensure that local and regional authorithies are not disproportionately affected by reductions in public expenditure.
Fish: the Future of Urban Farming
Cityscape Farms has developed a new technique for farming fish along with vegetables in combined urban food systems that allows them to farm in developed areas.
80% of Americans live in suburban or urban areas, and yet most of their food comes from rural areas thousands of miles away. Experts suggest that growing food locally may be an important solution to problems ranging from climate change to community building, but farming is tough in urban areas. Cityscape Farms is testing one method: aquaponic greenhouses, which grow fish and vegetables together in combined urban food systems.
Mike Yohay, CEO and founder of Cityscape, says, "Our [model] is a completely site independent methodology—we aren’t reliant on soil testing and the perfect parcel of land; we don’t even need land. The soil in cities is often times ill-suited for agriculture because of heavy metals; we mitigate these dangers by avoiding the use of soil all together. The fact is the world is running out of quality water and soil."
http://www.good.is/post/making-urban-farming-scalable-with-fish/
Innovation through sustainable procurement
SMART SPP implementation phase kicks off in Austria
Vienna, Freiburg 25.02.2010 • Prove Consulting and the ICLEI European Secretariat are working together on the implementation of the European project ”SMART SPP – innovation through sustainable procurement “ in Austria. The co-operation covers accompanying public authorities in the implementation phase of SMART SPP in Austria.
Together with the municipalities and central procurement offices specific tenders will be used to test the SMART SPP approach. Basic elements of this are the lawful integration of the market before the call for tenders to collect the most energy-efficient solutions as well as the use of a newly developed life cycle costing and CO2-emission calculation tool.
As procurement fields the product groups lighting, information and communication technologies, building heating and - cooling as well as electrical mobility are covered. Suppliers of innovative solutions within above-mentioned fields are invited to take part in the dialogue phase with public procurers.
In order to place the objective to increase energy efficiency through innovative public procurement on a broader basis, there will be co-operation with multipliers, such as the Städtebund (Association of Cities and Towns), the initiative WienWin of the WWFF and the Viennese IT cluster - VITE as well as exchange among existing initiatives.
The SMART SPP Austria implementation phase runs from January 2010 until December 2011 and receives financial support from the Ministries of Economy and Life.
Interested public procurers in Austria, who would like to enjoy the advantages of an international and national exchange of experience for the promotion of innovative technologies through sustainable public procurement, please contact DI Robert Hörmann under Tel.: 01-971 24 36-12 and email hoermann@prove.at.
You can find further information on the project under http://www.smart-spp.eu and http://smart-spp-austria.blogspot.com.
Miami HOT Lanes Getting Drivers Out Of Cars Into Buses
Opponents of High-Occupancy-Toll lanes have long claimed that these lanes, often converted from High Occupancy Vehicle lanes like Miami's I-95, would encourage solo-drivers, especially wealthier ones, to pay to use the express lanes.
During the evaluation period, 95 Express bus ridership rose by 30 percent. However, local bus ridership in the corridor dipped 4.6%, presumably for the same reasons that transit ridership has dipped nation-wide due to the recession, rising fares, and reduced service.
"The U.S. DOT, working alongside the National Bus Rapid Transit Institute, found that the city's 95 Express project has trimmed travel times by as much as two-thirds for users of the bus service on northbound HOT lanes."
"Half of the bus riders surveyed by the U.S. DOT said they had switched over from car travel, "which suggests that the 95 Express bus service in general has had some success over time in attracting private auto users," the report stated."
From Miami Urban Partnership Agreement:
"Free-flowing conditions on the managed-lane network will be ensured through the use of variable pricing based upon demand and the network itself will be used as the back-bone of a bus rapid transit (BRT) system which will be subsidized through the toll revenues.
This is the second project in the nation (after the Houston QuickRide project) to increase the occupancy requirement on high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, in this case from HOV 2+ to HOV 3+."
Gentrification in Hamburg: Can Ikea Save a Run-Down Neighborhood?
Plans to build a new Ikea store in the Hamburg district of Altona have divided local residents. Supporters of the project, which would be the first of its kind in a downtown area, claim that it will bring much-needed investment to the area. But local artists and activists say it will just speed up the gentrification of the neighborhood.
It once had the distinction of being Germany's first pedestrian zone. In recent years, however, Grosse Bergstrasse in Hamburg's Altona district has been in decline. Now the shopping street is back in the headlines: as the scene of a battle between local residents over whether Swedish furniture giant should be allowed to build a new inner-city store there.
Ikea's plan to build its first inner-city outlet on Grosse Bergstrasse is the area's last hope, say supporters. The proposed site currently contains the Frappant building, a 1970s concrete behemoth left over from the shopping street's heyday. Proponents claim the new plan, which Ikea says will bring Altona €70 million ($100 million) in investment and 250 jobs, will give the whole neighborhood a new lease on life.
Critics retort that if Ikea moves in, Altona will suffer massive traffic gridlock. Their idea is to convert the Frappant building into a center for residents and artists instead. They have been collecting signatures in a bid to force a district-level referendum against Ikea. They need 5,600 signatures for the referendum to take place. The activists have already turned in their signature lists, but it won't be known for a few days whether the signatures are valid.
But, in an illustration of just how much the issue has polarized locals, the pro-Ikea camp has already forced through its own referendum. Around 82,000 people -- some 44 percent of registered voters in the district of Altona -- voted in the local referendum, which closed Tuesday. The votes are now being counted, with the result expected to be announced on Thursday or Friday.
If the anti-Ikea camp wins a majority, the company will not be able to open a store in Altona. But if supporters of the project are in the majority, then district and city authorities would be able to move quickly and give Ikea a building permit -- unless a possible second referendum manages to stop them.
Cities in Constant Flux
While cities may seem permanent, a group called Architecture 2030 claims that a majority of the buildings in cities today will be rebuilt by the year 2035.
Writer Jonathan Hiske notes that Architecture 2030 are using "pre-recession figures. Construction rates are significantly lower at the moment, though renovation rates are probably up. Even with that caveat, our built environments are less permanent than you might assume."
http://www.planetizen.com/news/redirect_new.php?id=42647-0
Strasbourg on the road to gender equality
The mayor of Strasbourg, Roland Ries, signed the European Charter for equality of women and men in local life, on 18 January.
The signing of the charter was held at the Strasbourg city hall on the occasion of the meeting.of the monitoring group of the charter chaired by Jocelyne Bougeard, President of CEMR's Committee of women elected representatives of local and regional authorities. French members of the European Parliament participated in the event.
An action plan will be implemented within two years, said city councilor in charge of gender equality, Mine Günbay. It will be based on three axes: first, within the administration, the second largest employer in the urban community of Strasbourg with 6 000 staff ; second, awareness and information campaigns will be organised among the population. ; finally, support will be given to local associations working in the field of gender equality.
The charter has been elaborated by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions. It aims to encourage local authorities in Europe to use their powers and partnerships to promote gender equality.
Strasbourg is the 65th French local government to have signed the charter.
The Transformation of our Cities
'I'm pretty convinced we're in the midst of a transformation which is probably as profound as what happened immediately after the Second World War,' says planner Ken Greenberg in an interview in Metropolis.
"GREENBERG: Almost everything that we've inherited and put into practice in the post-WWII decades has in some way become obsolete. First of all, the way we divided the tasks up: the enormous prominence that we gave to traffic engineers in laying cities out because traffic was such a major concern; the way other modes of travel were sidelined. There is also a huge issue of cities reequipping themselves for cycling as a serious means of transportation.
Zoning, as a tool, is essentially about separating things. Now we talk about mixed used zoning, but we are still trying to use a hammer to turn a screw."
http://www.planetizen.com/news/redirect_new.php?id=42654-0
Major cities join forces to make the Euro-Mediterranean partnership a success story
At the inaugural session of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) in Barcelona today, mayors of major cities from the European Union and the Mediterranean partner countries have joined forces to energise the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. The mayors are determined to go beyond existing traditional diplomatic relations by launching concrete cooperation programmes on issues such as immigration, climate change, urban development or cultural exchange. Closeness to citizens, efficiency in project management and tackling real life issues will be at the heart of this cooperation, which should underpin the institutional framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Union.
“The Committee of the Regions (CoR), as the driving force behind the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly, will ensure that the political dynamic created in Barcelona will continue and transform into concrete cooperation on the ground,” CoR President Luc Van den Brande stressed. “The aim of ARLEM is to activate the regional and local representatives of the three shores of the Mediterranean so that they launch common decentralised cooperation projects of, share best practices, foster mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue and develop new creative twinning,” the President added. http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2010/01/Major-cities-join-forces-to-make-the-Euro-Mediterranean-partnership-a-success-story_1023.html
CEMR new secretary general takes offices and lists priorities
The new secretary general of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), Frédéric Vallier, has taken office on 1 February 2010.
In a video message to CEMR's members, Frédéric Vallier stated that the reflection process about the future of CEMR will be one of his priorities: We operate in a crowded environment. CEMR works alongside other actors who – like us - lobby EU institutions, hold conferences and seminars, and release studies and surveys... What is our precise role and place in that local and regional galaxy? What is CEMR's raison d'être 60 years after its birth? What can we bring you that others cannot? In short what is our specific added value?...
http://www.ccre.org/communiques_de_presse_detail_en.htm?ID=294
Call for participation: How does Europe impact on local government?
How does Europe impact on the behaviour of lower tier governments? How and to what extent do local governments react to this "Europeanisation"? Participate in a call for papers open until 19 February 2010.
The call for papers is organised by the Ghent university in the framework of a conference "The road to Europe: main street or backward alley for local governments in Europe?" taking place on 29 and 30 April 2010 in Ghent (Belgium).
A selection of papers will be presented at a conference organised at the Ghent university (Belgium) and published in an edited volume.
Applicants are expected to present a paper that focuses on one of the following subtopics of bottom-up Europeanisation at the local level:
1. Intergovernmental relations: Local government in a multi-level governance system;
2. European territorial cooperation;
3. Local lobbying in Brussels.
http://www.udel.edu/uaa/pdfs/ghent_call.pdf
Finland best at crime prevention efforts among young people
The Finnish anti-bullying programme KiVa received first prize in the European Crime Prevention Award (ECPA) from Minister for Justice Beatrice Ask this evening. The programme won for the powerful way in which it helps create a preventive school environment characterised by greater friendliness, with fewer children and young people bullying others or being bullied themselves.
KiVa is a scientifically evaluated anti-bullying programme from Finland. It has been developed over a long period of time, is based on research and has a direct impact in the form of reduced bullying, and also more long-term effects in the form of a more secure school environment that is generally conducive to preventing crime.
“Preventing crime is particularly important when it concerns children and young people. For this reason it is positive that we in the EU spread experience from successful crime prevention efforts,” says Ms Ask.
Twinning: new deadlines for applications
Municipalities and cities are invited to submit their application to set up town twinning project. Applications must be sent to the European Commission until 15 February 2010.
The next deadlines for these projects have been set to 1 June.and 1 September 2010. The April deadline has been removed from the calendar.
Application forms for twinning projects "Town Twinning citizens meetings" and "Thematic Networking of Twinned Towns" are available on the website of the Executive Agency of the European Commission. http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/citizenship/funding/2010/index_en.php
EU Commissioner designate gives hope to cities
European Parliament hearing of future Regional Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn
The European Parliament hearing of the future EU Commissioner responsible for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, took place on 14 January.
Commenting on the future of Europe’s cities, Hahn emphasised finding new urban policies aimed at improving the contribution of European cities to regional development goals. Different cities face different challenges, he argued, and a more proactive urban policy was needed to bring regional cities into the planning process.
Danuta Hübner, Hahn’s predecessor as EU Regional Policy Commissioner, and current Member of European Parliament, told EU journalists that this emphasis on cities was “extremely important”. According to EurActiv, Hübner claimed that despite improvements in recent years, the EU has still not delegated enough power to the cities. In the last round of funding, the Commission failed to convince EU Member States to fund programmes specifically for cities, she said, adding that she hoped this would change under Hahn. “Cities will be the most important drivers for growth” under Hahn’s mandate, Hübner argued.
In the official European Parliament summary of the hearing, Mr Hahn is recorded to have strongly advocated a strategic and integrated approach to regional policy, highlighting his opposition to any attempts to renationalise it.
The Commissioner designate stressed the need to invest more EU regional policy money in education and creativity to boost competitiveness and innovation, which would help get Europe out of the current crisis.
UN-HABITAT hits the ground running in Haiti
After deploying a rapid response team to the earthquake hit Haiti early in the week, UN-HABITAT is already formulating plans to help the residents pick up their shattered lives.
At a Friday morning cluster meeting bringing together various United Nations agencies as well as other aid organisations, UN-HABITAT was tasked with the production of a document related to building assessment and support to the affected families returning to their homes.
The document which is to be based on the agency’s rapid assessment in the neighbourhoods elicited warm response with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) showing interest in providing financial support for it.
“In one or two weeks, we will have to start dealing with improving planning for ongoing resettlements and at neighborhood levels. At a further stage, we will need to start the metro area re-planning on which USAID fully concurred and that should include strong land reform and management component,” said Jean Yves Barcelo, our man in Haiti.
The rapid response team was dispatched to Haiti immediately after the devastating earthquake that has left thousands dead and millions affected.
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