January Headlines - click to see the full story
29/1/2009 - Local Governments for Sustainability supports the newly launched International Renewable Energy Agency
29/1/2009 - Forum on Aid Effectivesness
27/1/2009 - Urban Atlas: European cities mapped for a better urban planning
27/1/2009 - Milan and Istanbul honoured for innovative public transport strategies
27/1/2009 - "Excrement, Insulation, Bike Paths Trim CO2 Emissions in Cities"
27/1/2009 - Jozias Van Aartsen, Mayor of The Hague, presses for bigger role for cities in EU policymaking
26/1/2009 - UN-HABITAT extends a helping hand to Gaza
26/1/2009 - Cities are ready to fulfil their responsibilities to the most disavantaged among their citizens
26/1/2009 - Water Conference postponed.
21/1/2009 - International Seminar on City-to-City Co-operation
21/1/2009 - Eurisy conference: the benefits of space in shaping regional energy strategies
21/1/2009 - The European Parliament has launched its new website on EU elections
20/1/2009 - New European project on regional bio-energy partnerships
20/1/2009 - Regions for Economic Change : register to URBACT workshop dedicated to Managing Authorities
19/1/2009 - The Covenant of Mayors - committed to urban sustainable energy
19/1/2009 - European Summit of Regions and Cities
19/1/2009 - Parking experiment in San Francisco
15/1/2009 - State of the World's Cities Report - Harmonious Cities
15/1/2009 - Action plan on urban mobility: CEMR supports the initiative of the European Parliament
15/1/2009 - Cities press for action on urban mobility
13/1/2009 - The 2008 LOGON Report on the impact of the EU on local authorities is now available
13/1/2009 - Registration now open for ICLEI World Congress 2009
9/1/2009 - UK abandons planning restriction to build new homes
9/1/2009 - New York developers turn to wind power
8/1/2009 - Cape Town launches central city development strategy
8/1/2009 - Peter Oberlander: the passing of a UN-HABITAT founding father
7/1/2009 - Bosnia-Herzegovina accession to the EU: opportunities and benefits for the local level
7/1/2009 - UITP World Congress
7/1/2009 - Upcoming Seminar: The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
5/1/2009 - First call for contributions – Megacities: Risk, Vulnerability and Sustainable development
3/1/2009 - Rimini Charter on Sustainable and Competitive Tourism successfully approved
3/1/2009 - World Water Week: Call for Workshop Abstracts and Seminar Proposals
2/1/2009 - Join the Biofuel Cities European Partnership now!
2/1/2009 - Euro-Syrian Cities Congress
1/1/2009 - Commission proposes measures to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy
1/1/2009 - Authorities of São Paulo, Brazil sign protocol to improve environmental performance
1/1/2009 - UN-HABITAT to the rescue of Baluchistan quake victims
1/1/2009 - Mayor of The Hague elected as new President of EUROCITIES
1/1/2009 - Unplanned urbanisation increases health risks
Local Governments for Sustainability supports the newly launched International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
ICLEI welcomes the launch of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on 26 January 2009 in Bonn/Germany and offers its support. ICLEI, the leading local government network on sustainable development, anticipates strong co-operation with IRENA in the rapid global deployment of renewable energy. Collaboration between ICLEI and IRENA can lead to strong links to local governments around the world in a short time.
David Cadman, President of ICLEI and Councillor of the City of Vancouver, notes that Local Governments are key actors in accelerating the application and sustained use of renewable energy. "The urgently needed transformation towards a renewable energy economy demands close cooperation within and between various levels of government. ICLEI can support IRENA in its work by facilitating strong relationships between its tasks and ICLEI's network of over 1000 local governments worldwide", states Cadman.
ICLEI encourages IRENA to recognise the role of local governments as key actors in the transition to renewable energy and to build strong relations with the local level.
Forum on Aid Effectivesness
On 20 and 21 January, the City of Barcelona and the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments hosted the Cities Alliance Annual Public Policy Forum, which this year focused on ways to improve the effectiveness of development aid.
The Cities Alliance partnership was launched in 1999 by the World Bank and UN Habitat and is dedicated to urban development. It brings together development agencies, national governments and local authorities. UCLG, a member of the Cities Alliance, provides leadership to the partnership, particularly, on local finance and urban planning.
At the opening of the Forum, the mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, declared: 'Cities are ready to fulfil their responsibilities to the most disadvantaged among their citizens. We cannot, however, be truly effective unless we reinforce joint plans and strategies with all the actors involved in development and for this there needs to be an agreement between local and national governments and multilateral organizations.'
Over the course of the Forum, local and regional government representatives, donor agency representatives and development institutions agreed on the importance of improving city management to combat poverty at world level by focussing their efforts on the poorest neighbourhoods and by putting local actors in the driver’s seat of urban development.
In the context of the current crisis, they committed to rallying and improving coordination at all levels; fostering local, national and supranational coordination. The effectiveness of this policy is evident in the success of Cities Alliance and the concrete projects it has made possible.
OECD representative reinforced this by calling for greater involvement of local governments in the discussions on Aid Effectiveness.
The participants also insisted on the necessity for the international community to redouble its efforts in order to attain the UN Millennium Development Goals, which can only be achieved if local authorities are brought in as real partners.
Acknowledging the relevance of the principles established by the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, participants entreated national and international stakeholders to ensure that, in the implementation of international programmes of action following from the Declaration, such as the Accra Agenda for Action, local governments are systematically included in the definition, implementation and monitoring of these projects. The World Organization and United Cities and Local Governments campaigns tirelessly to this end and therefore welcome the recognition accorded by Cities Alliance.
The proceedings and the debates of this year’s Forum reflected on the imperativeness of a development which is sustainable and which includes the participation of cities and their inhabitants as defining priority of urban practice.
Cities Alliance members also announce their commitment to coming together in a biannual stakeholders forum organised jointly by UCLG and Cities Alliance to discuss urban policy development.
The European Commission will soon launch its Urban Atlas, a new tool providing cities with detailed digital mapping, ensuring that city planners have the most up-to-date and accurate data available on land use and land cover. The first edition of the Urban Atlas will be delivered in 2009 to 185 cities.
The atlas will be compiled from thousands of satellite photographs with the support of European space technology. Local government will be able to consult reliable and comparable urban planning information for safe, sustainable and prosperous development.
All the maps will provide a pan-European classification of city zones, allowing for comparable information on density of residential areas, commercial and industrial zones, extent of green areas, exposure to flood risks and monitoring of urban sprawl which is important for public transport planning in suburban areas.
All cities in the EU will be covered by the urban atlas by 2011. http://ec.europa.eu/gmes/index_en.htm
Milan and Istanbul honoured for innovative public transport strategies
Milan and Istanbul, were awarded ‘Honourable Mentions’ in the 2009 International Award for Sustainable Transport competition, for having adopted innovative transportation strategies to confront climate change and decrease air pollution from vehicle emissions. The Award recognises a city or major jurisdiction that has made most significant progress during the year in improving public transportation, non-motorised travel for bicyclists and pedestrians; implementing programmes to reduce private car use; reducing urban sprawl; and reducing transport-related air pollution.
Among this year’s entrants, Milan was awarded for its bike sharing system and the ‘Ecopass’, which it introduced last January 2008 to restrict access to the central area of the city by charging the most heavily polluting vehicles. This is the first urban environmental policy worldwide in the transport sector based on the European Union’s “polluter pays” principle and is an evolution of the London’s congestion charge. Since February 2008, there has been a 19.2% traffic reduction within, and an 8% reduction outside, the enforcement time. As a result, public transport speed increased by 11.3%, passenger ridership increased on public transport by 9.7% and in two months there was a 3.9 million euro financial return. Because of this, carbon dioxide has decreased by 12% during the enforcement period, and particulate matter has decreased by 19%.
Istanbul was recognised for its Metrobus, a BRT system that carries 450,000 passengers a day over 43 kilometers of segregated busway. Metrobus was built on expressways, so its travel speed is uncommonly fast at 40 kilometers per hour. This has reduced travel time by 75%. The system is also integrated with the underground metro and existing bus services. Other cities in Turkey are looking to this low cost, quickly implemented example as a model.
"Excrement, Insulation, Bike Paths Trim CO2 Emissions in Cities"
In East Berlin’s communist-era apartments, warm air used to seep through drafty walls. Heaters had to run overtime, taxing power plants and increasing greenhouse-gas emissions blamed for global warming.
No more. A 2 billion-euro ($2.7 billion) urban-renovation program paid for foam insulation, cutting energy use almost in half, said Karin Lompscher, Berlin’s environment chief. The urban fund, also notable for turning human waste into biofuel, has helped the German capital trim emissions of climate-changing carbon dioxide 20 percent since 1990, according to city data.
From Berlin to Vancouver cities are creating bike paths, making windows air-tight and building cleaner power plants to counter the threat of global warming more quickly than national governments. When 189 countries sent delegates to Poland last month to debate climate change, proposals to reduce heat-trapping emissions worldwide were left on the negotiating table.
“As cities, we can no longer tolerate this inaction,” David Cadman, president of Local Governments for Sustainability and a Vancouver city council member, said in an interview. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=home&sid=a7jCHeffiIFE
Jozias Van Aartsen, Mayor of The Hague, presses for bigger role for cities in EU policymaking
At a meeting with EU President José Manuel Barosso on 20 January in Brussels, Jozias Van Aartsen, President of EUROCITIES, presented the case for even closer involvement of cities in developing and delivering EU policies. Mr Van Aartsen, Mayor of The Hague, said:
'Cities have a powerful role to play in improving Europe's global competitiveness. The weakness of Europe's current approach to growth and jobs, as reflected in the Lisbon agenda, is that it neglects the role of cities.'
The meeting with President Barosso focused on the forthcoming review of the Lisbon agenda post-2010.
Mr Van Aartsen explained: 'Cities are the focus for innovation and attracting investment, but they are also working hard to ensure inclusive labour markets. With economic migration higher than ever, the challenge is through active integration to make the most of the skills and potential of the workforce.'
UN-HABITAT extends a helping hand to Gaza
UN-HABITAT is to field a mission to Gaza to assess the damage and to take part in the early recovery programme as part of the larger UN assessment team which was initiated earlier this week by the UN Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon after his visit to the region.
In a statement issued in New York, the Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka said: “In line with UN-HABITAT’s technical mandate, the focus of this advance mission will be to focus on shelter and settlement recovery, basic infrastructure rehabilitation and to support to local authorities in managing post-conflict reconstruction. In fact, our Habitat Programme Managers on the ground are already taking part in the initial consultations.”
She concluded by committing UN-HABITAT to extending support and expertise to the Palestinian people in Gaza in order to help them overcome this humanitarian disaster.
Cities are ready to fulfil their responsibilities to the most disavantaged among their citizens
On 20 and 21 January, the City of Barcelona and the World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments hosted the Cities Alliance Annual Public Policy Forum, which this year focused on ways to improve the effectiveness of development aid.
The Cities Alliance partnership was launched in 1999 by the World Bank and UN Habitat and is dedicated to urban development. It brings together development agencies, national governments and local authorities. UCLG, a member of the Cities Alliance, provides leadership to the partnership, particularly, on local finance and urban planning.
At the opening of the Forum, the mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, declared: 'Cities are ready to fulfil their responsibilities to the most disadvantaged among their citizens. We cannot, however, be truly effective unless we reinforce joint plans and strategies with all the actors involved in development and for this there needs to be an agreement between local and national governments and multilateral organizations.'
Over the course of the Forum, local and regional government representatives, donor agency representatives and development institutions agreed on the importance of improving city management to combat poverty at world level by focussing their efforts on the poorest neighbourhoods and by putting local actors in the driver’s seat of urban development.
In the context of the current crisis, they committed to rallying and improving coordination at all levels; fostering local, national and supranational coordination. The effectiveness of this policy is evident in the success of Cities Alliance and the concrete projects it has made possible.
http://www.cities-localgovernments.org/uclg/index.asp?pag=newsD.asp&L=EN&ID=277
Water Conference postponed.
The conference Water Efficiency in Urban Areas, intended to take place shortly, has been postponed until 2010, according to organisers. Further details and prospective dates will be available in due course.
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR
"STRATEGIES OF CITY-TO-CITY-CO-OPERATION FOR ECONOMIC REVITALISATION", Seville, Spain 1 -3 April 2009 in collaboration with the ILO (International Labour Organisation). How to measure and improve the economic impact of city collaboration versus city competition. International Seminar addressed only to local government decision makers. Now opened for submission of experiences to present during the seminar. Contact us for more information, selected cities will be granted with travel and accommodation. Sponsored by the Seville Local Development Agency (Sevilla Global). More information from: diana.lopez@unhabitat.org
Eurisy conference: the benefits of space in shaping regional energy strategies
How can local and regional government best shape their regional energy strategies? This will be the main question of the workshop taking place in The Hague, on 22-23 June 2009.
The workshop "Regions and Cities implementing.Sustainable Energy Strategies - The added-value of Satellite Information and Services" is organised by Eurisy, the network to promote the benefits of space for European society, in cooperation with the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and the Assembly of European Regions (AER).
It will aim to demonstrate that local and regional government have substantial leverage for action, notably by using innovative satellite information and services to save energy and make the most of the alternative renewable energy sources available.
This non-technical workshop will feature transferable experience and best-practices, introduced by regional actors using these innovative tools as part of successful regional energy strategies.
Decision-makers, professionals, and representatives of SMEs are invited to participate in the two-day event.
The European Parliament has launched its new website on EU elections
The European Parliament has launched its new website entirely dedicated to the election of its 736 members (MEPs), in June 2009.
The new website features information about EU elections in general: Why should people vote? What are the steps to cast its vote? How does EU legislation influence people's everyday life? What is the job of an MEP? How many MEPs does each country elect? Are people who live in foreign countries able to vote in that country in European elections?
The website also includes an interactive map on EU elections in each country, opinion polls, a video on 30 years of EU elections as well as a directory of MEPs by Member State and political group.
The outcome of elections and turnout in each country will be published on the website. In 2004, less than half of EU citizens made use of their voting right. The new website is available in 22 languages.
New European project on regional bio-energy partnerships
ICLEI Europe is partner in the new bio- project MAKE-IT-BE working with other bio-energy experts and cities.
The project ‘Decision-making and implementation tools for delivery of local & regional bio-energy chains’, in short called MAKE-IT-BE, runs until 2011. The consortium of 8 partners, led by Italian Centro Ricerche Produzioni Vegetali - Società cooperativa (C.R.P.V.), aims to support the development and implementation of integrated bio-energy chains across Europe, by creating and testing enabling frameworks. These include decision-making tools and local partnerships.
Through a combination of analysis and capacity building on bio-energy best practices, development and application of decision-making tools and interactive working with key stakeholders, the project will result in the definition of proper bio-energy agendas in four EU regions, namely Italy, Slovenia, United Kingdom and Austria.
These actions will aim to produce multiple positive effects: creating new businesses and jobs, new markets and services as well as new instruments to finance and support bio-energy chains at local level. Involvement of a multitude of actors in several European Member / Accession states will raise awareness of the opportunities deriving from a sound, bottom-up bio-energy development, to foster replication of the action.
Regions for Economic Change : register to URBACT workshop dedicated to Managing Authorities
The European Commission and the URBACT Secretariat organize an additional workshop during the European Commission "Regions for Economic Change" Conference. Dedicated to the work of Managing Authorities on urban issues, this session will be held in Brussels on Tuesday, February 17th (2h30 – 4h30 pm).
Partners in URBACT II Thematic Networks and Working Groups have been strongly encouraged to associate Managing Authorities of ERDF (or ESF) Operational Programmes, in order to enhance the impact of their activities on local policies. At this stage, more than 200 Managing Authorities are working with the URBACT partners in the 21 Thematic Networks and 6 Working Groups.
All Managing Authorities working in URBACT projects are invited to attend this workshop, to listen to experiences and good practices, exchange on their problems and projects, and decide together with the European Commission and URBACT on the next steps of a fruitful collaboration.
The Covenant of Mayors - committed to urban sustainable energy
Engaged in preparing their members to achieve and go beyond the 3x20 goals by 2020, Energie-Cites and its partners will promote the Covenant and support committed local authorities in preparing their Sustainable Energy Action Plans and implementing their actions and reporting on their activities.’
More than 200 mayors are expected to have signed by the 10th of February!
We are currently about to prepare the First Covenant of Mayors Ceremony. The prestigious event will take place in the Hemicycle of the European Parliament on February 10th, 2009 from 13h to 17h30, in presence of all Mayors of the cities and municipalities that have signed the Covenant, top representatives of the European Union institutions and of the media.
For further information: www.energie-cites.eu/-Covenant-of-mayors-
European Summit of Regions and Cities
The Committee of the Regions is organising a European Summit of Regions and Cities in Prague on 5 and 6 March 2009, in partnership with the City of Prague, and with the support of the Czech Presidency of the European Union.
The timing of this Summit, to be held in the heart of the Czech capital, is particularly significant at a crucial juncture for democracy in the EU. It comes just before the Spring European Council and the re-launch of the growth and jobs strategy, as well as a few months before the renewal of the European Parliament and the European Commission.
Approximately 500 elected representatives for regional and local authorities, including regional presidents, mayors, presidents of regional parliaments as well as key players from the European institutions and organizations representing regional and local authorities will send a message to Europe's Heads of State and Government with ideas on how to master the economic and political challenges facing the European Union. Participation in the Summit is only possible upon personal invitation.
Parking experiment in San Francisco
San Francisco's federally-funded parking experiment SFPark will be a real-time test of the theories of dynamic parking management popularized by Donald Shoup.
SFPark is the largest dynamic parking demand management project in the world, with 6,000 curbside parking spaces and 11,500 off-street spaces in city-owned garages. The pilot will last for a year-and-a-half and focus on seven target areas, most in the downtown business district and tourist areas along the Embarcadero and Fisherman’s Wharf.
Assuming the time line isn't delayed, the MTA will release a request for proposals by the end of January for vendors to install the technology required to map parking patterns in the pilot areas. With $19.8 million in federal funding from San Francisco's Urban Partnerhip Agreement set to roll into city coffers in February, the MTA will install meters, sensors and networks within two months and start collecting baseline data in May. After sixty days, parking managers will start adjusting parking rates, which by law can be raised by no more than $.50/hour every 30 days in the pilot zones; the control zones will not see any change in pricing throughout the trial.
Jay Primus, the MTA's SFPark project leader, believes the public outreach that has already occurred with businesses, transportation experts, environmental advocates, and community stakeholders will facilitate its acceptance. If the pilot works as projected, Primus said the MTA expects the rate of parking fines will be reduced. Though San Francisco's parking fines are 57% of parking revenues (PDF, page 3)--a far cry from New York City's parking woes, where parking fines are half a billion dollars annually and more than 500% of parking revenues--the agency hopes to fulfill its mandate to voters to improve the management of city streets."
State of the World's Cities Report - Harmonious Cities
Half of humanity now lives in cities, and within two decades, nearly 60 per cent of the world’s people will be urban dwellers. Urban growth is most rapid in the developing world, where cities gain an average of 5 million residents every month. As cities grow in size and population, harmony among the spatial, social and environmental aspects of a city and between their inhabitants becomes of paramount importance. This harmony hinges on two key pillars: equity and sustainability.
Available now from UN Habitat; http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/getPage.asp?page=bookView&book=2562
Action plan on urban mobility: CEMR supports the initiative of the European Parliament and puts forward four priorities
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CMER) supports the European Parliament's proposal to draft an Action plan on urban mobility and calls on the Parliament to take into account four priorities.
CEMR asks the European Parliament to confirm that the principles of subsidiarity and local self-government will be fully respected. Measures adopted by the European Union should bring some added-value in mobility policies of European cities and towns and not encroach on local and regional competences. http://www.ccre.org/communiques_de_presse_en.htm
Cities press for action on urban mobility
In a press release issued 13 January 2009, EUROCITIES conveyed its reaction regarding the delay to the European Commission Action Plan on Urban Mobility. The Action Plan was originally due for release in mid-December but has been postponed until further notice.
Miguel Ángel Cámara, Mayor of Murcia, the city which is currently leading EUROCITIES’ Mobility Forum, commented:
“We need an answer…The European Commission Action Plan will represent a milestone for cities already engaged in developing innovative urban transport policies aiming at the reduction of emissions and a better quality of life for European citizens”.
The 2008 LOGON Report on the impact of the EU on local authorities is now available
The Austrian Association of Cities and Towns has published the new LOGON Report 2008 on the impact of the EU on local authorities.
The report summarizes the new developments of the EU acquis communautaire which concerns the local level. It also gives an overview of the current developments of local related EU policies and programmes. A set of recommendations - guidelines for local governments on the way to the European Union - is also contributed in the report.
http://logon.kdz.eu/
Registration now open for ICLEI World Congress 2009
The global gathering of ICLEI Members and Partners will take place in Edmonton on 14 to 18 June 2009. Register now.
Register now to make sure you can join us in Edmonton in June 2009! We invite you to register for the conference by downloading and filling out the registration forms below. You can return it by email to world.congress@iclei.org or by fax to +49 761 36 892 29. http://www.iclei.org/fileadmin/template/conference_templates/wc-edmonton2009/files/Registration/Registration_form_English.doc
UK abandons planning restriction to build new homes
UK PM Gordon Brown has decided that the need for new homes is more important than the need to protect the environment in Britain, and is preparing to remove planning regulations across the country that limit building in undeveloped areas.
Under reforms expected to be unveiled this month, councils will be told to:
-earmark new building sites in every village and hamlet where affordable housing is needed
-use sweeping powers to overrule normal planning curbs in protected areas
-provide incentives for farmers to sell land to developers
-create a generation of new communities on the outskirts of market towns, similar to Poundbury, the Prince of Wales’s “model village.
The changes are aimed at helping the government to achieve its target of building 3m new homes by 2020. All the main political parties agree that the extra housing is needed, although the building programme is likely to be delayed by the recession.
About 16,000 settlements across England, and dozens of market towns, could be affected by this fundamental shake-up of rural planning policy.
New York developers turn to wind power
Small wind turbines are appearing on residential properties in New York City as developers get smart about cutting energy costs with passive technologies.
A number of buildings are already drawing electricity from wind turbines, which typically resemble table fans, or mounted airplane propellers.
Unlike some of the skyscraping versions that show up on rural hillsides, small turbines supply power directly to homes without first sending it through a utility company’s lines.
One major sticking point in the city is that densely packed buildings tend to scatter breezes, making it tough to capture steady gusts. Although this and other kinks need to be addressed before the widespread rollout of small turbines is possible, there are signs of gains.
Cape Town launches central city development strategy
The Cape Town Partnership and the City of Cape Town have recently launched a Cape Town Central City Development Strategy document for public comment. People can download the document (3,5Mb) directly by clicking on the following link: http://www.capetownpartnership.co.za/images/fileuploads/CCDS%20POP%20DOC_opt.pdf
Peter Oberlander: the passing of a UN-HABITAT founding father
H. Peter Oberlander, a founding father of UN-HABITAT, passed away peacefully on 27 December 2008, his family announced this week. An architect and teacher who became Canada’s first Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, he was 86.
Peter Oberlander with UN-HABITAT’s Executive Director, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, in Vancouver at the third session of the World Urban Forum two years ago
Professor Oberlander played a crucial political role in convening the UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat 1) in Vancouver in 1976 and the third session of UN-HABITAT’s World Urban Forum 30 years later.
In 1970, he was called to initiate Canada’s first Ministry of State for Urban Affairs, and become its inaugural Secretary (Deputy Minister). He served in that post for three years, and after the Habitat 1 conference he founded the Centre for Human Settlements at the University of British Colombia in Vancouver.
Bosnia-Herzegovina accession to the EU: opportunities and benefits for the local level
Over 100 mayors and other key civic leaders from all over Bosnia-Herzegovina gathered together on 17 December in Sarajevo to learn more about how local governments could fully engage with the EU accession process, and reap the rewards and benefits for their local communities.
EU integration in BiH cannot move forward in a satisfactory manner without significant involvement of municipalities, explained EU Representative in BiH, Miroslav Lajcak. Over half of EU directives are implemented at the municipal level. This means that municipalities are not bit players in the EU integration process. They have a central role to play.
UITP World Congress
UITP (International Association of Public Transport) is the international network for public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific institutes and the public transport supply and service industry. UITP is the global advocate for public transport and sustainable mobility, and the promoter of innovations in the sector.
We cover all modes of public transport - metro, bus, light rail, regional and suburban rail, and waterborne transport- and act as a platform for worldwide co-operation, business development and the sharing of know-how between our 3,100 members from 90 countries. Our 58th UITP World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition that will take place in Vienna, Austria from 7 to 11 June 2009. The webpage of the event is: www.uitp.org/vienna2009
Upcoming Seminar: The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
Please join us for Winter Seminar 1 sponsored by the University of Cincinnati Center for Sustainable Urban Environments: "The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil"
A Documentary Film
Friday, January 9, 2009,11:00 AM,3200 Recreation Center,UC West Campus (http://www.eng.uc.edu/sue/)
First call for contributions – Megacities: Risk, Vulnerability and Sustainable development
7 - 10 September 2009, Leipzig, Germany
Megacities worldwide are an outstanding feature of urbanization and are culprits and victims of dramatic global change processes at the same time.
Key questions of this conference are:
- What risks are associated with this trend towards mega-urbanization and what are the driving forces behind it?
- On the other hand, what opportunities for sustainable development do Megacities offer?
- What strategies can steer the urban system towards sustainable development and what institutional and organizational preconditions need to be in place for effective implementation?
The conference invites interdisciplinary contributions of worldwide regions from all fields of urban research. They are expected to present research by means of modelling, monitoring, quantitative and qualitative social/political science research and scenario techniques.
Theme 1 Risk: concepts and approaches, assessment, risk management, risk governance
Theme 2: Vulnerability: Physical/social vulnerability, measuring vulnerability, responses, coping with uncertainties
Theme 3 Sustainable development: concepts, assessment, measuring sustainable development, modelling techniques/scenarios, visions for sustainable future(s), good practices, planning and governance
More information and submittal forms for contributions is available at www.megacity-conference2009.ufz.de
Rimini Charter on Sustainable and Competitive Tourism successfully approved
Organized by the Province of Rimini, Italy, a prime tourist destination, in cooperation with ICLEI European Secretariat, the Second Annual Conference on Sustainable Tourism focussed on issues of sustainability and competitiveness, tourism and climate change, and identity enhancement in relation to tourist destinations in the Mediterranean region.
About 40 speakers and panelists from different countries participated in the conference, each of who brought their contributions to discussions in three panels and six workshops.
Among the keynote speakers were Luigi Cabrini (Director of UNWTO - Sustainable Development of Tourism); Murray Simpson (Oxford University and Coordinator of the UNEP report ‘Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Tourism Sector’); and Juliana Gabriela Aluas (European Commission, DG Enterprise). ICLEI European Secretariat Executive Director Wolfgang Teubner brought in the relevant reletionship between Aalborg Commitments and sustainable tourism. http://conferenzats2008.provincia.rimini.it/
2009 World Water Week: Call for Workshop Abstracts and Seminar Proposals
The First Announcement for the 2009 World Water Week in Stockholm, August 16-22, provides information on the theme, structure, and special focus of the 2009 Week. It also provides guidelines for convening a seminar or side event or submitting an abstract for presentation during the 8 workshops. The theme for 2009 is Water - Responding to Global Change: Accessing Water for the Common Good with Special Focus on Transboundary Waters.
Download the First Announcement and learn more about the 2009 World Water Week at www.worldwaterweek.org.
Join the Biofuel Cities European Partnership now!
As 2008 comes to an end, the Biofuel Cities European Partnership looks back at its achievements and anticipates a 2009 rich with events and activities.
More than one year has passed since the Biofuel Cities European Partnership was officially launched at the Clean Vehicles and Fuels Symposium in Stockholm, Sweden, in November 2007. Now, with 2008 drawing to an end, the Partnership looks back at its achievements so far and offers a preview of what is going to happen in the coming months.
In 2008, the number of participants continuosly increased, with the figure now exceeding 1,200. The website www.biofuel-cities.eu has developed exciting new eatures, where interested stakeholders can access a wide range of information on the varied and sometimes controversial world of biofuels. New this year was the Networking Corner, where companies and organisations working in biofuels can be easily discovered and contacted. If your company is not already there, be sure to alter your contact details to be included. Moreover, the Biofuel Cities online databases contain more than 230 projects, 380 resources and almost 200 events, which together make the website one of the most complete and reliable source of information for all those working or interested in biofuels.
Euro-Syrian Cities Congress
The Regional Centre for Sustainable Local Development (Damascus, Syria), on the initiative of the EC funded Municipal Administration Modernisation (MAM) programme, is pleased to advise you that a two day congress will take place in the 9-10th of May 2009 in Damascus, to promote knowledge sharing and local partnerships between Syrian and European local authorities and actors in local development. http://websites.mam-sy.org/home.php
Commission proposes measures to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy
The European Commission adopted measures to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy in low-income households, on 3 December 2008.
The proposal will, for the first time, enable Member States and regions in the.European Union to invest in energy-efficiency and renewable energy measures in housing, with the support of European Cohesion Policy funding.
The measure, foreseen in the European Economic Recovery Plan, will be targeted at low-income households. In practice, this means the EU will be able to co-finance national, regional or local authority schemes to install double-glazing, wall insulation and solar panels in housing.
Authorities of São Paulo, Brazil sign protocol to improve environmental performance
On the 16th of October, the São Paulo State Secretary of Environment, Xico Graziano, and Secretary of Housing, Lair Krähenbühl signed the Environmental Protocol for Sustainable Construction, which applies to the construction industry and real estate companies located in the State of São Paulo. The main goal of this document is to promote actions to harmonize the activities of the construction and urban development sectors as they relate to environmental preservation and quality of life in the region.
The protocol covers all phases of the construction process, including project design; construction methods relating to energy efficiency and water savings; and the production and use of consumables and destination of waste. The protocol also covers urban development issues. For instance, it emphasizes preservation of flora, adequate systems of drainage and legal hiring practices.
UN-HABITAT to the rescue of Baluchistan quake victims
For the residents of the south western Pakistan region of Baluchistan, a bleak winter was a looming reality until an intervention by UN-HABITAT helped them to put roofs over their heads.
A winter in the open with the attendant calamitous effects would have been a double disaster for the 800 families residing in the mountainous area who suffered a huge blow last October after a devastating earthquake hit the area.
The earthquake of magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale hit the area on 29 October 2008 affecting a huge swath of land extending from Ziarat district, some 110 kilometres northwest of Quetta, to Pishin and Harnai districts. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority the total population affected by the earthquake was 68,200 people.
The Government Response Plan, mapped by the District Authorities, Pakistan Military and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in consultation with the Emergency Shelter Cluster, assigned UN-HABITAT the construction of 947 transitional shelters in 19 villages in the Union Councils of Kutch, Kawas and Ziarat in the District of Ziarat in Baluchistan province.
To realize this mandate, UN-HABITAT applied for and managed to get some USD 900,000 from the United Nation’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Through the Shelter Cluster, UN-HABITAT launched a Request for Proposal (RFP) process, inviting NGOs for partnership in implementation. Ultimately two NGOs, the Taraqee Foundation and Islamic Relief were selected based on technical and operational capacity to join UN-HABITAT for implementation of the transitional shelter project. Moreover, several in-kind donations of shelter materials were received from USAID, Bali Memorial Trust and Zaman Foundation. http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=6098&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0
Mayor of The Hague elected as new President of EUROCITIES
Jozias van Aartsen, Mayor of The Hague, is the new President of EUROCITIES. He was voted in by EUROCITIES members at the network’s Annual General Meeting on 28 November in The Hague. The new President succeeds Gérard Collomb, Mayor of Lyon.
The Hague - international city of peace, justice and security - is the third-largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 475,000. The city has been an active member of EUROCITIES since the 1990s, chairing the forums on culture, the environment and knowledge society, and holding the network’s vice-presidency from 2006 to 2008.
Mr Van Aartsen became Mayor of The Hague at the beginning of 2008, following a long career in national politics, including four years as Minister of Agriculture and four years as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is a prominent member of VVD - the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (he was the party’s parliamentary leader in the Dutch Lower House from 2003 until 2006).
In his new capacity, Mr Van Aartsen will work closely with EUROCITIES’ Executive Committee and the network’s recently appointed Secretary General, Paul Bevan, to continue strengthening the network’s political influence and activities in support of Europe’s great cities and those who live and work in them.
Unplanned urbanisation increases health risks
According to 'Our cities, our health, our future', a recent report from the World Health Organization, poorly governed cities have resulted in the growth of informal settlements and slums. These are characterised by unhealthy living and working environments for a billion people. Urban poor people require, and need to be engaged by, credible local governments that can address health inequalities through adequate planning, the allocation of substantial resources and political commitment. http://www.who.or.jp/knusp/KNUS_final_report.pdf
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