March Headlines - click to see the full story
31/3/2010 - Curtain falls on Fifth World Urban Forum
30/3/2010 - 20 years of EU support for urban development: Conference & Video
30/3/2010 - Dalian to host inaugural FutureGov Summit China
29/3/2010 - Poster Competition 2010
28/3/2010 - EU-funded trails put Slovaks on their bikes
27/3/2010 - South African World Cup Stadium Costs Highlight Neighboring Poverty
27/3/2010 - Cities That Save Time
26/3/2010 - Congress elects new Secretary General
26/3/2010 - London landmark building will generate 8% of its energy needs
25/3/2010 - Understanding Mega-Cities
24/3/2010 - Waste reduction: French local authority wins "favourite award"
24/3/2010 - UN-HABITAT launches State of World Cities Report
23/3/2010 - SecuTopic Police : direct implication of citizens in policing activities
23/3/2010 - Donovan to lead high-level team to World Urban Forum
22/3/2010 - Eurobarometer: Enhanced trust in local and regional authorities
22/3/2010 - ASLA Helps Congress Craft Streetscaping Resolution
21/3/2010 - Post-Katrina, New Urbanists Help Haiti
20/3/2010 - Traffic Accidents Poised to Become the 5th Leading Cause of Death by 2030
19/3/2010 - Climate change strategy: Commission omits local and regional authorities
19/3/2010 - Survey Finds Strong Support for High-Speed Rail
19/3/2010 - Resilient Cities Congress
18/3/2010 - IDRC Davos 2010 - Registration is open now
18/3/2010 - TRA Conference Registration Deadline
18/3/2010 - IHS and UN-HABITAT are investing in building capacity in Brazil to Make Cities Work
17/3/2010 - Executive Director to attend World Cities Summit
17/3/2010 - Countdown to the World Urban Forum
17/3/2010 - IHS and UN-HABITAT team up to face Climate Change
16/3/2010 - Spring Conference on Urban Policy
16/3/2010 - International Executive Learning
15/3/2010 - How Building Codes Saved Chile
14/3/2010 - The Challenges of Sustaining Smart Growth Over Time
13/3/2010 - Top 30 greenest cities in Europe: Copehagen takes home the gold
12/3/2010 - Climate Financing for City Development?
12/3/2010 - Breathing Life Back into Seattle's Alleys
11/3/2010 - 11 most bicycle friendly cities in the world
11/3/2010 - American Cities Awaken From 35-Year Parking Policy Coma
10/3/2010 - German Town Looking for Pothole Sponsors
10/3/2010 - New website for the European Spatial Planning Observatory Network (ESPON)
9/3/2010 - CITIES FOR EVERYONE: Liveable, Healthy, Prosperous!
8/3/2010 - CUPA (Cooperative Urban Planning Approaches)
7/3/2010 - Sprawling Madrid
7/3/2010 - Verdict on public transport in EU cities: "what is missing most is information"
7/3/2010 - Around 260 cities are hoping to establish municipal policies to tackle the crisis
6/3/2010 - Intolerance towards foreigners disaster for Europe
6/3/2010 - Bristol - 'UK's Greenest City'
5/3/2010 - President Compaore promises support for Word Urban Campaign
5/3/2010 - More European cities sign up to Green Digital Charter
5/3/2010 - International Awards for Liveable Communities
4/3/2010 - New publication on the urban dimension in EU policies
4/3/2010 - Mayors sign up to the EUROCITIES charter on migrant integration
4/3/2010 - Learning From Bug Cities
3/3/2010 - Detroit Planning to Downsize
3/3/2010 - Inventing tomorrow: city life in transition
3/3/2010 - CEMR executive bureau debates local governments' role in tomorrows EU
2/3/2010 - New Climate Change course
2/3/2010 - Mexico City launches Ecobici – a bicycle-lending programme
1/3/2010 - The Death and Gentrification of Great American Cities
1/3/2010 - Local governments are the drivers of economic recovery
1/3/2010 - Rapid urbanization a major challenge for Africa
Curtain falls on Fifth World Urban Forum
The Fifth Session of the World Urban Forum drew to a close in Rio de Janeiro on Friday with speakers hailing it as the most successful one ever staged.
According to available statistics, some 13,718 participants from 150 countries around the world attended the Session. Secretary of State Mrs. Hilary Clinton of the United States was full of praises for the Forum saying it was a unique venue where people from different backgrounds shared ideas on how to cope with the challenges of urbanization.
Mrs. Clinton who addressed the closing ceremony via a video message said the work of UN-HABITAT in addressing urbanization challenges was crucial adding that there was a greater need to foster private public partnerships in addressing those challenges.
In her speech, UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka challenged the Forum participants to think long and hard on the kind of future they wanted to leave behind for the generations to come. http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=8130&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0
20 years of EU support for urban development: Conference & Video
The European Union has been supporting urban development since the launch of the URBAN initiative's first pilot projects in 1989. The URBACT programme was created in 2002 within the framework of this EU support for urban development. This anniversary is the occasion to discuss the results of the urban policy and its future through a conference and an online video looking at these past 20 years and at how Cohesion Policy keeps helping cities grow.
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/urban_20years/index_en.htm
Dalian to host inaugural FutureGov Summit China
FutureGov magazine and the Dalian Municipal Government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the organisation of the first ever FutureGov Summit China, to be held on the 1-2 September 2010.
Under the partnership agreement, FutureGov magazine will bring the FutureGov Summit to China for the first time. The FutureGov Summit series is the longest-running gathering of senior officials in Asia, and focuses on the modernisation of public sector governance, efficiency and service delivery.
http://www.futuregov.net/articles/2010/mar/19/dalian-municipal-government-signs-mou-host-inaugur/
Poster Competition 2010
Early career researchers in European regional policy are invited to present their research in the form of a poster at OPEN DAYS 2010 European Week of Cities and Regions (4th -7thOctober) by Regional Policy Directorate-General and the Regional Studies Association. Shortlisted finalists will be invited to attend OPEN DAYS to showcase research via a poster.
Candidates must either be completing a PhD or have completed a PhD in the last 3 years;
A CV and a short summary of research (max. 1000 words) should be sent by the 30th April 2010 to the Regional Studies Association (email: info@rsa-ls.ac.uk );
Candidates will be expected to prepare a poster for a special session at OPEN DAYS and be prepared to take questions from the Jury;
More information can be found on the websites of the Regional Studies Association and the OPEN DAYS
http://www.regional-studies-assoc.ac.uk/events/2010/opendays/
EU-funded trails put Slovaks on their bikes
The 'bicycle trail without frontiers' project connects Slovakia with neighbouring towns in Austria and Hungary, helping to build interregional links and eco-tourism. At the turn of the century, bicycle trails in Slovakia were only at the starting point of their transformation into a modern network. With a lack of planning and insufficient know-how among local authorities, they were previously constructed without any real plan or model to follow.
"They were built right on the table, you might say," explains Eva Lovasikova from Slovakian regional development agency Senec–Pezinok. "Some interest groups just took a map, decided where to place the bicycle trail and marked it on the map without even asking the town authorities for permission." Thanks to EU-funded cross-border cooperation programmes, the situation has improved significantly. In the past, people in Slovakia did not have any modern bicycle trails to rely on. Now, as their number grows, people's mindsets are changing as well. Slovaks are starting to use more ecological means of transport and the popularity of cycling is rising. To date, 108 kilometres of additional cycle tracks have been built in Slovakia.
More than meets the eye in small cities
Small border cities in Slovakia, Austria and Hungary are often overlooked, since the three countries' capital cities – Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest – are so close. People rushing between the three capitals rarely stop to take a look at the smaller towns and villages nearby. But in 2005, Slovak regions began to cooperate with their Austrian and Hungarian counterparts to develop a pilot project for international cycling trails. At that time, this project was still financed from pre-accession (PHARE) funds. Within a year, the 'bicycle trails without frontiers' project had been succesfully completed. From then on, many villages and towns decided to join. http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2010/03/EU-funded-trails-put-Slovaks-on-their-bikes_1022.html
South African World Cup Stadium Costs Highlight Neighboring Poverty
The costs of a new stadium built for this year's World Cup in Nelspruit, South Africa have heightened tensions between the city's poor and its leading officials.
The new stadium will be used for just four of the tournament's 64 games, which begin in June. The total cost of the stadium is $137 million -- in a country with unemployment near 25% and more than half of the population living below the poverty line.
"The people who live nearby, proud as they are to host soccer’s greatest event, also wonder: How could there be money for a 46,000-seat stadium while many of them still fetch water from dirty puddles and live without electricity or toilets?
The 2010 World Cup is meant to display South Africa at its very best: a modern, prosperous nation friendly to commerce, tourists and democratic ideals. This is the first time the event will be held in Africa, and it was buoyantly suggested by the former president, Thabo Mbeki, that the competition was a milestone for the entire continent, 'sending ripples of confidence from the Cape to Cairo.'
Cities That Save Time
Real Simple magazine offers its survey of America's top "time saving" cities, or those that make getting around and getting things done as easy (and green) as possible.
Real Simple ranked cities on three factors: "Getting Around (includes average commute, walkability, traffic congestion); Green Time-Savers (includes recycling access and cost, number of farmers' markets and community gardens, bike friendliness)."
Top cities include:
Seattle "With extensive public transit, one of the country’s most on-time airports, and 50 miles of new bike lanes in the last two years, our winning city, Seattle, is an icon of urban efficiency."
Portland: "It’s no hassle getting around this town, whether by bike or on the nation’s fourth-largest light-rail system."
San Francisco: [which] "boasts a 511 phone and online service that provides updates on biking, public- transit, and traffic conditions."
http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/time-saving-cities-00000000030612/index.html
Congress elects new Secretary General
Andreas Kiefer was elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe's (CoE) Congress of Local and Regional Authorities during the plenary held on 17 March in Strasburg.
Kiefer, who was elected by 137 votes out of 244 valid ballots, is currently Director of the European Affairs Department of the Land Salzburg Regional Government in Austria. He will start his mandate on 1 April, and this, for a period of five years. The Italian, Antonella Cagnolati, came in second with 94 votes.
London landmark building will generate 8% of its energy needs
Peering down 148 metres from the top of the latest addition to London's skyline, the traffic-clogged Elephant and Castle roundabout and its notorious neighbour, the Heygate estate, below feel an unlikely location for a world first. But next week, this new skyscraper, nicknamed "the Razor", will take a crucial step towards becoming the world's first building with wind turbines built into its fabric.
While wind speeds in the concrete jungle at the tower's base would render a wind turbine pointless, at 42 storeys up they are capable of 35mph gusts – a serious challenge for the workers who created the complex steel structure – and are projected to generate 8% of the building's electricity needs. The building – officially called the Strata tower – is a £113m milestone in the £1.5bn project to regenerate the Elephant and Castle area. The Strata development, which comprises the tower and a smaller "Pavillion" building, is a statement of the new demographic Southwark council hopes the area will attract – its 408 apartments range from £230,000 to £2.5m.
But the tower also marks an innovation for the building sector, which under government regulations will have to make all new buildings zero-carbon by 2019. Justin Black, director for Brookfield, the developer, said the decision to choose wind was a "conscious decision to experiment". He pointed out that the entire southern facade of the building would have had to be covered in solar photovoltaics to generate the same amount of energy. "The brief we gave to Hamilton's Architects was we wanted a statement, we wanted to create benchmarks for sustainability and urban living. We wanted something bold, we wanted remarkable. It's what I term Marmite architecture – you either love it or you hate it, there's no in between," Black said.
http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2010/03/London-landmark-building-will-generate-8--of-its-energy-needs_1021.html
Understanding Mega-Cities
A new book explores the disconnect between how a "mega-city" region is portrayed through statistics, demographics, etc., and how it is perceived by the public.
Rebecca Esau reviews The Image and the Region: Making Mega City Regions Visible! edited by Alain Thierstein and Agnes Forster.
Esau writes, "The problem: Mega-city regions have yet to be well understood. They are rarely mapped or analyzed, they lack a name and image, and we have yet to develop a sensual and cognitive awareness for them. This lack of understanding has prevented the establishment of a system of management and government of these urban bodies, leaving their full potential unknown and unharnessed." http://regardingplace.com/?p=7828
Waste reduction: French local authority wins "favourite award"
The European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) awards ceremony's “favourite award” went to the communauté de communes de la Presqu'île de Crozon in Bretagne, France, for its project “Welcome to Poubellec'h”. Six prizes were awarded at the ceremony, which took place on 15 March, by the jury of which CEMR was a member.
“Welcome to Poubellec'h” was a treasure hunt organised in the city centre of Crozon. The project aimed at raising citizen awareness in the reduction and recycling of waste by showing them various ways of reducing waste. Mobilising various entities, such as schools, merchants, associations, and local and regional authorities was also at the heart of the project so as to promote the implementation of long-term information and awareness raising campaigns.
UN-HABITAT launches State of World Cities Report
UN-HABITAT launched its report State of the World Cities 2010/2011: Bridging the Urban Divide in the run up to the World Urban Forum 5 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka launched the report at press conferences in London, Paris and Rio de Janeiro. The report investigates the challenges facing our rapidly urbanizing population and how the urban advantage, the economic and social benefit of living in a city, can be exploited and enjoyed by all.
“With over half the world’s population now living in cities, and cities making a disproportionate contribution to climate change, urbanization is one of the “crucial agendas” of our time, UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon said in a preface to the publication.
According to Mrs. Tibaijuka, to new estimates presented in this report showed that between the year 2000 and 2010 over 200 million people in the developing world will have been lifted out of slum conditions. In other words, she said, governments have collectively exceeded the Millennium Target by at least a multiple of two. http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=2917
Donovan to lead high-level team to World Urban Forum
U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan said this week he will lead a high-level delegation to the World Urban Forum in Rio de Janeiro because it is an historic opportunity to shape the forces of urbanization for a healthier, more inclusive future for our cities and metropolitan regions.
Speaking at a news conference in Washington on Monday, Mr. Donovan described the Forum as an “important moment” in the quest for a more sustainable global future for generations to come.
President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva of Brazil is scheduled to open the fifth session of the World Urban Forum being hosted in Rio de Janeiro 22-26 March.
“Indeed the U.S. delegation to the World Urban Forum, which I’m honoured to head, relishes this chance to listen, learn and share our own lessons from the laboratories of change that are our metropolitan areas,” Mr. Donovan said.
“Together we can seize this historic opportunity before us to shape the forces of urbanization, creating a healthier, more inclusive future for our cities and metropolitan regions, and charging a more sustainable global future for generations to come,” he said.
Eurobarometer: Enhanced trust in local and regional authorities
38% of European citizens believe that local and regional levels of government have more influence on their living conditions than the European or national levels. This statistic is a result of a Eurobarometer survey* carried out between October and November 2009.
The survey indicates that the percentage has increased by 4% since the autumn of 2009, while the percentage attributed to the European and national level has diminished. The citizens that gave the highest ranking to local and regional levels were from Estonia (51%), Finland (49%), the UK (44%), Italy (43%), the Czech Republic (42%) and Slovakia (38%). The most striking changes came from France and Estonia, with the regional and local levels increasing by 15% while the national level decreased by 10%. Among those interviewed, 66% also felt that local and regional authorities are not sufficiently taken into account in EU policy making. This opinion prevails among citizens who have a globally positive feeling towards the European Union, be it in terms of image, trust or sentiment of belonging.
Moreover, half of European citizens believe that local and regional authorities are the most trustworthy level of government, while only 34% place their trust in their national governments.
Eurobarometer: Enhanced trust in local and regional authorities
38% of European citizens believe that local and regional levels of government have more influence on their living conditions than the European or national levels. This statistic is a result of a Eurobarometer survey* carried out between October and November 2009.
The survey indicates that the percentage has increased by 4% since the autumn of 2009, while the percentage attributed to the European and national level has diminished. The citizens that gave the highest ranking to local and regional levels were from Estonia (51%), Finland (49%), the UK (44%), Italy (43%), the Czech Republic (42%) and Slovakia (38%). The most striking changes came from France and Estonia, with the regional and local levels increasing by 15% while the national level decreased by 10%. Among those interviewed, 66% also felt that local and regional authorities are not sufficiently taken into account in EU policy making. This opinion prevails among citizens who have a globally positive feeling towards the European Union, be it in terms of image, trust or sentiment of belonging.
Moreover, half of European citizens believe that local and regional authorities are the most trustworthy level of government, while only 34% place their trust in their national governments.
ASLA Helps Congress Craft Streetscaping Resolution
Congressman Steve Cohen (TN) has introduced H.Con.Res. 240, a resolution designating the fourth week of April as National Streetscaping Week. The measure recognizes the benefits of streetscaping to homes, businesses, and communities across the country. ASLA worked with Rep. Cohen on crafting this legislation that highlights the myriad of benefits of streetscaping, including: creating local green jobs; helping reduce energy costs for consumers; managing stormwater; reducing air pollution by sequestering harmful carbon emissions, creating safer streets and neighborhoods through traffic calming designs, and a host of other benefits.
More importantly, the resolution helps to highlight the work of landscape architects. Landscape architects design streetscaping projects and other green infrastructure projects to make our communities more economically viable, more attractive, and environmentally healthier for their residents.
A host of allied organizations have joined ASLA in supporting National Streetscaping Week, including, American Rivers, American Nursery & Landscape Association, American Public Works Association, International Society of Arboriculture, America Walks, Alliance for Community Trees, T4 America, Reconnecting America, Smart Growth America, America Bikes, National Parks and Recreation Association and the Irrigation Association.
ASLA applauds Congressman Cohen for introducing this measure and working to raise awareness of the importance of streetscaping and green infrastructure in creating desirable places to live.
Post-Katrina, New Urbanists Help Haiti
For the second time in five years, new urbanist methods and new urbanist imagination are being used to rebuild places crushed by natural disasters. In late January, Andres Duany went to Haiti to help generate housing after the staggering Jan. 12 earthquake.
Duany was primed for the Haiti mission by the experiences of 2005, when a large contingent of new urbanists began helping Mississippi and Louisiana to plan the rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina. The winds and flooding associated with Katrina inflicted $100 billion in property damage and caused 1,836 deaths. In Haiti, vast numbers of buildings and public works were destroyed by the earthquake, and 217,000 to 230,000 lives are said to have been lost.
There are certainly important differences between Haiti's circumstances and those of the Gulf Coast, yet the two post-disaster efforts have a good deal in common. Taken together, they reveal some of New Urbanism's strengths. http://www.newurbannews.com/15.2/commentary.html
Traffic Accidents Poised to Become the 5th Leading Cause of Death by 2030
The infographic makes clear the oft-overlooked cost in human life we pay for convenient automotive travel. The findings include the fact that car accidents are the number one killer of 15-29 year olds, that 234,768 people die in traffic accidents in the Americas alone, and that almost 50% of those who die in traffic accidents are cyclists, pedestrians, and motorcyclists.
Interestingly, the report also shows that 90% of deaths occur in low or medium income countries, while over 50% of all registered vehicles are in high income countries. 62% of fatalities occur in just 10 countries: India, China, US, Russia, Brazil, Iran, Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, and Egypt.
Climate change strategy: Commission omits local and regional authorities
The European Commission published a communication on 9 March setting out a binding post-Copenhagen strategy to “maintain the momentum of global efforts to tackle climate change”, but failed to mention local and regional authorities.
The Commission communication followed the weak and non-restrictive Copenhagen Accord commitments, which were a deception for European local and regional authorities. These authorities had lobbied, alongside local and regional governments from developing countries, for recognition in the final Copenhagen agreement, a result they never obtained.
Thus, CEMR hopes that the Commission will involve and recognise the role of local and regional authorities in the new strategy, keeping in mind that it failed to mention them in its communication. This omission is puzzling when considering that the European Parliament (EP) and Council of the EU have recently recognised the role of these authorities and that the newly ratified Lisbon Treaty changed the definition of the principle of subsidiarity, which now refers to local and regional powers. http://www.ccre.org/news_detail_en.htm?ID=1801
Survey Finds Strong Support for High-Speed Rail
Nearly nine in ten (88 percent) Americans support the idea of using high-speed rail travel for long-distance travel within the United States, according to a survey conducted by America THINKS for the HNTB Corporation. ''The time has come for high-speed rail,'' said Peter Gertler, HNTB high-speed rail services chair. ''Stimulus money is seeding initial projects. It’ll be up to those of us in the industry – working in partnership with transportation agencies and elected officials – to keep up the momentum.''
In addition to the high level of support found for high-speed rail projects, more than four in five (83 percent) Americans agree that public transit and high-speed rail infrastructure should receive a larger share of federal funding than they do now. There was wide consensus that building additional highway capacity was not a realistic solution to solving the nation's long term transportation needs. The survey notes that the Department of Transportation under the Obama administration has been shifting funding to help develop mass-transit projects and has come up with new criteria to base a project's worthiness not only on cost considerations, but also on the ability to improve the quality of life for residents within the project's community.
Resilient Cities Congress
ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and the City of Bonn are pleased to announce the congress "Resilient Cities 2010", the first annual global Forum on Urban Resiliency and Adaptation to Climate Change for all actors involved in the field of adaptation.
The Congress will be held from 28 to 30 May 2010 in Bonn, Germany, between the Carbon Expo in Cologne (26-28 May) and the UN Climate Talks in Bonn (31 May - 11 June 2010).
Resilient Cities 2010 will gather actors with different backgrounds - not only local governments, international organizations, development banks and NGOs but also researchers, university professors, urban planners, consultants, private finance institutions and private sector companies. All these stakeholders will jointly discuss and identify solutions and impulses for innovation in the field of adaptation and aim at setting the direction for the future planning of and investment in urban infrastructure.
How vulnerable are our cities and what tools do we have to assess the projected impacts of climate change? How can we integrate adaptation into water, transport, energy and urban planning? How can we get citizens on-board and best utilize existing local knowledge? How can we manage uncertainty and what instruments are available to best deal with it? How much does adaptation cost and how can we finance it? All these issues, and many more, will be discussed at the Resilient Cities 2010 Congress and solutions will be sought through the presentation of several local examples and the input of numerous experts.
Do not miss out on this great learning opportunity and join us in Bonn! Online-registration is now open: www.iclei.org/bonn2010/registration. Register as soon as possible to take advantage of the practical accommodation at the venue.
IDRC Davos 2010 - Registration is open now
The GRF Davos Team is looking forward to welcoming you in Davos at the International Disaster and Risk Conference Davos 2010. Davos is not only an excellent congress town, but also a world famous tourism destination. Register now and benefit from our early bird offer until 31 March.
http://www.idrc.info/pages_new.php/Registration/626/1/
TRA Conference Registration Deadline
Deadline for Early Bird Registrations for the TRA 2010 Conference is March 15, 2010.
More information can be found on the TRA website www.traconference.eu and in the “Third Announcement: Final invitation & Registration form“ which is available for download.
IHS and UN-HABITAT are investing in building capacity in Brazil to Make Cities Work.
UN-HABITAT and IHS, the International Institute for Urban Management of Erasmus University Rotterdam are working closely with urban managers and decision makers who are leading Brazilian cities into the future. With more than 50 years of international experience in Urban Management and Development, IHS is looking forward to make its innovative training courses and tools for urban management accessible for Brazilians.
Priority issues in Brazilian cities relate to reducing poverty, slum formation and social exclusion, ensuring that infrastructure and services are provided in the right quantity, quality and at the right price, as well as managing the effects of climate change. Familiar issues in Brazil are, for instance, flooding after torrential rains and the inability of the sewage systems to handle the overflow and recurrent black-outs caused by overloaded electrical grids and uncoordinated construction works.
The fact that problems remain unresolved stems, in many cases, from the fact that key parties in cities fail to cooperate in finding solutions. We now live in a world where problems are so complex that no single factor alone can resolve them. Managing diverse interests requires approaches that are often foreign to the stakeholders. A viable and sustainable metropolis requires that the government acknowledges and leverages the resources and expertise offered by non-governmental organizations, the civil society and private companies. IHS and UN-HABITAT have the complementary expertise to mobilize such partnerships to make cities work.
At the World Urban Forum V, IHS is happy to announce to make innovative training courses and tools for urban management accessible for Brazilians. To determine the demand for these courses and mobilize expertise IHS will launch an international network of IHS Alumni consisting of over 7000 urban professionals worldwide at a large professional meeting during the forum. Furthermore a fellowship in the form of a tuition waiver will be offered to an outstanding Brazilian urban professional to study in Rotterdam. The new local office and informative website of IHS in Brazil will provide information and manage these incentives.
Ms. Carley Pennink, Head of IHS Advisory Services will hold a press conference on 23 March, at 13.30 at the World Urban Forum V. The World Urban Forum V will take place in Rio de Janeiro from 22-26 March. More information can be found on www.unhabitat.org and www.ihs.nl.
Executive Director to attend World Cities Summit
UN-HABITAT Executive Director Anna Tibaijuka joins a list of highly distinguished speakers due to appear at the second World Cities Summit in Singapore in June 2010.
Some 16 Ministers will be in attendance joined by the President of the Asian Development Bank, Haruhiko Kuroda, and the World Bank’s vice-president for East Asia and Pacific, James Adams.
Mrs. Tibaijuka has been invited as the keynote speaker for a panel on Harmonious and Liveable Cities and will be joined by Ms. Vivian Balakrishnan, Singapore’s Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports; Ms. Carrie Lam, Secretary for Development in Hong Kong; and Mr. Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup.
“With major cities around the world facing the pressures of growing urbanization, it is vital that governments, business and communities work together to address the issues of growth, liveability and sustainability,” said Andrew Tan, Director of Singapore’s Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC), which is organizing the Summit.
The Summit will include the World Mayors’ Forum and World Cities Expo as well as the inaugural presentation of the USD 200,000 Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize. For further information, go to: www.worldcities.com.sg
Countdown to the World Urban Forum
With over half the world’s population now living in cities, and cities making a disproportionate contribution to climate change, urbanisation is one of the “crucial agendas” of our time (UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon).
This year’s fifth World Urban Forum (WUF5) in Rio de Janeiro will explore the right to the city and will feature open debates and key dialogues addressing; sustainable urbanization, governance and participation, the urban divide, cultural diversity, equal access to shelter and finally, taking forward the right to the city.President Lula da Silva of Brazil is expected to officiate the opening of the event for which around 16,000 people have already registered.
Amongst those confirmed to attend the Forum are President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifah of Bahrain, Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon, Vice President Noli de Castro of the Philippines, and US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Shaun Donovan.
IHS and UN-HABITAT team up to face Climate Change
Frequent floods and landslides episodes; excessive snowing, extremely hot weather and other natural phenomena are more and more frequently affecting our cities. The recent increase of these occurrences is in part attributed to climate changes.
IHS and UN-HABITAT have joined forces in a new course at IHS to battle Climate Change effects on cities. The course aims to answer pressing questions. What are the effects of Climate Change on your city? What can your city do about Climate Change? And how can you enable your city to design appropriate climate actions? To assist cities world-wide to answer these questions and provide instruments to deal with climate changes the three week course discusses concrete management tools for climate change.
The course will take place from 11 May to 03 June 2010. It will take place in Rotterdam, one of the most dynamic cities of The Netherlands, a country that after centuries of land reclamation now transforms land into lakes, builds floating houses and gardens on roofs (/blue cities/).
This new course brings Climate Change as an integral part of sustainability. It will examine its impacts and provide you with the skills to develop strategies for climate mitigation and adaptation. It will review and discuss a range of management tools that are at the disposal of municipalities, including tax incentives, subsidized public transport, urban sprawl prevention, Feed-In-Programmes, Renewable Portfolio Standards, sustainable buildings and the retrofit of infrastructure. Participants will have the chance to develop a local climate change plan where mitigations and adaptations strategies are translated into concrete actions, based on the risk of vulnerability assessment, management tools and the financial constraints.
IHS offers partial fellowships for participation in this course. Please visit www.ihs.nl for more information.
Spring Conference on Urban Policy
16- 18 May 2010 Rabat MOROCCO
Together with the Moroccan and French Ministries responsible for urban policy and the Municipality of Rabat, IFHP and its French sister organisation COFHUAT offers you a high quality event which will look at the political and practical aspects of urban policy in Europe and North Africa. The aim of the conference is not only to encourage the exchange of experience in finding effective and innovative solutions to common urban problems, but also to encourage the establishment or strengthening of bilateral relations between cities on both sides of the Mediterranean. The issues of the inclusive city, urban renewal and supportive social policy will be addressed. It is a good opportunity both to present your city’s solution to these issues and to gain inspiration from others. THE REGISTRATION SYSTEM IS NOW ONLINE. For more information on the conference and for the online registration, please visit: http://www.ifhp.org/content/view/182/64/
International Executive Learning
Helping Cities Thrive in Times of Crisis and lead your city into the future. Cities are engines of growth; but how do we ensure they function effectively? What will a viable, attractive and sustainable metropolis look like? Find solutions and answers in the executive programme at IHS.
There are still places available in the series of executive courses that the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies has developed for managers and decision makers. The 5-10 day learning events prepare you for the city of the future, their challenges and opportunities in a globalizing world. Participation puts you in contact with leading international practitioners, offering the latest thinking and best practices on urban strategies.
In 2010 IHS offers two executive courses:
17-21 May Cost-Benefit Analysis of EU Co-financed Projects
10-18 June Preparing Bankable Public Private Partnership Projects
The brochure of the Executive Courses can be found online on www.ihs.nl
How Building Codes Saved Chile
Chile's 8.5 earthquake resulted in a significantly lower death toll than the recent quake in Haiti. Partly it was the location of the epicenter, but strict building codes played a part as well.
Melissa Lafsky writes, "After a massive 9.5 earthquake hit the country in 1960 (the strongest ever recorded), the Chilean government developed a seismic design code for all new buildings, shown in the image above. According to AIR Worldwide, the country’s building codes were revised again in 1993 to include significant advances over previous versions. And they were wise to do so, given the frequency with which Chile experiences quakes: the country gets hit with a magnitude 7 or higher quake at least once every five years, meaning that the earthquake awareness, both in engineering and building codes, is superior."
http://www.infrastructurist.com/2010/03/01/the-power-of-building-codes-chile-death-toll-less-than-1-that-of-haiti/
The Challenges of Sustaining Smart Growth Over Time
In the late '90s a trio of North Carolina suburbs tried to ditch their suburban past with a new, much lauded Smart Growth planning effort that revised the way they used their land. The success of the celebrated developments didn't last long.
"It warmed the hearts of planners. It drew national attention and awards and, after a couple of New Urbanist neighborhoods were built, busloads of visiting Smart Growth disciples. Writers, including yours truly, ladled on praise. In 1996 I wrote an editorial calling the new ordinances in Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson, N.C., 'a remarkable exercise in local and regional planning' and 'a remarkable vision.'
But as Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys sang decades before, 'Time changes everything.'"
Mary Newsom discusses the challenges of sustaining these sorts of planning-based efforts to rethink cities. http://citiwire.net/post/1741/
Top 30 greenest cities in Europe: Copehagen takes home the gold
Copenhagen is the greenest major city in Europe, according to a study orchestrated by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Siemens.
The study, which was presented at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, evaluated 30 major cities in 30 European countries based on their achievements and objectives in terms of climate change and environmental challenges.
The data was processed using the European Green City Index, which presents the results according to eight different categories: carbon emissions, energy, buildings, transport, water, waste and land use, air quality and environmental governance. The various categories provide a more transparent and detailed analysis and allow for cities to compare themselves to one another according to varying criteria. http://www.ccre.org/news_detail_en.htm?ID=1793
Climate Financing for City Development?
Cities in a Post-2012 Climate Policy Framework is the theme of an ICLEI Global Report now published.
This Climate Analysis report builds upon 38 Interviews from local governments, international climate and urban experts, and international business representatives. The report investigates how suitable the international climate financing architecture is for cities and local governments in the developing world, provides a current account of local governments in the international climate negotiations, and a discussion of city-level greenhouse gas inventories.
http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=1487&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=4370&tx_ttnews[backPid]=983&cHash=f93e9e5c1e
Breathing Life Back into Seattle's Alleys
The City of Seattle is looking to revive some of its often forgotten and neglected urban spaces: alleys.
For little money, one of the city's alleyways was given new life through the simple addition of street furniture and other basic amenities. City leaders are using its success as a model.
"In order to make downtown more pedestrian friendly, the City of Seattle is looking at the the Nord Alley experience as a potential model for other locations. That's one of the recommendations made by ISI and Copenhagen-based Gehl Architects in a survey to be released next month.
The report collected data about how many people walk downtown, how far they go and how they use public spaces. More than 40 University of Washington students walked every block, mapping street furniture and trees, counting pedestrian traffic and interviewing more than 1,300 people about the purpose of their visit to downtown, explained Helle Soholt, managing partner of Gehl Architects."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seattlesketcher/2011184707_green_alleys.html?syndication=rss
11 most bicycle friendly cities in the world
Biking is a great way to become intimate with a city and get exercise at the same time. There are many amazing cities for biking throughout the world - these gems allow you to explore the city at ease and safely. The 11 most accessible and bike friendly cities are a sampling of the bike friendly paradises that exist throughout the world. The top three of most bicycle friendly cities in the world are listed here: http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2010/03/11-most-bicycle-friendly-cities-in-the-world_1014.html
American Cities Awaken From 35-Year Parking Policy Coma
Planning policies that produce cheap, abundant parking are fundamentally at odds with efforts to promote transit, biking, and walking. A new report from ITDP shows how some cities have started to align parking policies with sustainable transport.
It's been more than 35 years since American cities including New York, Boston, and Portland acknowledged the connection between parking policy and traffic generation by setting limits on downtown parking. Since then, parking innovation has proceeded at a snail's pace. Streetsblog reports on a new study that highlights how that's starting to change:
"In San Francisco and New York, programs to bring the price of curbside parking more in line with off-street parking are reducing the incentive to cruise endlessly for a cheap spot. In Portland, planners have reduced parking requirements for new development near transit lines, helping to improve walkability and increase ridership.
"Boulder provides an intriguing study in parking management as an economic development tool. This small Colorado city is one of the only places that introduced new parking policies during the 80s and 90s. After deciding they couldn't compete with suburban malls by imitating them, local merchants led an effort that effectively capped the volume of downtown parking and directed revenue from parking facilities to improve transit, walking, and bicycling."
http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/02/23/want-to-foster-walking-biking-and-transit-you-need-good-parking-policy/
German Town Looking for Pothole Sponsors
They cause accidents and they blight the streets -- extreme winter weather has resulted in a rash of potholes across Europe. With a shortage of cash to fix them, one German town has come up with a unique solution: selling sponsorships, complete with a plaque. The snow has finally melted in most of Europe. But what it has left behind is not entirely to the liking of most. In Berlin, for example, the vanished drifts have revealed mountains of charred waste from fireworks still left over from New Year's. Weeks worth of newly thawed out dog dirt has likewise made walks in the city a chore.
Most of all, though, cities and towns across Europe are finding that their streets are full of brand new potholes -- deep, wide and dangerous. TÜV Rheinland, a safety certification company, estimates that 30 to 40 percent of all German roads have suffered serious damage as a result of the winter weather this year. Even worse, after spending mountains of cash to remove snow and salt ice, many municipalities have none leftover to fix the craters.
'Feel Like You Own a Pothole'
But one town in Germany has come up with a unique new approach to the problem. Why not find sponsors for the potholes? For €50 ($68), the hamlet of Niederzimmern in the eastern German state of Thuringia will tar over a pothole and then attach the donor's name to the newly fixed hole.
"The point is to use a funny idea to find people who can then help us to get our streets back in order," Niederzimmern Mayor Christoph Schmidt-Rose told German radio on Wednesday.
New website for the European Spatial Planning Observatory Network (ESPON)
ESPON has revamped its website navigation and layout to make it more user-friendly and easier to find information on territorial development in Europe. The new website features one-click navigation that provides easy access to 7 main themes reflecting user needs: programme, projects, how to apply, events, scientific tools, publications and press. A number of additional features are under development such as video clips. http://www.espon.eu/
CITIES FOR EVERYONE: Liveable, Healthy, Prosperous!
Promising Vision or Unrealistic Fantasy?
The role of Urban Planning and Urban Technologies on the path towards improved Quality of Life, Health, Sustainability and Prosperity in our Cities
is the topic of REAL CORP 2010 (www.corp.at)
15th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society which will take place on 18-20 May 2010 at Reed Messe Wien in Vienna/Austria (48.216656 N,16.409843 E)
We were completely overwhelmed by the number and quality of submitted papers - it was hard work for the whole congress team and program committee, but now a first overview of keynote-speeches, paper-presentations, workshops, round-tables and an extensive social program is available at
http://www.corp.at/Download/CORP2010/papers2010.pdf,
the detailed program (including timetable) will be available by end of March 2010 at www.corp.at
If you intend to participate in CORP 2010 please let me remind you that the EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION with reduced participation fees is only available until March 15th 2010!
CUPA (Cooperative Urban Planning Approaches)
The CUPA project evolved from the INTERREG III C project “Milunet” and is planned as a series of workshops. Multi-disciplinary teams from the cities Odessa, Novi Sad, Krakow, Vilnius, Lviv, Sofia and Lublinabove will meet twice a year to develop joint solutions to specific urban planning issues and problems. Each workshop will last for three days and will be held in a different partner city. The first day will feature a presentation and exploration of the relevant problem area as well as expert papers on the individual issues/problems involved. On the second day, the different areas under discussion will be addressed in smaller groups and will be dealt with on the basis of the information received on the previous day. At the end of each event, the elaborated results will be presented to the responsible politicians and city administration executives and to the local media.
Together with the City of Vienna, TINA VIENNA is responsible for the organisation and implementation of the project within the framework of the DonauHanse network.
If you would like to obtain further information on, or if your city is interested in participating in, the project, please contact us (markus.damm@tinavienna.at, +43 1 4000 84268).
Sprawling Madrid
While Madrid's urban core is highly dense, the city has sprawled out over the last two decades much further than its growing population requires, says Madrid resident and planning consultant Marco Adelfio.
From the nineteen-eighties until today, the expansion of Madrid has been characterized by disproportionate land consumption in comparison with the actual population growth. Between 1980 and 1999, the amount of urbanized land increased by nine times the growth of the population of the metropolitan area. Given this context, it is possible to observe a change in the characteristics of the living space. One of the most significant aspects of change was an increase of the number of detached houses in the metropolitan area, creating a type of suburban landscape based on low density.
The neoliberal ideology, which had its beginnings in the American policies of the Eighties, has characterized the last thirty years of world history, fostering a new kind of development based on decentralization, deregulation and liberalization of markets. The impact that this ideology has had on the territory is extremely significant as it has modified the ways of structuring space and the built environment, changing the idea of urban landscape.
http://www.planetizen.com/node/43077
Verdict on public transport in EU cities: "what is missing most is information"
Clear, visible and understandable information is lacking. This is one of the results of a EuroTest survey on local public transport systems in 23 major European cities.
The survey gives an overview of strengths and weaknesses of.each of the cities. It shows that overall results were positive although improvement is needed in most cities including, especially in Zagreb (Croatia) and Ljubljana (Slovenia).
Munich (Germany) is at the top of the ranking. Fast connections, especially within the inner city, plenty of information at stops and in vehicles, a good website and extra marks for accessibility catapulted this city on the river Isar to first place. It's only when it comes to prices that Munich's star begins to wane slightly.
When it comes to information, there is certainly room for improvement, states the study. Information was rarely complete, clearly structured and also understandable. Testers found that around one third of the vehicles tested did not have practical, variable, i.e. dynamic, displays.
In terms of travel time (such as journey time, number of changes, headway, operating hours), Copenhagen, Munich, Paris and Frankfurt feature high in the rankings.
Around 260 cities are hoping to establish municipal policies to tackle the crisis
Municipal policies to tackle the crisis and their application at EU level will be discussed during the three days of the summit entitled, “Networked Local Governments for a New Europe”, which will bring together representatives from 260 cities in Barcelona. The meeting, as part of the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, is being promoted by the Provincial Government of Barcelona and the Committee of the Regions, and will be opened by the Third Vice-president of the Spanish Government, Manuel Chaves, the President of the Generalitat de Cataluña (regional government of Catalonia), José Montilla, the Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, and the President of the Barcelona Provincial Government, Antoni Fogué.
The meeting will be based on a document written by the philosopher, Daniel Innerarity, which the cities will use to identify joint proposals to establish a "Barcelona Agenda". This framework document for the meeting suggests that the economic outlook of the global crisis does not justify denying local governments the responsibilities and resources necessary to tackle these challenges, since they are closely in contact with citizens. Innerarity believes that "global problems are local problems, since this is where they are felt and experienced, and where the initial response should be given", and points out that cities account for 70 percent of the population and 85 percent of Europe's GDP.
Intolerance towards foreigners disaster for Europe
Europe's intolerance towards foreigners threatens its economic future, an article published in Newsweek states. Stefen Theil, author of the article 'The Incredible Shrinking Continent' argues that Europe desperately needs to upgrade its workforce to compete in knowledge-intensive sectors. Immigration is vital for this upgrading process, he believes. As Europe's demographies are rapidly changing, shortages on the labour market will increase significantly. According to Stefan Theil, the answer to these shortages lies in the attraction of skilled migrants. However, he fears that the current intolerance and negative attitudes towards foreigners in Europe, will prevent migrants from entering the European labour market. As a result, Europe might be heading for serious long-term economic trouble.
Recently, European intolerance towards foreigners has increased in Stefan Theil's opinion. He bases his view on the fact that a continent wide asylum policy and smarter immigration criteria have recently been rejected. In addition, many countries have passed legislation that negatively affects immigrants.
According to Theil, Europe should take several actions to attract skilled migrants. If the continent fails to do so, this may have troubling effects on the economy. Theil proposes the following measures:
- raise the number of visas available in professions where shortages on the labour market exist;
- cut the red tape that makes it impossible to get non-European diplomas recognised;
- do better at recruiting more foreign students.
Bristol - 'UK's Greenest City'
Bristol (UK) was one of the eight selected nominates of the European Green Capital Award 2010/2011. Ever since the nomination the city has benefited extensively from the attention. It has now been labelled the 'UK's Greenest City', and as a result, its people are proud, its hotels are fuller than before and innovative industries are flocking to the area.
Every year a city for the European Green Capital of the year award will be selected. The award is given to a city that:
Has a consistent record of achieving high environmental standards;
Is committed to ongoing and ambitious goals for further environmental improvement and sustainable development;
Can act as a role model to inspire other cities and promote best practices to all other European cities.
Europe is now an essentially urban society, with four out of five Europeans living in towns and cities. Most of the environmental challenges facing our society originate from urban areas, but it is also these urban areas that bring together the commitment and innovation needed to resolve them.
President Compaore promises support for World Urban Campaign
Paying a courtesy call on Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Campaore, UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs Anna Tibaijuka appealed to the head of state to support the World Urban Campaign.
The Executive Director who was accompanied by a number of UN-HABITAT staff as well as the local UN Resident Coordinator, briefed President Campaore on the World Urban Campaign which will be launched on the sidelines of the Fifth Session of the World Urban Forum to hold in Rio de Janeiro 22-26 March 2010.
She briefed the President on UN-HABITAT activities in Burkina Faso and invited him to be part of the Presidential Committee she is working to put in place to support to implementation of the World Urban Campaign.
On his part President Compaore acknowledged the importance of UN-HABITAT’s work on urban issues and encouraged Mrs. Tibaijuka as leader of a UN Agency to strengthen the capacity of the African countries and to facilitate exchange of experiences and best practices.
He welcomed the idea of the creation of a Presidential Committee to lead the implementation of the World Urban Campaign and promised the Executive Director his full support and commitment to a successful implementation of the world initiative.
More European cities sign up to Green Digital Charter
Making smarter cities a large-scale reality in Europe
A growing number of Europe’s biggest cities are signing up to ‘EUROCITIES Green Digital Charter’ that commits them to reducing emissions through Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).
An official signing ceremony was held on 23 February as part of the High Level Event on ICT for Energy Efficiency organised by the European Commission, in cooperation with the Spanish Presidency of the EU, and EUROCITIES.
Joining the first 14 cities that signed up to the charter in November 2009, these latest 7 signatories - Amsterdam, Bologna, Helsinki, Malaga, Nice Cote d’Azur, Porto and Rijeka - have agreed to:
- Deploy five large-scale ICT pilot projects before 2015;
- Decrease ICT’s direct carbon footprint by 30% by 2020; and
- Create a partnership of cities on ICT & Energy Efficiency to work until 2011.
The city of Nuremberg intends to join the group in March. http://www.eurocities.eu/include/lib/sql_news_card.php?id=1685
International Awards for Liveable Communities
Improved care of the environment, improved quality of life within the community, sharing of International Best Practice and the achieving of financial savings and value for money, are all critical issues and are all potential benefits of participating in the LivCom Awards.
The LivCom Awards, managed by a UK Registerd Charity, is non-political, with no financial association with any other organisation and attracts participating communities from over 50 countries in many different cultures.
LivCom is unique, bringing together civic leaders and local experts to share and develop International Best Practice. Providing a unique opportunity to meet and discuss issues with like minded civic leaders and experts.
During the Finals, held 4–8 Novermber 2010, in Chicago (USA), of the LivCom Awards, representatives of communities have the opportunity to attend Presentations by other communities, and this highlights that no matter in which political, geographic, climatic or financial environment a community is situated, there are no unique challenges. All communities face the same challenges, but to a greater or lesser degree.
Registration closes 31 May 2010 and there is no Registration Fee.
For full details of the Awards, in 30 languages, or to register, go on-line on www.livcomawards.com. For further information, call the LivCom Office at +44 (0) 118 946 1680.
New publication on the urban dimension in EU policies
The European Commission has published a guide looking at the ways in which cities can benefit from EU policies, and exploring the impact of European policies in urban areas, and offers information on potential sources of finance.
The first part presents the framework for Cohesion Policy for the remainder of the 2007-2013 programming period, through its three financial instruments: the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Cohesion Fund.
The second part describes the urban dimension of the other EU policies for the same period, through the policies conducted by the Commission's Directorates-General (i.e. employment, social affairs and equal opportunities, environment, energy and Transport).
The guide aims to set out the context of each policy area, its financial resources, exchange mechanisms and related information sources.
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/guides/urban/index_en.htm
Mayors sign up to the EUROCITIES charter on migrant integration
The mayors and deputy mayors from 16 European cities gathered in the UK capital on Monday 22 February to sign a charter setting out their vision on migrant integration. The signing of the Charter is one feature of the Integrating Cities Conference hosted this year by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, EUROCITIES and the European Commission at London’s City Hall.
The ‘EUROCITIES Integrating Cities Charter’ underlines the commitment and leadership of Europe’s cities in addressing migrant integration. By signing the Charter, cities commit, through their roles as policymakers, service providers, buyers of goods and services and employers, to strengthen their efforts in ensuring equal opportunities and non-discrimination for migrants.
Learning From Bug Cities
As architects and planners seek to create sustainable buildings and cities, some scientists suggest looking at the intricate home-building of insects.
Termite mounds, for example, are almost like tiny, self-contained cities.
"Unlike termites and other nest-building insects, we humans pay little attention to making buildings fit for their environments. 'We can develop absurd architectural ideas without the punishment of natural selection,' says architect Juhani Pallasmaa of the Helsinki University of Technology in Finland. As we wake up to climate change and resource depletion, though, interest in how insects manage their built environments is reawakening. It appears we have a lot to learn.
'The building mechanisms and the design principles that make the properties of insect nests possible aren't well understood,' says Guy Théraulaz of the CNRS Research Centre on Animal Cognition in Toulouse, France. That's not for want of trying. Research into termite mounds kicked off in the 1960s, when Swiss entomologist Martin Lüscher made trailblazing studies of nests created by termites of the genus Macrotermes on the plains of southern Africa. It was he who suggested the chaotic-looking mounds were in fact exquisitely engineered eco-constructions."
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527481.300-for-sustainable-architecture-think-bug.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news
Detroit Planning to Downsize
Detroit’s mayor and City Council are looking at downsizing the city ''in order to save it,'' and now they face the arduous task of prioritizing which neighborhoods should be saved at the expense of others. The city recently completed a survey of its 133 square miles and 350,000 parcels. The report is seen as a key tool in prioritizing viable neighborhoods and accelerating the clearance of blighted areas and the movement of residences out of these areas.
As noted in this article in The Detroit News, the City of Detroit was built to accommodate two million residents and could contain the cities of San Francisco, Boston and Manhattan combined within its boarders. The city currently is home to 900,000 people and declining, with large swaths of the city already abandoned. The issue of downsizing is politically sensitive in the city, with many residents uncertain who would decide which areas of the city were still viable and the methods the city government would use to force the relocation of residents. ''There is sometimes controversy if only a few areas are prioritized,'' said John T. Metzer, an urban planner who has taught at Michigan State University and the University of Pittsburgh.
Inventing tomorrow: city life in transition
Energie-Cités' Anniversary Rendezvous, 28-30 April 2010 - Salerno (IT)
The challenge of European cities is to invent today a tomorrow where quality of life goes hand in hand with low energy consumption. A thousand local authorities are already preparing their futures by committing to the Covenant of Mayors. In defiance of financial and economic pressures, they are changing the direction of their energy policies – with foresight, cooperation and imagination!
Energie-Cités has witnessed and actively fosters this transition.
To celebrate our 20th Anniversary, we invite you to debate the following:
• Perceptions and indicators of quality of life
• Local energy policies ensuring a better quality of life
• Visions for a low energy city for 2020-2050
Participate in panel discussions as well as in our interactive forums and pick from a bunch of ideas on desirable ways of planning, consuming and living in cities.
Online programme and registration form http://www.energie-cites.eu/Salerno-2010-IT
CEMR executive bureau debates local governments' role in tomorrows EU
The executive bureau of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) met in Barcelona on 23 February 2010. Many speakers focused their intervention on the future of Europe, the Spanish presidency of the EU.and climate change.
Mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu i Boher, recalled the city of Barcelona's longstanding active commitment in the work of CEMR - which was presided by former Barcelona Mayor Pasqual Maragall from 1992 to 1997.
President of the FEMP and CEMR vice-president, Pedro Castro Vázquez, underlined the important role played by local government in the Spanish presidency of the EU. The FEMP signed a joint action plan with the Spanish Secretary of State for the EU ensuring a high level of recognition and participation for Spanish local governments and the FEMP. He also called for strengthening the role of local governments in the formulation of new Lisbon strategies and presented CEMR as the primary contact for local and regional authorities in Europe.
In this context, the FEMP is leading the organisation of the 2nd local government forum - European Union, Latin America and Caribbean (EU-LAC), taking place in Vitoria-Gasteiz on 5-7 May 2010. The forum will aim to convey a strong local government position, capable of influencing the political agenda of the summit meeting of the heads of state and government in Madrid on 18 May 2010. http://www.ccre.org/news_detail_en.htm?ID=1787
New Climate Change course
The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) and UN-HABITAT team up to face Climate Change in new course at IHS
Frequent floods and landslides episodes; excessive snowing, extremely hot weather and other natural phenomena are more and more frequently affecting our cities. The recent increase of these occurrences is in part attributed to climate changes.
IHS and UN-HABITAT have joined forces in a new course at IHS to battle Climate Change effects on cities. The course aims to answer pressing questions. What are the effects of Climate Change on your city? What can your city do about Climate Change? And how can you enable your city to design appropriate climate actions? To assist cities world-wide to answer these questions and provide instruments to deal with climate changes the three week course discusses concrete management tools for climate change.
The course will take place from 11 May to 03 June 2010. It will take place in Rotterdam, one of the most dynamic cities of The Netherlands, a country that after centuries of land reclamation now transforms land into lakes, builds floating houses and gardens on roofs (/blue cities/).
This new course brings Climate Change as an integral part of sustainability. It will examine its impacts and provide you with the skills to develop strategies for climate mitigation and adaptation. It will review and discuss a range of management tools that are at the disposal of municipalities, including tax incentives, subsidized public transport, urban sprawl prevention, Feed-In-Programmes, Renewable Portfolio Standards, sustainable buildings and the retrofit of infrastructure. Participants will have the chance to develop a local climate change plan where mitigations and adaptations strategies are translated into concrete actions, based on the risk of vulnerability assessment, management tools and the financial constraints.
IHS offers partial fellowships for participation in this course. Please visit www.ihs.nl for more information.
Mexico City launches Ecobici – a bicycle-lending programme
A bicycle-lending programme, known as Ecobici, has been launched in Mexico's capital. The objective of the programme is to promote more environmentally friendly modes of transport, reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality.
Mexico's capital, home to nearly 19 million people and more than 5 million vehicles, is one of the most congested and polluted cities in the world.
In order to alleviate this situation, the city of Mexico has decided to promote cycling as an alternative to the use of the private motorized vehicle to move in the city.
"Just as in other cities, like Barcelona, EcoBici is a project that seeks to recover public spaces, improve people's quality of life and, of course, help protect the environment," Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said on the occasion of the launch of the programme last week.
The first phase of Ecobici will provide 1,114 bicycles at 85 stations, with bikes available for 30-minute loans to members who pay a 300-peso ($23) annual fee.
EcoBici members will get an electronic card that allows them to borrow a bicycle, use it and later return it to a station.
The city is expecting that about 24 thousand people will make use of the system.
Mexico City officials are also planning to build a bicycle lane along the Metrobus Line 3 route this year, with the goal to connect the metropolis with the neighboring cities of Toluca, Pachuca and Cuernavaca.
The Death and Gentrification of Great American Cities
Sharon Zukin's new book takes a different look at the urbanity championed in Jane Jacobs' seminal book "The Death and Life of Great American Cities", arguing that gentrification is tearing up the authenticity of places.
"But if Ms. Jacobs is much hailed as an urban prophet, Ms. Zukin is a heretic on her canonization. She views Ms. Jacobs as a passionate and prescient writer, but also one who failed to reckon with steroidal gentrification and the pervasive hunger of the upper middle class for ever more homogenous neighborhoods.
The pattern in places like Williamsburg and Atlantic Yards, Ms. Zukin said, is dreary and inexorable: Middle-class 'pioneers' buy brownstones and row houses. City officials rezone to allow luxury towers, which swell the value of the brownstones. And banks and real estate companies unleash a river of capital, flushing out the people who gave the neighborhoods character."
Zukin's book looks specifically at Greenwich Village, the neighborhood where Jacobs lived for many years and the idealized urban neighborhood her book encouraged
Local governments are the drivers of economic recovery
It will be almost impossible to emerge from the crisis without the help of local councils, since 70% of EU legislation is applied at this level.
That was the call the President of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces.(FEMP), Pedro Castro, gave at the opening ceremony of the European Summit of local governments, from 22 to 24 February 2010.
He warned that the crisis must involve every administration. (...) The actions taken by national governments to cope with the crisis will have no effect if not coordinated with the local level. http://www.ccre.org/news_detail_en.htm?ID=1786
Rapid urbanization a major challenge for Africa
Five years after the Commission for Africa presented its recommendations to world leaders at the G8 Summit in Gleneagles and five years before the target date for the Millennium Development Goals, a conference was held during the first week of February at Wiston House in Wilton Park to focus on the challenges facing Africa.
Delegates from across the world gathered together at the beautiful grounds of Wilton Park in Sussex, England, to discuss what progress, if any, has been made; where further urgent attention is needed; and how have priorities changed as a result of the global economic crisis and climate change emerging as a key global challenge.
As one of the Commissioners for Africa, Anna Tibaijuka, the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT was asked to make a presentation on Balanced Development for Africa: The Cities of the Future - Beyond Chaotic Urbanisation. In her statement, Mrs Tiibaijuka pointed out that the Commission Report: Our Common Interest had highlighted urbanization as the second most significant challenge, after HIV aids, confronting the continent.
http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=7953&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0
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