Current News Items - September 2008
Urban audit 2008: Demographic, economic and enviromental indicators of Europe's cities
The European Commission has published on 24 September 2008 its urban audit, a "health check" on 321 European cities. The urban audit is not only a tool for European cohesion policy but must also be used at all levels of decision-making (national, regional and local) and by all policies that have an impact on cities, European Commissioner in charge of Regional Policy Danuta Hübner said.
Acc ording to the survey, a number of European cities, particularly in central and eastern Europe, are experiencing a decline in their population. Of the 14 major cities examined in Romania, 13 saw their population decline compared to the national average.
However, the urban audit also indicates that other cities have seen their population increase considerably over the past few years, in particular Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Galway (Ireland), Kalamata (Greece) and Oulu (Finland). Immigration from European Union and non-EU countries is one factor that can explain this.
http://www.ccre.org/news_detail_en.htm?ID=1425
ICLEI facilitates the Energy & Climate Commission at UCLG 1st Africa Congress
United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) hosted their 1st Ordinary Congress from 9 – 11 July 2008 in Accra, Ghana. 937 delegates from 27 countries across Africa attended. The theme was ‘Leadership for Local Governance and Development in the delivery of MDGs in Africa’. ICLEI Africa was honoured to facilitate the Sustainable Energy and Climate Protection Commission (1 of the 7 Commissions). Presentations by Kobie Brand (Regional Director for ICLEI Africa), Sarah Ward and Leila Mahomed (both city energy specialists), provided good context on energy and climate issues in the African context. This was followed by a lively debate chaired by the Mayor of Johannesburg, Councillor Amos Masondo.
Preparations in high gear for this year’s World Habitat Day celebrations
With just over two weeks left before the observance of this year’s World Habitat Day, preparations for the ceremony are in high gear across the globe.
From Africa through Asia to Europe and the Americas, governments, civic bodies as well as NGOs are laying out elaborate plans to mark this year’s event whose theme is ‘Harmoniuos Cities’ to be celebrated on October 6.
The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October each year as World Habitat Day. The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.
Global observance of the occasion this year will be led from the Angolan capital, Luanda. The celebrations in Angola will show the world, how the country, after years of conflict, is progressing in the establishment of harmonious cities through urban development, poverty alleviation, improved land and housing rights, and providing access to basic urban services.
World Habitat Day this year comes on the eve of the fourth session of the World Urban Forum in Nanjing, China 3-6 November. The Forum, the world's premier conference on managing our growing towns and cities, will also be the occasion of the launch of UN-HABITAT's flagship biennial publication, the State of the World's Cities.
http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=5899&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0
Angola gears up for Global Observance of World Habitat Day
A high level delegation led by the Deputy Minister of Urban Affairs and the Environment Mr. Pedro da Mota Liz, visited UN-HABITAT Executive Director, Mrs Tibaijuka to discuss this year’s Global Observance of World Habitat Day and enhanced collaboration on housing and urban development projects.
Welcoming the delegation, Mrs. Tibaijuka conveyed her thanks to the Government of Angola for hosting the Global Observance of World Habitat Day and expressed her appreciation for the high level representation at the celebrations, which will be presided over by the President of Angola, Mr. José Eduardo dos Santos. She said that Luanda was only the second African city to host the Global Observance of World Habitat Day, which this year will take place on 6 October 2008. http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=5885&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0
UN-HABITAT joins partners of the Decade of Roma Inclusion
UN-HABITAT has joined the international partners of the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015 at the invitation of the Decade’s Presidency, currently held by Serbia.
The Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015 is a political commitment by governments in Central and South-eastern Europe to improve the socio-economic status and social inclusion of the Roma population within a regional framework.
A large percentage of the Roma population lives in slums and substandard housing throughout Europe. Improvement of the living environment is one of the main focuses of the Decade and Serbia made it a key priority of its Presidency.
UN-HABITAT already cooperates with Roma organizations and supports local integrated projects for the regularization and upgrading of Roma settlements in South-eastern Europe. With this new partnership, UN-HABITAT will cooperate with the Decade’s Secretariat to enhance the attention of participating countries and international partners on the housing and land tenure issues through thematic workshops and guidelines.
How to adapt our cities to children?
Are cities fit for children? How to judge the child friendliness of a city? How to develop childoriented urban planning? Find out at the “Child in the City” conference organised in Rotterdam, from 3 to 5 November 2008.
The Rotterdam conference will pay special attention to two topics. A series of workshops will be dedicated to tools for monitoring child friendliness and another series to child friendly urban space.
The first session will aim to identify, with the assistance of experts from UNICEF, guidelines that help the cities to develop their own tools of self-assessment.
A second series of workshops will focus on a child friendly urban planning, and more particularly on children's mobility. The objective is to conclude with guidelines that help the cities to develop a childoriented urban planning.
The conference is co organised by the Association of Netherlands municipalities (VNG). http://www.childinthecity.com/
ICLEI invites local governments to the next phase of 'Local Action for Biodiversity' Initiative
Since 2006, 21 local governments from fifteen countries pioneered the urban biodiversity project ‘Local Action for Biodiversity’ (LAB) managed by ICLEI.
Phase 1 participants inviting peers
These 21 pioneers advocated continuing and expanding LAB at their September 2008 workshop. They stand behind a global invitation to other local governments to join LAB. Echoing this call and confident from the success of the pilot phase, ICLEI and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), invites local governments to join a new phase of LAB starting in March 2009.
Phase 2 of LAB starts in March 2009, join now
Shall your organization be interested to join dozens of leaders in urban biodiversity in LAB’s next phase, please complete a two-page questionnaire and kindly return it to lab@iclei.org. The ICLEI Africa Office will contact you with more details.
Call for candidacies: Be the host of CEMR's 2012 General Assembly
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) has issued a "call for candidacies" open to European cities and regions interested in hosting its 2012 General Assembly.
Every 3 years, CEMR organises its General Assembly.which brings together around 1000, or more, local and regional elected representatives and experts, from Europe and beyond, to debate key issues of the day. The Assembly lasts two and a half to three days, with high-level political debates organised in plenary sessions and parallel sessions devoted to practical specific themes.
Interested local and regional governments should carefully review the terms of reference and the guidelines. Deadline for the submission of proposals: 30 January 2009.
Territorial governance: Local government's call for recognition and support
Europe's local governments can only fulfill their mission within a string partnership with regional, local and European authorities on one hand, and their citizens, the private sector and local associations on the other. This new territorial governance must therefore be recognised, promoted and supported. This is the core of the call launched at the end of the Reims conference on 15 September 2008. The conference was organised by the European parliament's Urban-Logement Intergroup with the support of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) and the city of Reims. Some 150 local and European representatives attended… http://www.ccre.org/communiques_de_presse_en.htm
Environmental Initiatives in Chicago,Ill
The Public Building Commission of Chicago (PBC) is committed to improving the environmental quality of life for all Chicagoans. The PBC also strives to support Mayor Richard M. Daley's effort to make Chicago the most environmentally friendly city in America, by ensuring that 'green' building strategies are integrated into the design phase of every project.
In June 2004, the PBC unveiled the Morgan Park (22nd District) Police Station, a state-of-the-art-facility that aims to be the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver-rated police station in the country by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The police station is one of many buildings in Chicago that are being built using technology that reduces energy consumption, conserves water, and uses recycled content and materials that are manufactured locally. Other such construction projects managed by the PBC include the Chicago Center for Green Technology and the Budlong Woods, West Englewood and Oriole Park branch libraries.
from :www.pbcchicago.com/subhtml/green_projects.aspom
Climate Resilient Cities
'The World Bank joined with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) to publish an interactive report entitled, “Climate Resilient Cities.”
A Primer on reducing cities’ vulnerability to climate change disruption and strengthening disaster risk management, Climate Resilient Cities should prove a useful tool for city managers the world over.'
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/Resources/climatecities_fullreport.pdf
The Global Urban Competitiveness Project
The Global Urban Competitiveness Project publishes periodic studies ranks 500 cities on their ability to attract and use resources to generate wealth. The cities are assessed on nine measures, including income, economic growth, innovation, jobs, prices and the presence of multinational firms.http://www.gucp.org/en/
World Urban Leaders Transport Summit
The LTA Academy, a division of LTA is organising the inaugural World Urban Transport Leaders Summit. Singapore's Minister for Transport will be the Guest Of Honour. We expect some 100 CEO-level delegates from around the world to attend.
This conference is a first of its kind as we are exclusively inviting top policy makers, transport chiefs, industry leaders, senior management of international organisations, leading academics and transport professionals from around the world to attend. There will be no registration fee to attend this conference.
The summit provides an excellent platform to generate goodwill and cultivate friendship with international countries/cities .
2008 World Water Week in Stockholm Concludes with Strong Messages
2400 Experts Gathered in Stockholm Call for Action on Water and Sanitation
The World Water Week in Stockholm concluded with 2400 scientists, leaders from governments and civil society declaring that slow progress on sanitation will cause the world to badly fail the Millennium Development Goals while weak policy, poor management, increasing waste and exploding water demands are pushing the planet towards the tipping point of global water crisis.
Action is crucial, stakes are high and time is running out were key messages coming from the World Water Week in Stockholm. Sanitation and hygiene, climate, water management, ecosystems and business issues were prominent programme focal points throughout the week. Attention was brought to the "water footprint" of consumers, business, industry and agriculture and what individuals and business can do to measure and reduce their impact on shrinking water resources. SIWI itself released new research that showed half of food is lost after it is produced and called for governments and individuals around the world to reduce by half the amount of food that is lost to ease pressure on water and land resources.
The 2009 World Water Week in Stockholm will convene August 16-22 under the overarching theme "Water - Responding to Global Changes: Accessing Water for the Common Good." The First Announcement and Call for Abstracts will be made in November 2008. http://www.worldwaterweek.org/practical/registration.asp?kgid=827&lang=2
September 2008, under the banner of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The 61st annual conference of Non-Governmental Organizations organized by the UN Department of Public Information came to its end on the 5th of September at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
Some 1700 NGOs associated with the United Nations gathered for three days of debate during the 61st annual conference outside of the UN Headquarters in New York for the first time. Not coincidently, Paris was the place where the Declaration of Human Rights was signed 60 years ago.
While the Conference was opened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, it was closed by the former French-Colombian hostage, Ingrid Bétancourt, both via video-conference.
In another significant event organized by the Colombian Government with UNESCO’s support, a regional conference on “Media, Education and Culture in Human Rights” is taking place from 9 to 11 September 2008 in Cartagena (Colombia).
Participants from Latin America and the Caribbean, including ministers and policy-makers, representatives of national human rights institutions, the media, civil society and various NGOs will discuss - in the Convention Centre “Julio César Turbay Ayala” in Cartagena de Indias - the link between the media and education and are expected to put emphasis on the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a commitment to dignity and justice for all.
EcoProcura 2009 - Call for Contributions
Reykjavik, Iceland, 25-27 March 2009
The EcoProcura 2009 conference - Climate Neutral through Procurement is now welcoming your contribution proposals for different sessions of the programme. We invite local governments, business representatives and other stakeholders working towards climate neutral products and services to respond to our Call for Contributions.
You can submit your proposals through the online form, available on the conference website, until 31 October 2008. Please visit the Call for Contribution section at www.iclei.org/ecoprocura2009 for more information regarding procedures and conditions. The different sessions currently open to your suggestions are clearly marked under the Programme section of the website. Please follow the 'Contribute to this session' link to fill the online form.
An historic event: politicians, scientists and practicioners from different continents met to discuss water issues
From Quito to Singapore, from Bonn to Seville or Grenoble : over 100 local elected representatives and water experts from all over Europe and the world met to discuss water management in towns and cities, in Vienna on 9 September 2008.
How can local and regional governments provide good sustainable water management service to the citizens? How to face the challenges of rapid growing population and economic growth and its impact on water management? These were the main issues of the “Local Governments' Day” co-organised by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions in the framework of the world congress of the International water association (IWA).
The President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), mayor and governor of Vienna, Michaël Haüpl stressed the importance to establish a dialogue between politicians and experts in order to tackle today and tomorrow's challenges related to water. For the city of Vienna, it was important that 100 years ago the politicians decided that the water supply should be a public responsibility, he explained. This guarantees high quality water management to all citizens at an affordable price… http://www.ccre.org/communiques_de_presse_en.htm
Perth Solar City
Perth Solar City within the Perth metropolitan area is the seventh city to join the Australian Government’s Solar Cities Program. With up to $13.9 million in funding under the Australian Government’s $94 million Solar Cities initiative, the Perth Solar City consortium will engage all levels of government, businesses, not for profit
organisations and community groups, bringing sustainable energy solutions to the Perth area.
2009 City for Children Award
The Congress supports and takes an active part in the Cities for Children Network which has just launched the 1st European Award of Excellence ''City for Children'', to honour European cities for outstanding child-friendly projects. The objective is to illustrate successful, innovative and cost-efficient projects and encourage their use in other municipalities. Categories for 2009 are outdoor activities, mobility and traffic safety for children and young people.
The invitation is open to European cities with at least 100,000 inhabitants.
The application package is available from 15 September 2008 at the Cities for Children Coordination Office or can be downloaded on www.citiesforchildren.eu.
Old shipping containers become sustainable houses
To convert old shipping containers into sustainable buildings: this is the idea developed in the London's Docklands, in the UK.
The London docklands development is composed of environmentally friendly work studios and lofts stacked on top of each other to create a 5-story building. Instead of using a 1 container = 1 unit approach, the system relies on components in various permutations to create very livable, adaptable spaces.
According to architect Nicholas Lacey "the modular nature of the containers, their adaptability, and the fact that they can be found in industrial surplus make them an ideal prefab material".
Aside from this residential project, the system has been used in projects as diverse as classrooms, office spaces and even youth centres.
THe idea of converting decommissioned containers into flats or offices has also been developed in other European countries.
A historic event: politicians, scientists and practicioners from different continents met to discuss water issues
From Quito to Singapore, from Bonn to Seville or Grenoble : over 100 local elected representatives and water experts from all over Europe and the world met to discuss water management in towns and cities, in Vienna on 9.September 2008.
How can local and regional governments provide good sustainable water management service to the citizens? How to face the challenges of rapid growing population and economic growth and its impact on water management? These were the main issues of the “Local Governments' Day” co-organised by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions in the framework of the world congress of the International water association (IWA). http://www.ccre.org/news_detail_en.htm?ID=1415
Stopping forced evictions
Economic growth and attendant commercial urban development continue to contribute a lot to the problem of forced evictions, the UN-HABITAT Deputy Executive Director Ms. Inga Björk-Klevby said on Monday. Speaking at a meeting of the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions (AGFE), Ms. Björk-Klevby said that the consequence was that the agency had an important role to play in advising governments against forced evictions. “While many governments are signatories to international covenants related to housing rights, the widespread practice of forced eviction, often in the wake of economic growth and attendant commercial urban development, shows that UN-HABITAT has an important role to play in assisting the governments of its member states in avoiding forced evictions through the development of alternative solutions,” she said. The Group was established by UN-HABITAT in 2004 in response to unlawful evictions of squatters, low-income renters, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups with inadequate or no legal security of tenure. The Group reports to the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT and its mandate is to monitor forced evictions and to identify and promote alternatives such as in situ upgrading and negotiated resettlement.
http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=5865&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0
UN-HABITAT and China Development Bank agree on strategic partnership
UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka met with China Development Bank President Mr. Chen Yuan in Beijing today and agreed to establish a strategic partnership between the two organizations to promote finance initiatives for global human settlements.
The two executives said both organizations shared a commitment to promoting low and middle income housing and urban development and agreed to set up a task force to work jointly on priority issues in housing and infrastructure. UN-HABITAT and China Development Bank also agreed to finalise a cooperation agreement which is expected to be signed during the World Urban Forum in Nanjing in November.
The partnership with China Development Bank is a big boost to UN-HABITAT’s mission to advance the Habitat Agenda and to achieve Millennium Development Goals. The bank is one of the largest development banks in the world, with US$400 billion in assets. It is also recognized as a most efficient bank, with a non-performing loan rate of less than 0.6 percent. The bank is particularly strong in housing and urban development finance.
Mrs. Tibaijuka invited Mr. Yuan, who presented her with a China Development Book, to attend the World Urban Forum in Nanjing.
What reforms for Europe's local and regional authorities? A CEMR seminar
How are Europe's local and regional authorities organised? What are their competences and role? What reforms are under way and why? These issues will be addressed at a seminar organised by the Council of European.Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), Local Government Denmark and Danish Regions, in Copenhagen on 1 October 2008.
The seminar is open to CEMR's members; its main aim is to identify the local and regional reform processes in a number of European countries. It will also aim to assess the main trends for the future as well as whether some reforms in a country can be implemented in others.
Four sessions are on the agenda: the reform in Denmark and in Northern Europe, a France/United Kingdom comparative analysis, the situation in (semi)federal countries such as Belgium, Spain, Spain and Germany, as well as a final session to identify conclusions and any experience to be shared between different countries.
The changes in local and regional authorities will also be the theme of a parallel session at CEMR's general assembly from 22 to 24 April in Malmö (Sweden).
http://www.ccre.org/docs/copenhagen_seminar_programme_oct_2008_en.pdf
UN-HABITAT in World Water Week appeal for global sanitation drive
As more than 2,000 water experts from 140 countries world gathered in Stockholm on Monday for the 18th annual World Water Week convention, HRH Prince of Orange, congratulated delegates for helping reduce the number of people around the world without access to water and sanitation.
In a keynote address at the opening plenary, the Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, who serves as Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General´s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, said that their years their work to achieve Target 10 of the Millennium Development Goals on halving the number of people without access to safe drinking water by 2015 was now starting to pay off.
"The number of people living without a supply of improved drinking water has now dropped well below one billion!" he said to loud applause. "More than half the global population now have piped water to their homes and the number of people using unimproved water supplies continues to decline. That is thanks to your hard work." He thanked the Stockholm International Water Institute for emphasising sanitation in its conference theme this year – Progress and Prospects on Water: for a clean and healthy world with special focus on sanitation. Like other speakers, he was quick to say that billions of people still lack access to safe drinking water, many suffering ill health because of poor sanitation, at a time the worsening food crisis vies with bio-energy for land and water resources, and when climate change shakes the overall global water balance. He pledged to continue raising awareness of the 2008 International Year of Sanitation both with the public and with world leaders at major gatherings such as the Group of Eight, and the UN's own review summit of progress on the Millennium Development Goals scheduled in September.
Hundreds of cities across Europe set to take part in the 7th edition of this annual Europe-wide campaign
On 16-22 September 2008, hundreds of European cities will participate in the 7th edition of the European Mobility Week (EMW) and will invite their citizens to take part in a wide range of activities dedicated to the promotion of sustainable mobility. The central theme for this year's edition is ‘Clean Air for All'. Through this campaign, local authorities are encouraged to take actions on unsustainable modes of transport to improve air quality at the local level, while citizens are urged to consider ways in which to change their day-to-day mobility behaviour in order to reduce CO2 emissions. As a specific outcome of the campaign, several cities across Europe will celebrate the occasion with a car-free day. Highlighting the importance of theme set for the 2008 EMW, European Commissioner for Environment, Stavros Dimas, commented: “Pollution from transport is a major contributor to poor air quality in European cities and this has a serious impact on the health of our citizens. By raising the public’s awareness of alternative options, this initiative will contribute to a more sustainable future for our cities and a better quality of life for those who live in them.”
http://www.eurocities.org/include/lib/sql_news_card.php?id=1371
Mayor of London launches 'world-first' strategy to prepare London for climate change
London’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy outlines the impact that past and present carbon emissions will have on London’s climate. It shows that currently our city is not designed to cope with the predicted changes. The launch of the strategy comes weeks after the Government’s chief scientist advised that the UK needs to adapt to increased average global temperatures of four degrees.
By the end of the century, winters will become warmer suggesting a traditional white Christmas might happen just once in a Londoner's lifetime. The rising temperatures will mean new and exotic flora and fauna in London which are more commonly seen in Mediterranean climates.
http://www.c40cities.org/news/news-20080829.jsp
 |
 |