News Archives

September Headlines - click to see the full story

30/9/2009 - London boroughs win funding to develop low carbon zones
30/9/2009 - Announcing winners of Habitat Scroll of Honour Awards
30/9/2009 - A new online community for Mobility Management
29/9/2009 - European Urban Safety Conference
29/9/2009 - EU to promote clean energy with 'smart cities'
28/9/2009 - Europe's big cities celebrate 'Car Free Day'
28/9/2009 - CIVITAS Forum 2009: One of Europe's foremost events on sustainable urban mobility and transport issues
28/9/2009 - Future-oriented Mobility: Integrative Concepts for the Alpine Space
27/9/2009 - Call for proposal - EFUS
26/9/2009 - Poor urban planning partly to blame for West Africa flooding
25/9/2009 - Cape Town's Green Fleet Wins Award
25/9/2009 - French association of CEMR calls for modern town twinning, suited to 21st century
25/9/2009 - UN-HABITAT backs innovative funding for eastern Europe
24/9/2009 - Emergency ambulance: when two wheels are faster than four...
24/9/2009 - “Clean and safe places are creating a climate of fear”
23/9/2009 - Take part in the European Local Democracy Week
23/9/2009 - Tears of joy as Nairobi slum dwellers move
22/9/2009 - Culture as a catalyst of economic and social innovation for cities
22/9/2009 - Extra security cameras in the City of Brussels
21/9/2009 - Wikiplanning a City
20/9/2009 - Top 100 Urban Thinkers
19/9/2009 - Transportation and Health Toolkit
18/9/2009 - New Smart Growth Guide for Coastal and Waterfront Communities
18/9/2009 - Resilient Cities 2010
17/9/2009 - Nigerian police, experts discuss urban safety
17/9/2009 - EUROCITIES Environment Forum in Rotterdam
16/9/2009 - Town twinning: Applications are open until 30 September
16/9/2009 - Mobility in cities is a key challenge for Europe
16/9/2009 - EU Agency for Fundamental Rights launches Diversity Day 2009 website
15/9/2009 - Procura+ Campaign Growing Fast
14/9/2009 - "If I were a mayor..." - An initiative from Kosovo
14/9/2009 - Ultra-Green Models for a Sustainable Future: are Eco-Cities building a Comeback?
13/9/2009 - UN-HABITAT renews cooperation with Israel
12/9/2009 - City for Children Award: make your best projects known!
11/9/2009 - WHO Launches Global Campaign for Urban Health
10/9/2009 - Expats in Brussels: "a separate community"
9/9/2009 - Incheon Declaration: Protect Urban Water
8/9/2009 - Tackling the financial crisis by a new deal for affordable housing
7/9/2009 - Remaking Sustainable Cities in the Vertical Age
7/9/2009 - Walkable Neighborhoods Boost City Home Values
6/9/2009 - Professionals discuss city planning
5/9/2009 - Urban economies often aren’t resilient enough
4/9/2009 - "Artificial trees" to decarbonise the planet
4/9/2009 - UN-HABITAT scales up its work in the occupied Palestinian territory
3/9/2009 - 100 Days: UN Calls For Signatures For Action On Climate Change
2/9/2009 - €164.1 million to help European public administrations communicate
1/9/2009 - UN-HABITAT scales up its work in the occupied Palestinian territory
1/9/2009 - 100 Days: UN Calls For Signatures For Action On Climate Change
1/9/2009 - €164.1 million to help European public administrations communicate

London boroughs win funding to develop low carbon zones
Ten London (United Kingdom), boroughs have won funding to develop low-carbon zones, with schemes ranging from "energy doctors" to solar panels for schools and electric car charging points.
Barking Town Centre (Barking and Dagenham), Muswell Hill (Haringey), Archway (Islington), Brixton (Lambeth), Lewisham Town Centre (Lewisham), Wandle Valley (Merton), Ham and Petersham (Richmond upon Thames), Peckham (Southwark), Hackbridge (Sutton) Queen's Park (Westminster) will be awarded at least £200,000 to pioneer energy efficiency and carbon reduction measures in the capital.
The low-carbon neighbourhoods cover 13,000 homes, around 1,000 shops and businesses, 20 schools, a hospital, places of worship and community centres, and each has a target to deliver emissions savings of 20.12 percent on current levels by 2012. Boris Johnson, Mayor of ICLEI member city London says, "There was a high calibre of bids from across the boroughs and it was a difficult choice, but the winning entries are championing the latest technologies, which will help us become a leading low-carbon city."

Announcing winners of Habitat Scroll of Honour Awards
The awards, considered the most significant prize in the field of human settlements, will be presented during the global observances being held in Washington DC in conjunction with US Department of Housing and Urban Department (HUD).
In keeping with tradition, this year’s winners of the Habitat Scroll of Honour come from diverse backgrounds and continents. Those feted include a Canadian human settlements guru awarded posthumously for his work in advancing sustainable urbanisation and a project in a small South African town that has changed the lives of the inhabitants for the better by improving access to healthcare, water and electricity.
The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day. The idea is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat. http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=7289&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0

A new online community for Mobility Management
Experts of Mobility Management have launched the European Community for Mobility Management, Allinx, at the occasion of MAX project final conference on 16 September in Krakow.
The Allinx network gives experts on Mobility Management a new tool to exchange documents or best practices and share opinions on Mobility Management issues.
To register and join the Mobility Management community, visit the website. http://www.allinx.eu/

European Urban Safety Conference
The city of Solna, Sweden, a new member of our network, will host a European conference focused on safety issues, on October 26th and 27th. The aim of the conference which is organised with the support of EFUS, is to offer a forum for transfer of knowledge and exchange of experience on various aspects of urban safety and in particular on urban development & safety, and large sports events. Visit the website http://europeanurbansafetyconference.blogspot.com/

EU to promote clean energy with 'smart cities'
The EU's bid for leadership in green technologies will focus on developing a network of "smart cities" to demonstrate renewable and other low-carbon energies in Europe. The recommendations are featured in a draft communication setting out funding for the EU's Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan). The EU executive is concerned that Europe is investing four times less in energy research and technology development than it did in the 1980s when faced with the oil crisis. It hopes that long-awaited funding proposals for the SET Plan will speed up the market uptake of low-carbon technologies that already exist, but are still too expensive to compete with fossil fuels.
The Commission argues that billions will need to be invested in basic research over the next decade to get the Union back up to speed with the US, which has dedicated around €555 million to energy research for the next five years. "Without a similar effort, Europe will eventually fall behind as new discoveries overtake current technologies," the communication says. One of the biggest investments that the Commission wants to make is to select 25 to 30 European cities to pioneer green technologies by 2020.
"These 'Smart Cities' will be the nuclei from which smart networks, a new generation of buildings and alternative transport means, will develop into Europe-wide realities that will transform our energy system," the document states. The cities would become champions of energy efficiency and renewable energy, where electric cars are fuelled with renewables produced in the buildings for their electricity needs. The Commission hopes to start with " low-carbon zones" and move onto low-carbon cities and regions.
Moreover, the proposal foresees large-scale development of other low-carbon technologies. The EU should build 5-10 new testing facilities for new wind turbine components and up to 10 demonstration projects of next generation turbines, the draft states. This would aid the necessary move to offshore wind energy production, helping the bloc to produce up to a fifth of its electricity needs from wind in 2020, it says. To tap into unlimited solar energy resources, the Commission foresees five pilot photovoltaic plants and 10 "first-of-a-kind" concentrated solar power plants to bring down costs and improve efficiencies.
Moreover, the plan foresees large-scale demonstration of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, up to 30 bioenergy plants and deployment of new generation of nuclear reactors in Europe. The publication of the funding plan has been postponed several times, but sources expect it to be unveiled around the SET Plan summit organised by the Swedish EU Presidency on 21-22 October in Stockholm.

Europe's big cities celebrate 'Car Free Day'
European Mobility Week closed on 22 September with a 'Car Free Day' held by hundreds of cities across Europe
EUROCITIES’ Mobility Forum members Brussels, Gothenburg, Ljubljana and Murcia led the way in organising innovative campaigning activities during EMW 2009 to promote sustainable travel to their citizens.
http://www.eurocities.eu/include/lib/sql_news_card.php?id=1590

CIVITAS Forum 2009: One of Europe's foremost events on sustainable urban mobility and transport issues
19 - 21 October 2009 Krakow, Poland
The Future of Urban Mobility: 2050
Organised for the 7th consecutive year, the CIVITAS Forum 2009 turns the spotlight onto the challenges for the future of urban mobility in Europe. The CIVITAS Forum is the main reference point of the CIVITAS Initiative - an initiative of DG Transport of the European Commission - for cleaner and better transport in European cities.
The Forum acts as a platform for dialogue and exchange of views between politicians, academics, experts and urban transport practitioners. This annual conference contributes greatly to the aim of the European Commission in bringing a decisive breakthrough in sustainable urban transport strategies that should make a real difference for the welfare of the European citizen.
Each year the Forum draws up to 400 participants, which include representatives from more than 150 cities from 27 European countries that have formally committed to clean and sustainable urban transport practices. http://www.civitas-initiative.eu/registration_login.phtml?event_id=184

Future-oriented Mobility: Integrative Concepts for the Alpine Space
International Conference within the Framework of the Project CO2NeuTrAlp
29th September, University of Applied Sciences Kempten, Kempten i. Allgäu, Germany
With the international conference, the project partners of the EU Alpine Space project “CO2NeuTrAlp“ intend to create a central platform for the discussion of the potential of renewable energies for alternative propulsion technologies in the transport sector. Both technological and organisational concepts for sustainable mobility – foremost but not only - in the Alpine Space will be presented and debated. A vehicle fleet with electric or biogenous powered passenger cars, trucks, buses, pedelecs and tractors will be made available for demonstration purposes.
Apart from the project partners from France, Italy, Slovenia, Austria and Germany, about 200 international guests are expected, including decision-makers from local authorities, regions and companies, mobility experts, scientists as well as a broad range of public experts.
For further information on the programme please find attached the conference flyer. Please use the online registration at www.co2neutralp.net. Subsequent to the conference we cordially invite you to dinner. Kindly indicate in the registration form if you wish to participate in the dinner.

Call for proposal - EFUS
The EFUS is currently preparing a project on the improvement of urban safety governance processes at local level, with a particular focus on mobility of persons, (migration, tourism...) in the framework of the cooperation Programme "Mediterranean Sea Basin " (ENPI).
This programme concerns regions from the European Union and partner countries placed along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea : www.enpicbcmed.eu.
If you are geographically eligible and wish to take part in this project, please contact fesu@urbansecurity.org before October 10th.

Poor urban planning partly to blame for West Africa flooding
The Voice of America reports on calls for improved urban planning to reduce the disaster risk of flooding in Western Africa, citing in one case that 'wild urbanism' has been blamed for downtown flooding in Dakar.
Poor urban planning is partly to blame for flooding in West Africa that is affecting nearly 600,000 people. Some people in low-lying areas are being resettled.
More than half of those affected by this rainy season's flooding in West Africa are in Burkina Faso and Senegal. And most of them live in urban areas where poor drainage and unenforced zoning laws are compounding the problem.
Burkina Faso's heaviest rains in 90 years have made more than 150,000 people homeless. Most now live in schools and community centers around the capital, Ouagadougou.
Prime Minister Tertius Zongo is asking the international community for more than $150 million to drain that flood water and resettle thousands of families away from areas prone to flooding.
Elizabeth Byrs, of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, says flooding has been made worse by poor urban planning.
http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/news/v.php?id=11130&pid:50

Cape Town's Green Fleet Wins Award
The Electricity Department impressed the judges with its 'green' innovations in managing its fleet of 740 vehicles. These range from off-road utility vehicles, sedans, vans and heavy trucks.
By implementing a comprehensive maintenance strategy underpinned by 'green' solutions, the technical support services team achieved a massive 22% reduction in fuel usage, despite a 9% increase in fleet size.
Simple innovations, such as the decision not to repaint all new standard issue white vehicles in yellow, resulted in cost savings of thousands of rands. The City also installed a satellite vehicle tracking system, enabling managers to keep tabs on every single vehicle in the fleet and affording extra protection to employees. Particular attention was given to poor driving habits such as harsh acceleration and unnecessary trips. A network of vehicle repair companies was also mapped across the entire city so that broken down vehicles can be taken to the nearest agent. This helped to minimize vehicle downtime, cut down on excessive mileage and drastically reduced fuel consumption.
Gas analyzers were introduced to ensure the vehicles complied with emission limits. Of the 358 vehicles tested, 95% passed. Those that failed the test were repaired and re-tested.
The City is planning to replicate these innovative green practices in the Electricity Department across the City of Cape Town's entire fleet of 6 000 vehicles.

French association of CEMR calls for modern town twinning, suited to 21st century
The need to revitalise town twinning was the recurrent theme of speeches at the national meeting on twinning and partnerships, held in Tours on 11 and 12 September 2009. The event was organised by CEMR's French association (AFCCRE).
From the opening, speakers seemed to speak with one voice with AFCCRE president Louis Le Pensec stating that rarely has the gap between the EU and its citizens been so wide, however town twinning can help narrow that gap... provided twinning is modernised. The French Minister for European Affairs Pierre Lelouche also spoke of the need to make twinning more dynamic.
The need to find a way to make twinning fit for the 21st century was visibly on everybody's mind; CEMR secretary general Jeremy Smith spoke of the need to renew the concept of town twinning: What we need is twinning partnerships on practical, concrete themes, more flexible twinnings within the EU but also with partners in the neighborhood of the EU and elsewhere in the world.

UN-HABITAT backs innovative funding for eastern Europe
Facing financial turmoil, countries of central, eastern and southeast Europe have asked UN-HABITAT’s support for innovative funding solutions for affordable housing.
The request was made at a meeting of members of the Advisory Council to the UN-HABITAT Warsaw Office gathered in Warsaw, Poland for its Third Session on 7 September 2009. The meeting was an opportunity to analyze the Office’s programme of work for the biennium 2009-2010 and share opinions on the global economic crisis and its consequences in the housing sector as well as on statements concerning important issues of territorial cohesion, European Union (EU) urban policy and the EU Eastern Partnership.
http://mirror.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=7272&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0

Emergency ambulance: when two wheels are faster than four...
While we are familiar with ambulance cars and trucks with lights and siren, seeing a paramedic on two wheels is still a novelty.
The London ambulance service has set up a team of 60 staff trained to operate in busy areas which.are difficult to travel through in a car or ambulance. Staff on bikes can easily get through narrow streets, pedestrian areas and shopping centres. They are able to provide the initial treatment before the ambulance arrives.
Riders have equipment designed to enable them to respond to emergency calls: a custom-built bicycle, medical kit and specialist clothing. The bikes are fitted with blue lights and a siren.
The bicycle response unit also operates at Heathrow airport. Bikes are the quickest way to get to a casualty through a crowded passenger terminal according to the London Ambulance Service. The team now operates across all 5 terminals and deals with an average of four hundred calls a month. Patrols could be used for London's Olympic sites in 2012.
A similar service has been developed by the Red Cross in Luxembourg and Italy.

“Clean and safe places are creating a climate of fear”
‘Cities should be clean and safe’. Probably every local politician has uttered these words at least once in his career. In today’s age of growing attention on safety and security, this might not be surprising. There seems to be a rising fear of crime among urban residents, even though, in most places, crime rates have actually fallen over the past few years. In her book ‘Ground Control: Fear and Happiness in the 21st-Century City’, journalist Anna Minton explores this increased focus on security and safety in the city. By studying examples of regeneration projects set up along the lines of ‘the architecture of extreme capitalism’ in the United Kingdom, she discovers that this focus may actually not be the solution. It may rather be the main problem. “Clean and safe places are creating a climate of fear,” she claims. “We therefore have to think about the reasons why people feel unsafe and what role the privatisation of public space and the spread of private property play in this respect.”
Over the years, Anna Minton has gathered great knowledge about social policy, urban planning and economics. Working for various magazines and newspapers, including a planning magazine and the Financial Times, urban development became a familiar topic for her. When she left daily newspaper journalism and turned to writing longer reports and papers for think tanks and policy organisations, her interest in certain urban affairs grew even further. She wrote several reports about mixed communities, the privatisation of public space and gated developments. All these experiences combined resulted in the book proposal for her book ‘Ground Control’, recently published by Penguin.
http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2009/09/interview-anna-minton_1034.html

Take part in the European Local Democracy Week
Municipalities of 47 Council of Europe member states are invited to develop activities on how to respond to global challenges at local level.
The activities will take place in the framwork of the “European Local Democracy Week” (ELDW) around 15 October. Simultaneous national and local events will be organised by participating local authorities in all Council of Europe member States. The purpose is to foster the knowledge of local democracy and promote the idea of democratic participation at a local level. http://www.coe.int/t/congress/demoweek/default_EN.asp?

Tears of joy as Nairobi slum dwellers move
John Kiarie was ecstatic. For the first time in his life he was going to live in a self contained house with running water and electricity.
“I never imagined that I would one day live in a house like this. Just imagine, my wife and I will no longer have to share one room with my children and now I will have running water and electricity,” he enthused.
Mr. Kiarie was one of the 1,300 people who moved from slum shacks to modern apartments built in partnership between the government of Kenya and UN-HABITAT. The scheme under the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme saw residents of one part of Kibera slums move to new high rise flats.
Kenya’s Prime Minister who is also the area member of parliament Raila Odinga, also shared in his constituents’ joy saying that it was the beginning of good things to come.
“Absence of decent housing means abundance of other problems. Today, we take the first step towards meeting the basic needs and rights of slum dwellers and saying no to slum related problems. This is an initial step towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals,” said Mr. Odinga while helping some of the residents move their meager belongings.
Odinga was all praises for UN-HABITAT saying the agency had made what once appeared a distant dream, a reality.
http://mirror.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=7281&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0

Culture as a catalyst of economic and social innovation for cities
A large-scale study carried out for the European Commission by KEA on ‘The impact of culture on creativity’ reveals the contribution of creativity that stems from art and cultural production activities (collectively referred to as ‘culture-based creativity’) to innovation.
Using concrete examples from different sectors and parts of Europe, the study illustrates synergies and positive spill-over effects produced by culture through the creativity it generates in a range of areas including in the modernisation of public services and city branding.
The study calls for a European creativity policy that would, among others things, encourage imagination and talents at schools, in life, in firms and institutions, support the development of a creative economy, promote social innovation through culture and brand Europe as the place to create in the world. It also proposes to establish a ‘creativity index’ that would assess the creative environment in the EU and therefore enable the development of a creative ecology through art and culture.
The study suggests that European programmes and funds should increase support to creative entrepreneurs, enterprises and research centres, territories using culture as a tool for development, social innovation through culture and cultural cooperation across territories.
http://www.eurocities.eu/include/lib/sql_news_card.php?id=1588

Extra security cameras in the City of Brussels
By 2012, the City of Brussels will have 235 additional security cameras. They will be placed in the police region Brussels-Elsene, which currently already counts 100 cameras. The police hopes that the new cameras will provide higher-quality footage, so that crimes such as the attack on Joe van Holsbeek, a 17 year-old teenager who was murdered at Brussels Central Station in 2006, can be countered and solved more efficiently.
The extra security cameras in Brussels should help police officers with various tasks such as analysing traffic junctions, observing large manifestations and improving surveillance in the city.
According to the police, the extra cameras will not create privacy problems, as watching private homes would be technically impossible.
The expansion of the security camera network will cost 8 million Euros - 34.000 Euros per camera.

Wikiplanning a City
As part of their Envision 2040 process, the City of San José is soliciting user input through a web-based wiki.
"At the heart of the wikiplanning project is a 19-question survey, the results of which will guide city officials as they make development decisions under the Envision San Jose 2040 plan. The survey is open to anyone with a Web browser at www.wikiplanning.org. Once there, all that's required is an e-mail address and a not-so-secret password, which a San Jose press release said was "2040." By completing the survey, users are eligible to win prizes offered by local cultural organizations." http://www.govtech.com/719878

Top 100 Urban Thinkers
The poll was active for one month, from August 7th to September 7th, 2009. Planetizen, who organised the poll, would never claim that this is a definitive list; voters were given free reign to submit and vote for whomever they liked. The thinkers that are here are a fascinating bunch, ranging from planners of the past like Baron Haussmann, the civic planner that changed the face of Paris in the 19th century, to active thinkers of today like Scott Bernstein, President and Co-Founder of the Center for Neighborhood Technology. http://www.planetizen.com/topthinkers

Transportation and Health Toolkit
The Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership offers the Transportation & Health 101 Toolkit to help health advocates better understand transportation issues and their related health connections, and help inform transportation advocates on the importance of health in their work.
Crafted by researchers and national experts, this toolkit presents an overview of transportation policy and planning, the connections between transportation and health as well as policy opportunities to create healthy transportation options. Much of this content was originally prepared for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting, Linking Transportation Policy and Public Health, in November 2008.
The focus of many of these documents is on federal transportation policy. The Federal Transportation Reauthorization Act, a large bill that passes through Congress every six to seven years, sets federal transportation policies and provides funding for state and local projects.
The Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership is a collaboration of funders who have come together with the shared goal of changing policies and environments to better achieve the vision of healthy people living in healthy places.
http://www.convergencepartnership.org/site/c.fhLOK6PELmF/b.4950415/k.4FF7/Transportation_and_Health_Toolkit.htm

New Smart Growth Guide for Coastal and Waterfront Communities
With more than half of the nation living in coastal counties, which also have 180 million visitors a year, the U.S. EPA, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Rhode Island Sea Grant Program, assisted by the Smart Growth Network (SGN), released a joint ''Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities'' guide, to increase their awareness of and ability to confront rising sea levels, stronger hurricanes, floods, and other climate change threats.
''We're working to protect the extraordinary natural resources at the heart of recreational and economic opportunities in waterfront and coastal communities,'' said EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water Michael H. Shapiro. ''This new guide -- the first of its kind -- will help coastal and waterfront communities implement Smart Growth and sustainable development strategies, protect beneficial natural resources, and ensure that we are prepared for the environmental and economic challenges of the years ahead.''
http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7257&state=52

Resilient Cities 2010
1st World Congress on Cities and Adaptation to Climate Change Bonn, Germany, 28-30 May 2010
ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability and the City of Bonn are pleased to announce the congress Resilient Cities 2010, the Annual Global Forum on Urban Resiliency and Adaptation to Climate Change.
A great opportunity that shouldn't be missed for partners from all sectors to share experiences and research outcomes, to overcome knowledge gaps and to discuss and identify jointly solutions and impulses for innovation.
Registration to the Congress and on-line call for papers submission will both be available in October 2009.
More information will soon be available on www.iclei.org/bonn2010

Nigerian police, experts discuss urban safety
Over 200 Nigerian police officers are gathered in Abuja for a training aimed at bettering their skills in maintaining law and order in urban areas.
The three day Safer Cities Expert Group meeting on Policing Urban Spaces that is hosted by the Nigeria Police, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and UN-HABITAT is also being attended by 20 International experts, police commissioners as well as youth and civil society organizations.
Officially opening the function, Mr. Ibrahim Y. Lame, Minister of Police Affairs, Federal Ministry of Police Affairs, Federal Republic of Nigeria said: In order to enhance the mobility and social cohesion in urban spaces, local authorities and police as well the community should work hand in hand, to reduce opportunities for committing crime and violence, and that security does not only work with the police but, with community participation". http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=7259&catid=5&typeid=6&subMenuId=0

EUROCITIES Environment Forum in Rotterdam
The EUROCITIES Environment Forum (EEF), taking place in Rotterdam from 4-6 October 2009, is inviting both public and private organisations to attend the meeting. Participants will gather to discuss transition management and public-private partnerships for a sustainable society.
Climate change and a decreasing supply of fossil fuels demand a sustainable transition management from a fossil-based economy to a sustainable energy society. Private and public partners are needed to achieve this goal. The question is how to establish well working, functional public-private partnerships.
What are the factors that lead to a successful transition, and what factors prevent this from happening? How can city authorities get private partners involved in the transition process, and how can enough finance be secured to complete the transition successfully? Professor Michael Braungart from the Erasmus University will give a keynote speech on this topic. Recommendations will be discussed in smaller teams.
http://www.eurocities.eu/include/lib/sql_news_card.php?id=1583

Town twinning: Applications are open until 30 September
Municipalities and cities are invited to submit online applications to set up town twinning project focused on citizenship or thematic networking. Applications must be sent to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive.Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission until 30 September 2009. http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/citizenship/funding/2009/index_en.php
The Executive Agency has set a new deadline for the online applications under Action 1, measures 1.1 and 1.2 (“Town Twinning citizens meetings” and “Thematic Networking of Twinned Towns”). The deadline has been postponed to 30 September 2009, (instead of 1 September) in order to leave more time to project holders to send their application.
The Executive Agency also stipulates also that the form is available in English only for the time being (the online forms in German and French should be available soon) but it can still be filled out “in any of the official languages of the European Union”.

Mobility in cities is a key challenge for Europe
Improving mobility within, to and from our cities is of major importance both for Europe’s competitiveness and for Europeans’ quality of life. This point was central to the comments made by EUROCITIES' keynote speakers at the Green Streets conference held in Brussels this week.
Addressing around 200 participants at the launch of the ‘Green Streets’ two-day conference supported by EUROCITIES, Rudolf Schicker (pictured here), Executive City Councillor for Urban Development, Traffic, and Transport at the City of Vienna commented:
“While the EU should provide cities with guidance and financial support, local administrations are best placed to implement European Commission policy measures which promote green transport. City governments should be recognised for their capacity to manage key components of the strategic transport system as well as to catalyse EU-wide sustainable mobility and growth”.
Three quarters of Europe’s population is urban and according to the Commission, that figure will have risen to 84% by 2050. Cities are therefore at the centre of the climate change challenge. According to EUROCITIES’ Secretary General Paul Bevan, also speaking at the event:
“City governments have to strive hard to reach that greener goal, and using energy more efficiently in how we live, work and travel in cities is the key to reducing our carbon footprint”. http://www.eurocities.eu/include/lib/sql_news_card.php?id=1586

EU Agency for Fundamental Rights launches Diversity Day 2009 website
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has launched a new website promoting Diversity Day 2009. Celebrating diversity, promoting equality and fighting discrimination will take centre stage at this event on 3 December 2009 at Vienna City Hall. This is the third time that this event, open to young people, teachers, NGOs, institutions and associations, has been organised by the FRA in co-operation with the City of Vienna and the Viennese School Authority.
Visit the Diversity Day 2009 website - http://www.diversityday.eu/en.html

Procura+ Campaign Growing Fast
In August LIPOR – the Intermunicipal Waste Management Agency of Greater Porto (Serviço Intermunicipalizado de Gestão de Resíduos do Grande Porto )- joined the Procura+ Campaign, raising the total number of Portuguese participants in the Campaign to three.
LIPOR was founded in 1982 and is in charge of the management, recovery and treatment of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) produced by its eight partner municipalities. The agency is following a sustainable development strategy and has been involved in several sustainability activities, such as the development of a guide for “Best practices for the Sustainable Consumption” and the promotion of “Sustainable Consumption Policies”.
Together with its 29 participants the Procura+ Campaign works on implementing sustainable public procurement. Public authorities interested to join the network can obtain more information online at www.procuraplus.org.

"If I were a mayor..." - An initiative from Kosovo
The Association of Kosovo Municipalities (AKM) has run a competition entitled "If I was a mayor".
The main idea was to improve citizens' participation by asking them what they would do - and how, if they were the mayor of their town. The criteria for marking were leadership role, delivering quality services and citizen's participation.
The association as released a publication with the ten winning entries. Hopefully, mayors and other local leaders can use this publication for their own and their citizens' benefit, says the chair of AKM Bajram Rexhepi.
The project was supported by the Council of Europe. http://www.komunat-ks.net/dokumentat/20090903_140248_2.pdf

Ultra-Green Models for a Sustainable Future: are Eco-Cities building a Comeback?
Plans to construct "eco-cities" around the world were stunted by the recession. With economies slowly getting back on track, green developments are again luring governments and investors.
The global recession put a damper on what are known as eco-cities, or big real estate developments that dramatically cut carbon emissions. The most notable delay has affected a major project planned for Dongtan, outside Shanghai. But with the recession easing and oil prices rising, plans to build such ultragreen model cities seem to be reviving.
Well-known projects such as the government-funded Masdar city in Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam's "smart city " are continuing. Meanwhile a host of other efforts from Finland to Arizona are in the works, many with a mix of government and private funding.
In July, for example, the first tenant moved into Eco City Hamburg-Harburg, just outside the German city of Hamburg. The project, developed by the global design firm tecArchitecture and engineering firm ARUP, is branded as a " sustainable creative-industrial environment." Its aim is to bring "large-scale industry and creative startups together in one cooperative and eco-friendly business community," its Web site says. Spaces range from studios to large warehouse and production facilities, which will house offices, hotels, retail spaces, and restaurants. Harburg is funded by private equity with some government loan assistance. Developers have already shelled out €25 million ($35 million) of the €120 million projected cost. http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2009/09/Are-Eco-Cities-Building-a-Comeback-_1020.html

UN-HABITAT renews cooperation with Israel
UN-HABITAT and Israel’s National Agency for International Development Cooperation – MASHAV have renewed their cooperation agreement.
At a ceremony at the weekend held at the Nairobi residence of Israeli ambassador to Kenya Mr. Jacob Keidar, UN-HABITAT Executive Director Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka and the Isareli Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Avigdor Lieberman appended their signatures to the document.
The new Memorandum of Understanding is a follow up to a similar one Mrs. Tibaijuka signed when she visited Israel in 2005, when both parties agreed to collaborate on training urban professionals, development of training methods and tools, and sharing good practice.
In her speech, Mrs. Tibaijuka disclosed that since the 2005 MoU, “we have come a long way in the implementation of the MoU. We began collaborating through the involvement of an Israeli expert in our training activities. The first such activity where a MASHAV expert participated in our training took place in May 2006 in Nyeri, Kenya. This was a training course on "Local Economic Development" for practitioners from Eastern Africa,”.
The Executive Director said the agreement had developed into a higher form of collaboration where the Weitz Centre of Development Studies, based in Rhovot, Israel, and UN-HABITAT staff began exchanging information on their training activities. The centre started tapping into UN-HABITAT’s network and database for selecting course participants. This first happened in October 2006, when Weitz Centre for Development Studies conducted a course on “Municipal Planning and Service Delivery Systems” for participants from the East and South African region.

City for Children Award: make your best projects known!
European cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants are invited to apply to the European Award of Excellence "City for Children 2010". Deadline for application is 7 December 2009.
For the 2010 Award, the following topic has been selected: “Informal Education”. Every city may apply with one flagship project. The submitted project must however already have been implemented in the municipality.
The main goals of the prize are to provide an incentive to compare, develop and evaluate best-practice examples, stimulate the exchange of experience, support the respective cities in their activities.
The selection process will be performed by a panel of experts and representatives of the initiators. The Network Cities for Children is represented by the City of Tampere, Finland.
Applications must be submitted in English.
The award is an initiative from the City of Stuttgart. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and the Committee of the Regions support the network as patrons. http://www.citiesforchildren.eu/

WHO Launches Global Campaign for Urban Health
The World Health Organisation has launched an international campaign to promote urban health. The campaign '1000 Cities 1000 Lives' aims to gather 1000 cities around the world to closing off parts of their streets to traffic during the week of April 7-11 2010 for healthy activities such as biking and walking.
The 1000 cities 1000 lives campaign provides a platform to bring communities together towards a common goal united around health – municipal authorities, civic groups, and individuals. It is also an opportunity for people to enjoy exercise, music and being outdoors with friends and neighbours. Local businesses can enjoy increased sales, and all can enjoy the sense of community the day will bring.
Cities can sign up for the WHO campaing via the internet. Winning cities will be profiled at World Expo in Shanghai 2010
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2010/en/index.html

Expats in Brussels: "a separate community"
How are Brussels expats perceived in the Belgian capital? Who are they? A new study from the academic journal Brussels Studies published on 31 August addresses these issues.
Brussels is a multicultural and cosmopolitan city with around 70 languages spoken. Its population is one million inhabitants, over half of them is estimated of foreign origin. High-skilled expats working for the European institutions and related entities such as national and regional representations, NGOs, consultancies and other civil society organisations number around 100,000, which represents 10% of the city's population.
According to Brussels Studies, these expats are usually highly-educated, job-driven and are well-paid. They are very sociable and generally young, but only live in the city for short periods. Moreover, they gather in an international community, have minimal contact with Belgians and often cannot speak French or Dutch, partly because they intend to stay in the city for a limited period.
As for the native Bruxellois, many see expats as "privileged" and are annoyed by the changes to the urban architecture and the increase in real-estate prices that their presence in the city entails, according to the study. They are perceived by locals as a "separate community" of high-salaried, but this perception is an effect of the incorrect correlation between EU institution officers and expats.

Incheon Declaration: Protect Urban Water
The World City Water Forum 2009 initiated and hosted by Incheon Metropolitan City, Korea was successfully held on August 18-21, 2009 in Incheon, Korea.
The Forum, attended by more than 1,000 participants including mayors, political leaders, specialists, CEO of businesses and futurists from around the world spent three-days discussing global water issues under the theme of “ Innovation and Harmony - Water and City”.
The Forum was successful, ending with the reading of the “Incheon Water Declaration” by Mr. Ahn Sang-soo, Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City, on 20 August 2009. The Declaration recommends an ‘ethic of stewardship and resolve to restore urban streams and aquatic ecosystems and to encourage sustainable exploitation of water resources and to pursue eco-efficient water infrastructure systems and to increase the adaptation and resilience of cities in the face of climate change’ (see the Incheon Water Declaration).
The Incheon Water Declaration was drafted by ICLEI and was designed to adopt the UN Millennium Development Goals and Istanbul Water Consensus.

Tackling the financial crisis by a new deal for affordable housing
On the occasion of International Tenants Day /World Habitat Day 2009, 5th October, the International Union of Tenants invites to a public conference in the European Parliament in Brussels.
Theme is “Tackling the financial crisis by a new deal for affordable housing”. The conference is followed by an evening reception in the Salons des Députés in the European Parliament.
The conference and the reception are free of charge. Registration is obligatory. http://www.iut.nu/

Remaking Sustainable Cities in the Vertical Age
CTBUH 2010 World Conference INDIA - Remaking Sustainable Cities in the Vertical Age is slated to convene on 3-5 February, 2010. Renaissance Hotel and Convention Centre, Mumbai, India
CTBUH 2010 will be one of the best delivered events India has ever witnessed in the Real Estate & Infrastructure Industry. Industry leaders all over the globe will gather to disseminate their best knowledge and put together a world class conference that will build a roadmap towards the colossal growth of the Industry.
CTBUH Mumbai 2010 will provide insights on how to re-make existing cities in a sustainable way. This conference will debate urban and policy issues, while also considering what role tall buildings and increased urban density will play. Participants will be given opportunities to learn from an expert speaker panel; network with developers, high-rise building owners, architects, and engineers; and gain knowledge and insights in the latest trends of international skyscraper design and development. With updates on current design and construction industry, new technology and emerging trends, delegates will hear live case studies from well established high-rise developers in the field of sustainable development. http://www.ctbuh2010-india.com/

Walkable Neighborhoods Boost City Home Values
''More than just a pleasant amenity, the walkability of cities translates directly into increases in home values,'' writes Portland, Oregon-based Impresa Inc. principal Joe Cortright in his ''Walking the Walk'' report for the national CEOs for Cities network, having examined ZipRealty data on 93,725 housing transactions in 15 metropolitan markets nationwide along with their Front Seat-provided 100-point Walk Score, and found that each additional point above a neighborhood median boosts home values by $500 to $3,000 in 13 of those markets. ''The premium for a house with an above-average Walk Score ranges from $4,200 in Dallas to more than $30,000 in Chicago, Charlotte, San Francisco and Sacramento,'' he writes, noting that Walk Score uses Google maps to compute distances between home addresses and key destinations in 13 categories, including stores of different types, coffee shops, movie theaters, parks, bars, restaurants, schools, libraries, and fitness venues.
With one point awarded to each closest destination within a one-mile radius, and no points for anything farther away, 100 points means easy access to all amenities and services on foot, at least 75 points reflects opportunities to do without a car, and 0 points suggests full car dependency. http://www.smartgrowth.org/news/article.asp?art=7234&state=52&res=1280

Professionals discuss city planning
A group of 28 urban professionals from 18 countries in Africa, Asia and South America gathered in Nairobi from Monday for the third edition of 'Sustainable Communities' course on how to use city planning as a tool for sustainable development.
The two week Nairobi training marks a further milestone in academic collaboration with the Government of Finland, which in 2005 decided to allocate funding for a series of continuing education courses, to be coordinated by the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) in collaboration with UN-HABITAT, the United Nations Environment Programme, Asian Institute of Technology and University of Nairobi. The first such course was held in Helsinki in 2007 and second in Bangkok in 2008. The course follows up the UN-HABITAT Partner University agreement with Helsinki University of Technology (TKK).
The participants include a balanced representation drawn from academics, NGOs, local authorities and central government agencies. Key course topics include urban environmental management, shelters and settlements, transportation and energy, good governance for sustainable communities; risk and vulnerability reduction; and urban planning and sustainability. The course also applies a highly interactive group work methodology, structured around case studies of Kibera slums in Nairobi and of Kenya's town of Kisumu, stimulating peer-to-peer learning and multi-disciplinary work. Overall, the course has an emphasis on bridging the gap between research and action.

“Urban economies often aren’t resilient enough”
The economic crisis is a great concern to everyone. For months people have been discussing its causes and consequences. Doom scenarios have been envisioned and many fear the worst. According to experts we will suffer the negative effects of the crisis for many years to come. Isn’t there anything that can be done to soften these consequences? As many cities are affected by the economic crisis, they are especially likely to be interested in this question. And it seems there are some answers. Rob van Hilten, working for the Social Trade Organisation (STRO) sees great possibilities for urban economies. “At the moment urban economies often aren’t resilient enough,” van Hilten thinks. According to him the monetary economy should play a much larger role in regional or local policies. STRO has developed a method that may help cities to strengthen their local economies. Currently this method is only applied in Latin America, but the organisation is about to spread its ideas and introduce them in Europe as well. http://www.eukn.org/eukn/news/2009/08/interview-rob-van-hilten_1013.html

"Artificial trees" to decarbonise the planet
Artificial trees to reduce carbon dioxide emissions: this is one of the solutions put forward by engineers from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in a report to "decarbonise" the global economy.
The engineers studied hundreds of different options but have put forward just three as being practical and feasible using current technology. One of the solutions presented in the report is to deploy within 10 to 20 years a forest of 100,000 "artificial trees" to help soak up the world's carbon emissions.
These artificial trees are already at the prototype stage, Dr. Tim Fox told the BBC. They capture carbon dioxide from the air through a filter. The CO2 is then removed from the filter and stored. They could eliminate thousands of times more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the trees of equivalent size.
The authors of the report howether state that artificial trees should be used on a short-term basis. In the long run, it is vital to reduce emissions.

UN-HABITAT scales up its work in the occupied Palestinian territory
Following a resolution adopted by consensus at the 22nd session of UN-HABITAT Governing Council in April 2009 on the Special Human Settlements Programme for the Palestinian People, UN-HABITAT this week started to scale up its activities in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).
Mr. Daniel Biau, Director of the Regional and Technical Cooperation Division (RTCD), and Mr. Alain Grimard, Senior Human Settlements Officer of the Regional Office for Africa and the Arab States (ROAAS) visited the region on 20-24 August 2009 and met with Palestinian officials and partner institutions.
The aim of the visit was to oversee and review UN-HABITAT’s ongoing activities and projects and to discuss the new UN-HABITAT Programme Document (2009-2011) prepared for the occupied territories with different partners.

100 Days: UN Calls For Signatures For Action On Climate Change
The United Nations is calling for millions of online signatures for a climate petition and is launching the first-ever Global Climate Week as part of its Seal the Deal! campaign, 100 days ahead of a crucial UN climate change summit in Copenhagen (COP 15) in December.
Sign the petition - www.sealthedeal2009.org
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is leading the call for communities around the world to take advantage of Global Climate Week from September 21-25 to encourage leaders to seal a fair, balanced and effective agreement on climate change.
"Time is running out. Scientists warn that climate impacts are accelerating. Now more than ever, we need political leadership at the highest level to ensure we protect people and the planet, and to catalyze the green growth that can power the 21st century economy,” the UN Secretary-General stressed.
"With just 15 negotiating days remaining before the start of COP15, now is the time for people in every corner of the world to urge their governments to seal a fair, effective and ambitious deal in Copenhagen,” he added.
http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=1487&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=4105&tx_ttnews[backPid]=983&cHash=824d33c995

The European Union is allocating €164.1 million to support the cooperation between public administrations from EU-27 member states.
This funding is provided by the ISA programme (Interoperability Solutions for European.public administrations) for the period 2010-2015. The Council of Ministers of the EU approved the envelope at a meeting on 27 July. One of the objectives of this grant is to help local and regional government develop the use of new communication technologies.
ISA is one of a series of programs set up by the EU 10 years ago. These programmes aim to facilitate on-line administrative procedures that can vary significantly from country to country and that are available to citizens and the business sector. The programmes also aim to build bridges between national systems in order to facilitate the implementation of Community policies, for example, in the field of the free movement of citizens within EU countries.

€164.1 million to help European public administrations communicate
The European Union is allocating €164.1 million to support the cooperation between public administrations from EU-27 member states.
This funding is provided by the ISA programme (Interoperability Solutions for European.public administrations) for the period 2010-2015. The Council of Ministers of the EU approved the envelope at a meeting on 27 July. One of the objectives of this grant is to help local and regional government develop the use of new communication technologies.
ISA is one of a series of programs set up by the EU 10 years ago. These programmes aim to facilitate on-line administrative procedures that can vary significantly from country to country and that are available to citizens and the business sector. The programmes also aim to build bridges between national systems in order to facilitate the implementation of Community policies, for example, in the field of the free movement of citizens within EU countries.

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