Category: Climate neutral urban development

Space-blind strategies don’t work for COVID-19

Posted on by erik

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recently analysed how cities have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Soo-Jin Kim, Head of the OECD’s Urban Policies and Reviews Unit, calls for locally-adapted solutions now and for the post-COVID era.

Since March 2020, local health authorities have often dominated the headlines. Citizens’ trust in local politicians has significantly increased. Which role have municipalities played so far in responding to the COVID 19 crisis?

Soo-Jin Kim: Since the very beginning of the pandemic, municipalities have not waited for national governments to tell them what to do – they started to act immediately. They have deployed a range of measures to inform the public about necessary measures, ensure that people comply with social distancing and lockdown rules, support the shift to tele-working and take care of the most vulnerable such as the elderly and the poor. They have also worked to keep basic public services running, including the health system, and help the local economy survive the crisis. So I would describe municipalities as ‘essential workers’.

In addition, regardless of the crisis, we should not forget that municipalities are always key public actors. Subnational governments are responsible for an average of 40 per cent of all public spending across OECD countries. In federal states such as Germany or Switzerland, it’s even 50 to 60 per cent!

Insight Sessions: Post-COVID Urban Futures

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The new event series “Insight Sessions: Post-COVID Urban Futures” is part of this year’s Connective Cities Corona programme and facilitates a regular, open exchange on relevant topics of the post-COVID-19 era for municipal practitioners and relevant experts worldwide. Different topics of sustainable urban development during and after the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed and innovative approaches in this regard will be shared in brief and concise virtual exchange formats. The aim of these events is to provide impulses that encourage participants to reflect on their progress so far and think about innovative solutions. The open discussion rounds will take place on Wednesdays once every three weeks. 

We are pleased to invite you to the opening event and first discussion of the Insight Sessions series focusing on the topic “COVID-19 Recovery & SDG 11” on Wednesday, 28 July 2021, from 10:00 to 11:45 a.m. CEST. 

The opening event will start with a brief introduction to this year’s Connective Cities Corona programme. Subsequently, a panel discussion will explore the challenges and opportunities of the COVID-19 crisis for achieving SDG 11 towards making cities more inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. During this panel discussion, municipal practitioners and experts from different urban sectors and world regions will share their diverse perspectives and insights on this topic. The panelists (tbc) are:

  • Faola Hodaj, Director of Innovation, Municipality of Tirana, Albania
  • Karim Elgendy, Sustainable City Strategist, London UK / MENA – Recipient of the 2013 Global Green Building Entrepreneurship Award by the World Green Building Council
  • Aditya Kumar, Executive Director, NGO Development Action Group, Cape Town, South Africa
  • Hilmar von Lojewski, Councillor for Urban Planning, Building, Housing and Traffic, Association of German Cities / Cologne, Germany

 A detailed agenda of the opening event can be found here. The preliminary schedule of the series of Insight Sessions will be shared soon.  The event will take place virtually in the Connective Cities Community: 

Insight Session: COVID-19 Recovery and SDG 11 | Connective Cities Network (connective-cities.net)

Date: Wednesday, the 28th of July 2021

Time: 10:00 – 11:45 a.m. CEST 

Event language: English. Translation available in: Russian, French, Arabic. 

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If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Contact: paulina.koschmieder@giz.de

New working groups in the MENA network: Municipal recovery from the pandemic

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Following the intensive knowledge-exchange program on municipal response to the pandemic that was conducted in 2020 to support the Connective Cities network in MENA, several working groups are being established to sustain the results of the peer learning activities. The working groups consist of municipal representatives and partners from the business sector, civil society, and academia. From a thematic standpoint, the topics under focus are:

  • Waste management and circular economy
  • Digitalisation for resilient cities
  • Biodiversity and environmental protection (kick-off event: August 9, 2021)
  • Crisis management in Palestinian municipalities
  • Social entrepreneurship and local economic development (kick-off event: August 12,2021)

Several meetings and preparatory activities have been conducted to formulate the road map of each working group. The core working group on ‘biodiversity and environmental protection’ has developed and submitted a concept note to the EU Call for Proposals on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Protection in Lebanon. In order to be eligible for this call, an effective consortium was established under the umbrella of Connective Cities network. The consortium members included Saint Joseph University (represented by Dr. Jocelyne Gerard and Dr. Zaarour), Green Line environmental NGO (represented by Dr. Ali Darwish), and Menjez municipality (represented by its Mayor Dr. Georges Yousef). Other potential local authorities’ beneficiaries include Beit Meri, Jezzine, Al Buhayra Union of municipalities, which will join at a later stage of the project.  

We are looking forward to include new members to these working groups. If you would like to be an active member of these working groups, please contact us at: muna.shalan@giz.de

Waste Management in Vushtrri, Kosovo

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The strategy and implementation of waste management in the city of Vushtrri before and during the pandemic

The city of Vushtrri in north-eastern Kosovo, with around 70.000 inhabitants and an area of 345km2, has significantly improved its waste management, waste separation and recycling in the last three years. While about three years ago, only 40 percent of the territory had access to waste disposal, today it is 100 percent. In addition, illegal waste dumpsite has been reduced thanks to the government from 100 to 11.

How could this outstanding achievement be made? In Kosovo, the municipalities are responsible for waste disposal according to the law. Vushtrri cooperates with the company “RWC Uniteti” for this purpose and has provided each house with a waste bin free of charge. Moreover, citizens in remote parts of Vushtrri also pay the same prices for the service as within the city, although the logistics costs are higher. In this way, the city succeeds in protecting vulnerable groups. Another vital component of Vuhsstri’s success is education. Environmental protection and waste management are addressed in all schools, for example, in so-called “Green Clubs” where pupils carry out projects on recycling.

The Covid-19 pandemic posed many challenges to the implementation of waste management in the city of Vushtrri. One challenge was the loss of revenue last year. Shops and businesses that had to close for several months due to the pandemic and families living in difficult socio-economic conditions could not always afford the cost of the waste management service. In addition, the already unstable price for the sale of recycled waste has been erratic and falling.

How did the city respond to this challenging situation? Vushtrri waived the cost of waste management for all families living in difficult socio-economic conditions from March to December 2020. In addition, an online payment system was introduced. Furthermore, the new waste management action plan 2021-2025 will take into account the lessons learned from the pandemic.

Further Information:

Current Situation of the Waste Management System in Vushtrri (pdf, 980 kb)

Recording of the event (Presentation on Vushtrri starts min. 40): Managing solid waste during the pandemic (Only for those registered on the Connective Cities Platform)  https://community.connective-cities.net/node/468

Contact:

Xhafer Tahiri
Mayor
Vushtrri municipality
Republic of Kosovo
xhafer.sh.tahiri@rks-gov.net

Municipal experts wanted: Dialogue event on Covid-19 and urban mobility

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Connective Cities is organising a three-day dialogue event in collaboration with the City of Wiesbaden, Germany, and UN-Habitat on 19th, 20th and 22nd July 2021. The online sessions are scheduled for 3.5 hours (including breaks), from 13:00 to 16:30 CEST.

The event is aimed at municipal actors from Germany and other countries (municipal administrations, municipal enterprises, civil society, business and academia) who are working on the impacts of Covid-19 on urban mobility and looking for innovative solutions for a post-pandemic future. The highly interactive event gives municipal practitioners involved in urban planning or municipal transport the opportunity to discuss projects and ideas, which are currently being implemented or planned in their municipality.

Thematic focus:

  • Sustainable urban logistics: Impulses for green logistics solutions during and after the pandemic;
  • Cycling/bicycle traffic: Reassessing urban space and the role of cycling for urban mobility;
  • Local public transport: Rethinking financing models and regaining passengers’ trust.

If your city is currently working on or wishes to work on different aspects of urban mobility and Covid-19 and you would like to actively participate in the event, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Objectives of the three-day event:

  • Day 1: To share and discuss examples and good practices from German and international municipalities;
  • Day 2: To exchange ideas for solutions through peer-to-peer consultation on identified challenges;
  • Day 3: To jointly develop project ideas for further cooperation in response to these challenges.

The working language of the event is English. Translation into other languages may be provided on demand. Participation is free of charge and the deadline for application is 9th June, 2021. For more information on the event please read the full “Call for Participants” [pdf, 440 kb, 4 pp.].

If you are interested in actively participating and contributing to the event or have any questions, please contact us:

Alice Balbo, Alice.balbo@staedtetag.de, +49 (0)221-3771-573

Nikola Krause, Nikola.krause@engagement-global.de, +49 (0)228-20717-2672

Thiago Garcia, Thiago.garcia@engagement-global.de, +49 (0)228-20717-2633

Streets for all – Glasgow’s new avenues

Posted on by erik

The pandemic has fundamentally changed all our daily lives. Instead of meeting indoors, we meet outside and instead of taking the bus or train, we use the bicycle or sometimes the car. Cities need to respond to this change in population behavior. Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, whose central streets have long been reserved for car traffic, has met this challenge by taking extensive measures to create more space for cyclists and pedestrians and new central green spaces.

During the pandemic, space for cyclists and pedestrians in Glasgow was provisionally separated from the streets with plastic elements, giving them more space. By doing so, the city successfully responded to the new needs of its residents.

But in the long term the streetscapes suffer from the unsightly plastic elements. However, for the quality of life in a city and the well-being of its residents not only the functionality but also the beauty of the city is important. That’s why the long-term avenue strategy in Glasgow’s city center calls for the creation of 21 streets with continuous bicycle and pedestrian paths in combination with extensive greening by 2027. The new avenues will link central locations and better connect adjacent neighborhoods. The greening will beautify the streets, which were often completely concreted before, and more space for pedestrians and cyclists will significantly reduce motorized traffic.

Thus, not only does the functionality of the street adapt to the new needs of the population, but the new avenues are also visually much more attractive. This increases the attractiveness of the location for retailers and the quality of stay in the public space. Combined with new technologies, such as individually controllable LED lighting, the center of Glasgow is thus made fit for the future.

More Information

Glasgows Avenue Strategy & the Role of Beauty in Public Spaces (PDF)

Event Recording (Presentation on Glasgow starts min. 78): COVID-19 – A chance for urban green recovery? (Only for those registered on the Connective Cities Platform)

Contact:

Jamie Shields, Development and Regeneration Services, Glasgow City Council, UK  jamie.shields@glasgow.gov.uk

Paola Pasino, Development and Regeneration Services, Glasgow City Council, UK paola.pasino@glasgow.gov.uk

Municipal Response to COVID-19: Driving Smart City Development

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On 29th of April a virtual workshop on Smart City Development took place as part of the ongoing applied research project “Research of good practices and moderation of virtual events on the subject of health, business and governance at municipal level in times of COVID-19”. 

Workshop centered on overviewing the EU Green Deal Agenda, smart cities models and concepts, as well as advantages of accelerating digitalization processes and financial attraction possibilities in the period of a pandemic.

Approximately 15 participants from Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Philippines, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia took part in the workshop.

The event focused on

  • Presenting the concept of European Green Deal
  • Introducing Smart cities development models and concepts
  • Providing digitalization solutions for municipalities in the pandemic period
  • Highlighting possible sources of financing
  • Providing conclusions and possible next step suggestions

After the event all attendees were given certificates of completion of the workshop.

Program

This virtual event was opened by welcoming remarks made by Dr. Piotr Żuber, Project Team Leader, PMCG. Dr. Żuber provided background information of the workshop and briefly overviewed the agenda. Following the introduction, Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant, advanced into the core sessions.

Two main topics of the sessions were:

  • Smart city development: innovations and key drivers
  • Acceleration of digitalization processes in the pandemic period

After each session, active discussions were held on relevant topics, where participants were given floor to present their practices and share challenges in the Smart City Development processes from their municipalities.

Presentations

European Green Deal and Smart City Development
Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant

Improvement of local actors, project management in Lithuania
Mr. Arunas Grazulis, Expert of Public Policy and European Union programmes

Smart cities development models and concepts
Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant

Digitalization- the future is today
Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant

“ALL-IN-ONE” solution suite for smart municipalities
Mr. Edgaras Engelmanas, Head of Export, IRTC

International practices of the deposit refund system
Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant

Financial attraction possibilities
Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant

Results

During this online workshop representatives from multitudes of municipalities exchanged their experiences and insights in the field of smart city development.

Participants were introduced to topics such as: development of green recovery plan, innovative tools for digitalization and public-private partnership. At the same time attendees were given some recommendations on atracting potential donors and funds as well as tips on steps forward. Contact information of field experts, as well as companies experienced in the field of smart development were given to municipal representatives to support further collaboration opportunities.

The Case for a Green and Just Recovery

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To provide decision-makers with more information on how stimulus packages may affect cities, this report compares how urban greenhouse gas emissions, health and jobs could fare under a green and just recovery compared to a return to a pre-COVID business-as-usual scenario, or a scenario where the world opts to spend stimulus funding on a high-carbon recovery.

The research finds that:

  • Stimulus funding that supports a green and just recovery offers a means to keep global heating below 1.5°C, and could reduce air pollution by as much as 29% between 2020-2030 compared to a return to business-as-usual. In contrast, investing an equivalent amount of stimulus funding in a high-carbon recovery would undoubtedly accelerate global heating.
  • Across the nearly 100 cities in the C40 network and their supply chains, a green and just recovery could also create over 50 million good, sustainable jobs by 2025 – over a third more than would be created by investing equivalent funds into a high-carbon recovery.

This research also shows that the timing of a green and just recovery matters, and presents a clear case for early investment. Modelling of the impacts of an ‘accelerated green recovery’ where faster capital investment enables accelerated climate action over the next five years, compared to a ‘slow green recovery’ where action happens at a slower pace over 15 years, shows that:

  • An ‘accelerated green recovery’ could lead to half the per capita greenhouse gas emissions of a ‘slow green recovery’ by 2030, meaning that an ‘accelerated green recovery’ provides C40 cities with a greater chance of meeting their climate commitments and limiting global heating to 1.5°C.
  • An ‘accelerated green recovery’ could avert almost twice as many premature deaths (1.8 times as many) due to air pollution between 2020 and 2030, compared to a ‘slow green recovery’.
  • Capital investments that are made early on under an ‘accelerated green recovery’ could create over 80 million good, sustainable jobs by 2023, across the nearly 100 cities in the C40 network and their supply chains – more than double a ‘slow green recovery’. At a time of mass unemployment and economic hardship in many parts of the world, generating jobs now will benefit millions of families.

Are we on track for a green recovery? Not Yet

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One year from the onset of the pandemic, recovery spending has fallen short of nations’ commitments to build back more sustainably. An analysis of spending by leading economies, led by Oxford’s Economic Recovery Project and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), finds only 18.0% of announced recovery spending can be considered ‘green.’. The report “Are We Building Back Better? Evidence from 2020 and Pathways for Inclusive Green Recovery Spending” was supported by  the International Monetary Fund and GIZ through the Green Fiscal Policy Network (GFPN).  

It calls for governments to invest more sustainably and tackle inequalities as they stimulate growth in the wake of the devastation wrought by the pandemic.

The most comprehensive analysis of COVID-19-related fiscal rescue and recovery efforts by 50 leading economies so far, the report reveals that only $368bn of $14.6tn COVID-induced spending (rescue and recovery) in 2020 was green.

More: Are we on track for a green recovery? Not Yet – UNEP

Municipal Response to COVID-19 for Sustainable Urban Development in Southeast Europe and Caucasus

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The COVID-19 pandemic tested the robustness and resourcefulness of mostly all municipal services, from transportation and waste management to recreation and communication, pushing cities to reinvent new ways to serve their citizens. Besides, pandemic-centered protocols set new behavioral patterns – many of which were quite stressful for urban economies. Others, on the contrary, made both city leaders and citizens rethink the status-quo regarding sustainability and resilience. They created the opportunity for a green and circular economy to determine the mood of the recovery. Thus, a deep and better understanding of a city’s systems and operation is required in order to move towards sustainable development and greater resilience. If cities manage to learn from the COVID-19 crisis and proactively apply long-term prevention and risk reduction approaches, they will meet future emergencies better prepared or avoid some of them.

The following report summarizes the study on municipal response to COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted in September 2020, more than half a year after the global emergency was announced. It covers cities of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine.