Many air pollution control measures also help to protect the climate and vice versa. It is essential to use the synergies for environment and health.
The publication presents examples of various strategies and measures for clean air in municipalities and provides ideas on how these two areas can be interlinked.
Category: Integrated urban development
Resilient Cities, Resilient Lives
“The world is more densely populated and more interconnected than ever before. From extreme weather to refugee crises, from disease pandemics to cyberattacks, today’s state of play requires new models of governance to mitigate risk and respond to challenges. Business-as-usual models of reactive planning and siloed decision-making will not generate the fundamental strength and flexibility essential for us to thrive in the face of the shocks and stresses of the 21st century. […] The launch of 100 Resilient Cities program (100RC) by the Rockefeller Foundation acknowledged that the escalating trends of urbanization, globaliza- tion, and climate change pose tremendous risks, but also offer a tremendous opportunity. This report shares 100RC’s knowledge about what it takes to catalyze an urban resilience movement.”
Heatwave Guide for Cities
"Heatwaves are deadly and their impacts are on the rise globally due to climate change. People living in urban areas are amongst the hardest hit when a heatwave occurs because these are hotter than the surrounding countryside. Along with climate change, urbanization is one of the most transformative trends of this century and the last. Over half the world now lives in urban areas and this is projected to increase to two-thirds by 2050. It is crucial that cities incorporate heat-reduction tactics such as green spaces into their plans for growth or retrofit them in built areas. […] This practical guide is designed with, and for, people working in city government to understand, reduce the risk of, and respond to, heatwaves in their cities."
The Silent Revolution of Public Spaces in Afghanistan
"The Silent Revolution of Public Spaces in Afghanistan is the untold story of hope and peace in urban areas. The provision of public spaces in cities across Afghanistan is shaping the lives of the citizens, especially women and the poor, and the relationship with their cities. It is a social and cultural revolution that has empowered women, created jobs for the poor and improved the living standards of the citizens. It is a silent and peaceful revolution that has transformed the people and the city, building trust and confidence in public institutions. The photobook serves to portray the Afghan government’s response to the immediate urban challenges through impactful photos and stories. […]"
Affordable housing: profiles of five metropolitan cities
Global urban growth is a fact. Cities have expanded beyond their own administrative borders, resulting in metropolitan territories with large physical dimensions. The metropolises of the world are engines of growth, the nodes in major streams of people, goods, wealth, knowledge, creativity and innovation. […] On the other hand, because they are diverse and complex, the same metropolises also tend to be fragmented, generating profound inequalities within their own territories. Metropolitan opportunities and inequalities arise in almost every aspect of the lives of urban dwellers, starting with one of the most fundamental universal human rights: the right to adequate housing and shelter.
The report portrays the efforts of the city authorities of Berlin, Buenos Aires, Kuala Lumpur, Montréal and Singapore in order to ensure affordable housing for all citizens.
The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5°C World
New ways of measuring the climate footprint of cities show that urban consumption is a key driver of global GHG emissions. Cities therefore have a responsibility to significantly reduce their GHG emissions. This work has mostly focused on transport, buildings, energy and waste. This report assesses the impact of urban consumption on climate breakdown and explores the type and scale of changes needed to ensure that cities reduce their GHG emissions in line with internationally agreed, climate-safe limits.
The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5°C World
New ways of measuring the climate footprint of cities show that urban consumption is a key driver of global GHG emissions. Cities therefore have a responsibility to significantly reduce their GHG emissions. This work has mostly focused on transport, buildings, energy and waste. This report assesses the impact of urban consumption on climate breakdown and explores the type and scale of changes needed to ensure that cities reduce their GHG emissions in line with internationally agreed, climate-safe limits.
Transforming Coastal City Adaptation: From Idea to Practice
"People living in coastal cities around the world face great risks from the impacts of climate change. In the developing world, these often combine with the challenges of urban development and overcoming poverty and sharp inequalities, generating a particularly difficult set of tasks for local policy makers. Adaptation measures often focus on large infrastructural measures such as coastal defenses, at the expense of integrated and inclusive solutions that tackle not only people’s exposure to hazards, but also social vulnerabilities and their root causes. This Brief introduces three key considerations for transformative policy change that builds resilience in highly exposed coastal cities."
Making Affordable Housing a Reality in Cities
"Cities are growing at an unprecedented rate, presenting an incredible opportunity for the development of local economies. However, their residents need good, affordable housing – and this remains a challenge around the world. Well-functioning property markets can act as a financial springboard for enterprises and job creation. An enabling environment for affordable housing can be developed with the right infrastructure, investment and macroeconomic policies targeted towards social and financial inclusion. The challenge of affordability requires not just short-term fixes but also long-term strategies. Solutions will need to address both the supply side and the demand side of the housing market, and involve public-sector, private-sector and non-profit stakeholders."
The Future of Cities
This report identifies challenges influencing the future of cities in Europe and beyond in fields like environmental impact, ageing, health, housing, social segregation, governance and mobility. It also presents several perspectives from which to look at resolving these issues. It is an initiative of the Joint Research Centre (JRC)i, the science and knowledge service of the European Commission (EC), supported by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). The main aim is to raise open questions and steer discussions on what the future of cities can, and should be, both within the scientific and policymaker communities. The report benefits greatly from the collective intelligence put forward by the Members of the EC Community of Practice on Cities and is linked to aninteractive online platform, which is s designed to raise open questions and steer discussions for sharing and accumulating knowledge on the future of cities.