A modern city can only be truly successful if it can demonstrate its commitment to protecting the environment. Officials must recognise the city’s natural assets, create efficient water, energy and transport infrastructure and protect its citizens against the impacts of climate change. Sound environmental management can boost city budgets, attract investors and contribute to public health and poverty eradication.

A report from the Cities Alliance and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) brings together case studies from 12 cities that are struggling, but also in many cases succeeding, in addressing issues that range from waste and transportation to river and air pollution.

An estimated 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions originate in cities. Three-quarters of urban settlements located in coastal areas are at risk from sea-level rise. Local governments are increasingly involved in global efforts to address climate change. Some of the cities studied in the report are taking the lead in cutting greenhouse gas emissions – some with targets above and beyond national commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. They are reducing energy consumption, industrial and traffic emissions, improving water quality and reducing the amount of solid waste generated.

Cities operate in a global marketplace, competing with other urban settlements around the world for investment. A city cannot compete without offering investors security, infrastructure and efficiency. Hardly any city can offer these elements without incorporating environmental issues into its planning and management strategies.

The case studies include reports of how:

• In Bayamo, Cuba, planners have reverted to horse-drawn carriages: they now meet 40 percent of local transport needs.
• Taiyuan, an industrial city in northern China, is addressing urban air quality problems and reducing sulphur dioxide levels by a city-wide emissions trading scheme.
• The Philippine town of Tubigon has pioneered the use of ecoBUDGET, a management tool developed by ICLEI to integrate environmental target-setting, monitoring and reporting into municipal decision-making and management.
• In Durban, South Africa, a Strategic Environmental Assessment has shown how institutionalisation of public participation can resolve community conflicts and promote a common vision for future development.

If current growth patterns continue, cities will take up three times more space by 2030 – with grave environmental consequences. Planners need to influence what kind of cities will exist in the future. At present, city sprawl dominates: for every doubling of city population, the space requirement triples. It is important to prevent the spread of slums and urban sprawl, by building denser and more energy and transport-efficient cities. In all the innovative cities, policymakers have committed themselves to promoting active citizen participation.

The authors call on donors and city planners to work together to:

• help cities prepare urban planning and management strategies
• raise environmental awareness among municipal staff and the general public
• share information about best practice in integrating the environment into urban development strategies
• increase awareness of the Millennium Development Goals and the Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities
• plan how to sustain integration of the environment into planning strategies after external funding ends
• establish systems for ongoing monitoring of environmental quality and the use of natural resources.

Source(s):
‘Livable Cities: The Benefits of Urban Environmental Planning’, Cities Alliance, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), October 2007 Full document.

id21 Research Highlight: 19 August 2008

Further Information:
Chii Akporji
The Cities Alliance
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
USA

Tel: +1 202 473 1935
Fax: +1 202 522 3224
Contact the contributor: cakporji@citiesalliance.org

The Cities Alliance, Washington, D.C., USA

ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability
City Hall, West Tower, 16th Floor
100 Queen St. West
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2N2 Canada

Tel: +1 416 392 1462
Fax: +1 416 392 1478
Contact the contributor: publications@iclei.org

ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, Toronto, Canada

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