The world is at a tipping point. Whether it is a tipping point that promises a bright, sustainable future or one in which we’ll have to face growing challenges from climate change and unsustainable urbanization, is up to us. This message by David Stevens, Head of the UNISDR Bonn Office, sums up what the 2017
Resilience is a tricky topic when it comes to urban transport. The Paris Climate Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals signal a sustainable, resilient path forward for urban transport. But is this translating into resilient transport systems in cities? Not exactly. At least not on a consistent basis. Transport resilience is way down on the priority list for
The regulars at the Resilient Cities congress might recall that when urban food first appeared as a topic in the congress series, it almost seemed out of place – a topic more fitting to the agricultural community than urbanists. The conversation started from the basics, emphasizing food as a system, which includes producers, consumers and many other stakeholders all along
By Laura Spray, MSc Candidate in Geography at Universität Bonn / UNU-EHS – United Nations University of Environmental Risk and Human Security and Resilient Cities 2017 communications volunteer Sustainable Development Goal 11 looks at the role cities can play in creating safe, inclusive and resilient urban environments. Four cities in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe are working
In 2012, the City of Copenhagen came to present their freshly adopted Climate Change Adaptation Plan, during a workshop at the Resilient Cities Forum. Today, five years later, they come back to share their experience with implementing that plan with other cities. Indeed, the Danish capital is not the only city to be threatened by
Resilience has become an increasingly mainstream concept in global development. Around 2013, as nations and stakeholders shaped the post-2015 sustainable development frameworks, resilience emerged as a widely recognized concept that should crosscut policy and planning at all levels of government. Now, we are in a phase of action, and the Sustainable Development Goals are calling for integrated
In 2015 the City of Kaohsiung, a coastal city in the south of Chinese Taipei, decided it will take a bold step towards a more forward-thinking urban transportation culture. For the whole month of October 2017, the city will experiment with ecomobility – a more integrated, socially inclusive and environmentally-friendly approach to urban transport –
Dear ICLEI Friends and Colleagues, Cities around the world have a crucial role in the transition to sustainable consumption and production by using sustainable public procurement (SPP) as a key tool. By introducing sustainable criteria in our purchases, local and regional governments are making our societies more sustainable, while at the same time ensuring social
Ambitious cities around the world are setting their sights on becoming carbon neutral. This means that, after measuring their carbon emissions, they reduce those emissions as much as is cost effectively possible, and use equivalent offsets to balance the residual emissions and achieve a net zero carbon footprint. Copenhagen is one of those ambitious cities.
This blog post was written by Ana Marques, Low Carbon Cities Senior Officer at ICLEI World Secretariat. In April 2015, Councilor Jinty MacTavish of Dunedin, New Zealand made a compelling presentation on fossil fuel divestment at the ICLEI World Congress in Seoul. Since then, Dunedin has finalized a policy on ethical investments and divested from