Ten years ago, ICLEI launched the first Resilient Cities Congress to respond to a growing and largely unaddressed need of local and regional governments to plan for the uncertain impacts of climate change in an integrated manner. Since then, resilience has gone from a fringe topic to a mainstream climate policy approach at all levels.
What if Glasgow had less puddles? Imagine being a child living in a rainy city and you only have two pairs of shoes – your school shoes, and your play shoes. If the play shoes get wet, you can’t go out to play. Would that make you feel angry? Sad? Would it make you want
In the past years, citizen-led activism around the Fridays for Future movement and other climate justice groups have succeeded to make themselves heard, generate political momentum and mainstream climate change awareness across the broader population. Some local governments have answered these calls for action by declaring climate emergency in their cities and towns, often paired
Written by Angie Fyfe, Director of ICLEI USA, and Yunus Arikan, ICLEI’s Director of Global Advocacy When his inauguration as the forty-sixth President of the United States is complete, Joe Biden will reenter the U.S. into the Paris Climate Agreement. This action will create positive momentum around the world and align the world’s biggest economies
This piece originally appeared in Cities Today. In Turku, Finland, sustainability meetings and events have gone virtual, reaching much larger audiences. The City of uMhlathuze, South Africa, has developed a programme to promote more home-based businesses. Oakland in the United States has established a new food systems ordinance to encourage more urban gardens. Far from
When ICLEI and our partners in the Federal City of Bonn and the German government began formulating a way to build on the 10-year legacy of the Resilient Cities Congress series, we were conceiving an event that could speak to, and serve, the decade before us – humanity’s best chance of preserving a livable future
The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the work of national, regional, and local governments. Many countries around the world have imposed lockdowns and physical distancing measures while preparing massive economic relief packages. In several places in Africa, however, hand washing alone has been a critical challenge. Shortages of water, soap, nutritious food, and hospital equipment
For cities with an industrial past that have undergone major transitions away from heavy industry as their economies have shifted, food insecurity has become a dire problem. Prolonged periods of disinvestment common to former blue-collar neighborhoods often means that food insecurity is more prevalent in these areas. But through their urban transitions, these cities are
Global food systems account for a third of total GHG emissions and drive environmental degradation and socio-economic inequalities all along the value chain. The resilience of current food systems is also increasingly challenged by environmental, climate and health crises. Linear food systems are failing people and the planet Our current linear food systems rely heavily
Could traditional last-mile logistics finally be undergoing a much needed transformation? The way goods and services arrive at the people’s doors has never been more important. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic began, e-commerce was on the rise and so were demands for greater levels of service and convenience from consumers. However, such demands come at