The coming rise of urban infrastructure: turning infrastructure green

By Andrew M. Deutz, Ph. D., Director, International Government Relations, The Nature Conservancy — There are a handful of truly critical global sustainability challenges that will determine whether or not the world will be prosperous and healthy by the middle of this century—or by the time my kids are my age. Can we generate energy without 

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Improving cities with nature: Introducing INTERACT-Bio

By Kobie Brand, Director of the ICLEI Cities Biodiversity Center — INTERACT-Bio is about working together to mainstream biodiversity and associated nature-based solutions into the way we plan and build the cities of the Global South. This ambitious new project enables ICLEI to work directly with nine biodiverse city-regions, their national governments and other stakeholders 

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How women are leading sustainable and resilient cities

This week the ECOCITY World Summit 2017 will bring together in Melbourne representatives of government, business, civil society and academia to address the unprecedented ecological challenges facing cities all around the world. Through a series of speakers, plenaries and panel discussions, the Summit will showcase expert knowledge and provide opportunities for knowledge exchange between these 

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How cities are using nature for sustainable urban development

Nature-based solutions can address urban challenges exacerbated by growing urban populations and the impacts of climate change. They are multi-functional, cost-effective and provide a wide range of benefits, from improving public health to reducing energy costs and pollution to regenerating urban spaces. Local governments can use green roofs and green infrastructure to help cities become 

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How Sponge Cities in China manage urban water challenges

Cities in China face significant water-related challenges, including flood, reduced water quality and severe water scarcity – exacerbated by rapid urbanization and more frequent extreme weather events.  Nearly half of cities in China do not meet national flood prevention standards and over half are considered water scarce. To address these challenges, China is implementing the 

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Learn how to learn with Quito

Quito appreciates learning from other cities. Last October, they demonstrated their spirit of sharing and collaboration during the EcoMobility Days – held during the Habitat III conference – where they presented their transportation plans to cities and transport enthusiasts from all over the world to collect ideas for more integrated transportation. Once again, at Resilient Cities 2017, they 

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Letter from David Jácome Polit, Chief Resilience Officer of Quito – March 2017

Dear ICLEI friends and colleagues, We live in a highly dynamic world. Along with our changing climate, social, technological, economic, demographic and ecological conditions are evolving, often at record pace. Resilience thinking is essential to understanding these forces and finding solutions for their effects. The Municipality of Quito has begun to make major transformations using 

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Letter from Gino Van Begin – January

Dear ICLEI friends and colleagues, Local and subnational governments have proven to be a reliable force for positive global change. Now, in 2017, it is vital that we push to make the trend towards sustainable development irreversible. We aim to do so through our actions on the ground, efforts to shape global policy and events 

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Shifting towards resilient urban development

The Paris Agreement establishes a clear goal: to keep the global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius, with the intent to pursue a 1.5-degree target. However, the national climate commitments submitted under the Paris Agreement do not yet put us on track to achieve this goal. In fact, with current national commitments, the world 

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Climate compatible development starts with finding the right partners

Alice Reil of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability rounds up lively discussions about ‘how to make climate compatible development happen’ at local and city level from the Resilient Cities 2016 congress and CDKN-ICLEI learning program. This blog post was originally published on CDKN website. Identifying adaptation options for a more sustainable tourism along the vulnerable coast of Belize. 

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