United Cities and Local Government

Posted on: 11 October 2012
By: mackene
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United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) represents and defends the interests of local governments on the world stage, regardless of the size of the communities they serve. Headquartered in Barcelona, the organisation’s stated mission is: To be the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, promoting its values, objectives and interests, through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community. Some of the issues covered include: climate change, sustainable development, migration, responsible tourism, disaster risk reduction, urban mobility, urban strategic planning, and water.

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Institute of Development Studies Annual Report 2012

Posted on: 9 October 2012
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The Institute of Development Studies has published its latest annual report, setting out its key achievements in 2011-12, and the research, teaching and influencing activities it has been engaged in.

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Implementation of the outcome of the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and strengthening of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)

Posted on: 9 October 2012
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The UN Secretary-General’s report on “Implementation of the outcome of the UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and strengthening of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)” reviews progress in the implementation of various components of the habitat agenda, including slum upgrading, cities and climate change, and post-disaster and post-conflict reconstruction.

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UN-Water Annual Report 2011

Posted on: 8 October 2012
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UN-Water has published its 2011 Annual Report highlighting the year’s achievements, including launching the UN Documentation Centre on Water and Sanitation (UN-DCWS), undertaking a survey of 130 countries on approaches to water management, and responding to urban water challenges through the World Water Day (WWD) campaign. The report provides an overview of UN-Water activities including: outreach and communications; major events; publications; programmes; thematic priority areas (TPAs) and task forces; and other activities.

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Vila Autódromo: one community taking a stand against Olympic gentrification in Rio de Janeiro

Posted on: 26 September 2012
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Sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup are touted for sparking local economic development but just as often displace large numbers of urban poor to achieve it. Maureen Donaghy visits the community that is challenging the government’s redevelopment plans for the Olympic Park site with its own People’s Plan that promises to be more cost effective.

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Urban planning for city leaders

Posted on: 25 September 2012
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The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) has launched a guide which aims to support urban planning good practice among local decision makers and leaders in developing and emerging economies. The guide includes ten practical “how to” chapters designed to offer advice and guide decisions on topics such as building resilience and reducing climate risks, creating partnerships and measuring impacts. Each chapter features city case studies describing initial challenges, adopted solutions and results.

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Knowledge brokerage for environmentally sustainable sanitation

Posted on: 24 September 2012
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Knowledge brokerage is the activity and the process to facilitate knowledge and technology to move from one place to another, in order to help individuals and organisations learn, innovate and improve. This report summarises the main findings pertaining to knowledge brokerage in the EU-funded project BESSE (Brokering Environmentally Sustainable Sanitation for Europe). The project examined how to facilitate innovation in the sanitation sector to make it more sustainable’. BESSE also studied different innovations in environmentally sustainable sanitation, which can be seen in the resource file on the BESSE website.

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State of World Cities 2012/2013

Posted on: 24 September 2012
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UN-Habitat has launched the State of World’s Cities Report 2012/2013. Titled The prosperity of cities, the report recommends that those engaged in development work need to explore a more inclusive notion of prosperity and development. What this new edition of State of the World’s Cities shows is that prosperity for all has been compromised by a narrow focus on economic growth. UN-Habitat suggests a fresh approach to prosperity beyond the solely economic emphasis, including other vital dimensions such as quality of life, adequate infrastructures, equity and environmental sustainability. The report proposes a new tool, the City Prosperity Index, together with a conceptual matrix, the Wheel of Prosperity, both of which are meant to assist decision makers to design clear policy interventions. The report advocates for the need of cities to enhance the public realm, expand public goods and consolidate rights to the ‘commons’ for all as a way to expand prosperity. This comes in response to the observed trend of enclosing or restricting these goods and commons in enclaves of prosperity, or depleting them through unsustainable use.

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Sustainable Futures Conference: Architecture and urbanism in the global South. Kampala, Uganda, 25-30 June 2012

Posted on: 21 September 2012
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This conference aimed to address the practice and principles of sustainability in the context of architecture and urbanism in the global South. Papers are available online for the following themes: Sustainability and urbanism; Design for sustainability; Education for sustainability.

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Growing greener cities in Africa

Posted on: 20 September 2012
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The Food and Agriculture Organization on the United Nations has published the first status report on Africa’s urban and peri-urban horticulture, which includes the home, school, community and market gardens that produce fruits and vegetables in and around African cities. The report is based on surveys and case studies from 31 countries across the African continent, and makes recommendations on how cities can better prepare to face the rapidly increasing demand for food and other basic amenities. The report includes profiles of urban and peri-urban horticulture in 22 African countries and makes recommendations for the development of market gardens to serve Africa’s rapidly growing urban population. The report identifies 5 key major benefits of urban and peri-urban faming which include: food and nutrition security; sustainable livelihoods; a safe, clean environment; healthy communities; and good governance.

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