Cities of tomorrow, action today. Copenhagen, 3-5 December 2012

Posted on: 24 January 2013
By: mackene
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URBACT’s Annual Conference considered the following topics: cohesive and sustainable cities; creating a resilient and inclusive economy; and  governance. Presentations and reports are available online.

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Freiburg: City of vision

Posted on: 23 January 2013
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The City of Freiburg is often called Germany’s “ecological capital” and has been recognized internationally as one of the world’s most livable, sustainable and child-friendly cities. Freiburg has received numerous awards for its leadership in sustainable transportation planning, promotion of walking and biking, traffic calming mechanisms, human scale mixed-use development, renewable energy, protection of nature, and sustainability.

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Proposal for urban regeneration of the Suburb ZEN, Palermo, Italy

Posted on: 23 January 2013
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The Social Housing district Z.E.N. in Palermo has been described as one of the most dangerous and “criminogenic” neighbourhoods in Italy. This paper presents the problems and the articulation of the project for the urban regeneration of an inhuman social housing district into a healthy place, a kind of project to be considered a pilot project for the regeneration of all the dangerous and unliveable suburbs, as well as for reinvigorating local economies.

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Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2013

Posted on: 21 January 2013
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Property investors are targeting green refurbishments in a bid to reduce risk and increase income according to new research published by the Urban Land Institute  and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The report also claims that sustainable properties are increasingly commanding higher rents and values, as governments move to force companies to increase building’s energy efficiency and reduce their environmental footprint, so as to avoid potential environmental regulation linked to energy usage.

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Competitiveness of Port-Cities: The Case of Marseille-Fos – France

Posted on: 17 January 2013
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This working paper offers an evaluation of the performance of the port of Marseille-Fos, an analysis of the impact of the port on its territory and an assessment of policies and governance in this field. It examines declining port performance over the last decades and identifies the principal factors that have contributed to it. The effect of the ports on economic and environmental questions is studied and quantified where possible. The value added of the port cluster of Marseille-Fos is calculated and its inter-linkages with other economic sectors and other regions in France delineated. The paper outlines the impact of the port’s operations, and shows how their activities spill over into other regions than the one in which the port of Marseille-Fos is located. The major policies governing the ports are assessed, along with policies governing transport and economic development, the environment and spatial planning. These include measures instituted by the port authorities, as well as by local, regional and national governments. Governance mechanisms at these different levels are described and analysed. Based on the report’s findings, recommendations are proposed with a view to improving port performance and increasing the positive effects of the port of Marseille-Fos on its territory.

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Shrinking areas: Front-runners in innovative citizen

Posted on: 8 January 2013
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It is argued, that with few exceptions, cities and towns all across Europe currently face the effects of ageing and depopulation. In the future, the entire continent is expected to feel the impact of shrinkage on its towns, cities and regions. In shrinking areas, the existing physical and social structure is under pressure. Houses are difficult to sell, schools need to close, services and amenities become too expensive to maintain. To overcome the consequences of shrinkage joint action is needed with local authorities cooperating with citizens to find ways to maintain the quality of life in their city or town. This publication, which forms part of EUKN’s 2012 Annual Conference, presents a thorough overview of the effects of shrinkage on European towns, cities and regions. It provides a scientific analysis of the phenomenon and the ways different layers of government could deal with it efficiently by using the potential of residents in the shrinking areas.

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Nature works for regions

Posted on: 8 January 2013
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In recent years, the European Centre for Nature Conservation has collected an extensive number of practical examples which aim to encourage people who wish to become involved with biodiversity, inspire them and show them that local biodiversity can effectively deliver services. As part of this collection, numerous examples of biodiversity activities by local and regional authorities and businesses from around Europe have been included. The booklet is divided into six themes which deal with food, water management, climate change, pollution, human well-being and biodiversity conservation.

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Reducing transport noise in cities: CityHush final expert seminar and city workshop. Stockholm, 11 December 2012

Posted on: 8 January 2013
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The European CityHush project supports city administrations with the development and implementation of noise action plans according to the directive EC 2002/49. Noise action plans made with existing technology suffer from major shortcomings: there is a poor correlation between hot spots and annoyance and complaints, most measures lead to increased emissions, and only indoor noise comfort is addressed. In order to reduce noise in city environments, CityHush developed suitable problem identification and evaluation tools and designed noise reduction solutions for hot spots that show a high correlation with annoyance and complaints. The final results on research and recommendations regarding quiet zones, noise score rating models, low-noise vehicles, low-noise road surfaces, and noise barriers were discussed at this conference. Presentations are available online.

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Achieving the goals of the White Paper on Transport: how civil society can help with delivery. Brussels, 7 December 2012

Posted on: 8 January 2013
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The EU Transport White Paper requires swift implementation. So far, the lack of progress in EU transport policy has been partly due to the fact that there has been insufficient involvement of civil society in both policy-making and policy implementation, and any involvement there has been has not been adequately structured. This conference aimed to assess the weaknesses in current practice and propose new means of getting the civil society on board. It also provided insight into the forms that a truly cooperation-based decision-making process could take at different levels of governance (European, national and local). Presentations are available online.

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Trans-European Transport Network

Posted on: 10 December 2012
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The European Commission has launched a public portal allowing citizens and businesses to access up to date information on the advancement of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) through satellite-based dynamic maps, facts, figures and various audio-visual and interactive elements. In practice, it will allow users to see the live development of the TEN-T network in the region of their interest.

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