Sustainable cities: Building cities for the future

Posted on: 14 June 2012
By: mackene
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This publication, to be launched at Rio+20 in June 2012 contains examples of best practice and information with the aim of stimulating debate, encouraging city cooperation, and promoting sustainable urban policy and procurement.

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Local Sustainability 2012

Posted on: 30 May 2012
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The aim of the Local Sustainability 2012 study is to document the variety of local processes for sustainability that have emerged globally since the 1992 Earth Summit. Local initiatives, many of them inspired by Local Agenda 21, have made a lasting mark not only on local but also on national and international governance systems, changing profoundly the way we think about sustainable development and pushing the boundaries of what is achievable. Taking into account current discussions on the international governance framework for sustainable development, one of the key themes of the Rio+20 Conference, the main focus is on placing local sustainability initiatives within a broader national and international context, in order to identify opportunities and barriers to scaling up local action. With this in mind, the following questions are addressed:

What are the main driving forces behind local sustainability processes? How do different driving forces influence the development of local sustainability processes?

What are the key reference frameworks that influence the scope and ambition of local action? How are these frameworks developed and what is their impact on the local level?

Looking at two decades of local sustainability processes, what changes have they brought about? How has the role of local governments changed, on the local, national and international level?

Looking into the future, the study proposes a list of recommendations to leaders at the national, international and local level.

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Heathrow Garden City

Posted on: 29 May 2012
By: mackene
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Heathrow airport should be turned into a garden city if a new hub is built elsewhere, according to Graeme Bell, vice-president of the Town and Country Planning Association. He proposes turning Terminals 1, 2 and 3 into mixed-use commercial development, and suggests putting a retail park at Terminal 4 and building homes for 30,000 people across four so-called garden suburbs.

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Creating garden cities and suburbs today

Posted on: 17 May 2012
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A group set up by the Town and Country Planning Association has published a study which highlights out five areas that need to be addressed to allow modern developments based on garden city principles to go ahead. It argues unlocking land is vital, and suggests local authorities should enter into joint ventures with landowners and developers. It also suggests local authorities should consider borrowing against new homes bonus income to reduce the risk for investors, and that central government has a role to play in encouraging investment by providing certainty about policy and fiscal measures.

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More than bricks and mortar: UK home builders’ progress in creating sustainable communities

Posted on: 16 May 2012
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This report contains the findings of the sixth NextGeneration benchmark, an annual benchmark of the top 25 UK home builders’ sustainability performance. This year’s benchmark examines the home building industry’s success in delivering sustainable communities.

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Sustainable urban neighbourhoods: Building communities that last

Posted on: 28 February 2012
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This report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation examines what does and doesn’t work in building new communities and shows how to build more homes, better neighbourhoods and stronger communities. This is a report of the Sustainable Urban Neighbourhoods Network (SUNN), which was established in 2009 to explore first hand the experience of developing new urban neighbourhoods in England. Based on ‘looking and learning’ in thirteen new communities in ten English towns and cities, the report shows how to build more homes, better neighbourhoods and stronger communities in both growth and regeneration areas.

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Housing finance: the countdown to self-financing. London, 14 December 2011

Posted on: 15 December 2011
By: isadm
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Self-financing for council housing from April 2012 will provide a significant opportunity for councils in the way they manage and improve housing stock and invest in new homes. This conference aims to provide councilors with the knowledge they need. Presentations are available online.

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Skills and knowledge for sustainable communities

Posted on: 10 July 2011
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The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in partnership with HCA Academy, the skills arm of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), commissioned 11 research projects to address a variety of different aspects associated with the development of skills and knowledge for sustainable communities. The projects draw on different disciplines and expertise across the UK, with relevance to the English context. Work carried out at the University of Strathclyde has been highlighting lessons to be learned across the initiative and disseminating the findings. Summaries of the research projects are available online, together with five briefing papers and details of the case studies. Key findings are to be published in a special issue of the Town Planning Review.

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