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The urban dimension of EU policies – key features of an EU Urban Agenda
Posted on: 21 July 2014
By: mackene
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The European Commission has launched a consultation on the need for an ‘EU urban agenda’ in order to improve ‘slow and piecemeal’ urban policy initiatives at national and European level. A growing number of voices argue that cities need to be adequately involved in the conception and implementation of EU policies, and that EU policies need to be better adapted to the urban realities where they will be implemented. This is expressed by calls for an EU urban agenda coming from a range of stakeholders at the EU, national and local level. The purpose of this consultation is to widen debate to all stakeholders and to reach relevant stakeholders and to gather their ideas and further clarifying the need for an EU urban agenda, what its objectives should be and how it could function. Comments are requested by 26 September 2014.
Urban mobility in the smart city age
Posted on: 25 June 2014
By: mackene
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This paper explores how we will move from a reactive approach to mobility services, to a proactive model that anticipates future change and takes advantage of new opportunities. This is the first paper in a series on the cornerstones of a smart city, a series which considers how we need to look at cities differently, understand the stakes and the  stakeholders, to invent tomorrow’s cities together.
China’s shifting grounds: The inner city
Posted on: 18 June 2014
By: mackene
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This blog is the first contribution in a series that looks at how China’s current wave urbanization is touching the inner-city, the rural-urban fringe and the remote rural areas.
Cities Outlook 2014
Posted on: 16 June 2014
By: mackene
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Now in its seventh year, Cities Outlook 2014 is the authoritative economic index of the 64 largest cities and towns in the UK. Cities Outlook 2014 sets out how different cities are set to fare in the year ahead. Now that the UK is staging a recovery, which cities are leading the way? And are any still suffering stagnation?
What makes cities more productive? Evidence on the role of urban governance from five OECD countriesÂ
Posted on: 2 June 2014
By: mackene
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This paper estimates agglomeration benefits based on city productivity differentials across five OECD countries (Germany, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States). It highlights the relationship between cities’ governmental fragmentation and productivity, and represents the first empirical analysis of how metropolitan governance structures affect this relationship. The comparability of results in a multi-country setting is supported through the use of Functional Urban Areas, an internationally harmonised definition of cities based on economic linkages rather than administrative boundaries. In line with the previous literature, the analysis confirms that city productivity tends to increase with city size; doubling city size is found to be associated with an increase in productivity of between two and five percent. What is more, city productivity is positively associated with the population size of nearby cities. On the governance side, the paper finds that cities with fragmented governance structures tend to have lower levels of productivity. For a given population size, a metropolitan area with twice the number of municipalities is associated with around six percent lower productivity; an effect that is mitigated by almost half by the existence of a governance body at the metropolitan level.
Smart cities
Posted on: 29 May 2014
By: mackene
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This briefing paper from the Centre for Cities explores the various ways ‘smart’ is being defined by cities, technology companies and cities, and looks at the challenges cities face in implementing a smart strategy.
SEiSMiC (Science Engagement in Society – Mutual learning in Cities)
Posted on: 27 May 2014
By: mackene
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The SEiSMiC project on urban research is beginning its implementation phase in 10 participating countries. This project aims to promote citizen engagement to identify social innovation needs in urban development, and to contribute to future urban research strategies. The project started in November 2013 and is currently at the end of its inception phase, ready to be fully implemented in the 10 participating countries. The main objective of SEiSMiC is to set up 10 national networks to engage society in urban research. The participating countries are: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom. These networks will include: civil society organisations; the media; schools and universities; scientific associations; museums; science centres; research funding organisations; industry; businesses; and policy makers. Bringing these networks together for a structured dialogue will build a bridge between society and the scientific community working on urban research.
A harmonised definition of cities and rural areas: the new degree of urbanization
Posted on: 21 May 2014
By: mackene
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This regional working paper explains the new degree of urbanisation. This new classification of local authorities into (1) cities, (2) towns and suburbs and (3) rural areas. Eurostat uses this classification to produce a wide range of indicators, including poverty, employment, educational attainment and ICT use. In the period 20014-2020 period of Cohesion Policy this classification will be used to provide a spatial breakdown of expenditure. This classification is based on a new tool: a 1 square km population grid. This improves the accuracy as each grid cell has the same area size, while using local authorities differ widely in area which distorted older methodologies. Due to these distortions, older methodologies sometimes misclassified cities as rural areas and vice versa.
Africa’s urban revolution, part 2: de-urbanisation is futile
Posted on: 21 May 2014
By: mackene
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In this second instalment of a two-part review of Africa’s Urban Revolution, Kerwin Datu considers a provocative new theory that urbanisation is driven by demographic transition, not by economic growth, and that even rural development initiatives will directly cause increased urban populations regardless of where and whether economic opportunities even exist.
China’s new urbanization plan: Obstacles and environmental impacts
Posted on: 16 May 2014
By: mackene
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On 16 March 2014 China’s State Council released the “National New-type Urbanization Plan,” a long-awaited top-down effort to utilize urbanization as an engine for economic growth in the near future. The plan details an ambitious series of goals the government seeks to accomplish by 2020. This blog argues that speeding up the urbanization process will have far-reaching environmental and social effects for China.
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