Vigo, Spain – the city that introduced fines for swimmers urinating in the sea – will switch on huge festive illuminations this month, defying a national energy-saving drive. Graham Keeley discusses in an article on the inews website. Spain town bucks energy saving trend with Christmas lights display in August As Spain ordered its citizens … Continue reading Spanish city takes unusual approach to the energy crisis
Category: urban policies
Residents need to be involved in achieving urban sustainability and climate change issues
Establishing measurable goals at the city level needs and will result in the engagement of residents. Everybody wins in the long run — quality of life improves, urban governance is more effective, and businesses develop more efficient models. Professors Sylvie Albert and Manish Pandey at the University of Winnipeg in Canada explain their views in … Continue reading Residents need to be involved in achieving urban sustainability and climate change issues
The number of clean air zones across Europe has risen 40% since 2019, forcing older and more polluting vehicles off the road
Low-emission zones, now in 320 cities, are increasing as EU battles pollution health emergency Dirty air is the greatest environmental threat to human health, cutting life expectancy by almost two years. Arthur Neslen explains latest developments in an article on The Guardian website. Old cars forced off road as Europe’s clean air zones nearly … Continue reading The number of clean air zones across Europe has risen 40% since 2019, forcing older and more polluting vehicles off the road
New report from UN Habitat – World Cities Report 2022: Envisaging the Future of Cities
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 created a temporary crisis of confidence in the future of cities. However, a broad consensus is that urbanization remains a powerful twenty-first century mega-trend; and that well-planned towns and cities remain central to the sustainable development trajectory. There is a sense of optimism that the crisis may … Continue reading New report from UN Habitat – World Cities Report 2022: Envisaging the Future of Cities
New EEA reports on which European cities have the best air quality
The cleanest cities in Europe in terms of air quality during 2020 and 2021 were Umeå in Sweden, and Faro and Funchal in Portugal according to the updated European city air quality data viewer published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) recently. In addition to the viewer, the EEA also published two reports looking at … Continue reading New EEA reports on which European cities have the best air quality
New EEA report on sewage treatment plants role in helping Europe meet its zero-pollution targets
Sewage treatment can play a key role in Europe’s shift to a zero-pollution future by becoming more resource efficient and contributing to the circular economy, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report published recently. Making Europe’s sewage treatment plants more efficient and circular can help meet zero-pollution targets Most of Europe’s urban waste … Continue reading New EEA report on sewage treatment plants role in helping Europe meet its zero-pollution targets
The importance of urban tree canopy protection and restoration
Alex Boston, Fellow, MJ Wosk Centre for Dialogue; Executive Director, Renewable Cities, at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia writes on The Conversation website about the importance of green innovation in cities. What are your views? Cities need to embrace green innovation now to cut heat deaths in the future In late June 2021, … Continue reading The importance of urban tree canopy protection and restoration
New EEA report on impact of land use changes on Europe’s urban areas
Land take and the sealing of soil with asphalt, concrete or buildings increased in Europe’s urban areas from 2012 to 2018, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment, published recently. Increasing land take and soil sealing make Europe’s ecosystems less resilient, with negative impacts on biodiversity and weaker potential for climate change adaptation. … Continue reading New EEA report on impact of land use changes on Europe’s urban areas
New EEA briefings: Europe not on track to reach 2030 targets for municipal waste recycling
The European Union (EU) circular economy action plan aims to halve the amount of municipal waste in the EU that is not recycled by 2030. According to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing, published this week, achieving this target requires both reducing waste generation and considerably increasing recycling, possibly even beyond the binding recycling target … Continue reading New EEA briefings: Europe not on track to reach 2030 targets for municipal waste recycling
Ranking the 12 most effective measures that European cities have introduced in recent decade
Kimberly Nicholas, Associate Professor of Sustainability Science at Lund University, in an article on The Conversation website, provides the results of latest research to provide evidence-based ways to reduce car use in cities. 12 best ways to get cars out of cities – ranked by new research Question: what do the following statistics have … Continue reading Ranking the 12 most effective measures that European cities have introduced in recent decade
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 