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In this publication authored by Nabielek K. et al. (2016) and published by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, The Hague. Thirteen (13) infographics are included and explained that show facts and figures on recent urban developments in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy and the Urban Agenda for the EU, which aims to strengthen the urban dimension in the European Union.
European cities are vital to the future of Europe. As stated in the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities (European Union, 2007), cities ‘˜possess unique cultural and architectural qualities, strong forces of social inclusion and exceptional possibilities for economic development’ . Moreover, cities are centres of power, knowledge, innovation and integration. It is also in cities that great strides towards sustainability can be made, as their density allows for more energy-efficient forms of housing, transport and service provision. Many cities in Europe show serious ambitions and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, however, these same cities often lack affordable housing and suffer from concentrations of unemployment and poverty. Furthermore, many cities have difficulties in dealing with traffic congestion, poor air quality and the effects of climate change (e.g. heat and heavy rainfall).
Sections in the publication include the following
- Urban Agenda for the EU
- The European urban landscape
- Most Europeans live in urban areas
- Cities, towns and suburbs
- Different types of urban regions
- Growth and decline in metropolitan areas
- Metropolitan economies grew stronger in eastern Europe
- Stronger job growth in urban areas
- Towards greener cities
- Cycling the city
- Risk of urban poverty persists
- Migrants move to cities
- Quality of life in cities
The report can be downloaded from here.
PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency is the national institute for strategic policy analysis in the fields of the environment, nature and spatial planning.
Contributor note:
The identification of this publication has been made possible after the interesting lecture “EU policy of urban development and planning’ by Dr. Walt Deffaa in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, given on 19/10/2016.
Dr. Deffaa in his lecture presented, among other, the importance of the new proposed “Urban Agenda for EU’ which can be found here http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/