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| Welcome to the April edition of City Matters, brought to you by Urbanicity in partnership with UN Habitat Best Practices and Local Leadership. Education and Information Update Forward City Matters to a friend or colleague here or Sign up to receive City Matters here . |
| Education and Information Update |
New Publications A Better Way to Zone, by Denver city planner Donald Elliott Author Don Elliott was very involved in the planning of the Gateway project in Denver. He used this experience to formulate a plan for reforming the American zoning system to make it more responsive to the needs of citizens, and to build more sustainable cities. Throughout the book, he retraces the history, legal context, and development of our current Euclidean zoning system. Zoning is clearly explained in very readable language and exposed for its misconceptions, and Elliott makes a clear case for an overhaul of our zoning laws. He lays out a five-step plan based on ten principles of reform that will transform the way towns and neighborhoods are developed throughout the country. For more information on the book, please visit www.abetterwaytozone.com.. |
| Latest News Headlines | |
Full stories can be seen at Urbanicity News Fourth Session of the World Urban Forum launched in Beijing European Mobility Week Award 2008 awarded to Koprivnica South African cities face difficult times Dredging to prevent Jakarta from flooding Brazilian police arrest 16 mayors City mayors vote for sustainable tourism European Green Capital award: "Become the city of the year!" The European Ombudsman's 2007 report : the EU lacks transparency Climate change will erode foundations of health 311/CRM Technologies Help Citizens Touch Their Local Governments Cohesion policy: Danuta Hübner calls for more responsibilities at local level Redesigning the Edgeless City World Mayors Propose Urban Water Declaration Climate change and cities City diplomacy - a conflict resolution tool for local authorities Enhancing Urban Safety and Security Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 3nd OIDP Distinction “Best Practice in citizen participation” Giving Africa’s public a greater say in municipal spending Mrs. Tibaijuka hails new Norwegian support to UN-HABITAT IUCN partners with ICLEI Australia’s state capitals experience record growth US government selects twelve more solar cities Paris mayor joins pro-Tibet protests European cities failed to switch off their lights
. To read the full stories and more news, please visit www.urbanicity.org/news.asp
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May Transition Towards Sustainable Mobility Whole City Changes: Champion Cities Mayors Conference on Urban Biodiversity Reducing Transport Noise in Urban Areas
June Major Cities of Europe Conference League of Historical Cities Conference World Conference on City Diplomacy The City and Urban Development Summit World Conference on Disaster Management Mass Impact Cities and Climate Change Symposium International Conference on River Restoration
July International Conference on Urban Pests Sister Cities International Conference International Symposium on Travel Demand Management
For a full listing of forthcoming conferences, visit: www.urbanicity.org/events.asp
To receive updates for this calendar, please register here |
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Announcement and Program Overview – 9th World Congress of Metropolis
One of the world’s leading opportunities for networking and exchange, 1000 civic leaders, industry representatives and academics are expected to attend. Hosted by the NSW Government, overall theme for the Metropolis Congress 2008 is ‘Connecting Cities’ to highlight the increasing importance of cities, more so than nations, as principal hubs of international interaction. Metropolis Congress 2008 will promote an information exchange and best practice for leaders and stakeholders in world cities. Featuring case studies and workshops, major themes to be addressed include Public-Private Partnerships, Climate Change, Social Sustainability, Urban Renewal and Technology. Technical tours will showcase delegates to major revdelopement sites around Sydney. Confirmed keynotes speakers include Prof. Saskia Sassen of Columbia University, chair of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Dr Rajendra Pachauri, President of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France, Jean-Paul Huchon, Director of the Indian Ministry of Urban Development’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Aniruddha Kumar, director of MIT’s SENSEable City Laboratory, Carlo Ratti and Peter Taylor of the Globalization and World Cities research network. Registrations are now open for Metropolis Congress 2008online Alternatively, please contact the Sydney Secretariat for a program brochure through info@metropoliscongress2008.com or telephone +61 2 9228 6565. Metropolis Congress 2008 is proudly supported by leading Australian and International companies including Cisco, City of Sydney, Goodman, Integral Energy, Investa, Landcom, Leighton Holdings, Lend Lease, Macquarie Real Estate, Mirvac, Multiplex, Nakheel, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Water, The GPT Group and Westfield. Register Now - International Youth Crime Prevention and Cities Summit 17-21 June Durban, South Africa The summit will be held in the Albert Luthuli Convention Center, named after a founding father of the governing African National Congress who became South Africa’s first Nobel peace laureate.
There will also be six special meetings covering:
Who should attend?
Final Call for Papers - Rebuilding sustainable communities for children and their families after disasters This conference will focus on four main objectives:
The conference will seek to contribute to, and recommend, future policy formulation and implementation processes by local, regional and national governments as well as multilateral agencies and grass-roots organizations. The goal of these efforts is to bring specialists from various disciplines (health, education, community planning, etc.) to explore and make recommendations on how to reconstruct sustainable communities that will be safe for children and their families after disasters. The Call for Abstracts closes on May 2nd. A list of suggested topics can be seem here and submission details are here Call for Papers – Coastal Cities Summit 2008 Approximately 2.7 billion people--over 40% of the world’s total population--currently live in coastal cities. In 1995 alone, an estimated 50 million people migrated to the coastal zones of the United States. Combined with increasing birth rate and life expectancy, as well as future climate change, the escalating strain on public resources means that coastal city managers face unprecedented challenges.
Confirmed speakers include: Martin Parry (Co-Chair, IPCC 2nd Working Group)
Possible topics include: Waste water management, Coastal zone management, Ocean governance, Infrastructure - built environment, Energy - traditional & alternative, Population growth - urbanization, Freshwater, Land reclamation, Coastal resiliency, Natural coastal defenses, Sea level rise, Tourism, Coastal hazards, Pollution of coastal resources, Port & Maritime security, City planning, Aquaculture, Risk management, Sustainable development, Insurance
First Announcement - World Sustainable Building 08 The World Sustainable Building (SB) Conference series, which has been held every three years, is the peak gathering of the world’s leading technical experts and researchers on sustainable built environments. SB08 Melbourne will continue a traditional focus on technical developments and case studies. CSIRO (Australia's national research organisation), leading universities and research groups in Australia and from around the world, are all expected to release new research. SB08 has a multifaceted program that builds strong and effective linkages across stakeholder groups to advance sustainability knowledge and practice through market and industry transformation. Site visits of leading-edge Australian commercial, residential and industrial developments are planned.
Final Call for Papers - World Toilet Summit and Expo 2008
Call for Papers is now on! Some possible topics include: • Creating a Sustainable Marketplace for Sanitation Go here for details. Abstracts should be submitted to Ginn Lee at ginnlee@worldtoiletevents.com by 5 May 2008. Register Now – World Forum on Human Rights The 3rd World Forum on Human Rights will take place at the International Convention Centre of Nantes Métropole (France) from Monday 30th June to Thursday 3rd July 2008. The Forum of Nantes was created, from the start (in 2004), to support and develop the networks of actors involved in the protection, the respect and the implementation of the Human Rights by strengthening the solidarity between these different actors (political leaders, NGO activists, academics and international experts, representatives of international organisations...). Therefore, open discussions, exchange of opinions and free dialogue, on an equal footing are necessary: this is the reason why the World Forum on Human Rights exists. In this year of 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 3rd Forum of Nantes will focus on the following topics: This third Forum is organised by the Permanent International Secretariat Human Rights and Local Governments, association by French Law (Law of 1901), located in Nantes /Pays de la Loire (France). To consult the programme of the Forum, register online and for more information: http://www.spidh.org/en/the-forum-2008/index.html Final Call for Presentations - Rail~Volution. Theme: Reshaping Communities in an Energy Challenged Future. Rail~Volution is a conference for passionate practitioners - people from all perspectives who believe in the role of land use and transit as equal partners in the quest for greater livability and greater communities. The success of the conference depends on the quality and diversity of presentations. Rail~Volution solicits your story-sharing expertise, experience, success and challenges, including:
The Bay Area - with its tradition of innovation in transportation and land use planning -- is the dynamic setting for Rail~Volution 2008. Register Now - World Cities Summit 2008
The final earlybird registration for the World Cities Summit closes on April 30th, so if you are planning to attend this event, register now. The World Cities Summit, a premier international conference on public governance and the sustainable development of cities, has confirmed a line-up of prominent speakers for its inaugural summit in Singapore from 23 to 25 June 2008, which will include Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda. Among these distinguished speakers are mayors from ‘model cities’, such as Mr John So, Mayor of Melbourne, repeatedly voted one of the world’s most liveable cities; Mr Hiroshi Nakada, Mayor of Yokohama, a city lauded for the use of environmentally-friendly urban transportation; and Ms Kerry Prendergast, Mayor of Wellington, where the UN Environment Programme will hold World Environment Day 2008. The inaugural event will also provide engaging platforms for discussions on specific topics through its plenary and various break-out sessions, including one on solid waste management, a critical issue in many urban areas. Another highlight is the Learning Journeys, which offers delegates a chance to witness, first-hand through tours around Singapore, how the country has developed into a ‘liveable and vibrant’ city. More information on the World Cities Summit can be found at www.worldcities.com.sg. Registration Open - ISOCARP International Congress
Keynote presentations include: Qiu Baoxing - Deputy Minister Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Construction (China) Ronan Uhel - Head of Group Spatial Analysis, European Environment Agency (Denmark) Alfonso Vegara - President Fundación Metropoli (Spain) Jeff Kenworthy - Curtin University, Perth (Australia) Registration is now open and earlybird registration is available to June 30 at: http://www.isocarp.org/index.php?id=320 Registration Open-WEFTEC.08 WEFTEC.08: If it’s about water, it will be at WEFTEC! The educational program offers 31 workshops, 115 technical sessions, and 10 facility tours that will address the most timely issues in water and wastewater, including: Online attendee registration is now open on www.weftec.org! Don’t miss your opportunity to join thousands of water and wastewater professionals in Chicago, Illinois, October 18-22 at WEFTEC.08 – The Water Quality Event! Remember to reserve your hotel room early! Please visit www.weftec.org for more information. Conference Update - World Water Week 2008 in Stockholm "Progress and Prospects on Water: For a Clean and Healthy World" Registration will open shortly and an early registration rate will be available until June 30. Conference Update - European Transport Conference
The demands on Europe's transport systems continue to both increase and change as a result of a number of factors - economic growth, social change, demographics and the need to become less unsustainable. Such change demands innovative and robust responses which are affordable. Transport practitioners and researchers throughout Europe are responding to these challenges and the European Transport Conference, now in its 36th year, is the key annual event for sharing innovation, best practice and networking with colleagues from more than 30 countries.
The Conference is unique in Europe, attracting over 500 transport practitioners and researchers to a meeting place, where they can find in-depth presentations on policy issues, research findings and best practice across a broad spectrum of transport modes.More information can be found at: www.aetransport.org Register Now - REAL CORP 008: Mobility Nodes as Innovation Hubs
Transport hubs are nerve centers of our modern mobile society and rapidly become economic centers - the new "Airport Cities" are remarkable examples. Where many people come together information and knowledge is shared and new ideas are created, and so airports, train stations, motorway rests become knowledge- and innovation hubs. The international conference REAL CORP 008 focuses on these 21st-century-transport- and innovation-hubs that are exceptionally challenging for urban and transport planning, architecture and real estate development. Some of the questions to be dealt with:
The REAL CORP final program is ready for download at www.corp.at Registration is now open at: www.corp.at
First Announcement – IDRC Davos 2008 “Public-private partnership – Key for integral risk management and climate change adaptation” Solutions for an effective and efficient global disaster and risk management and for climate change adaptation need the involvement of all stakeholders of the public and the private sector and success will only be achieved if public and private institutions share their interest and knowledge and cooperate closely in financing common solutions, in developing common standards and – most important for success - in sharing the benefits. IDRC Davos 2008 will address a broad range of risks and threats including natural hazards, risks of a technical, biological and chemical nature, but also climate change, pandemics and terrorism, with a clear focus on a consistent and systematic risk management approach, to be able to take effective and efficient decisions for disaster risk reduction and mitigation measures, which lead to transparent and comparable results in different risk situations. A particular focus will be set on disaster risk management policies, climate change, critical infrastructures and pandemic diseases, always with the perspective of public-private partnership and sustainable development. To continue the discussion on issues committed in the IDRC Davos 2006 Declaration, special cross-cutting themes will be addressed. Further information is available at: http://www.idrc.info/index.php?p=245&pagetype=1 Register Now – IFLA 2008 Transforming with Water is the theme of the 2008 World Congress of the International Federation of Landscape Architects. This 45th IFLA World Congress will be held in the Netherlands from June 30 to July 3 Water is transforming the landscape and it will continue to do so. We landscape architects can try to better understand the transforming power of water; to design our landscapes on the common theme of transforming forces of water; in the end also to transform ourselves, to transform our education, practice, and profession. Then it is water that transforms and presents an epoch-making chance to advance landscape architecture. Landscape architects and professionals from all over the world are invited to join the 2008 IFLA Congress and share knowledge and ideas on the challenges and possibilities that we face when it comes to Transforming with Water. Monday, June 30 2008 - Living with Water Speakers sessions focusing on Transforming with the Arid and Transforming with the Rains Several excursions are planned to parts of the Netherlands connected to the theme. On the excursions you will see and experience the continued transforming of the soft, resilient soil of the country into a man-made landscape through water control, wetland management, and land reclamation. For detailed information on the preliminary program check www.ifla2008.com
(All prices include19% VAT) * If you fill out the pre-registration form on the website before the 9th of May 2008 you will receive an early bird discount. Full conference information and registration is available at: http://www.ifla2008.com/ |
City Matters Bulletin is published monthly by Urbanicity Ltd 72 Fairview Crescent, Waiheke, New Zealand in conjuction with UN Habitat Best Practices and Local Leadership |
Tel: Intl 64 9 3725115 Email: a.campbell@urbanicity.org Web: www.urbanicity.org |
In support of the UN International Year of Sanitation, World Toilet Organization, presents an action-oriented platform which features high-level discussions between public and private sectors to promote clean toilets, sanitation technology and hygiene issues. 
ISOCARP is proud to announce/present its 44th International Planning Congress which will be held in the City of Dalian, China from 19 – 23 September 2008. The theme: ' Urban Growth without Sprawl; a Way towards Sustainable Urbanisation' is introduced by Prof. Dr. Detlef Kammeier, General Rapporteur of the congress and responsible for the scientific contents and its outcome. 
81st Annual Water Environment Federation
Abstract submission has now closed. A programme announcement will follow shortly. An early registration discount will also be announced soon. 