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URBANICITY UPDATE

29 new events for 2011 published this month at our online events calendar - far and away the most comprehensive in the world - please let us know if you have an urban related event you would like listed.

1042 new subscribers to City Matters in March -  just over 122,000 in total.

61 urban news stories published this month - keep up to date with news as it happens

NEWS FROM THE URBAN WORLD - 20 most popular stories for March

UN-HABITAT responds to criticism
The current economic climate calls for increased accountability, efficiency, effectiveness and transparency. In view of this, UN-HABITAT welcomes any constructive criticism.

Suburbs Left Out of Toronto Transit Plan
Critics in Toronto are blasting a new transit plan from Mayor Rob Ford that they say overlooks the city's suburban areas.

Spanish winner receives the Scroll of Honour
The third Vice President of Spain Mr. Manuel Chaves, on Monday this week received the UN-HABITAT Scroll of Honour (Special Citation) on behalf of the Spanish organisation FEIL.

Latin America’s Bus Rapid Transit Boom Offers Lessons for the U.S.
Bus rapid transit (BRT) is often the most feasible, quickly implemented and cost-effective way to improve mobility in the United States, concluded a distinguished panel of transport experts at a Brookings Institution event.

Launch of web-based instrument prototype for sustainable urban development
Starting in March 2011 and on a voluntary basis, some sixty cities will test the Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities (RFSC) prototype, an internet-based instrument which helps local authorities pursue sustainable urban development policies and implement the Leipzig Charter for Sustainable European Cities.

Does London Have the Most User-Friendly Public Transit?
In preparation for the 2012 Olympics, the City of London has announced its plans to introduce a revolutionary ticketing system to allow easier access to its public transit network.

Which is More Livable: Eco-Cities or Mega-Cities?
Are greenfield developments designed with sustainability in mind or already-built metropolises better for the environment and the people?
Future communities such as the solar-powered Babcock Ranch in Florida or PlanIT Valley in Portugal will have to prove that they are actually livable cities that people want and demand for.

Top Ten Most Liveable Cities of 2011
Australian and Canadian cities dominate the Economist Intelligence Unit report.
For the fifth straight year, Vancouver was unsurprisingly placed on top of the city livability rankings.

How can the digital agenda for Europe be more relevant to municipalities and regions?
The Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is co-organising a European conference on “Local Digital Agendas Meet the Digital Agenda for Europe”, which will discuss supporting local development through digital local agendas (DLA).and rendering the digital agenda for Europe (DAE) more relevant to municipalities and regions.

Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei are among Asia's greenest cities
The Asian Green City Index, a research project conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by Siemens, examined the environmental performance of 22 major Asian cities in eight categories: energy and CO2, land use and buildings, transport, waste, water, sanitation, air quality and environmental governance.

More Urban Highways Seeing Demise
Cities across the country are beginning to realize the mistakes they made years ago dividing their downtowns with urban highways. The city of New Haven has decided to do something about it.

Local authorities compete for biodiversity crowns as second round of European Capitals of Biodiversity is launched
Municipalities in France, Spain, Slovakia and Hungary will once again have the chance to become the national “Capital of Biodiversity”. The 2011 edition of the competition was launched in Paris last week and will tie in with the UN’s International Year of Forests, by focusing on biodiversity-friendly management and use of all types of forests.

China's Growing Traffic Problem
Imbalances between the amount of cars being added to the roadways in China's cities and the amount of roads for them to drive on is brewing a major traffic problem.

How can municipalities help stimulate cycling?
Local decision-makers and technicians wishing to develop cycling as part of their municipality's sustainable mobility strategy can now benefit from a number of policy guides and factsheets to help stimulate cycling as a daily transport mode.

Top Ten Cities For Public Transportation
Does Salt Lake City have the second-best transit in the nation? U.S News and World Report released its choices for the top American cities for public transportation.

Economic Recovery Observatory launched for local and regional levels
The Economic Recovery Observatory was launched on 18 February 2011, bringing together main stakeholders who monitor different aspects of the financial and economic crisis and economic recovery.at the local and regional levels.

Preparing New York City for Extreme Weather Events
Climate change and sea level rise are expected to increase the amount of major storm events worldwide. For coastal parts of New York City, the effects could be catastrophic. The city is trying to plan now for the storms to come.

Tracking Growth in World Cities
Mega-cities of 10 million people or more are getting a lot of attention these days. But smaller big cities are really where interesting and potentially hazardous growth patterns are occurring, according to this piece.

Solar Roads: The Next Revolution in Solar Power
A prototype bike path is being built in Amsterdam. When complete, it will combine the best aspects of earth-friendly transportation and eco-friendly energy, say the project's developers.

Which European city is the ideal capital of the European Union?
Which European city can claim to be the ideal capital of the European Union of today and tomorrow, given the possibilities for future enlargements? Based on four different indicators, this article considers several alternative locations. Is there a chance that such a movement will take place?

To read the full stories and more news, please visit http://www.urbanicity.org/Site/News/default.aspx

To submit a news story to Urbanicity, contact Jeremy Flay

EVENT FEATURES

Register Now  - Cities of the Future – Sustainable Urban Planning and Water Management

Stockholm 22-25 May 2011.

Highly interesting speakers will convey their experiences.

Planning for the development of water infrastructure is too often overlooked. Therefore it is our aim to deepen the interaction between planners and water professionals - and to show the strength in this new and innovative focus.

We are happy to have engaged highly qualified and interesting speakers, for example

• Paul Brown, USA: Tomorrow's urban systems: Bringing innovation into practice
• Paulien Hartog, Netherlands: Amsterdam, Water City in Transition: how water can anticipate on the new reality in urban development
• Cheng Yao Peng, China: Sustainable water resources planning for future-ready cities - A case study of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city

Cities of the Future has been designed for politicians, urban planners, architects, water specialists, environmental, energy and transport professionals, and many other interested individuals.

The delegates will meet, listen to and interact with people who have an enormous experience from sustainable building processes and techniques. Keynotes and other presentations, site visits and workshops form a unit that will give the delegates a unique planning experience.

Cities of the Future is one of the leading programmes from the International Water Association. Its purpose is to address the emerging challenges in cities and develop new visions and concepts towards an ecologically sustainable future in old or new, big or small, growing or shrinking cities.

Read more on www.cof2011stockholm.org

First Announcement - An International Workshop on Innovation, Diversity and Sustainable Development in Areas of Social Vulnerability

Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters, University of Massachusetts Boston & Chair in Multiculturalism , University of São Paulo, Brazil
November 17-18, 2011

This workshop aims to discuss strategies for the empowerment of residents in the areas of social vulnerability and the implementation of public policies with a sustainable basis, in such areas. We are interested in examining the following issues, amongst others, and welcome papers/proposals related to them:

• Strategies for sustainable development in areas of social vulnerability
• Strategies for population empowerment and the elimination of humiliations connected to social vulnerability and/or gender, age, ethnic, race, sexual orientation and disabilities
• Children and youth care and empowerment in areas of social vulnerability
• Strategies for sustainable urbanization against flooding and other kind of disasters due to climate changes or lack of public policies
• Establishing indicators of social vulnerability and sustainable development
• Strategies for fundraising to assist in the development of vulnerable areas before and after disasters

Workshop participants – who should attend
We welcome interdisciplinary approaches and proposals presented by scholars, researchers, public policy makers, governmental representatives and Non-Governmental Organizations.

Workshop location - University of Massachusetts Boston, USA

For further information and registration: http://www.mccormack.umb.edu/centers/crscad/idsd.php or e-mail: crscad@umb.edu

Last Call to Register - Counter Terror Expo 2011

Counter Terror Expo is the annual professional event delivering both focus and clarity to the complex and multifaceted task of protecting people and assets from those with the intent and determination to strike out.

The event brings the world's leading experts in the field from within government, the armed forces, security services, law enforcement and academia, together with industrialists at the cutting edge in developing the tools necessary to combat the scourge of terrorism.

Counter Terror Expo comprises a centrepiece conference programme, showcase exhibition and extensive programme of highly specialised workshops, which reflect the ever changing dynamics of the counter-terrorism world. To view the 2011 conference programme please visit www.counterterrorexpo.com/conf2011urban

Counter Terror Expo will be held next in the Grand Hall of the Olympia Exhibition & Conference Centre in London, 19-20 April, 2011.

Registration is now live. To Register for this event please visit www.counterterrorexpo.com/regurban

Register now – 2011 Asia Pacific Cities Summit

Register before 6 April 2011 and save $400 on your registration fees.

Brisbane – Australia’s new world city – will welcome more than 1,000 delegates from over 100 cities to the 2011 Asia Pacific Cities Summit (APCS) between 6-8 July 2011.

The Summit, themed ‘The Business of Cities’ will feature presentations and case studies profiling sustainability, connectivity and managing rapid growth in our cities over the coming decades.

The APCS is a Brisbane City Council initiative, supported by the Queensland Government as Principal Partner and is the region’s premier business and civic forum designed to drive economic growth and provide a springboard for businesses to enter the fastest growing market in the world – the Asia Pacific.

Delegates can participate in a government, corporate or young professional capacity. They will experience an exciting program of high profile international keynote speakers, plenary sessions, expert presentations and international case study sessions. They can also participate in the business matching program, official lunches and dinners (including an Aussie-style welcome barbeque, the gala dinner and closing lunch), access the Trade Market Square and have the opportunity to join the Lord Mayor of Brisbane for a morning exercise walk and breakfast.

For further information or to register your attendance, please go here to visit the Summit website.

Programme Announcement - REAL CORP 2011

CHANGE FOR STABILITY: LIFECYCLES OF CITIES AND REGIONS
The role and possibilities of foresighted planning in transformation processes

18-20 May 2011,
Zollverein World Heritage Site, SANAA Building,
Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

www.corp.at

The detailed (draft) PROGRAM for REAL CORP 2011 conference is available at:
http://www.corp.at/Download/CORP2011/CORP2011_Programme.pdf

Register at www.corp.at

To place a conference feature in City Matters, please contact Jeremy Flay

EVENTS CALENDAR

April

Sustainable Communities Start Here

World Congress of Metropolis

mobil.TUM 2011 Conference

World Congress and Mobility & City Transport Exhibition

EU Sustainable Energy Week

Regional Studies Association International Conference 2011

Counter Terror Expo 2011

The Changing Landscape of Community Development

Housing Forum Europe and Central Asia

Defining tomorrow’s city-port relationship

More April Events

May

Urban Development 2050

SCUPAD 11: Breaking Patterns, Changing Cities

Governance and Change on the Urban Fringe

Waste - the social context

Euroheat and Power

Urban Rail 2011

Creative City Summit 2011

Secured Cities

European and UK Sustainable Urban Drainage Conference

Urban Congestion 2011

Smart Mobility for Better Cities

2nd International Conference of Innovative Cities

REAL CORP 2010

ECOMM 2011

Conflict in Cities International Conference

Cities of the Future

APM-ATS 2011

Major Cities of Europe Conference

International Transport Forum

Dense Cities

More May events

June Events

Resilient Cities 2011

City Logistics 2011

The Distinctiveness of Cities

World Conference on Disaster Management

2011 National Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Conference

Cities without limits

Conference on Climate Science and Urban Design - City weathers

Regions for Economic Change - Fostering Smart and Sustainable Growth in Cities and Regions

5th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations

Knowledge Cities and Disaster Recovery

More June events

For a full listing of forthcoming conferences, visit: Urbanicity Events

To receive updates for this calendar, please register here