Category: News from NA

As cities strive to build a more sustainable and circular economy, reuse is emerging as a key solution, offering environmental, economic, and social benefits. By supporting repair and refurbishment businesses, promoting reusable packaging, and facilitating material exchanges, local governments can reduce waste, cut carbon emissions, lower unemployment, reduce prices and create new economic opportunities. Our latest Best Practice explores how cities are successfully integrating...

Urban agriculture is redefining the way cities utilize land, transforming vacant lots, rooftops, and vertical farms into thriving new hubs of local food production, social interaction, and environmental resilience. From community gardens to food forests, cities are leveraging urban agriculture to address food insecurity, promote biodiversity, and enhance climate adaptation. For local governments, investing in urban agriculture goes beyond food production; it’s about experimentation, preserving gastronomic heritage,...

Vienna's housing strategy ensures affordability, inclusivity, and sustainability through public and social housing, rent controls, and tenant protections. This approach stabilizes market costs and fosters social cohesion. With 78% of housing as rentals and over half publicly supported, Vienna promotes diverse, mixed-income communities. Strict regulations prevent excessive rent hikes, while public renovations maintain affordability. Beyond cost control, the city prioritizes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrng6vwIcx0 This session showcased successful revitalization projects from Madrid, Dublin, Rome, Toronto, and Pavlos Melas, where decommissioned industrial sites, abandoned military facilities, and vacant public buildings were transformed into thriving spaces. Urban areas worldwide face the challenge of underused and abandoned spaces. Left unaddressed, these locations can contribute to inequality and urban fragmentation. However, with the right strategies, they present...

The recent IURC NA Urban Planning Cluster visit to Barcelona, from 4-5 November, brought together 14 cities from Europe, Canada, and the USA for two days of intensive collaboration on two critical urban challenges: affordable housing and urban data management. The event, organized around site visits, workshops, and the Smart City Congress, provided a platform for cities to share experiences...

Urban mobility and environmental sustainability go hand in hand, and Bergamo is leading by example with its comprehensive bike initiative, bergamoinbicicletta.it. With transport accounting for around 25% of CO2 emissions in the EU—70% from road transport—encouraging alternative mobility solutions is more important than ever. Bergamo, a city of 120,000 residents nestled within a larger province of over 1 million, faces unique...

Public procurement in the EU, US, and Canada involves trillions of dollars annually, presenting a significant opportunity to drive market transformation, innovation, and sustainable supply chains. However, few municipalities have fully leveraged this potential to achieve economic, social, and environmental gains. This massive spending power can drive sustainable change! By embracing circular procurement, cities can create new local jobs, reduce waste,...

The circular economy has gained in popularity because its basic principles, such as designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems, can be applied at various scales, and the potential benefits are broad. Considering the core competencies of municipal governments, cities can play a well-rounded role in the circular economy by promoting the...

Our first best practice on Circular Economy explores how cities are increasingly adopting systemic and integrated planning approaches to enhance their resilience and address challenges like climate change, population growth, and food security. The circular economy has gained traction because its principles can be applied at various scales and offer broad benefits. Effective planning is crucial to harness the circular...

On the 20th of June, 2024, we had an engaging webinar on affordable housing, a key element in urban planning with profound impacts on social equity, economic stability, and community well-being. Discover in this webinar how a paradigm shift in affordable housing is necessary and achievable, and learn how high-quality, affordable housing can promote positive behavioral changes among residents, benefiting...