Better cities, better lives

Reimagining urban for the 21st Century

Sustainable Cities

Global city population share doubled from 25 percent in 1950 to about 50 percent in 2020. Our world will continue to urbanize over the next three decades to a projected 68 percent in 2050. The future of humanity is urban, and we have to shift our focus to transforming socially, economically, environmentally deprived urban areas into connected, dynamic, diverse and vibrant neighbourhoods that achieve increasing equality of outcomes for all.

Around Europe and Central Asia, cities and urban centres are introducing new sustainability approaches to keep their residents healthy, productive and safe.

Stories from the field

Success story

Astana fashions a people-friendly city through clean energy transition

Constructing a modern city guided by the concept of "a people-friendly city” must include reducing greenhouse gas emissions and human-induced sources of pollution that affect health. In Astana, pollution is an issue that cannot be ignored, as air gets brown with toxic coal smoke in winter. But there is a broad movement by both city and residents to combat it, and housing is a place to start.

Lviv: A city embraces innovation, even amidst war

Lviv, Ukraine, known for its vibrant city life, has embraced innovation to grow and respond to war, aided in part by the Mayors for Economic Growth initiative.

From grass-roots to government, recycling takes Yerevan

When Mkhitar, Gevorg and Irina started to promote a better way to manage the Armenia’s trash, these were the reactions. It wasn’t yet a trend and people weren’t as aware of climate change concerns. But not these three. At the peaks of their careers in the fields of marketing, engineering and environmental protection, they left their jobs, determined to make a change. “We were definitely not ashamed of working with trash. In fact, we had a different vision – we treasured the resource that people called trash."

Designing a city for people, not cars

Batumi has grown dramatically in recent years, from a relatively small city of 18 km2 in 1990 into a 65 km2 urban conglomerate.
It is not only a leading sea resort in Georgia, but plays a critical role in the national economy as a gateway between sea and land.

Is Inclusive smarter than Smart?

The collective imagination of the Future of Cities is alluring, and dangerously incomplete.

Satellites see the pollution you can’t, and can help us solve the problem

The collective imagination of the Future of Cities is alluring, and dangerously incomplete.

Blog

Could air pollution be the other public health emergency?

It’s been more than a year since the pandemic was declared, and it’s even more clear that many of the root causes of climate change also increase the risk of pandemics. Global warming, deforestation, ecosystems degradation and loss of critical habitats - to name a few amongst many.

Agorà — a transformational dance with urban systems

Cities are at the centre of global mobility. Approximately one in five of today’s 272 million international migrants are estimated to live in just 20 cities. In some countries, such as China, Thailand and Rwanda, rural-to-urban migration accounts for more than half of the urban growth.

Why mayors matter in the migration equation

We need sustainable cities in Turkmenistan – so we created a roadmap to get there

No city in the world has achieved full sustainability yet – that is, a zero carbon emission footprint on the planet’s wellbeing. There is, however, a blueprint we could learn from - a district of Abu-Dhabi called Masdar City.

Report

Air Quality in Bishkek: Assessment of emission sources and roadmap for supporting air quality management

With the analysis and roadmap provided by the report, air quality management in Bishkek will be strengthened to protect the country and people against air pollution, opening the door for further understanding of Bishkek’s air pollution, its sources and impacts, and how to improve air quality.

Cities Alive: Designing Cities That Work for Women

55% of the world population live in urban areas and 50% of the global population is made up of women and girls. Our new #CitiesAlive report shows that cities have not been designed with women in mind and calls for more Inclusive Cities.

Urban Talks series | Summary and takeaways

Urban Talks is an 8-part webinar series that spotlights cities and initiatives that are building new inclusive visions across Europe and Central Asia and wider, and showcases how cities are demonstrating resilience, reinventing their economies, transitioning to inclusive and smart cities, and building new partnerships. It is a space for exchanging insights and learnings and bringing together a growing community of cities, practitioners and thinkers, that are approaching urban challenges in a systematic way.

Guide to corruption free local government

Guideline on how to build corruption free city. From stopping bribery to securing data, there are many levels to making a system of integrity.