![]() Cities that encourage the building of green roofs include.... (Photos: Above - Vancouver Airport by MamaKitten and above right - Roof of Chicago City Hall by City of Chicago) ![]() FRONT PAGE SiteSearch About us | Quiénes somos How good is your Mayor? Directories Events Debate ![]() Germany's greenest cities Green mayors Green cities initiative Greenhouse gas emissions Urban energy saving (USA) Green finance Urban ecological footprint Scottish Green energy Toronto's Rouge Park Africa's water crisis Gas drilling in eastern US cities Cities' green policies US cities to go green Cities and biodiversity North America's greenest cities Europe's greenest cities Mexico City's Green Plan Mexico City garbage disposal Sustainable communities Liveable cities Saving energy by using contrast Great Lakes initiative Issues facing megacities Dubai & Shanghai development Pros and cons of biofuels Smart growth in US cities Greenest US cities Green schools US mayors agree on Kyoto Most polluted US cities Sustainable communities under threat ![]() City Mayors reports news from towns and cities around the world. Worldwide | Elections | North America | Latin America | Europe | Asia | Africa | ![]() City Mayors ranks the world’s largest, best as well as richest cities and urban areas. It also ranks the cities in individual countries, and provides a list of the capital cities of some 200 sovereign countries. More ![]() City Mayors profiles city leaders from around the world. More ![]() City Mayors describes the history, architecture and politics of the greatest city halls in the world. More ![]() Mayors from The Americas, Europe. Asia, Australia and Africa compete for the World Mayor Award. More ![]() Use Mayor Monitor to rate the performance of mayors from across the world More ![]() In your opinion: Praise Criticise. Write ![]() City Mayors reports political events, analyses the issues and depicts the main players. More ![]() City Mayors describes and explains the structures and workings of local government in Europe, The Americas, Asia, Australia and Africa. More ![]() City Mayors deals with economic and investment issues affecting towns and cities. More ![]() City Mayors describes and explains financial issues affecting local government. More ![]() City Mayors reports urban environmental developments and examines the challenges faced by cities worldwide. More ![]() City Mayors reports on and discusses urban development issues in developed and developing countries. More ![]() City Mayors reports on developments in urban society and behaviour and reviews relevant research. More ![]() City Mayors invites readers to write about the people in their cities. More ![]() City Mayors examines city brands and marketing. More ![]() City Mayors lists and features urban events, conferences and conventions aimed at urban decision makers and those with an interst in cities worldwide. More ![]() City Mayors deals with urban transport issues in developed and developing countries and features the world’s greatest metro systems. More ![]() City Mayors examines education issues and policies affecting children and adults in urban areas. More ![]() City Mayors investigates health issues affecting urban areas with an emphasis on health in cities in developing countries. More ![]() City Mayors reports on how business developments impact on cities and examines cooperation between cities and the private sector. More ![]() City Mayors examines the contributions history and culture make to urban society and environment. More ![]() City Mayors examines the importance of urban tourism to city economies. More ![]() City Mayors questions those who govern the world’s cities and talks to men and women who contribute to urban society and environment. More ![]() City Mayors profiles national and international organisations representing cities as well as those dealing with urban issues. More ![]() City Mayors reports on major national and international sporting events and their impact on cities. More ![]() City Mayors lists cities and city organisations, profiles individual mayors and provides information on hundreds of urban events. More |
European and US mayors take lead in tackling global warming By Brian Baker, Senior Correspondent 23 March 2009: Mayors have led cities large and small in actions to tackle global warming at local level. These efforts have been linked in the United States since 2005 and since 2008 in the European Union too. In the US this was a bottom-up intervention, which sought to connect cities to the Kyoto Protocol even though the Bush administration refused to sign it. |
![]() ...Stuttgart, Germany; Münster, Germany; Basel, Switzerland; Malmö, Sweden; Chicago, USA; Portland, Oregan, USA; Toronto, Canada; Antwerp, Belgium; Gent, Belgium; Rotterdam, Netherlands On other pages A city’s ecological footprint bears no comparison to its actual area The US city of Rochester, New York State, and its immediate suburbs occupy about 160,000 hectares, or the same land area as London, England. The difference is that Rochester’s urbanized core contains 735,000 residents versus 7.6 million in London. London, for its part, has less than two-thirds the population density of Tokyo. Over the past 20 years, urban planners, geographers, and environmentalists, especially those in the US, have pointed out the problems associated with sprawl development -- from traffic congestion to a spatial mismatch between where people live and where jobs are located to the high fiscal costs of an ever-expanding infrastructure. Solutions focus in the internal urban environment, that is, on ways to create healthy, pedestrian-friendly cities with ample open space and human-scale design. A new body of research is emerging that considers not only an “inside” look at urban growth, but also its external impact on the global environment. Urban Ecological Footprint. Canadian ecologist William Rees developed the concept of an “ecological footprint” to refer to the environmental impact of modern cities and industrial areas. The ecological footprint of a city is the surface area required to supply a city with food and other resources and to absorb its wastes. More |