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Global real estate investors
to explore new target cities

London, 30 January 2012:
Thirty world cities attract more than 50 per cent of all global investment in commercial real estate, with the top five cities - London, Tokyo, New York City, Hong Kong and Paris – accounting for almost one quarter of investment volume. International real estate consultants, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLLS), said that while a few emerging markets, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Moscow and Sao Paulo, had joined the top ranks, the ‘top 30’ had remained relatively consistent over recent years. But JLLS also believes that this decade will be one of change. “We believe that this will be the decade of change as investors widen their horizons across a much broader range of 300 plus cities, not only in new emerging markets but also in secondary and tertiary cities in mature economies,”

The company’s report A new World of Cities, which was published to coincide with this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, predicts that as the digital world erodes the need for physical clustering, will promote cities such as Mexico City, Delhi and Istanbul into the top echelons of investible cities.

According to the report, US cities will continue to hold considerable real estate weight. “Eleven US cities are expected to feature among the world’s top 30 largest cities (by GDP) by 2020. There are also notable pockets of dynamism in the US, with some of the world’s fastest growing mature cities over the next decade likely to be in the US – such as Austin Texas and Raleigh-Durham – driven by technology, high-value activities and a remarkable capacity for innovation.”

For European cities JLLS predicts that the disparity between winners and losers is likely to be even more marked over the next decade. “A capacity for innovation and reinvention will be a key differentiator for European cities. Besides Europe’s four mega cities - London, Paris, Moscow and Istanbul – which offer truly global scale, it will be Europe’s ‘high-value’ cities, such as Munich and Stockholm, with strong fundamentals and commitment to innovation, that will be best enabled to outperform in a low-growth environment.”

The JLLS report also says that China will dominate investment in the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China). With the ten fastest-growing cities all being in China, their investment potential will outweigh the opportunities in other emerging markets.

The top ten cities for commercial real estate investment in 2011 are: London, New York City, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, Singapore, Washington DC, Shanghai, Seoul and Toronto.

Nominations are sought for
the 2012 World Mayor Prize

London, 14 January 2012:
The 2012 World Mayor Project was launched today by the City Mayors Foundation. City Mayors awards every two years the World Mayor Prize to a mayor who has been bold at community level but has also developed a vision for urban living that is relevant to towns and cities across the world. Previous winners include Marcelo Ebrard (Mexico City), Helen Zille (Cape Town), John So (Melbourne), Dora Bakoyannis (Athens) and Edi Rama (Tirana). The organisers of the World Mayor Project now invite nominations for the 2012 Prize.

City Mayors is looking for city leaders who excel in qualities like: leadership and vision, management abilities and integrity, social and economic awareness, ability to provide security and to protect the environment as well as the will and ability to foster good relations between communities from different cultural, racial and social backgrounds. The winner receives the critically acclaimed World Mayor Trophy, while the runner-up is given the World Mayor Commendation.

A spokesman for City Mayors also stressed that any mayor wishing to be considered for this year’s World Mayor Prize will have to sign up to the mayoral Code of Ethics. The Code has been instituted for mayors, who wish to perform their duties beyond all reproach.

The World Mayor Prize was first awarded in 2004 to the then Mayor of Tirana, Edi Rama. He was credited with transforming the post-communist capital of Tirana into a modern European metropolis. The 2005 Prize was given to Dora Bakoyannis for her contributions to the legacy of the 2004 Olympics. She later became Greeks foreign minister in the country’s centre-right government but left her party when it refused to support the austerity measures of the newly installed Socialist government.

In 2006, the World Mayor Prize went to John So, Lord Mayor of Melbourne. He was born in China, grew up in Hong Kong and moved to Melbourne in his teens. During the 1960s and 70s he campaigned against successive governments’ ‘White Australia’ policies. As a mayor of Asian heritage in the strongly diverse city, So championed links with other Asian cities.

The public life of Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille, the recipient of the 2008 World Mayor Prize, begun as a journalist during South Africa’s apartheid era. She emerged as a leading anti-apartheid critic, famously exposing the circumstances behind Steve Biko’s death under police custody in 1977. Helen Zille is now Western Cape premier, a success, which many put down to the achievements showcased in Cape Town during her tenure as mayor.

Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of Mexico City and winner of the 2010 World Mayor Prize, has proved that he is a liberal reformer and pragmatist who shows no fear of challenging Mexico’s orthodoxy. He has championed women’s and minorities’ rights and has become an outspoken and internationally respected advocate on environmental issues.

World capitals to apply
for new domain names

London, 14 January 2012:
Since Thursday, 12 January 2012, anyone can apply for generic top-level domains (gTLDs). gTLDs are the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical domain name system of the internet and are the suffixes such as (dot)com, (dot)org or (dot)co.uk. Several cities including London, Tokyo, New York, Paris, Berlin and Moscow have said they would apply for a city gTLD. A spokesman for Moscow City Hall told City Mayors that the city had already presented claims for (dot)Moscow and (dot)Moskva. London and Tokyo have also said they would apply for their respective gTLDs.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which runs the web’s Domain Name System, has already received 120 applications for new domains from transnational corporations, world capitals and various communities. Rod Beckstrom, the corporation’s CEO, said ICANN began accepting applications for new top-level domains at one minute past midnight on Thursday.

The first application window for new gTLDs will close on 12 April and ICANN will then post the domain names applied for, along with the names of the entities that have chosen them. The new domains will go public by the end of 2012, ICANN has projected.

It will cost US$185,000 (€240,000) to license a new gTLD over 10 years, plus a $10,000 per year fee. But industry experts expect the real costs to be considerably higher. City Mayors was told that for a company to register its brand as a gTLD and launch it on the internet would cost several million dollars. “Many smaller companies, and indeed cities, will just not be able to afford such an investment.”

London has put the licence to operate its gTLD out to tender, with a partner likely to be selected in February for a five year contract. Tokyo says it will allow local firm GMO Registry to apply to operate the (dot)tokyo domain, with the company hopeful that other Japanese cities will follow. At least four other cities and regions in Japan are at the stage of approving such registrations with internet domain regulator ICANN ahead of April’s deadline.

Any city-based domain name must have the approval of the relevant local government in order to prevent cyber-squatting of its identity, even if it has not formally applied for a gTLD itself.

Meanwhile some Canadian cities have bought internet domain names with the (dot)xxx suffix - which is reserved for websites with ‘adult’ content - in an effort to protect their image. Cities are worried that so-called ‘domain squatters’ will buy the names of frequently searched city departments and redirect users to porn sites.

The City of Saskatoon has purchased six x-rated domain names, such as Saskatoon.xxx. "We were concerned about our public image, about the profile we have, and also for the citizens of Saskatoon," a spokesman for the city said. "Really quite unhappy about the fact that somebody could actually have a porn site when people think they are coming to the city to do business."

The City of Regina is also planning to purchase domain names like Regina.xxx.

Researchers can’t agree on
the world’s most expensive city

London, 7 December 2011:
This year, Luanda (Angola), Oslo (Norway) and Tokyo (Japan) have separately been named the world’s most expensive city by three different research organisations. But while human resources consultants Mercer and ECA as well as Swiss bank UBS can’t agree on the costliest city, their research reports offer some similarities. Tokyo, Zurich and Geneva feature in the top ten of all three studies. However, while Mercer maintains that Luanda is still the most expensive city for foreign operatives, ECA says the Angolan capital, which it placed at the top two years ago, was falling rapidly down the table to this year’s rank 11. All three reports also place US cities lower than twelve month ago but largely due to the depreciation of the US dollar against many major currencies.

The reports are published for the benefit of global companies who use the data to award appropriate remuneration packages to their overseas operatives. Most of the research is carried out locally and the raw findings are later translated into US dollars, which means that any changes are as much the result of currency fluctuations as of price inflation. For example according to all three surveys, the cost of living in European cities becomes more expensive if the dollar weakens even when local prices remain unchanged.

This year’s 10 most expensive cities by Mercer, UBS and ECA

Rank
Mercer (2011)
UBS (2011)
ECA (2011)
1
Luanda Oslo Tokyo
2
Tokyo Zurich Oslo
3
Ndjamena Geneva Geneva
4
Moscow Copenhagen Nagoya
5
Geneva Stockholm Zurich
6
Osaka Tokyo Yokohama
7
Zurich Sydney Bern
8
Singapore Helsinki Stavanger
9
Hong Kong Toronto Basel
10
Sao Paulo Singapore Kobe

City mayors from around the
world sign climate declaration

Durban, 6 December 2011:
Some 114 mayors and several hundred other local government officials from around the world came to Durban to affirm that cities were comitted to combating climate change. Delegates were told that cities were at the cutting edge of climate pressures, with rapidly expanding urban populations, which are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events and food shortages. The conference, which was organised by ICLEI, intended to put pressure on government negotiators from the simultaneous COP17 conference (The 17th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) to take the role of local government more seriously in their discussions.

Several speakers at the local government climate conference stressed that cites were well placed to address climate change through changing the way municipal services are provided, and through local regulation, leadership and innovation. “They are the centres of economic, political and cultural innovation and they manage vast public resources, infrastructure and investments.” Speakers also welcomed that after nearly two decades of being ignored in climate change negotiations, last year's COP16 in Cancun recognised local and sub-national governments as ‘governmental stakeholders’ in the global climate regime.

At the close of the conference, city leaders signed the Durban Adaptation Charter, a political commitment to strengthen local resilience to climate change. Durban Mayor James Nxumalo, who led the signing of the Charter, said local governments from around the world made history by committing themselves to local resilience to climate change.

Occupy protests spread
to cities around the world

London, 6 November 2011:
The ‘Occupy’ movement, which started as ‘Occupy Wall Street’ in New York City on 17 September 2011, has spread to all continents. In additions to demonstrations and sit-ins in dozens of US cities, protesters have set up camp in London and Edinburgh, Sydney and Melbourne, Toronto and Calgary, Berlin and Frankfurt as well as Rome and Milan. Protests were also reported in Ireland, New Zealand, Mongolia and Belgium. Only in Paris are the protests somewhat low-key.

USA
In Oakland, California, an initially peaceful march turned violent when protesters blocked entrances and forced a shutdown of the nation's fifth-largest port. After most people went home, violence broke out downtown. Police reported protesters vandalizing properties, lighting bonfires in the street and hurling explosives at officers. Police say protesters threw concrete chunks, metal pipes and Molotov cocktails. Police fired rubber bullets and used tear gas to subdue the crowd. Mayor Jean Quan has been being heavily criticised for her mixed messages on Occupy Oakland.

Denver supporters of the Occupy movement temporarily moved their protest location out of respect for a Veterans Day parade and will march in front of downtown banks this weekend. Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore visited the protesters on Thursday.

The Occupy Atlanta movement got a boost from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who told protesters at a homeless shelter that their efforts are an extension of the struggle he helped lead for civil rights in America. Jackson urged the protesters to keep up the fight and to focus their anger on economic and social disparities, not City Hall.

Sixteen people were arrested at the Occupy Rochester protest in a downtown park. So far police have made 50 arrests at the park, where the Occupy Rochester group gathers daily. Mayor Tom Richards claimed there are no sanitary facilities in the park and it's not designed for people to spend the night.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited the park where Occupy Wall Street demonstrators have been camping for seven weeks, saying afterward he was concerned about the effect the protest is having on area businesses. “I’m concerned about businesses in the neighborhood, every industry in the city. We have a responsibility to protect that,” he explained. The mayor said the city wouldn’t tolerate illegal behavior, including public urination.

Police arrested 13 protesters with the Occupy Tulsa movement on Wednesday for violating a curfew at a park in the city's financial district. More than 100 Occupy Pittsburgh protesters marched through parts of the city Wednesday night, chanting slogans against police and brutality at similar protests in other cities. The city of Providence on Wednesday decided to postpone plans to ask a court to evict members of Occupy Providence who have been camping in a downtown park for more than two weeks.

UNITED KINGDOM
As the Occupy London protest enters its third week camped outside of the landmark St Paul’s Cathedral, the protest organisers have issued a statement calling on the democratic reform of the ancient City of London Corporation which governs the square mile at the centre of the British capital. While the protestors have as in other cities elsewhere largely called for curbs on financiers, a statement issued by organisers has said that democratic reform of “unconstitutional and unfair” City government is “urgently needed”, citing its influence over the British Parliament. The encampment has seen several high profile resignations among the church authorities over the protestors’ right to assemble, as well as legal proceedings by concerned property owners.

The protestors’ demands are for an end of the business vote for the City of London’s centuries old council, the abolition of the offices of Lord Mayor and Remembrancer (who represents the City in Parliament), an inquiry into the secrecy and corruption of City institutions and the cessation of the City’s separate police force and judiciary. Green Party London Assembly member and mayoral candidate Jenny Jones called the City corporation “the rotten borough at the heart of our capital” and echoed the call for reform, as did several Labour and Liberal Democrat legislators in a parliamentary motion.

The protestors’ target, the London Stock Exchange, is surrounded by private land owned by Mitsubishi Estates, requiring the camp to be based on public land, with an eviction action being pursued by the City Corporation currently on hold. The City Corporation promised dialogue with the protestors to find alternative site for “lawful protest”, while the owners of the Canary Wharf complex in London’s docklands also took pre-emptive legal action to prevent any encampment.
 
FRANCE
Like their Spanish, American and British counterparts, the ‘occupiers’ of Paris’ key business district are protesting against the current global financial system: the uneven distribution of wealth; globalisation, bank bailouts and austerity measures. Heeding the call of an online campaign, at least 500 young demonstrators pitched their tents on Friday afternoon on the massive esplanade amid towering skyscrapers of multinational firms and banks. “The goal is to set up camp and stay as long as possible,” the organisers state on the website for “Occupons la Défense”. But despite an unseasonably warm and sunny afternoon, the event failed to attract the impressive numbers its cross-Atlantic and neighbouring counterparts boasted from day one.

CANADA
Vancouver's
mayor has asked that the tent city at the city's art gallery be cleared after a woman was found dead at the encampment Saturday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported.

Calgary
Mayor Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the city would not force Occupy Calgary protestors from Olympic Plaza any time soon. Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the city would respect the Olympic Park campers' right to protest, for now anyway. He explained whether or not people agreed with the protesters, there would still the need to balance their freedom of expression. “It strikes at the heart of the values that we hold as Canadians, and we have to be very thoughtful in addressing it,” said Nenshi.

AUSTRALIA
Police in Sydney removed away several protesters after they refused to comply with an order to take down a tent set up at the city's Hyde Park. On Sunday, police kept an eye on further protests. Earlier Saturday, about 400 people made their way from outside Sydney Town Hall to a mall at the center of the city.
(Reports by Andrew Stevens, London, Guy Kervella, Paris and local reporters in Australia, the USA and Canada.)

The world’s dirtiest cities are
in Iran, the cleanest in Canada

Geneva, 27 September 2011:
In many cities air pollution is reaching levels that threaten people's health according to a compilation of air quality data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The information includes data from nearly 1100 cities across 91 countries. Among the ten most polluted metropolitan areas are four cities from Iran, two from Pakistan and two from India. The cleanest cities are in Canada.

The WHO estimates more than two million people die every year from breathing in tiny particles present in indoor and outdoor air pollution. PM10 particles, which are particles of 10 micrometers or less, which can penetrate into the lungs and may enter the bloodstream, can cause heart disease, lung cancer, asthma, and acute lower respiratory infections. The WHO air quality guidelines for PM10 is 20 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) as an annual average, but the data released today shows that average PM10 in some cities has reached up to 300 µg/m3.

The world’s most polluted cities:
Ahwaz, Iran, PM10 of 372 micrograms per cubic metre
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 279
Sanandaj, Iran, 254
Ludhiana, India, 251
Quetta, Pakistan, 251
Kermanshah, Iran, 229
Peshawar, Pakistan, 219
Gaborone, Botswana, 216
Yasouj, Iran, 215
Kanpur, India, 209
In comparison, German cities like Berlin and Munich have a PM10 reading of 26 micrograms

The world’s cleanest cities are found in Canada. The Yukon capital of Whitehorse topped the list of cities at 2.9 micrograms per cubic metre, the WHO said, with the British Columbia towns of Kitimat and Burns Lake rounding out the top three at 4.0 and 4.8 micrograms, respectively.

Other findings:
• Persistently elevated levels of fine particle pollution are common across many urban areas. Fine particle pollution often originates from combustion sources such as power plants and motor vehicles.
• The great majority of urban populations have an average annual exposure to PM10 particles in excess of the WHO Air Quality guideline recommended maximum level of 20 µg/m3. On average, only a few cities currently meet the WHO guideline values.
• For 2008, the estimated mortality attributable to outdoor air pollution in cities amounts to 1.34 million premature deaths. If the WHO guidelines had been universally met, an estimated 1.09 million deaths could have been prevented in 2008. The number of deaths attributable to air pollution in cities has increased from the previous estimation of 1.15 million deaths in 2004. The increase in the mortality estimated to be attributable to urban air pollution is linked to recent increases in air pollution concentrations and in urban population size, as well as improved data availability and methods employed.


In both developed and developing countries, the largest contributors to urban outdoor air pollution include motor transport, small-scale manufacturers and other industries, burning of biomass and coal for cooking and heating, as well as coal-fired power plants. Residential wood and coal burning for space heating is an important contributor to air pollution, especially in rural areas during colder months.

Amsterdam confirms its position
as the most bicycle-friendly city

Copenhagen, 22 September 2011:
Amsterdam has been named as the most bicycle-friendly large city by Copenhagenize, a consultacy that advises local authorities on measures necessary to increase the use of bikes. Copenhagen, Barcelona Tokyo and Berlin completed the top five. Despite its pioneering bikes-to-go Vélib scheme, Paris only ranks 7th, while London ties with Helsinki in 15th place. The report describes cycling in Amsterdam as relaxing, enjoyable and as mainstream as you can get. “This is the one place on the planet where fear-mongering about cycling is non-existent and it shows.”

Copenhagen earns points largely for their well-established bicycle culture, infrastructure/bicycle facilities and the bicycle’s prominence in politics and planning. From a design perspective, Copenhagen is second-to-none when it comes to a well-designed and uniform bicycle infrastructure network. A high modal share and even gender split add to Copenhagen's total score. The city receives bonus points for innovation and their drive to think new and different about promoting cycling through countless pilot projects and initiatives.

There were no bicycles in Barcelona a mere five years ago and now the city puts many emerging bicycle cities to shame with their excellent efforts bringing the bicycle back to the urban landscape and marketing it positively. The city's investment in bicycle infrastructure and their bike share programme have boosted bicycle use among Citizen Cyclists and the local advocacy NGO is determined to improve conditions. With the implementation of 30 km/h zones in many neighbourhoods, with brilliant results for reducing injury to pedestrians and cyclists, Barcelona is the yardstick that many other new bicycle cities should measure themselves by.

Tokyo, The largest city in the world's third great bicycle nation comes in at number 4. The bicycle is already an accepted form of transport. The rigorous drivers' training that motorists must go through in Japan creates a fine perception of safety on the streets. Parking solutions, outside of train stations in particular, are innovative and inspirational. Japan is so often forgotten by the West regarding bicycle culture, but Tokyo should be an inspiration on so many levels.

The bicycle never really disappeared from Berlin, as it did in other regions, which has expedited their current and impressive boom in urban cycling. In tact with Berlin's re-emergence, the bicycle is fulfilling its potential. The city's separated bicycle infrastructure contributes positively to encouraging citizens to ride.

It was Paris' bike share programme, Vélib', that persuaded London and New York to get the ball rolling and improve conditions for cyclists. Now the French capital is light-years ahead of other large cities as they continue investing in infrastructure and facilities. They receive maximum points for their bike share programme - arguably one of the most effective in the world. Paris makes the bicycle the quickest way from A to B – the ultimate goal for traffic planning for bicycles - and its citizens have embraced the opportunity.

In London cycling is on the rise and political efforts – like them or not – have had their desired impact. The city's bike share programme follows Paris' lead and contributes to the symbolism of the return of the bicycle. A strong cycling community is, in some ways, a benefit to returning the bicycle to the British capital. London has a diverse range of bicycle cultures, with room for everyone to participate. There is also growing support in favour of lobbying for separated infrastructure.

New York is getting its act into gear and is making amends for decades of weak cycling policy. Cycling in the boroughs has taken off and major efforts have been made on Manhattan to implement safe, separated cycle tracks. A combination of grassroots support and political will are transforming the cityscape. If New York takes off like Paris and London have, we'll see a domino effect in cities around the world. New York possesses great responsibility.

The 20 most bicycle-friendly large cities:
1) Amsterdam: 54 points out of 60
2) Copenhagen: 52/60
3) Barcelona: 45/60
4) Tokyo: 41/60
4) Berlin: 41/60
6) Munich: 40/60
7) Paris: 39/60
8) Montreal: 38/60
9) Dublin: 37/60
10) Budapest: 36/60
10) Portland: 36/60
10) Guadalajara: 36/60
10) Hamburg: 36/60
14) Stockholm: 33/60
15) Helsinki: 31/60
15) London: 31/60
17) San Francisco: 30/60
17) Rio de Janeiro: 30/60
17) Vienna: 30/60
20) New York: 29/60
Report by The Copenhagenize Index


World’s cities to grow by four
times the size of Germany

Houston, 17 September 2011:
Over the next 20 years the world’s cities will grow by 1.4 million square kilometres or roughly four times the size of Germany. A report by the Texas A&M University says urban areas are growing faster than urban populations. Burak Güneralp, from the university’s Department of Geography told City Mayors that this massive urbanization of land was happening worldwide, but India, China and Africa had experienced the highest rates of urban land expansion. “The university’s study covered the 30 years from 1970 to 2000, and we found that urban growth is occurring at the highest rates in developing countries. However, it is North America that experienced the largest increase in total urban land,” he added.

The United Nations predicts that by 2030 there will be an additional 1.47 billion people living in urban areas. Güneralp says, urban population growth is a significant driver of urban land change, especially in developing regions such in India and Africa. However, economic growth is also important, particularly in China.

He notes that coastal areas are especially vulnerable to urban expansion. “Where cities grow the most seem to be near coastal areas, and this is a very noticeable trend,” Güneralp says. “This makes coastal areas a special area of concern because people and infrastructures are at risk to rising sea levels, flooding, hurricanes, tsunamis and other disasters. All over the world, people like to live by the water, so it’s a trend that will likely not change.”

Six cities apply to host
2020 Olympic Games

Lausanne, 3 September 2011:
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that six cities have been put forward by their respective National Olympic Committees to apply to host the 2020 Olympic Games. The cities are: Baku (Azerbaijan), Doha (Qatar), Istanbul (Turkey), Madrid (Spain), Rome (Italy) and Tokyo (Japan). Doha is proposing to hold the games in September and October, outside the traditional dates in July and August, to avoid the blistering summer temperatures.

The six applicant cities will now proceed to phase 1 of the IOC’s two-step procedure, which will lead to the election of the 2020 host city in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 7 September 2013.

• Phase 1, known as the candidature acceptance procedure, focuses on a technical review and the cities’ ability to host the Olympic Games in 2020. Cities are required to answer a questionnaire and their answers are studied by the IOC. At the end of this first phase, the IOC selects the cities that will become Candidate Cities and therefore move on to Phase 2.

• Phase 2, known as the candidature procedure, concentrates on operational matters. Candidate Cities will be requested to submit their candidature file – which is an in-depth description of their Olympic project – and will be subject to a technical assessment made by a visiting team – the IOC evaluation commission.

Paris, London and Sydney
the world’s top city brands

London, 20 July 2011:
Paris, London and Sydney are the world’s top three city brands according to a new report by Anholt-GfK Roper. The City Brands Index (CBI) measures the world's perception of 50 cities from both developed and developing countries. The study’s authors said that a city's perceived image could have a major impact on its ability to attract business and tourism. “It is vital that cities are able to provide a pleasant, prosperous and sustainable life for their citizens, visitors, neighbours and trading partners."

The top ten city brands are:
1 Paris
2 London
3 Sydney
4 New York City
5 Los Angeles
6 Rome
7 Washington DC
8 Melbourne
9 Vienna
10 Tokyo

The 2011 Anholt-GfK Roper City Brands Index is based on a survey conducted in 10 major developed and developing countries around the globe. The index is developed by averaging city scores across six categories: Presence, Place, Pre-requisites, People, Pulse and Potential. Each category has two to three questions assessing a city's performance such as contribution to the world, cleanliness, climate, buildings and parks, accommodations, public amenities, personal encounters, interesting events, lifestyles, job and educational opportunities, and business climate.

While cities from the developed world generally perform very well overall and on almost all individual dimensions, cities from emerging markets have garnered relatively high rankings in some important areas.

Cities from emerging markets have some of the most dynamic economies in the world. Their global contribution and future momentum are starting to get recognition in the world of public opinion. But they still have long ways to go in building their overall offers, particularly in terms of clean environment, safe streets, and public amenities that keep pace with economic development.

The strongest city brands – Paris, London, Sydney, New York City and Los Angeles – are highly regarded across regions, including in the developing world, although cultural and geographic proximities play a role as well. For example, Los Angeles (5th) garners higher rankings than New York from respondents in China and South Korea. And while Brussels (28th) only receives middling ratings in most countries, it is a top-11 city for German and French respondents.

World Bank and C40 cities
reach long-term climate deal

Sao Paulo, 3 June 2011:
The World Bank and the world’s largest cities have reached an agreement structured to provide long-term financial support to large cities, mainly in developing countries and emerging markets. The financing will be used to help the world's major cities to better adapt to climate change. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is the current president of the C40 group of cities, said the partnership with the World Bank created opportunities for financial support. "If we don't stop polluting our world right now, and continuing to spill greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the consequences may be very well irreversible," he warned.

World Bank president Robert Zoellick told the mayors, who attended the C40 mayors conference in Sao Paulo, that he would make it easier for cities to use the Bank as part of an effort to make available as much as $6.4 billion the Bank has earmarked for climate relief programmes. He added that private initiatives could lift that amount to as much as $50 billion.

The C40 cities, a group which represents some of the largest cities in the world, account for eight per cent of the global population, 12 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and 21 per cent of global GDP. Michael Bloomberg said the C40 cities were already taking major steps to address the challenges of a changing climate, but more could be done.

Sao Paulo Mayor Gilberto Kassab, who hosted the conference, told reporters the partnership between the C40 and the World Bank showed the growing importance of local governments in addressing climate change-related issues and the importance of financing local-level projects.

Michael Bloomberg also confirmed that the C40 would identify and work with national governments who were interested in funding climate change projects and identify private sector partners to provide project financing in C40 cities. In turn, the World Bank will identify opportunities from among sources of concessional finance, carbon finance, and innovative market and risk management instruments as well as the private sector through the International Finance Corporation. These may be accessed by project developers supporting climate action in cities.

Mexico City Mayor presented
with the World Mayor Prize

Mexico City, 20 May 2011:
This week Adriana Maciel, the Mexico Editor of the City Mayors Foundation, Mayor presented Mexico City Marcelo Ebrard with the 2010 World Mayor Prize. The Prize was awarded to the Mayor last December for services to his city and citizens as well as for the environmental initiatives he took to promote urban sustainability. At he presentation ceremony, Maciel also described the Mayor as a champion for women’s and minorities’ rights. She added that Mayor Ebrard had made many courageous decisions during his time in office and that mayors from across the world have sought his advice. In addition to Mayor Ebrard and Adriana Maciel, the ceremony was attended by members of the mayor’s cabinet and representatives from the press.

Mayor Ebrard thanked the City Mayors Foundation for the Prize and said he was proud and felt honoured to have received this international recognition. “We are committed and excited to continue making Mexico City one of the world’s best cities. Ours is a liberal city that respects the rights of men and women, a city that has made real efforts to reduce the global warming and its effects,” Ebrard explained.

The bi-annual World Mayor Project was launched by the City Mayors Foundation in 2004 with the aim to raise the profile of mayors worldwide by honouring those who have served their communities well, governed openly and honestly, as well as making significant contributions to cities nationally and internationally.

The World Mayor Prize sculpture, which was designed by French artist Manuel Ferrari and made by Kaspar Swankey in his Berlin studio, consists of three interlocking cubes. A slim, upward-looking figure stands for all the people who come to cities to realise their ambitions.

Previous winners of the World Mayor Prize include: Edi Rama, Mayor of Tirana; Dora Bakoyannis, Mayor of Athens; John So, Mayor of Melbourne; Hellen Zille and Mayor of Cape Town.

NYC, London and Paris
hold on to top positions

London, 22 April 2011:
The 2011 edition of Knight Frank’s Global Cities Survey records remarkably few changes from last year. The top four places in the overall ranking of 40 cities remain unchanged, with New York City leading ahead of London, Paris and Tokyo. Last year’s fifth and sixth placed cities, Brussels and Los Angeles, swap positions. Further down the table, Munich and Boston both improve their rankings by three places, while Hong Kong and Cairo drop three positions.

In the quality of life section of the survey, Paris, Berlin and Toronto are in the lead, with Frankfurt and London completing the top five. Both London and Zurich move up one place compared to last year, while Tokyo drops from fifth to seventh place.

The Knight Frank survey names Washington DC, New York City and Brussels as the three most politically powerful cities in the world, although the ranking is more an indication of the influence yielded by institutions based in the cities rather than municipal power. Only last week, Washington was told by the US Congress it could not spend its own money as it saw fit.

As part of its research, Knight Frank also asked “which will be the world’s leading cities in 10 years’ time”. Panel members believed New York City and London would stay on top but were convinced that cities from the so-called Bric countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) would make record significant advances. Shanghai, Mumbai and Sao Paulo are all thought to improve their score by more than 50 per cent. The biggest losers are forecast to be Geneva, San Francisco, Paris and Zurich.



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