Cities of the future - Brussels, 8-10 April 2008 08-04-2008 Introduction The Forum on "Cities of the Future" is organised by the Committee of the
Regions in cooperation with the European Commission Directorates General for
Energy and Transport (TREN) and for Enterprise and Industry (ENTR) and
EUROCITIES. The Forum intends to highlight the necessity for a "City of the
Future" to be a sustainable city. Therefore, strong focus will be placed on the
challenges that local authorities are facing in the field of sustainable urban
development, concerning for example energy, mobility, transport and housing.
Description
One important tool for sustainable urban development is the "Covenant of
Mayors". This initiative was launched by the European Commission in January 2008
with the intention of mobilising mayors and leaders of Europe’s cities and
towns, giving them the opportunity to go beyond the objectives in the field of
sustainable energy adopted on 9 March 2007 by the EU's heads of state and
government. Signatories of the Covenant will be committed to reducing CO2
emissions in their territory by more than 20% by 2020 through the implementation
of Sustainable Energy Action Plans based on the strong involvement of citizens
and the use of
dedicated resources. 95 European cities and towns have already expressed their interest in joining the Covenant. The official signing is expected to take place during European Sustainable Energy Week 2009. Another important area for the "City of the Future" is the role of
enterprises and their willingness to contribute to sustainable solutions for
environment, energy, mobility and related social aspects that make a city
attractive. Cities and towns have the potential to encourage, motivate and
support entrepreneurship among their citizens and stimulate private initiatives
that are beneficial to both public authorities and companies. It is therefore a
main objective of the forum to highlight how cities and towns can make the most
of this true entrepreneurial spirit. This Forum will also host an exhibition on
the theme of best practice in European cities, as well as an art exhibition on
the theme of water "Aqua" by Chimo Serrano (Region of Valencia).
Programme Location Register Links For more information or to register, please visit the website of the Committee of the Regionsback |
