EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - The European dimension of the Sustainable Communities Agenda

The European dimension of the Sustainable Communities Agenda

Introduction

In the Bristol Accord, Sustainable Communities are defined as 'places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. They meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their environment and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned, built and run, and offer equality of opportunity and good services for all.' This study was conducted in the context of the Bristol Accord and reviews progress in the field of sustainable communities across Europe.

Proposition

How can we move from the Bristol Accord to fuller co-operation, exchange of knowledge and best practices and achieve durable institutional change?

Description

The context for this study was the Bristol Accord that was agreed at the European Ministerial Informal meeting in Bristol, United Kingdom, on 6-7 December 2005.

The report reviews progress across Europe, identifies a selection of case studies and suggests further work is required to elaborate the European dimension of the Sustainable Communities Agenda.

This agenda was considered in the European Parliament, by the German Presidency of the European Union at the Leipzig Summit in 2007 (resulting in the Leipzig Charter) and in the European Commission, who were then finalising the 2007-2013 Structural Funds Programme.

The report makes several recommendations to the European Union when it comes to its key role in the development of a European Sustainable Communities Agenda:

More proposals for the creation of closer synergies at the EU co-ordination level are necessary
European Indicators need to be improved to encourage further research
Urban Audit support should be provided by Eurostat, the DG REGIO and individual Member States
Individual Member States should be encouraged to develop their own sustainable communities indicator sets
Data for sustainable communities headline indicators should become available
Experience across Europe should be shared at the mid-term review in 2009.

EU involvement

This study was requested by the European Parliament's committee on Regional Development. It was conducted by 'The European Regional and Business and Economic Development Unit (ERBEDU), the Centre for Urban Development and Environmental Management (CUDEM) and Leeds Metropolitan University.

Contact info

Policy Department Structural and Cohesion Policies - European Parliament
Mrs Ivana Katsarova

Publication date

/03/2007

Links

Click here to download the full report of the study Click here to download the annexes to the report Click here to read more on the Leipzig Charter Click here to read more on the Bristol Accord

Click here to download the executive summary of the report (Eng, PDF, 275 kB)

Document type

policy

Themes

Urban Policy

Keywords

Urban environment