News

16.06.2008
Swiss and German cities dominate ranking of best cities in the world
Zurich, Vienna and Geneva are the best cities in the world as far as quality of live is concerned, says Mercer Consulting in a survey published in June 2008. Vancouver (Canada) and Auckland (New Zealand) are placed fourth and fifth respectively, foll...read more

16.06.2008
Eastern cities are winning the battle for the world´s skyline
Skylines have been important elements of attraction for cities in the past 100 years. This article 'the battle for the world´s skyline´, published in ´Spiegel Online´, explores the global battle among cities for the best skyline. Whereas New York use...read more

12.06.2008
Bridge in China's urban-rural gap will steady labour market
Among the wide variety of topics discussed after the May 12 earthquake, one is particularly interesting: whether the quake would worsen the labor shortage in China.read more

10.06.2008
“Tallinn is breaking free from its one-time reputation as a stag-night city”
In 2011 Tallinn will be European Capital of Culture. Twenty years ago the city was still the capital of the ‘Estonian SSR’. Today it is the capital of an independent Estonia, a country home to one of the fastest growing economies of the European Unio...read more

05.06.2008
The Demographic Risk Map
Demographic change in Europe is already predictable. It is no future scenario with an unknown probability of actually occurring, but a forecastable trend: the population is ageing across Europe, and populations are shrinking at a local level. But wha...read more

04.06.2008
In search of the territory: follow-up of the Territorial Agenda and the Leipzig Agenda
On the 29th of May, the Austrian Institute for Regional Studies and Spatial Planning (ÖIR) presented a follow-up study on the "Territorial Agenda" and the "Leipzig Charter" (on urban development) in the European Parliament . Both documents were agree...read more

03.06.2008
Abu Dhabi: East leans West
Each month, 25,000 people from around the globe arrive in the United Arab Emirates, seeking jobs, contracts, and political stability. Walk past the gleaming new skyscrapers, government buildings, fountains, and shopping malls that line the immaculate...read more

02.06.2008
The Rise of the Mega-Region
When people talk about economic competitiveness, the focus tends to be on nation states. In the 1980s, many were obsessed with the rise of Japan. Today, our gaze has shifted to the phenomenal growth of Brazil, Russia, India and China. But this focus ...read more

30.05.2008
European Commission Consultation: EU approach to democratic local governance, decentralisation and territorial development
The European Commission has announced a consultation for the preparation of a Commission communication on an EU approach to democratic local governance, decentralisation and territorial development. Local authorities, non-state actors' organisations,...read more

26.05.2008
EU launches Green Capital Award
With towns and cities growing ever bigger, the EU launches a competition to find Europe’s green capital – and encourage improvements in quality of life for millions of city-dwellers.read more

21.05.2008
“Obstacles to active inclusion in Budapest often require national solutions”
When it comes to the dissemination of European good practices in the field of active inclusion, we generally find there is a great focus on Western European cases. Especially Central- and Eastern European countries and cities are often left aside. Th...read more

20.05.2008
Sarah Jessica Parker laments New York's loss of grit
Sarah Jessica Parker is bemoaning the loss of a city many say she helped push out. As trendy bars and boutiques take over Manhattan's corner bodegas and laundermats, the actress from television show Sex and the City laments the loss of grit in New Yo...read more

15.05.2008
Urban design competition for European District in Brussels
The Brussels’ Capital Region government has announced an international urban design competition to further develop the area surrounding the Rue de la Loi in the European District of Brussels. It wants to turn it into a mixed and multicultural area. A...read more

14.05.2008
How do you value a tree?
In the United Kingdom, the London Tree Officers’ Association (LTOA) was confronted with the axing of 40,000 of the capital’s trees in the past five years. It therefore devised a new pricing scheme to force people to think twice before chopping down t...read more

08.05.2008
“Quartiersmanagement has been a success story for many individuals”
“Quartiersmanagement has been a success story for many individuals”, says Thomas Knorr-Siedow of the Berlin-based ‘Institut für Regionalentwicklung und Strukturplanung (IRS). ‘Quartiersmanagement’ or neighbourhood management, is a special policy crea...read more

23.04.2008
“Prostitution policy is too morally charged”
“Prostitution policy is too morally charged”, Hendrik Wagenaar, associate professor at the Department of Public Administration at Leiden University states. According to him, prostitution policy is very much driven by emotional images. In his own rese...read more

21.04.2008
European Green Capital award scheme to be launched in Brussels
On 22 May 2008, DG Environment will launch the European Green Capital award scheme in Brussels. The award marks a city's wish and capability to solve environmental problems in order to both improve the quality of life of its citizens.and reduce the c...read more

14.04.2008
US housing market crisis is turning into a global phenomenon
In an article in the International Herald Tribune, Mark Landler illustrates how the US housing market crisis is turning into a global phenomenon. Previously souring markets in Europe such as Ireland, Spain and Britain are experiencing major downfalls...read more

09.04.2008
"The creative city...when do we actually get to see it?"
"We hear so much about the creative city, but when do we actually get to see it?", Scott Burnham, curator of Urban Play wonders. "Urban Play gives cities the opportunity to show the inherent creativity of its people." The Urban Play project is part o...read more

08.04.2008
European population generally agrees with EU's regional policy focus
According to a Eurobarometer survey, published on 7 March, a large majority of Europeans approve of the EU's regional policy focus on helping the bloc's poorest regions catch up with the rest of the EU, although citizens in the eastern and central Eu...read more