Cities worldwide are challenged by a high complexity of acute and chronic problems, including challenges related to economic development, social polarisation and segregation as well as climate change ...and ecological degradation. While all of these problems are complex in themselves, they are also interrelated. Addressing them in a meaningful way requires governance systems with systemic capacities to deal with complexity. In order to create resilience in urban systems, cities need to be able to learn, adapt and transform across sectors and levels. One definition of urban resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow regardless of the kinds of chronic stress and acute shocks they experience. This is the definition the Rockefeller Foundation adopts in its mission to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world by facilitating the building of resilience in cities worldwide through its 100 Resilient Cities Programme, launched in 2013. Rotterdam is one of the first cities to participate in this programme. The city has been a front-runner in preparing for climate change and striving for urban sustainability. This paper assesses the concept of urban resilience, introduces the Rockefeller Foundation's effort in building city resilience worldwide and illustrates this with the Rotterdam case.
•The City Resilience Framework raises questions concerning what exactly constitutes resilience and a resilient city.•The City Resilience Framework intends to inspire cities to reflect upon the extent to which critical functions are capable of adapting to new situations induced by shock or stress.•100RC offers an approach, but also a platform for debate between academics and stakeholders in cities worldwide.
Cities are major drivers of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions--the sources of anthropocentric climate change, whilst also concentrating people, buildings, and infrastructures and ...therefore potential risk and impacts of the latter. As a consequence, planning for climate change in urban areas does not only provide the opportunity but should necessitate considering interactions between mitigation and adaptation actions. However, existing research found that only a minority of urban areas consider both mitigation and adaptation in their climate action plans, i.e. 147 Climate Change Action Plans (CCAPs) were identified among a representative sample of 885 European cities. We investigate these 147 CCAPs to understand the degree of integration of adaptation and mitigation and draw implications for the maximization of synergies and co-benefits of such a combined approach. Using the developed scoring framework to evaluate the level of integration of CCAPs, the research finds that most of the plans reveal a ‘moderate’ level of integration. Moderate integration characterizes a plan that identifies sources of emissions and vulnerabilities to climate change, as well as some qualitative consideration of the synergies, but one that lacks a systematic consideration of potential integration opportunities. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that one of the main gaps of the evaluation and implementation of more integrated climate change actions in cities is the insufficient quantitative evaluation of the costs and funding schemes for adaptation and mitigation action implementation.
•Review and assessment of the level of integration of adaptation and mitigation in 147 EU urban climate change action plans.•Development and application of the Urban Climate Change Integration Index (UCCII).•Review and analysis of synergies and co-benefits of climate mitigation and adaptation actions.•Mitigation objectives are still more prominent than adaptation objectives in integrated urban climate change plans.•Discussion on capacity gaps and needs of local governments to understand, plan and implement integrated approaches.
•Wastewater analysis provided insights on drug use during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.•Speculated decrease in consumption did not occur in all cities nor for all drugs.•Measures had different effects, ...even at the regional level.•Additional and complementary data needed to fully understand the impact on drug use.
The COVID-19 outbreak has forced countries to introduce severe restrictive measures to contain its spread. In particular, physical distancing and restriction of movement have had important consequences on human behaviour and potentially also on illicit drug use and supply. These changes can be associated with additional risks for users, in particular due to reduced access to prevention and harm reduction activities. Furthermore, there have been limitations in the amount of data about drug use which can be collected due to restrictions. To goal of this study was to obtain information about potential changes in illicit drug use impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. Wastewater samples were collected in seven cities in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy at the beginning of lockdowns (March-May 2020). Using previously established and validated methods, levels of amphetamine (AMP), methamphetamine (METH), MDMA, benzoylecgonine (BE, the main metabolite of cocaine) and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH, main metabolite of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)) were measured and compared with findings from previous years. Important differences in levels of consumed drugs were observed across the considered countries. Whilst for some substances and locations, marked decreases in consumption could be observed (e.g., 50% decrease in MDMA levels compared to previous years). In some cases, similar or even higher levels compared to previous years could be found. Changes in weekly patterns were also observed, however these were not clearly defined for all locations and/or substances. Findings confirm that the current situation is highly heterogeneous and that it remains very difficult to explain and/or predict the effect that the present pandemic has on illicit drug use and availability. However, given the current difficulty in obtaining data due to restrictions, wastewater analysis can provide relevant information about the situation at the local level, which would be hard to obtain otherwise.
Urban green space (UGS) provision across cities is often assessed from per capita quantities. However these aggregate measures say little about the actual use of UGS because they ignore the relative ...location of UGS and citizens. Spatial accessibility approaches consider this relative location but mostly assume that benefits happen within close proximity of residences. We challenge this assumption for three European cities comparatively, based on similarly acquired survey data. We study which factors influence how far people travel to their most used UGS, as defined by users themselves. We find that travelled distances (1.4–1.9 km) and inter-city differences are surprisingly high compared to the few hundred meters set in policy targets and accessibility analyses. We identify socio-demographic effects and a role for perceived rather than objective quality of local UGS. More than a spatial interaction trade-off between proximity and size, our results suggest that UGS visits are part of a more complex set of activities, further away from residences and with a diversity of sizes and proximities. Our results call for a re-evaluation of UGS analytical practices and provision policies beyond aggregate and accessibility perspectives, towards multi-scalar and spatially varying measures.
•Distances travelled to the most used green space far exceed accessibility recommendations.•Age, occupational status, education and nationality have key effects on distances travelled.•Urban green space size and their provision in proximity seldom impact the distance travelled.•Perception of local green space provision matters more than objective measures of the provision.•Large variations across our 3 cities call for further comparative research.
Will the COVID-19 pandemic interrupt the recent European urbanization trends – and if so – what is the magnitude of this sudden shock, and how deaths, births, and net migration contribute to this ...disruption? Until now, most discussions on the topic have circled either around the anecdotal evidence of city center decline, or contrarian speculations about residential inertia and the forthcoming business-as-usual. Bringing clarity to the uncertainty and confusion surrounding COVID-19, this paper seeks to detect overarching patterns in and the magnitude of its sudden shock to long-term urban trajectories, understood as a reversal of the pre-pandemic population development trend, across European cities in the early 2020s. It reveals that during the first year of COVID-19, population growth in European cities significantly slowed down to −0.3 % per annum, with 28 % of all European cities having experienced a U-turn from population growth to loss. Out-migration was the main driver of such rapid urban shrinkage, while excess mortality associated with COVID-19 has also contributed to population loss in several European city-regions; some, especially, smaller cities suffered from a significant drop in birth rates. Based on the factorial, hierarchical, and temporal dimensions of the COVID-19 crisis, the paper provides a plausible forecast about the future of Europe's post-coronavirus city.
•Analyses sudden COVID-19-shock to long-term urban trajectories for European cities•For the first time detection of overarching patterns in and the magnitude of this shock•Population growth in European cities significantly slowed down in 2020.•28 % of all cities experienced a U-turn in population trends from growth to loss.•Share of shrinking cities post-COVID-19 has reached 63 %.
There has recently been a conscious push for cities in Europe to be smarter and more sustainable, leading to the need to benchmark these cities’ efforts using robust assessment frameworks. This paper ...ranks 28 European capital cities based on how smart and sustainable they are. Using hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis (PCA), we synthesized 32 indicators into 4 components and computed rank scores. The ranking of European capital cities was based on this rank score. Our results show that Berlin and other Nordic capital cities lead the ranking, while Sofia and Bucharest obtained the lowest rank scores, and are thus not yet on the path of being smart and sustainable. While our city rank scores show little correlation with city size and city population, there is a significant positive correlation with the cities’ GDP per inhabitant, which is an indicator for wealth. Lastly, we detect a geographical divide: 12 of the top 14 cities are Western European; 11 of the bottom 14 cities are Eastern European. These results will help cities understand where they stand vis-à-vis other cities, giving policy makers an opportunity to identify areas for improvement while leveraging areas of strength.
This study investigated aspects of urban quality of life in European cities. To this end, the Flash Eurobarometer 366: Quality of life in European cities was used. The survey provides opinions of 41 ...thousands inhabitants from 79 European cities, which enables analysis of interrelation between citizen characteristics, neighbourhood and city contexts and satisfaction with life in a city. The study analysed the following dimensions potentially related to satisfaction with life in a city: (1) availability of services, environment and social aspects in cities and neighbourhood; (2) socio-demographic factors; and (3) city characteristics such as economic development, labour market pressures, size, location, quality of institutions and safety.
Findings indicated that satisfaction with life in a city varied considerably both inside cities and across Europe. Dissatisfaction with public transport, cultural facilities, availability of retail outlets, green space, air quality, trustworthiness of people, public administration and administrational efficiency, contributed significantly to dissatisfaction with life in a city. However, when citizens felt secure and satisfied with their place of living, they were also more likely to be satisfied with life in a city. Finally, cities with high percentage of people satisfied with safety in a city tended to be those in which citizens were also more satisfied with life in a city.
•Satisfaction with city life varies considerably both inside cities and across Europe•Specific aspects of city life are factors for dissatisfaction rather than satisfaction with city life•Cities with high percentage of people satisfied with safety in a city tended to be those in which citizens were also more satisfied with life in a city•Lack of trustworthiness and efficiency of public administration contribute to dissatisfaction with life in the city
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•Road traffic noise is one of the main environmental risks to health and wellbeing.•The study provides an in-depth assessment of available road traffic noise data and estimates ...population exposure and health impacts for >700 cities in Europe.•Almost 60 million adults were exposed to road traffic noise levels harmful to health across the analysed cities.•11 million adults were highly annoyed by road traffic noise and>3600 deaths from Ischaemic Heart Disease (IHD) could be prevented annually.•There was variability in the available data due to adistinct noise mapping methods, data formats and noise exposure assessment.•Further efforts to standardize the noise data, increase data availability and quality and provide more comprehensive estimates at the city level are needed.
Road traffic is the main source of environmental noise in European cities and one of the main environmental risks to health and wellbeing. In this study we aimed to provide an in-depth assessment of available road traffic noise data and to estimate population exposure and health impacts for cities in Europe.
We conducted the analysis for 724 cities and 25 greater cities in 25 European countries. We retrieved road traffic strategic noise maps delivered under the Environmental Noise Directive (END) or available from local sources. We assessed noise exposure using the 24 h day-evening-night noise level indicator (Lden) starting at exposure levels of 55 dB Lden – based on data availability – for the adult population aged 20 and over (n = 123,966,346). For the adults exposed to noise levels above 55 dB Lden we estimated the health impacts of compliance with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation of 53 dB Lden. Two primary health outcomes were assessed: high noise annoyance and Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), using mortality from IHD causes as indicator. Exposure Response Functions (ERFs) relating road traffic noise exposure to annoyance and IHD mortality were retrieved from the literature. Uncertainties in input parameters were propagated using Monte Carlo simulations to obtain point estimates and empirical 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs). Lastly, the noise maps were categorized as high, moderate and low quality following a qualitative approach.
Strategic noise map data was delivered in three distinct formats (i.e. raster, polygon or polyline) and had distinct noise ranges and levels of categorization. The majority of noise maps (i.e. 83.2%) were considered of moderate or low quality. Based on the data provided, almost 60 million adults were exposed to road traffic noise levels above 55 dB Lden, equating to a median of 42% (Interquartile Range (IQR): 31.8–64.8) of the adult population across the analysed cities. We estimated that approximately 11 million adults were highly annoyed by road traffic noise and that 3608 deaths from IHD (95% CI: 843–6266) could be prevented annually with compliance of the WHO recommendation. The proportion of highly annoyed adults by city had a median value of 7.6% (IQR: 5.6–11.8) across the analysed cities, while the number preventable deaths had a median of 2.2 deaths per 100,000 population (IQR: 1.4–3.1).
Based on the provided strategic noise maps a considerable number of adults in European cities are exposed to road traffic noise levels harmful for health. Efforts to standardize the strategic noise maps and to increase noise and disease data availability at the city level are needed. These would allow for a more accurate and comprehensive assessment of the health impacts and further help local governments to address the adverse health effects of road traffic noise.
The recent debate on urban vibrancy and its associated spatial characteristics worldwide has increasingly attracted the attention of planners and decision-makers in Norway and the European Union ...seeking to develop compact cities. This study investigated the spatial pattern of urban vibrancy associated with urban form and the determinants in Oslo, Norway. A total of 552 km2 of the Oslo central metropolitan area was classified into 12 neighborhood groups and a data-driven methodology was applied via SPSS, Python, and ArcGIS to analyze urban vibrancy, where each cell was denoted as a 1 km2 area of 24 variables. As a result of clustering via principal component analysis, six principal components were extracted with 12 critical factors. Results indicated that the location and distribution of commercial buildings, public buildings, residential buildings, and companies and the total population are the most important drivers of neighborhood vibrancy in Oslo. Vibrant neighborhoods usually appear in high-density, central urban areas with a high concentration of commercial and public buildings with various functions along main streets. In contrast, less vibrant neighborhoods have fewer service facilities and are surrounded by single residential areas, large venues, green spaces, vacant land, or land for transportation in the low-density suburban and semi-urbanized areas. This research offers a quantitative basis for a wider range of neighborhood performance assessments, provides a discussion of compact city theory, and draws the attention of decision-makers on planning policy at the neighborhood level, which can also be adapted to other European cities.
•Geospatial social media data are used to evaluate neighborhood urban vibrancy.•Urban form and spatial patterns are the determinants of neighborhoods' performance.•Density of services and facilities drives the intensity of activity and vitality.•Geographically mixed-use with multi-functional streets attracts more social life.•Compact city development is the way out for Nordic countries' cities in the new agenda.
Public urban green spaces generate positive externalities regarding the quality of the environment, health and the attractiveness of cities. In this article, we analyse the satisfaction of Europeans ...with public urban green spaces. Our analysis is original as it is the first international quantitative comparative analysis with a multi-level model that allows us to disentangle individual dimensions (specific to each inhabitant) and contextual dimensions (specific to the policy or structure of the city). Using pseudo-panel data from a series of Eurobarometer surveys conducted in 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015, and CORINE Land Cover land use data for 75 European cities, we study the individual and contextual factors influencing population satisfaction with green spaces in their city. We estimate mixed effects ordered logistic regression models. Our results show that population characteristics influence the satisfaction with public urban green spaces and highlight heterogeneity between European cities. Our study also shows differences in satisfaction according to the type of green space. Our results are important regarding public policies, since the public decision-maker must take into account a more detailed analysis of the city's population in order to initiate the right green space policy.
•First international comparative analysis of the satisfaction of Europeans citizens with public urban green spaces•Multi-level model disentangling individual and contextual dimensions•Important intragroup and individual-specific characteristics explaining variations across European Cities;•Huge difference in satisfaction according to the type of public green space considered.•Political decision-maker must consider the specificity of inhabitants preferences and of city urban and landscape profile.
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