Publication: Building Sustainability in an Urbanizing World : A Partnership Report
Loading...
Date
2013-07
ISSN
Published
2013-07
Author(s)
Abstract
Cities are hubs of global change, and their global influence continues to grow. Cities contribute significantly to global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss. At the same time, cities experience impacts like climate change first and with greatest intensity. Further, cities are becoming leaders worldwide in efforts to address global environmental and social problems. Some of the most important smaller-scale agreements and partnerships emerging from Rio+20 (the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development) were initiated by or focused on cities. Even as the conference reinforced the increasing difficulty of reaching consensus on global challenges, it also saw smaller-scale agreements and partnerships emerge. Some of the most important "microagreements" focused on cities.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Hoornweg, Daniel; Freire, Mila. Hoornweg, Daniel; Freire, Mila; Baker-Gallegos, Julianne; Saldivar-Sali, Artessa, editors. 2013. Building Sustainability in an Urbanizing World : A Partnership Report. Urban Development Series Knowledge Papers;No. 17. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18665 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Inclusive Green Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean(Washington, DC, 2013-01)Argentina has expanded the use of its portion of the Parana-Paraguay waterways system for the transportation of soy and other bulk commodities through an innovative tolling system that self-finances the dredging and maintenance of the rivers. Brazil, in turn, is pursuing a 'green trucking' strategy to improve efficiency of its cargo haulage industry, reduce petroleum usage, and curb pollution from trucking. For the entire hemisphere, the expansion of the Panama Canal will bring post-Panama vessels and introduce greater scale economies in shipping. The following sections of this paper provide a more detailed review of the sectoral objectives, challenges, and way forward in making Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) growth greener and more inclusive. It looks back over the achievements of the demand sectors of urban development and infrastructure services, energy, urban transport, and water and sanitation, as well as natural resources and rural development since Rio 1992. It highlights the achievements in those areas, and the ability of those accomplishments to establish a robust path for the region to inclusive green growth.Publication Handshake, No. 4 (January 2012)(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2012-01)This issue includes the following headings: mass rapid transit: a tool for urban expansion; financing: beyond sovereign guarantees; and low-income housing: lessons from Latin America.Publication Study of Japanese Experiences on Sustainable Urban Development including Pollution Control and Management, Resource/Energy Efficiency and GHG Reduction(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-02)In Japan, the sustainable development of cities and provinces has been vigorously pursued since the late 1990s under various programs through the initiative of the central government and local authorities. In 2009, the World Bank launched an urban development initiative called Eco2 Cities: Ecological Cities as Economic Cities (Eco2 Cities Initiative) to help cities in developing countries achieve greater synergistic ecological and economic sustainability. This study, entitled 'Study of Japanese Experiences on Sustainable Urban Development including Pollution Control and Management, Resource/Energy Efficiency and GHG Reduction,' was conducted to cover components A and C of the Eco2 East Asia Program with the following objectives: (i) To undertake a study of Japanese experiences on sustainable urban development including pollution control and management, resource/energy efficiency and GHG reduction (Task 1), and (ii) To coordinate and prepare the Eco2 international conference in Yokohama, Japan, on 21-23 October 2010 (Task 2). This report mainly focuses on Task 1, whose objectives are to compile and analyze Japanese experiences on sustainable urban development, including pollution control and management and resource/energy efficiency and GHG reduction, which are relevant to the Eco2 initiative and its implementation in cities in developing countries, as well as to draw lessons from these experiences for the implementation of the Eco2 initiative.Publication Reducing the Footprint of Growth(Washington, DC, 2013-04)Reducing the footprint of growth requires a focus on three key issues: a) transforming urban areas into greener, more efficient, resilient, and socially inclusive cities, better able to capture the economic benefits associated with urbanization; b) ensuring sound management of the brown environmental agenda to provide the conditions for continued sustainable economic green growth while preventing and minimizing negative impacts and risks for human health and the environment; and c) promoting energy efficiency in housing, transport, urban infrastructure, and waste management to enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the Mexican economy.Publication Improving Energy Efficiency in Constanta, Romania(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-12-20)The Tool for Rapid Assessment of City Energy (TRACE) is used for conducting rapid assessments of energy use in cities. It helps prioritize sectors with significant energy savings potential, and identifies appropriate energy efficiency interventions across six sectors-transport, municipal buildings, water and waste water, public lighting, solid waste, and power and heat. It is a simple, low-cost, user-friendly, and practical tool that can be applied in any socioeconomic setting. This report is based on the implementation of the TRACE tool in Constanta in July 2013 and it outlines ideas on what the city could further do to improve its energy efficiency performance. It details the analysis carried out and the recommendations derived as a result, for district heating maintenance and upgrade, non-motorized transport, public transport development, parking restraint measures, municipal building benchmarking program, municipal buildings audit and retrofit, street lighting timing program, energy efficiency action plan and strategy, and awareness raising campaigns.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Spring 2025: Accelerating Growth through Entrepreneurship, Technology Adoption, and Innovation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-23)Business dynamism and economic growth in Europe and Central Asia have weakened since the late 2000s, with productivity growth driven largely by resource reallocation between firms and sectors rather than innovation. To move up the value chain, countries need to facilitate technology adoption, stronger domestic competition, and firm-level innovation to build a more dynamic private sector. Governments should move beyond broad support for small- and medium-sized enterprises and focus on enabling the most productive firms to expand and compete globally. Strengthening competition policies, reducing the presence of state-owned enterprises, and ensuring fair market access are crucial. Limited availability of long-term financing and risk capital hinders firm growth and innovation. Economic disruptions are a shock in the short term, but they provide an opportunity for implementing enterprise and structural reforms, all of which are essential for creating better-paying jobs and helping countries in the region to achieve high-income status.Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-11)After several years of negative shocks, global growth is expected to hold steady in 2024 and then edge up in the next couple of years, in part aided by cautious monetary policy easing as inflation gradually declines. However, economic prospects are envisaged to remain tepid, especially in the most vulnerable countries. Risks to the outlook, while more balanced, are still tilted to the downside, including the possibility of escalating geopolitical tensions, further trade fragmentation, and higher-for-longer interest rates. Natural disasters related to climate change could also hinder activity. Subdued growth prospects across many emerging market and developing economies and continued risks underscore the need for decisive policy action at the global and national levels. Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies, on a semiannual basis (in January and June). Each edition includes analytical pieces on topical policy challenges faced by these economies.