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This is the urban century; over half of humanity now lives in cities and more than 70 percent are expected to do so by 2050. Today, cities are hubs of social interchange, economic vitality, and innovation. Yet the pace and scale of global transformation in where and how people live pose threats to biodiversity and nature that demand serious attention. In today's complex world, it is natural - and sometimes necessary - to compartmentalize sectors and realms of experience. Thus, urban planning traditionally occurs without much consideration of biodiversity and nature. It is therefore imperative that cities are designed in ways that maintain the provision of ecosystem services and that national and international conservation plans consider urban centers. This report presents the scientific basis for why and how incorporating biodiversity and nature into urban design is crucial for achieving sustainability, livability, resilience, and equity in cities and beyond. Section one defines key terms and concepts, section two examines what is at stake regarding urban nature and biodiversity, section three explores what urban leaders can do to promote them, section four offers some practical tools and approaches for incorporating urban nature and biodiversity into urban decision-making, and section five concludes.

City Development Strategies --- Ecosystems and Natural Habitats --- Environment --- Environmental Economics and Policies --- Environmental Protection --- Urban Development --- Urban Economic Development --- Urban Environment --- Urban Sprawl --- Urbanization

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Cities are places where opportunities for prosperity coexist with stark inequalities between the richest and the poorest. Cities produce and attract highly educated workers and innovative employers. It is usually easier in cities than in other parts of the country for individuals to climb up the income, education or jobs ladder. But cities, especially the largest ones, also concentrate inequalities, both in income and in other well-being aspects,  that remain remarkably high in many OECD economies. Access to opportunities seems stalled for many low-income urban residents, who often live in distressed neighbourhoods.  This report provides ground-breaking, internationally comparable data on economic growth, inequalities and well-being at the city level in OECD countries. It provides empirical evidence on how cities are diverging from, or converging with, other parts of the country, and of the extent of inequality within cities. Finally, it proposes a framework for action, to help national and local governments reorient policies towards more inclusive growth in cities – a new approach to growth that ensures that no part of society is left behind.

Economic development. --- Cities and towns --- Growth. --- Growth, Urban --- Sprawl, Urban --- Urban development --- Urban growth --- Urban sprawl --- Development, Economic --- Economic growth --- Growth, Economic --- Migration, Internal --- Population --- Vital statistics --- Economic policy --- Economics --- Statics and dynamics (Social sciences) --- Development economics --- Resource curse

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Since 2004 Ethiopia has experienced strong and generally broad-based real economic growth averaging 10.7 percent per annum. It is one of the most populous countries in the world, but it is not highly urbanized. Nevertheless, urbanization in Ethiopia is taking place rapidly, and is expected to increase over the coming few decades. Addis Ababa, is its commercial and political center and exemplary of the rapid urban growth of Ethiopia. The rapid urban and metropolitan growth in Addis Ababa is exacerbated by poor planning and land-use, inadequate infrastructure, and chronic housing shortage. A key challenge for housing in the Addis Ababa metropolitan area, and, indeed, of planning in general, is that lack of coordination with transportation. The one factor that has mitigated the growth in congestion has been that motorization rates in Addis Ababa are very low by global standards. Over the past seven years, Addis Ababa has been making a concerted effort to improve the urban transport situation, largely through large investments in new infrastructure, including roads, a new Light Rail Transit (LRT) system (under construction) and plans for a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, and improved standards and practices for improving and integrating pedestrian facilities in major transport capital projects. It has invested heavily in its road asset stock, with 26 percent of its capital investment budget dedicated to transport. These investments in the road network may provide less economic and mobility value for residents than their planners may have intended, for four reasons. Indeed, at the current low rates of motorization, the frequent and ubiquitous congestion in the city suggests substantial shortcomings in how traffic is managed, rather than a fundamental mismatch between transport supply and demand. In order to improve public transport, for the city's largely non-motorized population, substantial investments in mass transport network have been made or identified. The current public transport provision/operation has a number of weaknesses, with governance being a critical one. Even though most trips in Addis Ababa are made by walking, facilities for pedestrians tend to be inadequate and substandard. Integrating transport with land-use development has also proven to be very difficult in Addis Ababa. In terms of overall urban development, although the Ethiopian government is making attempts at planning and catering for the rapid urban growth, urbanization still takes place largely in an unplanned/informal way. In recent years, the rate of spatial expansion of the city is outpacing the rate of population growth, resulting in a less than efficient overall physical form.

Bus Services --- Economies of Scale --- Emissions --- Infrastructure Investment --- Inter-Urban Roads and Passenger Transport --- Mobility --- Population Growth --- Road Accidents --- Roads --- Roads and Highways Performance --- Sanitation --- Traffic Accidents --- Traffic Volumes --- Transport --- Transport Costs --- Urban Development --- Urban Sprawl --- Vehicles

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Why is productivity higher in cities? Does urbanization cause growth or does growth cause urbanization? Do countries achieve rapid growth or high incomes without urbanization? How can policy makers reap the benefits of urbanization without paying too high a cost? Does supporting urbanization imply neglecting rural areas? Why do so few governments welcome urbanization? What should governments do to improve housing conditions in cities as they urbanize? Are innovations in housing finance a blessing or a curse for developing countries? How will governments finance the trillions

Urban economics. --- Urbanization --- Cities and towns --- Economic aspects. --- Growth. --- Cities and towns, Movement to --- Urban development --- Urban systems --- Social history --- Sociology, Rural --- Sociology, Urban --- Urban policy --- Rural-urban migration --- City economics --- Economics of cities --- Economics --- Growth, Urban --- Sprawl, Urban --- Urban growth --- Urban sprawl --- Migration, Internal --- Population --- Vital statistics --- Economic aspects

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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 Iasi 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 energy efficiency action plan and strategy, district heating maintenance and upgrade, non-motorized transport, public transport development, traffic flow optimization, parking restraint measures, municipal building benchmarking program, traffic restraint measures, municipal buildings audit and retrofit, and street lighting timing program.

Clean Energy --- Climate --- Climate Change --- Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases --- Coal --- Electricity --- Energy --- Energy Consumption --- Energy Efficiency --- Energy Intensity --- Energy Production --- Energy Production and Transportation --- Environment --- Environment and Energy Efficiency --- Environment and Natural Resource Management --- Fuels --- Hot Water --- Hydropower --- Landfills --- Natural Gas --- Population Density --- Renewable Energy --- Roads --- Sanitation --- Solar Energy --- Street Lighting --- Tax Exemptions --- Temperature --- Thermal Power --- Transport --- Urban Sprawl --- Wind Energy