'The ideas explored in Connected Cities chart the emergence of a political and economic phenomenon-the city as the new connected republic of the 21st Century. Simon Willis, Global Head of eGovernment for the Internet Business Solutions Group at Cisco Systems, has collated essays that show how different cities, at the cutting edge of the process, are grappling with the various stages of connectivity.'

'The book is a collection of colorfully written stories about eight projects with strong participatory components. Drawing extensively on the uplifting personal stories of project beneficiaries, the book reveals the challenges confronted when adopting a participatory approach toward the use of public resources. Yet it also points to the substantially positive results that can be achieved when those challenges are overcome through the involvement and commitment of motivated beneficiaries, nongove more...

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UNEP, wrote on 'ideas for development' blog : « Images of the Beijing sky-line, seemingly bathed in a soup of smog and haze have been never far from the world’s TV screens over recent days and weeks. International reporters with hand-held air pollution detectors have been popping up on street corners checking the levels of soot and dust...»

The Global Urban Competitiveness Project publishes periodic studies ranks 500 cities on their ability to attract and use resources to generate wealth. The cities are assessed on nine measures, including income, economic growth, innovation, jobs, prices and the presence of multinational firms.

Mayors and local authorities from across Central and South America will gather in Mexico City, Mexico August 27-29 for the 4th Congress of Latin-American Cities and Local Governments. The congress is organized by FLACMA (Latin-American Federation of Associations, Cities and Municipalities), an international non-profit aimed at promoting local democracy and development and strengthening the role of local governments.  During the event mayors, other members of local and regional governments, more...

Year and Location: 2003 - 2006, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Cuba, Egypt. Client: UN-HABITAT

The Sustainable Cities Programme (SCP) is a joint UN-HABITAT/UNEP capacity-building and institutional strengthening facility. SCP promotes and supports environmental governance. Since its launch in 1991, SCP has grown from a modest single UN-HABITAT initiative to a global multi-agency programme. The facility applies Agenda 21 principles to support implementation of the Habitat Agenda whilst buildi more...

The essays of the finalists and winners of the 2008 competition entitled 'Shaping the City of Your Dreams' are now available. Follow the link to find the practical proposals of: Pal Saptarshi from India (winner of the first prize), Mengting Wang from China (winner of the second prize), Maria Angelica Rodriguez from Colombia (winner of the third prize), Ashis Himali from Nepal, Hermann Hokou, Ivory Coast, Sara Abreu Machado from Brazil, Katarina Marsha Nugroho from Indonesia
and Jonah Obaje more...

This book is the outcome of a long process ofworking at one of the frontiers of governance studies and governance practice: the involvement of local governments in issues of peacebuilding. Published by VNG International on the occasion of the first World Conference on City Diplomacy, June 2008 in The Hague, the editors are: Arne Musch (principal editor), Chris van der Valk, Alexandra Sizoo and Kian Tajbakhsh. The publication's authors are Alexandra Sizoo, Arne Musch, Antonio Papisca, Martijn Kl more...