BOSTON (November 18, 2008)— LEED 2009, the long-awaited update to the internationally recognized LEED green building certification program, has passed member ballot, and will be introduced in 2009 as the next major evolution of the existing LEED rating systems for commercial buildings. It includes a series of major technical advancements focused on improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions, and addressing other environmental and human health outcomes.
LEED 2009 will also incor more...

'Policy-makers in Asia and the Pacific need to take a more integrated approach in managing urban growth in order to ensure that the rapid expanding cities in the region are both economically and environmentally sustainable, a United Nations official told the largest gathering on air quality management in the region.'

'Take one of the most unplanned urban centres in the world, wedge it between four flood-prone rivers in the most densely packed nation in Asia, then squeeze it between the Himalaya mountain range and a body of water that not only generates violent cyclones and the occasional tsunami, but also creeps further inland every year, washing away farmland, tainting drinking water, submerging fertile deltas, and displacing villagers as it approaches – and there you have it: Dhaka, the capital of Bangla more...

'As a consequence of population increase, city development and a growing number of motor vehicles on its roads, Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, has experienced serious air pollution problems over the past several decades. Measures recently adopted by the Thai government, however, have helped the growing city manage its air quality, putting Bangkok on the path to cleaner air and better quality of life for its residents.'
Source: UN-HABITAT

More than 20 mayors and governors from the world’s major cities and senior representatives from over 80 cities participated in the 9th World Congress of Metropolis, hosted by the New South Wales Government and held in Sydney 22-25 October. Key issues explored throughout the four day Congress program included climate change, urban renewal, financing public infrastructure and services and city leadership.

Big city mayors attending included mayor of Seoul Mr Oh Se-Hoon, mayor of Mumbai Dr Sh more...

At the Tokyo Conference for Climate Change in October, representatives from the so-called C40 cities warned that crowded urban areas were particularly susceptible to the Planet’s rising temperatures. The group of cities, whose members include Berlin, Beijing, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Paris, Sao Paulo, New York and Toronto, pledged to fight climate change by taking measures ranging from promoting renewable energy to introducing new building regulations designed to reduce the consumption more...

By Maricel Drazer. DÜSSELDORF, Germany, Oct 24 (Tierramérica) - As everyone knows, the wind and the sun produce energy. But now there is also a way to generate electricity by dancing.
That has been happening for the past few weeks at the Watt dance club in Rotterdam, in western Netherlands. The dancers move to the rhythm of the music on a dance floor made from panels that also move up and down -- no more than one centimetre -- depending on the movement and weight of the dancer.

The motion more...

By Mario de Queiroz. MOURA, Portugal, Nov 3 (IPS News) - This small municipality in the south of Portugal is becoming increasingly well-known for its alternative energy initiatives. The latest is the Sunflower project, which also involves communities in seven other European Union countries. The aim of the project is to transform communities in Bulgaria, Britain, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain into what the EU’s Intelligent Energy - Europe programme (IEE) calls a more...

The first phase of a EUR 15 million programme to provide housing for refugees in Serbia was recently concluded at a colourful ceremony held in Belgrade. Known as the Settlement and Integration of Refugees Programme (SIRP) the initiative that ran from 2004-2008 and financed by the governmemt of Italy and implemented by UN-HABITAT has provided some 670 new homes for 3,000 refugees and vulnerable people.

It has also built institutional capacities for social housing development, assisted the soci more...

UN-HABITAT’s new quarterly flagship magazine,
Urban World, replaces Habitat Debate and was launched at the World Urban Form 4, at Nanjing. The cocus in the inaugural issue is on Harmonious Cities and Chjina and India. These tow countries are the two demographic giants of the planet. They count together 2.5 billion inhabitants, representing 37 percent of the world population (estimated at 6.7 billion people in 2008). About to become economic giants, they are seriously shaking traditional power more...