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News

Final ENABLE Conference on 9 October 2019 – Register Now

The conference "Equitable and resilient access to the benefits of green and blue infrastructure" marks the final phase of the research project ENABLE (Enabling Green and Blue Infrastructure Potential in Complex Social-Ecological Regions). It will bring together green space practitioners from the cities Oslo, Stockholm, and Łódź with policy-makers and leading researchers to explore how green and blue infrastructure can be planned and managed to deliver multiple benefits, and how to make sure these are fairly distributed to all urban dwellers. The event is free of charge, but seats are limited! To secure your spot register online by 27 September 2019.

Event

Discussion

Cities

Consumer Policy

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Sustainability

Expert Dialogue on the planned Foundation of the Umbrella Brand and Outlook for the Re-Use Berlin e.V.

TimeLoc

25 September 2019

Berlin

Germany

Waste is harmful to the environment, it wastes precious resources and it damages the cityscape. In order to drastically reduce the amount of waste that ends up in i.e. the gray residual waste bins, Berlin has committed itself to the principle of 'zero waste'. The aim is, among other things, to increase the reuse of used goods (such as used...Read more

Publication

Multi-level Policy Framework for Sustainable Urban Development and Nature-based Solutions – Status quo, gaps and opportunities

CLEVER Cities Deliverable 1.2

This report by Ecologic Institute explores the extent to which current policy frameworks support sustainable urban development and nature-based solutions (NBS). It reveals that a variety of different terms are used across countries in policies and discourses in support of sustainable urban development, with green (and blue) infrastructure being the most frequently used. However, while many policies were shown to have strong explicit support for sustainable urban development, these often lack mandatory policy instruments. Read more

Publication

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Sustainability

Evaluation Outcome for Measures to Promote EV

This infographic visualises the evaluation results of various measures to promote electric vehicles. It specifies the corresponding measures and illustrates the evaluation criteria. The infographic is licensed under a Creative Commons license CC BY-ND 4.0, i. e. it can be used without any changes, if the author is mentioned.Read more

Publication

The Evolving Role of Cities as Non-state Actors in the International Climate Regime

While hardly anyone would argue against the importance of cities and local governments in the implementation of climate policies, what remains contested is their role in the international climate regime. This analysis by Ecologic Institute uncovers how the activities of cities and transnational city networks, which have been evolving over the years, have gradually broadened the international climate regime, although cities are not subjects of international law. The analysis is available for download.Read more

Publication

Nachhaltige Ernährungssysteme in Zeiten von Urbanisierung und globaler Ressourcenknappheit

Herausforderungen und Handlungsmöglichkeiten

This working paper identifies the main overarching trends affecting the food supply system, sets out the environmental and socio-economic implications of spatial decoupling of food production, consumption and disposal, and addresses the particular role of urbanisation in changing supply systems. The effects in industrialised and developing countries are considered in equal measure. Read more

Presentation

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

Sustainability

Water

Water in Berlin – Virtual Water

TimeLoc

7 August 2019

Berlin

Germany

Hannes Schritt

Hannes Schritt hold a presentation concerning water in Berlin and Virtual Water at the BUNDjugend German-Egyptian Youth Exchange in Berlin. As part of the presentation he explained the water cycle of Berlin: Treated waste water is reused as drinking water to ensure water availability. In addition, Berlin gets drinking water by river bank filtration from Havel, Spree and Dahme. As a result of both, Berlin's drinking water quality depends on good water quality of the effluent of the waste water treatment plants and the rivers crossing the city. After presenting primarily technical aspects Hannes Schritt talked about political conflicts and inititiatives concerning water in Berlin and the concept of Virtual Water. The presentation slides are available for download.Read more

Publication

Rahmenbedingungen und Instrumente für die Gestaltung nachhaltiger Stadt-Land-Verknüpfungen

The report first presents non-institutional factors that influence the relationship between urban and rural areas. In the second part, it provides an overview of institutional framework conditions and instruments for the design of sustainable urban-rural linkages. The third section of the report analyses existing instruments and policies for the sustainable design of urban-rural linkages. It covers instruments at the German, EU and international levels. Examples of good practice from European and non-European countries in the field of "regional food systems" have a complementary, illustrative function.Read more

News

Biodiversity

Cities

International Development

Sustainability

Strengthening Co-operation between EU and CELAC Regions on Urban Nature-based Solutions

Nature-based solutions are an attractive proposition to address urban challenges in Europe and Latin America. There are many shared challenges such as impacts of climate change, air pollution or social cohesion. Research institutes and local governments in both regions can benefit from the exchange of experiences, knowledge, solutions, and techniques for addressing those challenges. To foster such exchange scientists from Ecologic Institute visited the Alexander von Humboldt Institute in Bogota (IAVH), a renowned Colombian research centre for the study of biodiversity.

Project

Digital Water City – Leading urban water management to its digital future (DWC)

June 2019 to November 2022

European cities face major challenges to achieve the desired level of sustainability in the management of urban water systems. Digital technologies such as mobile devices, sensor network, real-time monitoring, machine learning, and modeling tools have the potential to improve the management of water infrastructures significantly. In addition, they can improve the quality of services provided to citizens as well as awareness and cooperation between utilities, public authorities, and citizens in urban water management. The main objective of the project is to boost the integrated management of water systems in five major European cities, Berlin, Milan, Copenhagen, Paris, and Sofia, by leveraging the potential of data and smart digital technologies.Read more