Member Cities Research Articles

Twenty local health departments, 46 million people.

Twenty local health departments, 46 million people.

Mitigating Global Warming in Global Cities: Comparing Participation and Climate Change Policies of C40 Cities

Cities face similar challenges to nation-states in coming together for climate change agreements. Cities have joined trans-municipal networks to overcome these collective action problems that provide common problem definitions, policy solutions, formal channels of communication, and publicity. Analyzing the relationship between participation in a network and cities’ mitigation policies in 57 C40 member cities using ordered logit models, the article asks what effect group membership has on actual climate change mitigation actions at the city level. The results speak to the growing importance of transnational institutions in providing assistance and visibility to subnational efforts to address international issues.

Multi-scale remote sensing estimates of urban fractions and road widths for regional models

Landuse in East Asia has changed substantially during the last three decades, featured with expansion of urban built-up at unprecedented scale and speed. The fast expansion of urban areas could contribute to local and even regional climate change. However, current spatial datasets of urban fractions do not well represent the extent and expansion of urban areas in the regions, and that best available satellite data and remote sensing techniques have not been well applied to serve regional modeling of urbanization impacts on near surface temperature and other climate variables. Better estimates of localized urban fractions are badly needed. Here we use high and mid resolution satellite data to estimate urban fractions and road width at local and regional scales. With our fractional cover, data fusion, and differentiated threshold approaches, more spatial details of urban cover are demonstrated than previously reported in many global datasets. Many city clusters were merging into each other, with gradual blurring of boundaries and disappearance of gaps among member cities. Cities and towns were more connected with roads and commercial corridors, while wildland and urban green areas have become more isolated as patches among built-up areas. Average road width in commercial areas was 37.2 m in Beijing (north, temperate) and 24.2 m in Guangzhou (south, tropical), which are greater than these listed in model default values. Those new estimates could effectively improve climate simulation at local and regional scales in East Asia.

Healthy Cities in Europe: Editorial

This special supplement evaluates work undertaken in phase IV (2003–2008) of the European Healthy Cities Network (WHO-EHCN) supported by the World Health Organization regional office for Europe with contextual references to development in the current phase V (2009–2013) of the EHCN and its goals and priorities in phase VI (2014–2018). The network has grown through five phases, spanning 25 years since its inception in 1987 and, as our first article indicates, has had a significant influence on the development of Health 2020: the new European policy for health and well-being.1 Approved by central government representatives of member states of the European Region in 2012, Health 2020 nevertheless emphasizes the leadership and unique position of local governments in addressing the wider determinants of health. Twelve articles convey the scope and substance of policy development and implementation in the 77 member cities of the WHO-EHCN located by the map overleaf, and the 13th article summarizes activities of national networks of healthy cities, with over 1,500 members. All 13 convey both continuity and innovation. As in our evaluation of phase III of the WHO-EHCN summarized in a special supplement of Health Promotion International (issue 24, 2009), there is continuity, first, in membership of the network and, second, in enduring values such as equity and sustainability, political preconditions such as intersectoral partnerships, democratic governance, and strong municipal leadership for health and work on themes such as healthy urban planning and healthy aging. The methodology for evaluating complex cities with concurrent interventions and multiple outcomes was developed by Evelyne de Leeuw for phase III and is further developed both in this special supplement and in a complementary article in the Journal of Urban Health.2 In practice, much of the evidence for our evaluation is derived from the 59 valid city responses to a General Evaluation Questionnaire and a similar number completing an annual reporting template. We are hopeful that the methodology of realist evaluation and synthesis will challenge or at least complement more traditional public health research paradigms. Innovation has developed sequentially within the rapidly evolving socioeconomic landscape of Europe and compelling new evidence on the wider determinants of health inequalities. Innovative City Health Plans of phase II evolved into City Health Development Plans in phase III, with more precision about investing for health in phase IV. The innovative tool of health impact assessment disseminated in phase III was fully operational by phase IV. The imperative of active living evolved from phase III, influencing the innovative theme of healthy aging in phase IV, now high on the agenda of European policy makers in phase V (2009–2013). The framework next phase of the WHO-EHCN (phase VI, 2014–2018) is shaped around the goals and objectives of the new European policy and strategy for health and well-being. Health 2020 reinforces the values and principles on which healthy cities is based and offers the potential to strengthen the policy standing and to broaden both the strategic and operational scope of the work of healthy cities. The adoption of Health 2020 by all 53 member states of the European Region provides a supportive and encouraging environment for implementing Healthy 2020 locally. Most importantly, Health 2020 recognizes the important role of local governments in developing health and especially focused on whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to health. The 8th Global Conference on Health Promotion in Finland in June 2013 reiterated the importance of health in all policies in addressing the consequences of public policies on health determinants, aiming to improve the accountability of policy makers for health impacts at all levels of policy making and emphasized the need for strengthening governance for health. Phase VI is an adaptable and practical framework for delivering Health 2020 at the local level. It provides a unique platform for joint learning and sharing of expertise and experience between cities, the sub-national level, and countries. It recognizes that every city is unique and will pursue the overarching goals and core themes of phase VI according to the city’s situation. In delivering Health 2020, phase VI will support and encourage cities to strengthen their efforts to bring key stakeholders together to work for health and well-being, harnessing their potential for innovation and change and resolving local public health challenges. The future prosperity of urban populations depends on the willingness and ability to seize new opportunities to enhance the health and well-being of present and future generations. Map

Assessing urban water sustainability in South Africa – not just performance measurement

Urban water management – and the impacts that rapid population growth, industrialisation and climate change are having on it – is gaining increasing attention worldwide. In South Africa (SA), cities are under pressure to respond to not only the challenges of water availability and quality, but also to economic transformation and social division. New solutions for improving the sustainability of cities need to be found, including the development of tools to guide decision-makers. Several benchmarking initiatives have been implemented in the SA water sector – mostly in terms of performance measurement of specific water services for regulatory purposes – but none provide an integrated analysis to enable a deeper understanding of sustainability. The research described in this paper was thus focused on using a systems approach to create an understanding of, and measure the potential for, sustainability in a South African urban water context. This has been achieved through the development and evaluation of a composite index, the Sustainability Index for Integrated Urban Water Management (SIUWM). The first step involved compiling a vision of sustainability for the SA water sector, and expanding it into a sustainability framework to help identify suitable indicators for the assessment process, as well as those which link with existing measurement initiatives. Key performance indicator results from the Department of Water Affairs’ Regulatory Performance Management System (RPMS) and the Blue Drop / Green Drop schemes were used as partial input to the SIUWM, and scores were computed for the nine member cities of the South African Cities Network (SACN). The SIUWM links the results from the regulatory systems with a broader sustainability assessment process to provide a more detailed analysis which can be used to establish goals and inform strategic processes to leverage support for improved water services. In this way, the connections that link the different aspects of urban water management can be used to generate a greater awareness of the underlying issues by key decision makers and thus guide appropriate action.Keywords: urban water management; sustainability index; performance measurement

European National Healthy City Networks: the Impact of an Elite Epistemic Community

National healthy cities networks (NNs) were created 20years ago to support the development of healthy cities within the WHO Europe Region. Using the concept of epistemic communities, the evolution and impact of NNs is considered, as is their future development. Healthy cities national networks are providing information, training and support to member cities. In many cases, they are also involved in supporting national public health policy development and disseminating out healthy city principles to other local authorities. National networks are a fragile but an extremely valuable resource for sharing public health knowledge.

WHO Healthy City Initiative in Japan

City environmental conditions are associated with health outcomes in people living there. World Health Organization (WHO) initiated Healthy City in 1986. To promote the networking, Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC) was launched in 2003 with local offices including AFHC Japan. As of 2010, 26 cities are members of AFHC Japan. A questionnaire was sent to those member cities. It includes questions on why they became an AFHC member, which section is in charge of the initiatives, what factors are important for promotion, and others. Out of the 26 cities, 13 cities returned the completed questionnaire. As for factors important for promoting the initiatives, 10 (77%) out of the 13 cities answered "consciousness of residents", while five (38%) chose "budget". This result suggests that community participation is a more important factor than budget for promoting and succeeding in the initiatives. Aging is a problem in any of the member cities, and six cities out the 13 falls under the category of superaged society, which is defined as a society with the proportion of aged people < 65 years being greater than 21% of the whole population. Eleven cities (85%) agreed that bicycles are an alternative means of transportation to cars; however, infrastructure for ensuring safety needs further improvement. In the promotion of Healthy City, networking among the member cities in Japan and worldwide should be promoted. Community participation with empowerment from the planning stage should lead to sustainable initiatives. The function of AFHC in collaboration among the members should be strengthened to cope with the rapidly changing city environment.

Promoting active living in healthy cities of Europe.

Local governments in Europe have a vital role in promoting physical activity in the daily life of citizens. However, explicit investment in active living has been limited. One of the four core themes for Phase IV (2003-2008) of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Healthy Cities Network (WHO-EHCN) was to encourage local governments and their partners to implement programs in favor of active living. This study analyzes the performance of network cities during this period. Responses to a general evaluation questionnaire are analyzed by content according to a checklist, and categorized into themes and dimensions. Most cities viewed "active living" as an important issue for urban planning; to improve visual appeal, enhance social cohesion, create a more sustainable transport system to promote walkability and cyclability and to reduce inequalities in public health. Almost all member cities reported on existing policies that support the promotion of active living. However, only eight (of the 59) responding cities mentioned an integrated framework specific for active living. Many efforts to promote active living are nested in programs to prevent obesity among adults or children. Future challenges include establishing integrated policies specifically for active living, introducing a larger range of actions, as well as increasing funding and capacity to make a difference at the population level.

Achievement of Climate Planning Objectives among U.S. Member Cities of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI).

In an effort to address climate change, many cities have joined the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) whose members commit to work toward five specific program objectives designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study examines the extent to which 257 member cities in the US have been successful in achieving these program milestones and identifies factors that may explain variation in the performance of member cities. Potential influences on milestone attainment include socioeconomic, political and ideological characteristics of residents, length of ICLEI membership, existence of other climate programs within the state, and local environmental pressures. Multiple regression results indicate that length of membership is the strongest predictor of milestone attainment, regardless of local socioeconomic conditions, ideological and political orientations of residents, or other climate-related initiatives within the state. This finding supports the general effectiveness of ICLEI's network organizational model and its outreach and education efforts. However, member cities facing more "climate stress", including higher levels of hazardous air pollutants (HAP's) and greater automobile use among residents are making slower progress. The findings yield insight into the conditions under which cities engaged in climate planning are more likely to succeed in reducing local greenhouse gas emissions-relevant information for planners, community stakeholders and administrators of organizations like ICLEI.

Agglomeration Economies of China's Three Major Urban Agglomerations, 1994–2008

It is considered that the result of agglomeration in a region is natural enough to provide high level of benefits for the firms and agents located in the region, so the study measures the potential benefits. Efficiency, technological progress and increasing returns to scale are examined through empirical analysis of most developed three urban agglomerations in China. Technological progress are seen in the three major urban agglomerations as a whole, but most member cities in Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta area are rather crowded and fail to be operating under increasing returns to municipal scale, while efficiencies are not equally improved among the three. The agglomeration economies of the two urban agglomerations are not as positive as we normally expect to be. So, for the higher growth and more fruitful production, the most developed and rich cities in China should restructure their social production system, and the two urban agglomerations-Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta - also need to restructure their range or size of agglomeration.

Measuring abundance: the case of Cittaslow's attempts to support better quality of life

True economic advances promote abundance – the condition when all people feel that they have enough, and are enabled to live life as art, meaning self-expression to others. How can we assess whether particular projects are creating greater abundance? This question is addressed by reference to an actual attempt to improve quality of life: the Cittaslow network of cities, which began in Italy but now has member cities in a number of different countries. Are cities that belong to this network creating the conditions for greater abundance? Applying a list of criteria based on the concept of abundance to Cittaslow's charter and list of standards shows that issues of equity receive little attention, while issues of environmental quality and the stimulation of local economic development are addressed comprehensively. The analysis also shows that a list of criteria based on the concept of abundance can be used to pinpoint important policy gaps.

Implementation of the Healthy Cities' principles and strategies: an evaluation of the Israel Healthy Cities Network

The Israel network of Healthy Cities has been operating since 1990, and the first evaluation of its performance was carried out in 2004. The objectives were to evaluate the level of implementation of the 'Healthy Cities' principles and strategies in each network city and to assess the contribution of the network to its member cities. Coordinators of 18 active healthy cities participated in the study by completing a questionnaire with the aid of key informants in the municipality. The survey covered six dimensions of Healthy Cities' principles and strategies, and each was analyzed as a sum of scores of separate components and measures, converted to a 0-10 scale. Cities were found to differ in their performances. The dimension of intersectoral collaboration received the highest mean score (8.0 +/- 1.6), while the environmental protection dimension received the lowest one (4.5 +/- 2.2). Time investment by the coordinator of > 20 h a week is significantly associated with a higher score on the management dimension (7.8 versus 4.4 where the coordinator invests 20 h a week or less, P < 0.001). Previous work experience in either public health or community work was associated with higher scores of the community participation and intersectoral partnership dimensions (6.9 versus 5.2 and 8.5 versus 6.8, respectively, P < 0.05). Political support was associated with the city equity policy dimension (8.1 versus 4.8 in cities with high versus low political support, P < 0.01). Coordinator's participation in the network's activities is associated with better scores on all the dimensions except for environmental protection. It appears that political commitment and support is a significant enabling condition, which, together with the capacity building of the coordinator, may lead to better implementation of Healthy Cities' policy. Environmental issues should be incorporated into training sessions to enhance the environmental protection dimension.

Social Quality, Employment and Its Flexicurity

The main task of this article is to introduce the social quality initiative and to link its recent outcomes to aspects of employment policy. The initiative was launched during the Dutch Presidency in 1997 as a new academic approach to the circumstances of citizens in Europe, the Member States, regions, cities and communities. The idea of social quality arose out of the conflict between European economic and social policy more specifical ly, the subordination of the latter to the former and the lack of any dis tinct rationale for social policies. Two studies published by the Foundation provided the basis for the initiative's development, and established the four objective conditional factors or components of social quality:

Cities &amp; States: Challenges for the Next Century – Conversations with Donald J. Borut and Raymond Scheppach

The social, economic, and technological changes of the coming century present significant challenges with which states and cities will have to contend. Policy Perspectives engaged Donald Borut, Executive Director of the National League of Cities (NLC), and Raymond Scheppach, Executive Director of the National Governors Association (NGA), in separate conversations to learn how they see these issues playing out for their member states and cities. Their answers expand on the nature of these issues, what strengths these levels of government bring to the task of addressing them, and in what areas collaboration can be enhanced. Both Borut and Scheppach agree that the changing economy is a central consideration for states and localities as they look to the future. Addressing federal preemption, in particular, seems an area ripe for further collaboration between the two levels of government.

Perspektiven zur Stadtpolitik aus Sicht der Mitglieder des Schweizerischen Städteverbandes

On the occasion of its centenary the Swiss Cities Association has published a brochure dealing with today's and tomorrow's problems of Swiss cities. The present study is a contribution to this jubilee publication presenting problems, scenarios and measures regarding urban development from the viewpoint of the member cities (by applying the delphi method). Today problems of the member cities are mainly characterized by financial and economic worries. Only in the second place do the members mention problems with traffic and on the social level. The outlook for the future reported by the member cities and the experts seems to be depressing. But first of all, not all the described problems occur at once, and secondly, they don't concentrate on one single spot. In order to react against the described problems and undesirable scenarios the member cities have proposed concrete policies. Surprisingly, a relatively strong regional way of thinking became apparent in the answers of the member cities. Not all of them...

Optimization of long-range municipal multiple-resource fiscal policies

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) levies taxes, sells water, and issues bonds to finance the cost of distributing water to member cities. A linear programming model was developed to assist MWD in determining the cost to the citizen of various fiscal policies. A matrix generator was prepared to produce the LP matrix using raw fiscal data as input. The LP output was translated by another program into budget reports to the Board of Directors. These tools permitted analyses which were practically impossible manually, permitting a savings of approximately $25 million.

Case History of Contamination Control in Hubbard Creek Reservoir Watershed, Texas: ABSTRACT

The West Central Texas Municipal Water District was created by an act of the Texas State Legislature in March, 1955, with four member cities--Abilene, Albany, Anson, and Breckenridge. Construction of the End_Page 169------------------------------ Hubbard Creek Reservoir began in 1962. A single U.S.G.S. hydrologic station below the present damsite indicated that water acceptable by U.S.P.H.S. standards would be impounded. However, an increase in chloride load was noted beginning in 1958 and continuing into 1961. Consultants were employed to ascertain the source of the contamination, inasmuch as the watershed is located in one of the most intensively drilled areas in the nation, with more than 13,000 known holes. The consultants' report, submitted in May, 1962, established that the watershed was naturally clean and that contamination originated primarily from salt water disposal pits, improperly plugged wells, and water escaping to the surface as a result of repressuring by waterfloods. Remedial work, including plugging leaking wells, a no-pit order for the watershed by the Texas Railroad Commission effective March 1, 1964, the establishment of additional U.S.G.S. hydrologic stations, and a general clean-up by the oil industry significantly reduced the chlorides reaching the reservoir. These remedial measures, however, were insufficient to reduce chlorides entering the reservoir to less than 50 ppm. A second intensive study was submitted by the consultants in January, 1966, and isolated eight remaining contaminated areas. This study also recognized salt-water charged alluvium as an important source of contamination. These findings were supported by U.S.G.S. data. It was found that 4 per cent of the watershed area contributed up to 40 percent of the total chloride load reaching the reservoir. This area, just west of the city of Albany, Texas, contains numerous shallow waterfloods and very old production dating to the 1900s. As a result of continuing pollution originating here, the Railroad Commission held a hearing in Albany in August, 1966, during which operators were given an opportunity to show cause why offending leases should not be shut down. The results of the consultants' contamination studies in this watershed emphasize that geological responsibility today goes far beyond the search for petroleum reserves. Geologists must be prepared to point out unmistakably to their employers and clients the many potential hazards that lie ahead--perhaps many years ahead--as a result of poor completion practices. These matters are of concern to the geological profession and should be considered definite geological responsibilities whose importance will increase in years to come. End_of_Article - Last_Page 170------------

The Colorado River aqueduct as a supplement to local water‐sources

Deliveries of Colorado River water to member cities of The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California began here at Pasadena on June 17, 1941, after an eight‐year aqueduct‐construction period that had been preceded by an equally long program of surveys, investigations, and planning. To many of us who have worked on the project, this date naturally seemed an end and a climax, rather than the real beginning of an even more important, if less exciting, period of operations, for which all earlier work had merely been a preparation. So before passing to present problems of technical interest, as indicated by the assigned title, the aqueduct had best be located and its construction completed for you briefly. It has been so often and thoroughly described in detail in many technical journals, however, that little repetition of general data is now justified.