SuStainable CitieS

Volume 1. 2010

Sustainable Cities Volume 1, 2010 Published by the Global Compact Cities Programme. Building 97, Level 2, 106-108 Victoria St, Melbourne, Australia.
Global Compact Cities Programme 2010.

Printed by Arena Printing, Fitzroy, Australia. Printed on sustainable stock comprising 60 percent sugar cane, with soy-based inks. Edited by Stephanie McCarthy, Paul James and Caroline Bayliss. Design and layout by Josephine Naughton. All images are licenced to Global Compact Cities Programme unless otherwise stated. Images licenced under Creative Commons are marked CC. For more information visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ Front cover: Buddhist monk, Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. Photo: joepyrek CC (www.flickr.com/photos/ joepyrek/3882521353/) As Ulaan Baatar tackles a significant shift in rural-to-urban migration and subsequent population growth, the Mongolian population experiences a cultural resurgence after much of the capitals places of cultural significance were destroyed by the Soviet overhaul in the 1930s. Buddhism has remained integral to the Mongolian way of life throughout the centuries of socio-economic and political change.

Background governance

index
Forward exeCutiVe Summary baCkground goVernanCe engagement methodology City ProFileS aPPendix 4 6 10 31 36 54 68 88

engagement methodology city Profiles aPPendix

Foreword by georg kell

exeCutiVe direCtor united nationS global ComPaCt

the united nationS global ComPaCt workS to embed PrinCiPleS, ValueS and reSPonSibility into global and loCal marketPlaCeS. with more than 6,000 ComPanieS in 135 CountrieS Committed to imPlementing ten PrinCiPleS in the areaS oF human rightS, labour, enVironment and anti-CorruPtion into their StrategieS and oPerationS, the un global ComPaCt iS the worldS largeSt CorPorate reSPonSibility initiatiVe. with SuCh a global reaCh, the un global ComPaCt relieS heaVily on loCal aCtion and eFFortS to Promote the ten PrinCiPleS and FaCilitate their imPlementation on the ground. CitieS, in PartiCular, haVe the Potential to make enormouS StrideS in Creating truly SuStainable SoCietieS where eConomiC, SoCial, PolitiCal and enVironmental iSSueS are integrated and adVanCed. the global ComPaCt CitieS Programme SeekS to do juSt that and aSSiStS CitieS to Coordinate the reSourCeS, exPertiSe and exPerienCe within goVernment, buSineSS and CiVil SoCiety to addreSS ComPlex urban ChallengeS. thiS FirSt CitieS Programme annual reView reVealS the range oF ProjeCtS underway by CitieS that are Committed to Finding CollaboratiVe and innoVatiVe aPProaCheS to imProVing the quality oF urban liFe. it iS hoPed that by Sharing theSe exPerienCeS and PraCtiCeS more CitieS will take on Similar mindSetS and aPProaCheS in their own CommunitieS. with So muCh oF humanity liVing in townS and CitieS, we muSt work to enSure that human rightS, labour, enVironment and good goVernanCe PrinCiPleS are embedded in urban liFe eVerywhere.

exeCutiVe Summary

the global ComPaCt CitieS Programme

municipal districts and small townships alike. The Cities Programme offers cities a broad range of benefits, including access to the following opportunities: A specific city-focused forum to publicly register commitment to the principles of the Global Compact and to recognize the initiatives undertaken within cities in support of the Global Compact; A series of city and urban networks, both locally and internationally, to promote city initiatives and projects, to extend shared learning, and to promote collaboration; A set of tools to assist in reporting on progress in implementing the Global Compact Principles; A comprehensive framework to assist cities to work collaboratively across all levels of government with business and civil society on complex or seemingly intractable issues; A detailed methodology to assist in development, monitoring and assessment of projects; and A network of researchers who can offer advice on particular issues and assist in project implementation and evaluation.

The Global Compact Cities Programme (the Cities Programme) is the urban component of the Global Compact initiative. It supports and practically applies the ten over arching principles of the Global Compact around human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. The Cities Programme is managed by an International Secretariat located at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and is mandated under the auspices of the UN Global Compact Office in New York, USA. The Cities Programme facilitates collaboration between government, business and civil society to enhance sustainability, resilience, diversity, and adaptation within cities in the face of complex urban challenges. Before engagement, cities are required to gain support from the highest level of local governance, which is usually represented by a citys mayor. This support is important as it represents a commitment from local government to joining the Programme and endeavouring to uphold the over arching principles of the Global Compact. Notwithstanding this, a citys engagement can be led by leaders from any sector of government, business or civil society who are committed to inter-sectoral co-operation to address such challenges. The concept of a city is broadly defined within the programme, and all cities are encouraged to join regardless of their size and governance structure. Members comprise large metropolitan areas, local

Figure 1: Types of cities in the Cities Programme

The Cities Programme spans all continents and includes cities within the Global North and South. There are three levels of engagement in the Cities Programme, and a city can choose to enter the Programme at any level. The levels of engagement reflect a progression in terms of commitment: At the level of an Innovating City, the Cities Programme affords an opportunity for city leaders to approach seemingly intractable issues from a broader and more innovative perspective than previously employed. This is achieved by a methodology that encourages meaningful inter-sectoral collaboration, a rigorous application of sustainability principles, and the selection of relevant indicators that assess the citys progress in resolving its identified challenge. The development of robust new methodologies for city governance, such as those offered by the Cities Programme, has become critical in the twenty-first century as urban challenges become increasingly complex and multi-faceted. Bringing together the ideas, knowledge, experience and resources inherent within public and private sectors, non-government organizations, and academia serves as a powerful model to address a wide range of issues for cities. These issues are as diverse as waste management, water and sanitation management, poverty alleviation, traffic safety and housing redevelopments for the urban poor. The International Secretariat, based in Melbourne, is responsible for the effective program implementation and engagement of member cities. The International Secretariat guides cities through a facilitated process of engagement, and offers a suite of project management and research tools that are easily accessible on the Cities Programme website: www.citiesprogramme.org The Executive of the International Secretariat of the Cities Programme comprises the following persons: Director Professor Paul James, Director, RMIT Global Cities Research Institute Deputy Director Ms Caroline Bayliss, Director, Global Sustainability, RMIT Programme Manager Ms Stephanie McCarthy, RMIT University Manager (New York) Ms Carrie Hall, Communications, Global Compact Office The International Secretariat is supported by an administrative assistant, a finance officer and a website manager.

Background
the City oF milwaukee (uSa) haS hiStoriCally Called itSelF home to Some oF ameriCaS largeSt manuFaCturerS, inCluding miller CoorS. loCated South oF the great lakeS, the City leaderS oF milwuakee are determined to inVeSt in the re-orientation oF their City, Starting FirSt with water, the Commodity So widely uSed.and PreViouSly taken For granted. water iS FaSt ProVing to be milwaukeeS greateSt aSSet. the ProjeCt iS being led by milwaukee water 7 CounCil with the SuPPort oF the City oF milwaukee, and SeekS to exPlore the Culture oF water by aSSeSSing the imPortant dimenSionS oF PolitiCS, Culture, eConomiCS and eCology.
Photo: indy kethdy CC www.FliCkr.Com/PhotoS/indykethdy/4192221062/

baCkground
The Cities Programme understands the challenges that cities face, which occur across local, national, regional, and global frameworks. While being aware of globalizing patterns, the Programme recognizes that each city is a unique manifestation of the political, cultural, economic and ecological climates in which they continually evolve. able places to live. The overall task of the Cities Programme is to assist cities to understand and respond to global change in the urban context, with a view to enhancing the quality of life of their citizens and enhancing the social cohesion of their communities.

global Context
grants and displaced persons coming to the city for work; Increasing frequency of natural disasters, in some cases associated with climate change; Growing dependence on offshore food markets and industrialized food production; and Intensifying vulnerability of global financial markets, as evidenced by the Global Financial Crisis of 200809. These global trends exacerbate pre-existing urban issues and add new challenges on a daily basis for individuals, businesses, communities, and city governors. Urbanized regions are places of immense change and innovation. Nevertheless, they are vulnerable to major shocks such as economic crises, terrorism, civil conflict, tsunamis, and disease pandemics. They are also susceptible to the gradual breakdown of basic infrastructural services that provide communications, energy, mobility, and water. In turn, cities are intensifying the resource impacts and environmental damage of their ecological footprints. Cities are having an impact upon the social, economic and environmental sustainability of smaller communities through their resource demands and the loss of regional services and jobs associated with rural de-population and migration flows. Issues of urban inequality, homelessness and polarization of communities undermine the social and cultural foundations that underpin effective urban governance institutions and practices.

Cities and Global Challenges

Cities are composed of distinctive social relations and particular natural systems. They have varying exposure and changing sensitivity to different internal and external stresses. The people who dwell in them live across multiple time-horizons over which risk and vulnerability may shift. The Cities Programme seeks to work systematically to enhance the resilience, adaptation and sustainability of member cities in response to such stresses. Global trends with the potential to effect significantly urban governance and sustainable development include a number of issues: Rising urban populations and increasing demands on finite supplies of resources, most particularly water; Expanding urban spatial footprints with the spread of peri-urban areas into rural hinterlands; Increasing disparity between the socio-economic status of urban and rural citizens; Amplifying e-culture connectivity and the fragmentation of older-style grounded communities; Escalating movements of people, including irregular mi-

The Rise of the City

Over the recent decades, the world has experienced an urban shift, with more than half the global population living in cities. The shift is part of a larger set of changes that continue to have profound effects on social relations across the domains of culture, ecology, economics and politics. It affects the way that a society is viewed as a whole. Sometime in the next year or two, a woman will give birth in the Lagos slum of Ajegunle, a young man will flee his village in West Java for the bright lights of Jakarta, or a farmer will move his impoverished family into one of Limas innumerable pueblos jovenes. The exact event is unimportant and it will go unnoticed. Nonetheless it will constitute a watershed in human history, comparable to the Neolithic or Industrial revolutions. For the first time the urban population of the earth will outnumber the rural. Indeed, given the imprecision of Third World censuses, this epochal transition has probably already occurred.1 This is a momentous shift. However, cities, for all their dynamism, face a growing challenge of providing secure and sustain-

10

Background

Defining Cities
The urban-rural distinction was first proposed in the early 1950s, and it was critiqued at the time for being overly simplistic. Nevertheless, it quickly entered into popular usage. It has persisted as the dominant classification system, and is used by virtually all countries. Beyond that there are a number of significant problems with the widespread usage of the various settlement categories. Firstly, there is no uniform approach to defining rural and urban settlements. The United Nations has taken the position that,

changing nature of human settlement across the globe. There are a number of significant changes, including the changing forms of urbanization such as urban sprawl, and the decentralization of nonresidential functions, for example, retail parks close to intercity highway junctions; massively increased levels of commuting between urban and rural areas; the development of communication and transport technologies; and the emergence of polycentric urban configurations.3 While the urban-rural dichotomy was always over-simplistic, it is argu-

by a significant infrastructural baseeconomically, politically and culturallya high density of population, whether it be as denizens, working people, or transitory visitors, and what is perceived to be a large proportion of constructed surface area relative to the rest of the region. Within that area may also be smaller zones of non-built-up, green or brown sites used for recreational, storage, waste disposal or other purposes. A suburban area can be defined as a relatively densely inhabited urban district characterized by predominance of housing land-useas a residential zone in an urban area contiguous with a city centre, as a zone outside the politically defined limits of a city centre, or as a zone on the outer rim of an urban region (sometimes called a peri-urban area).

...because of

A peri-urban area is a zone of transition from the rural to urban. These areas often form the immediate urbanThus, it is said to be best for rural interface and may countries to decide for themeventually evolve into selves whether particular setbeing fully urban. Peritlements are urban or rural. urban areas are livedThe OECD has adopted the in environments. The same approach. However, majority of peri-urban while recognizing that it is a areas are on the fringe difficult task to create categoof established urban ries which are applicable to a Docklands development, Melbourne, Australia areas, but they may diverse range of landscapes, also be clusters of resicontexts and regional settings, ably more misleading today than dential development within rural the failure to define the terms be- it was half a century ago. Piecing landscapes and along transport ing used simply means that there together material from different routes. Peri-urban areas in the is an overabundance of opportu- sources, however, it is possible to Global North are most frequently nities for confusion and incon- get a basic framework for a genan outcome of the continuing 4 eral set of definitions. sistent use. process of suburbanization or Secondly, the usual urban-rural An urban area can be defined as a urban sprawl, though this is difdistinction fails to account for the human settlement characterized ferent in places where customary

national differences in the characteristics which distinguish urban from rural areas, the distinction between urban and rural population is not yet amenable to a single definition that would be applicable in all countries .2

11

land relations continue to prevail. In the Global South a peri-urban area might have the appearance of being rural, but because of its immediate proximity to an urban area its orientation to that centre is more intense than even hinterland communitieshence the designation. All three of these areas are relevant to the Cities Programme and to defining the variable conditions of cities.

Cities Seeking Global Solutions

Whilst historians, politicians, economists, philanthropists and communities will continue to contend with justification that cities possess unique DNA, there is a growing awareness that cities are being challenged by similar global phenomena across traditional North/South or East/West divides. In the face of the above challenges, forward-thinking decision-makers within cities are posing the following important questions: How can urban issues be governed within a broader global context? How can cities learn from the experiences of others in tracking and responding to global issues? In recent decades it has become common for certain international organizations and issues-based experts, particularly in the domain of economics, to visit other cities to share best practice and suggest how others should manage their issues at a local level. However, whilst these initiatives have re-examined city governance and finance arrangements in relation to a particular issue, they do not characteristically address the complex matrix of processes that influence the causation of a given problem. This means that responses to systemic problems tend to be found in singular solutions or immediate-fix techniques. By comparison, the Cities Program works with cities across all the domains of social practiceeconomics, ecology, politics and cultureto examine a problem in its local-global complexity.

San Francisco Bay Scenarios for Sea Level Rise Central and South Bay. Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of San Francisco

12

the CitieS Programme

Background
The Cities Programme recognizes that there is no one size fits all approach to resolving urban issues, even on seemingly similar subjects (for example, water, energy, environmental degradation, social displacement). Given the specific social dynamics of each city the Program works from the inside out. (See Figure 2.) To this end, it encourages cities to adopt and report on local initiatives that actively engage their constituencies. At the same time, the Programme remains global in its focus on shared learning between member cities. Cities collaborate on specific issues, whilst recognizing the differences in underlying economic, political and cultural structures which may result in varying approaches to similar issues.

Figure 2 Summary framework of the Cities Programme

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originS and eStabliShment

The UN Global Compact
The UN Global Compact is the worlds largest corporate responsibility initiative. It is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles across the domains of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption. By doing so, business, as a primary agent driving globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere. The Global Compact is a leadership platform endorsed by Chief Executive Officers and offering a unique foundation for participants to advance their commitments to sustainability and corporate citizenship.5 The Global Compact recognizes the growing influence of the private sector and the opportunity that exists for corporations to adopt, internalize and apply these key over arching principles in their sectors of activity. The former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, announced the establishment of the UN Global Compact initiative in an address to The World Economic Forum on 31 January 1999. It was officially launched at the UN Headquarters in New York on 26 July 2000. The Global Compact exists to assist the private sector in the management of increasingly complex risks and opportunities in the environmental, social and governance realms. By partnering with companies, and leveraging the expertise and capacities of a range of other stakeholders, the Global Compact seeks to embed universal principles and values in markets and businesses for the benefit of both business and society alike. Its membership has grown to more than 6,700 participants, including over 5,200 businesses in 130 countries around the world.

The Ten Principles of the Global Compact

The Global Compact requires companies to embrace, support, and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of ten core principles in the domains of human rights, labour, the environment, and anti-corruption, as outlined below. ( See Table 1.) These ten principles are derived from a set of universal declarations including: The Universal Declaration on Human Rights; The International Labour Organizations Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work; The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; The United Nations Convention against Corruption.

With such a global reach, the UN

Global Compact relies heavily on local action and efforts to promote the Ten Principles and facilitate their implementation on the ground.

Grounding practice in a negotiated

ethics is more important than mechanically following a given set of rights, metrics or even development goals.

Georg Kell Executive Director United Nations Global Compact

Paul James Director Global Compact Cities Programme

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Background

the ten PrinCiPleS oF the global ComPaCt

The UN Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption:

human rightS
Principle 1: Principle 2: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

labour StandardS
Principle 3: Principle 4: Principle 5: Principle 6: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour; the effective abolition of child labour; and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

enVironment
Principle 7: Principle 8: Principle 9: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges; undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

anti-CorruPtion
Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Table 1 The ten principles of the Global Compact

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CommuniCation on ProgreSS
As a voluntary initiative, the Global Compact relies on organizations commitment to public accountability and transparency in their practical application of the ten principles. In 2005, the Global Compact fully instituted a Communication on Progress (COP) policy requiring participants to communicate annually on their actions to implement the ten principles in order to maintain an active status. The Communication on Progress is a requirement of participation which serves several important purposes: To instil accountability; To drive continuous improvement; To safeguard the integrity of the UN Global Compact as a whole; and To contribute to the development of a repository of corporate practices. A Communication on Progress is a report outlining how an organization has practically applied the ten principles to its policies and activities and within its spheres of influence. Whilst the format of the Communication on Progress is flexible, it must contain three important elements: A statement by the highest official of the organization; A description of practical actions; and A measurement of outcomes.

Biblioteca, Community Library, Porto Alegre, Brazil (Photo: Biella CC www.flickr.com/photos/ biella/2569265240/)

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originS and eStabliShment oF the CitieS Programme

Background
The Cities Programme is the urban component of the Global Compact initiative. Whilst it was officially launched by former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, the Cities Programme has been led by the International Secretariat in Melbourne, Australia. Following a successful incubation phase, the International Secretariat is currently located at Global Cities Institute at RMIT University. The International Secretariat works closely with the Office of Global Compact, New York.

Figure 3 Origins and establishment of the Cities Programme

tranSlating the ten PrinCiPleS oF the global ComPaCt into the CitieS Programme
The Cities Programme is the urban component of the Global Compact initiative. It extends the ten principles to the policies and activities of government agencies, non-government organizations, academia, and other civil society bodies. The Cities Programme offers cities the opportunity to practically implement the ten principles at a city-wide level, translating these values into concrete and positive outcomes for their citizens, communities and institutions. Whilst the Global Compact focusses on engaging the business sector, the Cities Programme recognizes that government and the civil sector are equally important and active stakeholders in achieving sustainable outcomes for society.

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the global ComPaCt and the City oF melbourne

At the time of its launch, the Global Compact initiative caught the attention of city leaders in Melbourne, Australia, who wanted to demonstrate support for the Global Compact. The municipal council of the City of Melbourne, together with a leading multi-sectoral policy and advocacy organization known as the Committee for Melbourne, saw a potential for city governments and institutions to play an important role in achieving the Global Compacts objectives in the domains of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Accordingly, the City of Melbourne wrote to Kofi Annan and articulated the need for cities to be accommodated within the Global Compact framework. It sought approval for the City of Melbourne to become a signatory to the initiative. The Global Compact Office considered this submission, but declined Melbournes request to be a signatory at that time on the grounds that the initiative was primarily designed to focus on the private sector. The Global Compact Office considered this submission, but declined Melbournes request to be a signatory at that time, on the grounds that the initiative was primarily designed to focus on the private sector. Following the initial rejection of its approach to become a signatory of the Global Compact, the City of Melbourne and the Committee for Melbourne developed a proposal focused specifically on the application of the Global Compacts principles and objectives within an urban context. This initiative was premised on the notion of creating a neutral space for business, government and civil sectors to tackle seemingly intractable urban issues through collaboration and drawing together their unique and complementary skills. Further information about Melbourne is attached in Appendix 2.

The Committee for Melbourne

The Committee for Melbourne is an independent membernetwork of Melbourne leaders working together to enhance the competitive business culture and liveability of Melbourne, thereby increasing the economic prosperity and quality of life of its citizens. The organization was founded in 1985, by a group of citizens concerned that Melbourne was losing its place among the worlds great cities. Its operating motto is Ideas to Outcomes, since its members are focussed on positive and practical solutions to the citys challenges across a wide range of areas and issues, from higher education to the implications of climate change and the future shape of Melbournes institutions and infrastructure. The Committees policy of inclusiveness ensures that its current 170 members represent the most senior levels of Melbournes major corporations, institutions and organizations. While members interests are diverse, the shared goalsecuring Melbournes future as a city of world-standingis unifying, enabling the Committee to work closely with government at local, state, federal and global levels.

Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital city of the State of Victoria, in Australia. The broader metropolitan area covers 8,806 square kilometres and is geographically divided into seventy-nine administrative areas referred to as Local Government Authorities (LGA). The municipal boundaries of the City of Melbourne include Melbournes economic and political centre and is located within an area of 37.6 sq km that includes the central business district. The City of Melbourne is governed by a municipal council, which is led by the Lord Mayor. The council exercises a wide range of government functions and powers for the peace, order and good government of its municipal district. It represents the interests of the city and its citizens in local, national and international forums. Currently, the City of Melbourne is a member of a number of international organizations and affiliations at the highest level including the International Congress of Metropolis; the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (hosting its Regional Secretariat) and the United Council of Local Governments Association. The Council has strong working relationships with business and non-business sectors and regularly facilitates collaborative initiatives to retain and enhance Melbournes status of being one of the worlds most liveable cities. 18

The Melbourne Proposal

The proposal put forward by the City of Melbourne and the Committee of Melbourne aimed to harness the implicit experience, knowledge and intellectual capital present in cities in order to develop solutions to overcome the

Background

challenges of urbanization. It was based on the following premises: Cities have pre-developed and complex neural networks based on shared language, experience, geography, culture and economics. Significant time, effort and resources can be saved by tapping into these pre-existing networks to develop innovative solutions to urban issues. Many urban issues are global in their root causes, impact and ramifications. Therefore, solutions developed in one city can be applied to or adapted for other cities facing the similar issues. Urban issues can be further understood by hypothesis testing around an identified problem with a proposed solution rapidly and effectively carried out in a discrete geographic urban area. The direct impacts of a problem on governments, business and civil society can be readily qualified and quantified in a limited area. Similarly, the implementation of a proven solution can be more effectively controlled, monitored and perfected in a confined area.

that are typically agendaled need to be challenged. Instead of people entering dialogue that has a pre-determined agenda, an alternative approach is to focus on offering stakeholders from across the spectrum within cities a politically neutral platform for discussion and decisionmaking. Sustainable and effective solutions depend on gaining support from the right stakeholders, not the usual stakeholders. Often, these are individuals who are not usu-

continue beyond the confines of a project timeline. It is a rich source of local knowledge that is able to gather and disseminate information in a culturally appropriate way. The City of Melbourne identified a number of potential advantages of this approach, including the following qualities: Participants will feel motivated, safe and confident to contribute to the process; Participants will have the same status and ability to influence the outcome regardless of their relative of power or influence; The process of engaging stakeholders across sectors qualifies the uneven spread of power; Control can be maintained over the process such that individual participants will be able to influence the direction or nature of the outcome; Local capacity is built, so that local ideas, expertise and capacity across sectors are brought together around a specific local issue. The premise is not to impose external solutions or expertiserather to facilitate the development and implementation of a cityspecific approach that may be applied to a variety of issues and projects. The former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan considered the idea proposed by Melbourne and agreed to trial a pilot project that encompassed the premises outlined above, and to report on its findings.

Many complex issues are already being addressed by government, business Gateway to Melbourne, State Governand civil society, either ment Initiative, Flemington independently or in loose ally included in high-level decoalitions. An opportunity cision-making processes, and therefore exists to bring toyet who hold a wealth of local gether and catalyze existing knowledge and offer unique work for practical projects ininsights that encourage effectended to achieve a positive tive project design. identified outcome within a city. Local capacity is vital to ensuring ongoing implementa Pre-existing and widespread tion of effective solutions that governance arrangements 19

the Pilot methodology and ProjeCt

In response to the request from the Secretary-Generals Office, the City of Melbourne and the Committee for Melbourne developed a cross-sectoral taskforce to develop a pilot project that would trial its proposed methodology, known as the Melbourne Model.

The Melbourne Model

The Melbourne Model encapsulated the idea of establishing a secure space for decision-makers from the private, government and civil sectors to work collaboratively and tackle seemingly intractable urban issues. (See Figure 4.) This conceptual framework provided the structure for an issue-based program, whereby a city could engage and explore a difficult issue to improve their urban environment. This issue-based approach meant that the issues that are chosen to be explored may be broadly aligned with the over arching ten principles of the Global Compact.

Figure 4. The conceptual elements of the Melbourne Model

The Original Methodology

The original Melbourne Model methodology comprised a seven-step process that included engagement, evaluation, concept-testing and reporting. Over recent years, the Melbourne Model has been refined to include a suite of tools that facilitate self-assessment, moderated workshops, social mapping exercises, city-based indicators and reporting frameworks for cities embarking on projects to resolve particular urban challenges.

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Background

The Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities

The Melbourne Model was underpinned by the Melbourne Principles of Sustainable Cities, developed at an international charrette in Melbourne on 2 April 2002. The charrette was sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, and brought together specialists in urban governance, planning, sustainable development and community engagement. The Melbourne Principles consist of ten short statements outlining how cities can become more sustainable. (See Table 2.) Each principle is associated with brief elaborations of its meaning and application. The Principles are designed to be read by decision-makers, and provide a starting point on the journey towards sustainability. The Principles were launched by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne in September 2002 at the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. The principles were subsequently incorporated into Local Agenda 21, the international sustainable development implementation framework for local government, which was first agreed upon at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 (the Rio Earth Summit).

Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Provide a long-term vision for ones city based on environmental and social sustainability, intergenerational respect, cultural recognition of difference, and economic and political equity; Achieve long-term economic, political and cultural security and resilience; Recognize the intrinsic value of biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and protect and restore them; Enable communities to minimize their ecological footprint; Build on the characteristics of ecosystems in the development and nurturing of a healthy and sustainable city; Recognize and build on the distinctive characteristics of ones city, including its human and cultural values, history and natural systems; Empower people and foster participation; Expand and enable co-operative networks to work towards a common, sustainable future; Promote sustainable production and consumption, through appropriate use of environmentally appropriate technologies and effective demand management; Enable continual improvement, based on accountability, transparency and good governance.

Table 2. Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities (redrafted by the Cities Programme, 2009)

The Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities helped to articulate the over arching objectives of the UN Global Compact in a way that was relevant for city leaders. The development of the Melbourne Model built upon these principles by encouraging local government leaders to engage with leaders from business, non-government organizations and academia to draw together the requisite knowledge, expertise, and alternative perspectives on urban sustainability.

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Cross-Sectoral Partnerships
The critical importance of cross-sectoral partnerships between municipal governments, business and civil society to achieve positive societal outcomes was emphasized at the World Summit in Johannesburg mentioned earlier. One of the main outcomes of the Summit was the establishment of the Business Action for Sustainable Development.6 Another of the main outcomes from the Summit was the commitment by governments, civil society, business and other stakeholders to a broad range of voluntary partnerships and initiatives in order to implement sustainable development at national, regional and global levels. The joint call for action on Climate Change by the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (which comprises some of the worlds largest corporations) and Greenpeace International heralded a new period of co-operation and constructive engagement between the corporate sector and NGOs. These organizations jointly agreed to work with governments to set binding targets for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, demonstrating that there is common ground between business and civil society in working for the survival of the planet.

We now understand that both business and society stand to benefit from working together, and more and more we are realizing that it is only by mobilizing the corporate sector that we can make significant progress.
7

These developments driven by the private sector have also coincided with inter-agency partnerships within government and the development of the so-called Whole of Government approach to policy and regulatory development. The Melbourne Model drew upon this increasing recognition of the importance of cross-sectoral partnerships and collaborations, comprising a balanced representation of expertise, perspectives and motiva-

tions, committed to working together to achieving tangible outcomes.

Queen Mary II departing La Havre Port, France. Photo Philippe Brard

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utility debt SPiral SCheme ProjeCt

Background
The Utility Debt Spiral Scheme Project was the first case study developed to test the applicability of the Melbourne Model. The Project examined the issue of poverty alleviation and was led by an all-sector taskforce under the joint-lead of the Committee for Melbourne and the City of Melbourne. The project harnessed the expertise and involvement of business, government, regulators, and civil-society partners to examine and identify potential means of ameliorating the impact of electricity, gas and water bills as a direct cause of, or an exacerbating factor, in the debt spiral. The Taskforce also examined the extent to which an inability to pay utility bills was an early indicator of a potentially broader debt exposure within a household, and the policy implications of such an early warning signal. A Steering Group and a Study Reference Group were established with the following tasks: To examine and identify Victorian experiences in relation to the at-risk population, social and regulatory frameworks and best-practice solutions to address payment problems for disadvantaged utility customers; To identify the existing threats that contribute toward a downward spiral of debt within households; and To develop effective measure to reduce utility debt on at-risk populations. Over a three-year period, the project thoroughly examined poverty alleviation and successfully influenced significant change to the payment policies within utility providers. It provided the at-risk population with financial options. A document called The Supporting Utility Customers Experiencing Financial Hardship Guiding Principles was prepared for energy and water retail businesses on how to better assist customers presenting with a need for support in managing debt and ongoing consumption costs for their use of energy and water. These principles continue to be used by the private, government and civil sectors to guide social policy issues. The Melbourne Model established a neutral platform whereby the project taskforce was able to discuss and resolve complex issues related to financial hardship. In reviewing the projects activities and findings at the International Congress of Metropolis in Sydney in October 2008, St Vincent de Paul Societys Policy and Advocacy Manager, Mr Gavin Dufty commented that,

Utility Debt Spiral Project report cover page

The shared understanding of the

impact on hardship created impetus for both strengthening of regulatory frameworks and industry initiatives, such as hardship policies.

The project is detailed in the Utility Debt Spiral Project report and is available on the Cities Programme website: www.citiesprogramme.org. The report continues to be used widely by all sectors as an advocacy tool for evidence-based research.

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Creation oF the global ComPaCt CitieS Programme

As a result of the success of the Utility Debt Spiral Project, the UN Global Compact Office formally endorsed the establishment of the Global Compact Cities Programme in 2002.

International Secretariat
It was agreed that Melbourne would host the International Secretariat of the Global Compact Cities Programme, which would be responsible for the effective development and implementation of the programme. The role of the International Secretariat was to manage the following processes: To encourage business, government, and civil society to engage the Global Compact; To disseminate relevant information to all stakeholders; To provide forums for debate and learning around urban governance and the Melbourne Model; To vet and facilitate city-based project ideas; To provide a forum for matching Global Compact-related projects with resources to implement them; and To facilitate report-back mechanisms to the United Nations on city-based projects. The International Secretariat of the Cities Programme was initiated in the offices of the Committee for Melbourne, with the financial and in-kind support of the City of Melbourne from 2002 to the end of 2007 (including for the period of the pilot project).

The UN Global Compact Office

It was envisaged that the International Secretariat would have a direct line of communications and report to the UN Global Compact Office in New York City. The Global Compact Office would serve as the central co-ordination point between regional cities Local Secretariats; maintain a central repository of successful city projects; ensure communication of all new Cities Programme policies and practices; and support the Cities Programme as an important and effective component of the UN Global Compact.

Initial Member Cities

Following the successful implementation of the Utility Debt Spiral Project, Kofi Annan requested that the Melbourne Model be trialled in five cities around the world to test the applicability of the Melbourne Model: Tshwane (South Africa), Porto Alegre (Brazil), Jinan (China), Jamshedpur (India) and Bath (England). (See Figure 5.) Each city undertook an initial three-year project focussed on an identified urban issue and followed the inter-sectoral approach of the Melbourne Model. Overall, the development and implementation of the pilot projects was successful, with most of the cities continuing their involvement in the Cities Programme to date. In 2008, the City of Bath ceased its involvement in the Programme due to a change in local government priorities. An outline of Innovating Member City projects appears in Part 4Methodology.

Figure 5 Summary of initial Member Cities and project focus areas

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Background

The Cities Programme and tion and high-quality research to host and support the Interand engagement with the needs national Secretariat and RMITs RMIT University
In 2008, the International Secretariat re-located to the Global Cities Institute at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University. The relocation was considered by the Committee for Melbourne, the City of Melbourne and RMIT University to be a strategic opportunity to align the work of the Cities Programme with a highly relevant and substantial research initiative based in Melbourne. The decision was strongly endorsed by the Executive Director of the Global Compact, Mr Georg Kell, and the Office of the Global Compact in New York City. RMIT University is one of Australias original and leading educational institutions As an innovative, global university of technology, with its heart in the city of Melbourne, RMIT has an international reputation for excellence in work-relevant educaof industry and community. With more than 70,000 students studying at RMIT campuses in Melbourne and regional Victoria, in Vietnam, online, by distance education, and at partner institutions throughout the world, the University is one of the largest in the country. It has built a worldwide reputation for excellence in professional and vocational education and research. A vibrant alumni community now stretches across more than a hundred countries. Part of the Universitys mission is to be: Global in outlook and action, offering students and staff a global passport to learning and work; and Urban in orientation and creativity, reflecting and shaping the city of the 21st century. RMIT University has committed

custodianship of the Cities Programme provides an exciting platform to develop and expand the Cities Programme. The relocation provides an opportunity for the Cities Programme to access the research expertise, global research networks and technical resources of a number of RMIT research institutes and centres. Participating cities therefore have greatly enhanced opportunities to engage with experts in urban management and policy-making, globalization, sustainable business practices and geospatial design, in addition to specialists in particular urban issues and cities. The location of the Programme at RMIT also provides Innovating Cities with access to tools to facilitate rigorous self-assessment, project design, indicator selection, monitoring and reporting. These are detailed further in Part 4Methodology

RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. Photo RMIT University

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the global CitieS reSearCh inStitute

The International Secretariat of the Cities Programme is supported by the Global Cities Research Institute at RMIT University. The Institute directly addresses the challenges of sustainability, resilience, security and adaptation through engaged research programs with significant on-the-ground impact. It emphasizes these questions in the face of processes of globalization and global climate change. (See Table 3.) The Institute was inaugurated in 2006 to bring together key researchers at RMIT University, working on understanding the complexity of globalizing urban settings from provincial centres to mega-cites. The research is highly collaborative, linking with institutions and people around the world in long-term partnerships. Research within the Institute focuses on a number of carefully chosen cities and their hinterlands in the Asia-Pacific region. The Global Cities Research Institute is part of a global research collaborative effort to combat the problems associated with urban life. It engages in cutting edge and applied research that has grounded consequences for governments, organizations, communities and citizens. Accordingly, the location of the Cities Programme at RMIT University will link cities that are struggling with seemingly intractable issues to relevant universities and research centres. It brings together local knowledge and expert knowledge, which adds yet another dimension to multi-sectoral collaboration envisaged by the original Melbourne Model.

KEY THEME
Climate Change

OBJECTIVES
How will cities best adapt to the anticipated impacts of global warming? To assist cities to adapt to the anticipated impacts of global warming by exploring new solutions to infrastructure, methods of communication and transport. How will cities best respond to the impact of globalization on cultural identity and civic orientation? To assist cities to understand the intensification and expansion of cultural flows through their cities and regions by considering impacts of globalization on cultural identity and civic orientation. What is the impact of social change on communities? To assist cities to understand how local communities are currently negotiating the challenges and opportunities of political, economic and cultural change by working from the ground up to measure social change. How will cities respond to the increasing demands on communities? To assist cities to respond with the increased demands on infrastructure by addressing questions of urbanization, governance, and social and environmental sustainability. How can cities harness their immense resources to cope with crises? To assist cities to harness resources to cope with crisis by focusing on pathways for recovering from conflict, building resilience and reducing disastervulnerability. What are the key processes involved in learning about social change? To assist cities to learn about social change by focusing on the capacities and possibilities for cities to engage in sustainable learning. Table 3 Key research themes of the RMIT Global Cities Research Institute

globalization and Culture

Community Sustainability

urban infrastructure

human Security

learning Cities

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Current FoCuS oF the CitieS Programme

Background
The City of Melbourne signed an Agreement in 2009, pledging further financial support for the Cities Programme and the activities of the International Secretariat at RMIT University for a threeyear period. The City of Melbourne is also partnering with the Cities Programme to pilot the Programmes innovative methodology, The Circles of Sustainability (See Appendix 2.), in its residential emissions reduction strategies. This research partnership is discussed in detail in Part 4 Methodology. The Committee for Melbourne also continues to support the Cities Programme through provision of strategic advice and technical expertise. Since its location at RMIT University, the International Secretariat has been focussed on four key activities in 200809:
1. Consolidating

engagement for cities. (This is discussed in detail in Part 4Methodology). One of the main intentions of the Cities Programme is to highlight and prioritize underlying political, economic, cultural and ecological dynamics and perspectives that have been excluded from decision-making processes around particular urban challenges to date, yet which have the potential to significantly influence the success of strategies employed to address those challenges. Failure to consider such dynamics and perspectives (or to attach due weight to them) can pose considerable constraints on a citys capacity to effectively resolve its challenges, to the point where they become increasingly problematic. Similarly, the Cities Programme seeks to ensure that stakeholders representing economic, ecological, political and cultural perspectives within an urban community are given a seat at the table in considering new approaches to urban challenges, when they may not previously have been given a voice. In this way the Cities Programme engenders deep and broad processes of engagement, acceptance of diverse views and values and provides a solid foundation to achieve innovative solutions.

Visit to Innovating city San FranciscoMarch 2008 Involvement with MetropolisOctober 2008 Involvement in the World Urban Forum, NanjingNovember 2008 Visits to Innovating cities and prospective member cities in EuropeHavre, Berlin, Asker, WroclawNovember 2008 Meeting in Amman about prospective membership December 2009 Engagement with the UN Global Compact, New YorkFebruary 2009, and the again across AprilMay 2009 Visit to Innovating City MilwaukeeMarch 2009 Visit to Vancouver to discuss membershipMarch 2009 Meetings in Port Moresby May 2009 Participation in the Launch of the Australian Global Compact Local Network, CanberraMay 2009 Attendance at the Annual Global Compacts Local Networks Forum in Istanbul, Turkey June 2009 Meetings in Manchester and LondonJuly 2009 Attendance at the UN Habitat Private Sector Forum, New DelhiJuly 2009 Meetings with the Global Reporting Initiative, AmsterdamSeptember 2009

the relationship with the UN Global Compact Office in New York City; 2. Establishing close relationships with existing member cities and providing assistance with their projects; 3. Creating a framework for the transition of cities to the highest level of engagement within the Cities Programmeproviding support for cities that have become signatories to the Global Compact to report on progress and to undertake a pilot project (this will be detailed in Part 5 - City Profiles). 4. Strengthening the rigour of the Melbourne Model methodology, particularly in relation to the highest level of

Outreach Activities of the International Secretariat 200809

Presentations to the UN Global Compact, New York March 2008

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aimS and beneFitS

aimS
The Cities Programme seeks to reshape the ways in which city leaders approach relatively intractable urban issues. It advocates an inter-sectoral approach as essential to develop lasting effective solutions to difficult urban challenges. It also assists cities practically to apply sustainability principles to their policies and activities. The Cities Programme aims to assist city leaders to navigate through complex socio-political landscapes by an interconnected approach: Using a value-based approach that requires city leaders to re-think governance and its contributing factors; Facilitating awareness of leading city-based initiatives that demonstrate sustainability principles; Creating a safe space for dialogue about how different cities have understood and applied human rights, environmental, labour and anticorruption principles; and Providing a platform for gaining international recognition for initiatives that involve practical application. At its highest level of engagement, the Cities Programme aims to provide an alternative governance model that offers to reshape the ways in which city leaders approach intractable urban issues. implementing the Global Compact Principles; A comprehensive framework to assist cities to engage and work collaboratively across all levels of government, with business and civil society, on complex or seemingly intractable issues; A detailed methodology to assist in development, monitoring and assessment of projects aiming to address such challenges through innovative, collaborative approaches; and A network of researchers who can offer advice on particular issues and assist in project implementation and evaluation. From a government perspective, the Cities Programme affords an opportunity to create focussed dialogue with other sectors that may better inform public policy and local governance on a day-to-day basis. For the private sector it provides an opportunity for companies to engage with other sectors within the communities in which they operate, and to demonstrate a meaningful and tangible commitment to investing in sustainable development at grass roots. It gives civil society organizations the platform to engage directly with political decisionmakers, business and opinion-leaders in informing and influencing the policy agenda, in addition to development of practical action on social, environmental and economic issues affecting the city. At its highest level of engagement, the Cities Programme provides a robust framework for monitoring and evaluating progress over time, which is based on an effective self-assessment exercise tailored specifically to local context and circumstances and is considerate of culture and place. Specifically, the benefits for a city that engages at the highest level includes the following: Global exposure as being a city of innovation that supports the universal principles of the Global Compact; Key strategic relationship-building with other participating cities and delegations, fostering city-to-city dialogue; Capacity-building at an institutional and individual level, in terms of sustainable development, corporate citizenship and organizational responsibility; Establishment or strengthening of partnerships with the private sector and civil society around key issues of urban welfare, amenity and liveability;

beneFitS
The Cities Programme offers cities a broad range of benefits, including access to the following opportunities: A specific city-focused forum to publicly register cities commitment to the principles of the Global Compact and to recognize the initiatives undertaken within cities in support of the Global Compact; A series of city and urban networks both locally and internationally to promote city initiatives and projects, to extend share learning and to promote collaboration; A set of tools to assist in reporting on progress in

28

Background

Development of an alternative governance approach within an on-the-ground project that creates positive improvements on a specific urban conundrum. The Cities Programme is aligned with universally-accepted principles of the Global Compact. Its targeted urban indicators draw upon and have the support of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The Cities Programme therefore offers member cities the opportunity to develop a monitoring framework consistent with international standards and protocols. This ensures the comparability, consistency and credibility of a citys commitments, monitoring and reporting. The Cities Programme approach provides a variety of project management tools that assist in identifying project aims, objectives and outcomes. It also offers the opportunity to design a tailored monitoring-andevaluation regime that reflects the needs and local context. Distinct from other initiatives, the Cities Programme challenges business-as-usual and promotes the right people to lead and be involved as opposed to the usual people. These factors are detailed in greater detail in Part 4Methodology.

The City of Jinan, China. Government representatives signing onto their engagement with the Global Compact Cities Programme

29

PiCture goeS here

30

governance

Vila ChoColato, Porto alegre, brazil Porto alegre iS a City in Southern brazil and iS an hiStoriC trading Point, aS it iS the interSeCting Point oF many riVer junCtionS. the City oF Porto alegre haS SuPPorted the Vila ChoColato ProjeCt, a Community-led ProjeCt that SeekS to emPower Community memberS that are dePriVed oF baSiC human needS, inCluding Shelter. the Vila ChoColato ProjeCt iS driVen by Community inStituteS who helP train the Commmunity in liFe-SkillS inCluding emPloyment training. the Site iS Currently home to hundredS oF PeoPle, Some oF whom haVe engaged in artiSt exPreSSionS oF their ProjeCt (PiCtured), whiCh aSSiSt in building broader awareneSS. imaged SourCed: loCal SeCretariat, City oF Porto alegre.

goVernanCe
organizational StruCture
The Cities Programme is a global initiative with city-based activity being led locally. The governance of the Cities Programme is global and is directed by the International Secretariat based in Melbourne, Australia. It is committed to devolving ownership and responsibility at both global and local level through the establishment of key governance entities including: Global Level The Global Compact Office International Secretariat Advisory Council International Advisors Regional Level Regional Secretariats Local Level In-Country Convenors Local Secretariats Critical Reference Groups Global Compact Local Networks

The relationships between the different levels of governance are illustrated below in Figure 6. As illustrated, the International Secretariat plays an integral facilitation role between the international resources and resources in-country at the local level.

Figure 6 Global Compact Cities Programme organizational structure

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global leVel
The Global Compact Office
The Global Compact Office is based at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Office of the Global Compact has direct communication with the Secretary General. It is responsible for overseeing the governance and day-to-day management of the Global Compact Initiative and communications with signatories. The Office provides guidance to participants in relation to preparation of their Communication on Progress and oversees other Global Compact programs, such as the CEO Water Mandate. It also co-ordinates collaborations with other UN agencies in relation to UN-outreach activities to the private sector. cerning the strategic direction and governance framework of the Programme. It liaises directly with the In-Country Conveners, providing guidance and advice on programme requirements such as reporting, project development, and implementation. The Secretariat also facilitates communication, as appropriate, between member cities, Global Compact Local Networks and researchers. A key function of the Secretariat is to build relationships within global urban networks and to promote awareness of the activities of Cities Programme members. Advisory Council members comprise senior representatives from the government, business and civil sectors, operating within local, state and international contexts. (See Figure 4.) All members commit to a twelve-month term upon joining the Advisory Council. The International Secretariat reviews membership of the Advisory Council on an annual basis.

governance

International Advisors
International Advisors are appointed by the International Secretariat and provide ongoing strategic advice and global linkages for the Cities Programme. International Advisors are eminent in their respective fields and provide international recognition for the Cities Programme.

Advisory Council
The Advisory Council members are appointed by the International Secretariat and provide ongoing strategic advice for the Cities Programme. Advisory Council members are active advocates of the Cities Programme within their own spheres of influence, facilitating access to national and international networks and providing specific expertise in their specific technical and subjectmatter areas.

The International Secretariat

The International Secretariat, based in Melbourne, is responsible for the overall successful development and implementation of the Cities Programme. It is a small administrative body that makes executive decisions con-

regional leVel
Potential Regional Secretariats
Although no Regional Secretariats currently exist, there is the potential for participating cities in the Cities Programme to collaborate, within a defined geographic or political area, to establish a

Figure 4 The Cities Programme Advisory Council consists of representation from the private, government and civil sectors

33

Regional Secretariat. Such a step would require the approval of the International Secretariat, following detailed consideration of the strategic benefit of creating another level of organizational structure. One such key consideration is that the cities seeking together to create a Regional Secretariat are members of the Cities Programme at the highest level of engagementnamely Innovating Citiesand are in the stages of designing and implementing a project to that end.

communications and reporting to the Cities Programme Manager.

Critical Reference Group

Members of the Critical Reference Group are chosen by the Local Secretariat on the basis of their particular expertise relevant to the chosen project of an Innovating City. They are responsible for advising the Local Secretariat in the process of successful implementation of a city-based project. The group typically comprises five to eight people across different sectors and relevant fields of engagement.

Collaborating Centres
The Cities Programme is committed to forging strong links with international researchers, for the benefit of member cities. Researchers in the Programme have specialist knowledge about urban challenges that member cities face, in addition to expertise in the historical, political, economic, cultural and ecological dynamics of the cities themselves. To this end, the International Secretariat is seeking to establish collaborations with research institutions and centres internationally, in relation to particular issues of concern to member cities. It is also interested in collaborating with research institutions and centres with a focus on specific cities.

Global Compact Local Networks

The Global Compact Local Networks represent a group of participants within a country or region who work together to progress the Global Compact and its principles. The Local Network acts as the local resource for participating companies to assist them in observing their obligations, in addition to communicating on progress. Local Networks also facilitate opportunities for multi-stakeholder engagement with civil society to provide feedback on companies adoption of Global Compact principles. There are over 70 Local Networks around the world. The International Secretariat seeks to work closely with Global Compact Local Networks and it is important that any city participating in the Cities Programme makes contact with any Global Compact Local Network operating within its country or region, to confirm its commitment to the principles of the Global Compact. Local Networks can provide significant assistance to member cities in reaching out to business and civil society in promoting the Global Compacts ten principles and in enabling stakeholder engagement for city projects.

loCal leVel
Local Secretariat
The Local Secretariat is a cross-sectoral group of government, business and civil-sector representatives who oversee and advise on the development and implementation of a pilot project. It typically has a group size of around ten to fifteen people with a balanced sectoral representation. The Local Secretariat is led by an In-Country Convenor, who is the main point of contact to the International Secretariat.

Australian Local Network of the Global Compact

The Australian Local Network of the Global Compact was launched in May 2009 at the Tenth National Business Leaders Forum on Sustainable Development at Parliament House in Canberra. Participants comprise a diverse range of large and small corporations headquartered in Australia, as well as global companies with an Australian base. The Australian Network is currently consulting with signatories and potential signatories about an

In-Country Convenor
The In-Country Convenor is charged with the responsibility of leading the Local Secretariat and his/ her tasks include the formation and management of the Local Secretariat, liaising with the International Advisor to their city, and co-ordination of project development, including achieving specific desired outcomes. The In-Country Convenor is the key project contact and is responsible for regular

34

appropriate governance framework and operating protocols. These will provide guidance to members in preparing communications on progress. In addition it is contributing to high-level discussions about current initiatives led by the Global Compact, such as the CEO Water Mandate and the UN Principles on Responsible Investment. The Cities Programme is an active participant in the Australian Local Network and communicates regularly with information updates to the Australian Focal Point at the St James Ethics Centre in Sydney.

Additional Resources
The Cities Programme is currently developing a strategy to secure corporate sponsorship and philanthropic donations to support the delivery of projects in cities around the world under the auspices of the Programme. Delivery of projects in developing nations is a particular priority. The funding and resources sought will specifically assist the initiation of member projects involving up-front capital investment, for example to access technical assistance to address issues such as: Alleviating poverty; Increasing public health; Improving education; Reducing environmental damage; Providing equitable access; and Understanding and adapting to climate change. The International Secretariat will continue to explore opportunities for private-sector and NGO support for cities wishing to undertake innovative projects to resolve seemingly intractable urban challenges.

governance

Following a strong
foundational year for the new Global Compact Local Network in Australia which has seen a 50 per cent increase in active signatories, we look forward to further exploration of collaboration with the Global Cities Programme and the International Secretariat

Rosemary Sainty, Global Compact Focal Point for Australia

Reflection of sculpture in Sukhbaatar Square, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (Photo: Wandering_angel www. flickr.com/photos/wandering_angel/2799462812/)

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PiCture goeS here

36

engagement

le haVre, FranCe the City oF le haVre, FranCe, haS embarked on a regional ProjeCt that haS FoCuSed on imProVing the ProFile oF exiSting SuStainable touriSm initiatiVeS. one oF the many areaS oF intereSt iS the induStrial Port area. the City oF le haVre iS harneSSing the oPPortunity to re-Create thiS imPortant area aS a Community hub, oFFering SPorting and leiSure aCtiVitieS. imaged SourCed: loCal SeCretariat, City oF le haVre, FranCe

engagement
The Cities Programme offers innovative city leaders the opportunity to engage in a unique initiative that assists in progressing social change in their local environs. As the world continues to globalize, issues continue to become increasingly complex, requiring resilient and committed leadership who make sustainable decisions. The Cities Programme works to engage local decision-makers and provide a forum for people to: Develop an understanding of the ten over arching principles of the Global Compact and how to advocate and promote these principles within their sphere of influence; Think holistically and bring about sustainable change by engaging in cross-sectoral dialogue between private, government and civil spheres to promote sustainable development; Enhance sustainability, resilience, diversity and adaptation within cities, in the face of complex urban challenges; Promote their successes and challenges by sharing strategic decision-making, news and events, and communicating on progress. These considerations are most pronounced at a project level, as an Innovating City, as a citys commitment is able to be translated into practical action. Whether a citys commitment is to support Global Compact principles, to undertake a City Profile or to design and implement a demonstration project, engagement in the Cities Programme enhances a citys capacity to share and learn across sectors and amongst the worlds most innovative cities. (See Figure 7.)

Figure 7 Engagement in the Cities Programme promotes inter-sectoral collaboration between government, civil and private sectors

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Who is the Cities Programme designed for?

The Cities Programme is designed for leaders who are committed to leading sustainable development in their cities. A city can be represented by leaders in any sector who are committed to inter-sectoral co-operation to address such challenges. Engagement in the Cities Programme assumes that the leaders possesses a number of characteristics: Commitment to the principles and values of the UN Global Compact; Willingness to transparently report on environmental, economic, political and cultural outcomes resulting from the application of those principles in the local urban context;8 Motivation to engage in an international programme with a view to sharing learning and best practice in urban governance and management; Readiness to work across sectors and adopt a sustainability-based approach for the benefit of their citizens, communities and institutions. A city can be represented by leaders in any sector who are committed to inter-sectoral co-operation to address such challenges. The concept of a city is broadly defined within the programme and cities are encouraged to join regardless of their size and governance structure. Cities comprise large metropolitan areas, local municipal districts and small townships alike. (See Figure 8.) In all instances, a city mayor or the highest level of local governance must provide written support for their city to engage in the Cities Programme.

engagement

Figure 8 The Cities Programme attracts different sized cities in urban and rural environs

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Who can engage in the Cities Programme?

Engagement is available to any city that can demonstrate its willingness to embrace the principles and considerations of the Cities Programme and which is motivated to promote and implement sustainable development practices. At the highest level of engagement, Innovating cities are offered a methodology and set of tools to design a project based on a rigorous self-assessment exercise that is facilitated over time by the International Secretariat.

gression through three levels of engagementfrom signing onto the Global Compact principles, to reporting on the adoption of those principles, and, ultimately, to undertaking a practical project to resolve particular urban challenges through cross-sectoral partnerships as an Innovating City. Since the existing Cities Pro-

How does a city express interest in engaging in the Cities Programme?

The initial expression of interest to the International Secretariat can be made in two ways: firstly, in writing by any individual who represents a group of privatesector, government and civilsector persons in a city who are willing to explore membership in anticipation of approaching the mayors office for official support. Secondly, an expression of interest may be made by a city mayor or his or her nominee at any time to become a member of the Cities Programme.

How long does a city remain engaged?

A city remains engaged in the Cities Programme for the life of their comDiscussion about mitment. A city chooses the expression of the level of commitment interest ensues, that is suitable to their confirming the circumstance at any given most appropritime. Typically, cities will ate type of memengage for a three-year pebership for each riod and then consider re- United Nations Avenue and City Hall, San Francisco. city. This leads engaging with a new fo- Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of San Francisco to signing on as cus or at a different level an engagement of engagement. member, confirmed by a letter gramme translates the Global What if my city is already Compacts ten principles into from the Secretary Generals department. At the end of the inisigned onto the Global day-to-day urban governance and tial engagement period, a city is management, it is ideally posi- encouraged to re-engage either Compact initiative? tioned to co-ordinate city-based at its current level, or to consider The Cities Programme has devised activities and to enhance the servprogressing to a higher level of a framework to support the tran- ices provided to cities wishing to engagement, aiming ultimately sition of cities which are existing advance beyond the base level of to become an Innovating City, signatories to the Global Com- membership to practically demundertaking a practical project to pact into the Cities Programme. onstrate their support of the Gloaddress a seemingly intractable The framework involves a pro- bal Compact Initiative. urban challenge.

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leVelS oF engagement
The Cities Programme has three levels of engagement: Innovating City Reporting City Signatory City In consultation with the International Secretariat, a city chooses to enter the Programme at the level most suited to their needs and aspiration. All cities have a direct working relationship with the International Secretariat and are led by an appointed In-Country Convenor. (See Figure 9.) At the project level, and membership as an Innovating City, additional resources are required and the In Country Convenor engages with a cross-section of people who constitute a Local Secretariat and a Critical Reference Group.

engagement

Figure 9 At-a-glance view of the three engagement levels within the Cities Programme

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roleS oF CitieS
The role of a city is dependent upon the level of engagement and is summarized as follows:

Figure 10 At-a-glance view of engagement levels within the Cities Programme

At the project level Innovating City additional resources are required and the In-Country Convenor engages with a cross-section of people who constitute a Local Secretariat and a Critical Reference Group. The role of a city is described in more detail in the following section, which outlines the objectives and attributes.

Figure 11 Accumulated local resources during progression of engagement from a Signatory City to an Innovative City

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City attributeS
There are specific city attributes that relate to each of the levels of engagement. (See Table 5.) Signatory Cities Commitment Leadership Communication Sustainability Resilience Diversity Adaptation
Table 5 Summary of city attributes at different levels of engagement

a a

Reporting Cities

a a a

Innovating Cities

a a a a a a a

Commitment
The city commits itself to putting into practice the ten principles of the Global Compact, and to publicly promoting those principles, both within and beyond the city. The city also commits to promoting those principles to the private sector and civil society within its sphere of influence.

engagement

Leadership
The city recognizes its capacity to lead by example in facilitating the widespread adoption of the Global Compact principles. The city recognizes that both formal authority structures and informal governance processes are central to engaging all of its citizens and institutions in implementing lasting positive change for the benefit of the whole community.

Communication
The city understands that transparent, public communication on its activities is critical to demonstrating its commitment to the Global Compact principles. It recognizes the benefit of communicating both its successful and less-than-successful approaches to enhance local and global learning about effective urban governance. The city is dedicated to mutual dialogue with other cities.

Sustainability
The city has a capacity to follow through on a core project in a sustained way (for at least three years) to contribute to the long-term social or environmental wellbeing of the city.

Resilience
The city has a capacity to respond adequately over time to the problems associated with rapid political, economic, cultural or ecological change, and to learn from problematic prior responses or new issues as they arise.

Diversity
The city has an awareness and respect for the need to work effectively across different sectors, economic classes and political-cultural backgrounds, including differences of religion, ethnicity, age, gender, and ideology.

Adaptation. The city has an openness and flexibility to work across sectors in different environments to gain shared outcomes in responding to complex or seemingly intractable urban issues.

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Signatory City
A Signatory City signs onto the principles of the Global Compact and endeavours, within the capacity of the city, to make a difference to enact and promote those principles in practice. It also agrees to reach out to business and civil society to extend the Global Compact principles. This is the entry level of engagement. This level of engagement is suitable for cities that wish to publicly demonstrate their commitment to the ten principles of the Global Compact. Accordingly, current signatories of the Global Compact will have the status of Signatory Cities within the Cities Programme.

Figure 12 Signatory CityCommunications at local level

Signatory City attributes

Signatory Cities will be expected to acknowledge and demonstrate the attributes of commitment and leadership, as shown in Table 5.

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rePorting City
A Reporting City also signs onto the principles of the Global Compact and endeavours to enact and promote those principles in its policies, practices and activities. In addition, as the second-highest level of engagement, the city signs onto a reporting process that monitors progress in the city in relation to the ten Global Compact principles and provides an annual communication on progress. This level of engagement is aimed at cities that wish to report openly on their progress in applying the principles of the Global Compact in their policies, practices and activities. Reporting cities submit an annual Communication on Progress in relation to their adoption and practical application of the Global Compact principles. Reporting cities are encouraged to progress to Innovating cities over time, where their activities will be focused on one particular issue-based project.

engagement

Figure 13 Reporting CityCommunications at local level

Reporting City attributes

Reporting Cities will be expected to acknowledge and demonstrate the attributes of commitment, leadership and communication, as shown in Table 5.

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innoVating City
An Innovating City moves beyond the commitments of the previous two levels and undertakes a major demonstration project, which seeks to address a complex or seemingly intractable issue within the city. The management of the project is undertaken using Cities Programme tools that facilitate collaborative partnerships and the establishment of rigorous monitoring and evaluation processes. This is the highest and most demanding level of engagement. Those cities that have been engaged in the Cities Programme since its inception in 2002 have undertaken such projects, and as such, following the transition process, will be referred to as Innovating Cities. Innovating cities commit to this most significant and prestigious level of membership, and are provided with assistance from the International Secretariat throughout the entire engagement period. Their work will be displayed on dedicated web pages on the Cities Programme website and presented in the major communications illustrating the project development and implementation over time. In addition, invitations to annual forums and associated events with the Global Compact will be extended exclusively to Innovating Cities.

Figure 14 Innovating CityCommunications at local level enhanced by working relationship with Global Compact Networks

Innovating City attributes

Innovating Cities will be expected to acknowledge and demonstrate the attributes of commitment, leadership, communication, sustainability, resilience, diversity, and adaptation as shown in Table 5.

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three PhaSeS oF the CitieS Programme

engagement

Figure 15 Three phases of the Cities Programme

Engagement in the Cities Programme is divided into three distinct phases. All cities follow this staged approach, which helps clarify and reference the status of a city at any given period. The benefits of this cyclical approach include its ability to provide the following: A framework for progress to be achieved at each stage without completion being time-bound; and An opportunity to enhance commitment and re-engage to a different level when ready. The next section details the phases of engagement and explains how these are relevant to Signatory, Reporting and Innovating Cities.

City Hall, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of Porto Alegre, Brazil

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the Pre-engagement PhaSe

The purpose of this phase is for city representatives to become familiar with the processes of engagement and confirm their interest to engage. The pre-engagement phase readies the city to adopt a holistic approach to urban governance and related project work. There are a number of considerations which interested cities must become familiar with prior to their engagement in the Cities Programme.

Considerations
The considerations reflect two important aspects of the origins and establishment of the Cities Programme and provide guidance to decision-makers as they navigate through increasingly challenging environments. Cities are asked to understand and familiarize themselves with the following considerations: The ten over-arching principles of the Global Compact (Table 1.); The ten Melbourne Principles for Sustainable Cities (Table 2.); and The seven City Attributes (Table 5.)

Activities
The Pre-Engagement Phase is summarized in the flow chart illustrated at Figure 16. The main activity following the Expression of Interest is for a city to hold a Preliminary Workshop. This gives opportunity for the city representative to extend invitation to relevant stakeholders with a view to creating interest and momentum. The Workshop helps build support for the city engaging in the Cities Programme and is opportunity for the In-Country Convenor to introduce the value of their potential engagement in the Local Secretariat. At Innovating City level, the city must complete a submission to the International Secretariat which outlines important information, including the project scope, and identifies members of the Local Secretariat.

Further details of the Pre-Engagement phase and useful resources can be found on the Cities Programme website: www.citiesprogramme.org/index.php/process_of_engagement/phase/pre_engagement

Figure 16 Core activities within the pre-engagement phase

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the engagement PhaSe

The Engagement Phase is the period where the city demonstrates their commitment to the tasks that, relevant to their level of engagement, they have chosen to take on. Engagement is best described as a series of defined activities that contribute to the city realizing the terms of their commitment. The process of engagement is a term used to describe the different stages within a citys engagement. Setting this out graphically assists in identifying the key activities and main exchanges of information between the engaged city and the International Secretariat. This acts as a useful reference point during the engagement phase and provides an at-a-glance view of the current and future activities and milestones.

Key Elements
Key elements common to all cities during engagement are: Ongoing mayoral support; Promotion of the ten Global Compact principles; Continued willingness to demonstrate their commitment; Regular communication with the International Secretariat; and Annual communication on progress. Further to these common elements, the process of engagement is otherwise tailored to the three levels of engagement and reflective of their different needs. These three levels are detailed over the following pages.

engagement

The Walking School Bus, Jinan, China. Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of Jinan, China

49

Process of Engagement for Signatory Cities

A Signatory City has the most basic level of engagement. Their main objective is to promote the ten principles of the Global Compact within their spheres of influence. The prospective Signatory City must express commitment in writing from the highest level of local governance to become a signatory to the principles of the Global Compact. A letter, in prescribed form (available on the Cities Programme website) is sent to the International Secretariat of the Cities Programme making this commitment. The letter must be signed by the citys mayor or highest office holder. A Signatory City is able to progress to a Reporting or Innovating City and to re-engage at any stage of the process of engagement. There is no financial cost associated with becoming a signatory city in the Cities Programme. The process of engagement for Signatory Cities is summaries at Figure 17.

Figure 17 Detailed engagement phase for Signatory Cities

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Process of Engagement for Reporting Cities

The process of engagement for Reporting Cities is similar to that of Supporting Cities, with the reporting element being the main distinction. The main objective for Reporting Cities is to report on its policies and activities that support the Global Compact. Reporting activities assist the city to continuously improve one or several aspects of sustainable development. Reporting is important to the extent that it achieves the following: Enhances the credibility and value of a citys involvement in the Global Compact, Cities Programme; Serves as a source of information for stakeholders in the city; Provides learning to other cities around the world; and Drives sustainable and positive change into the future. Whilst the reporting framework is flexible, it must contain the following elements: A description of practical actions taken to implement the Global Compact principles; and Responses to how the policies and activities have considered consequences across all the domains of economics and ecology, politics and culture. A letter, in prescribed form (available on the Cities Programme website) is sent to the International Secretariat of the Cities Programme making this commitment. The letter must be signed by the citys mayor or highest office-holder.

engagement

Figure 18 Detailed engagement phase for Reporting Cities

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Process of Engagement for Innovating Cities

The prospective Innovating City must lodge a written commitment to become a signatory to the principles of the Global Compact and to undertake a significant project addressing a particular urban challenge. Engagement of Innovating Cities is facilitated by the International Secretariat, which guides the cities through the process of engagement and introduces research tools to assist with project development and implementation, as required. The Cities specific project focus is identified by their Local Secretariat in consultation with a diverse range of local stakeholders across sectors, assisted by methodology provided by the Cities Programme International Secretariat. Demonstration projects are given a dedicated web page on the Cities Programme website, a dedicated section within the Local-Global database is established, and the International Secretariat provides tools to assist Innovating Cities to track their progress overtime, enabling them to share the successes and challenges they may encounter. At the end of their engagement, an Innovating City may choose to re-engage, building upon the learning gained from the project. In some cases the re-engagement will involve an expansion of the initial project. In the case of Berlin, the initial project commenced as Urban Health and developed into Migrants Access to Healthcare.

Figure 19 Detailed engagement phase for Innovating Cities

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re-engagement PhaSe
The Re-Engagement Phase formally recognizes the natural progression of a citys engagement in the Cities Programme. Re-Engagement signifies that a city is ready for the following: To strengthen its commitment to the Global Compact and Cities Programme principles; To move forward to a longer-term phase of engagement; and To deepen or change the focus of their previous demonstration project and to consider exploring a new or extended issue that draws upon previous learning. A city sends written notification to the International Secretariat with their intent to re-engage. In any event, re-engagement ensures that the city actively demonstrates its commitment to sustainable development and is able to continue to project their work to a global community of practice. Further information about the process of engagement is detailed on the Cities Programme website www.citiesprogramme.org/index.php/process_of_engagement/phase/engagement

engagement

Figure 20 Re-engagement phase for Innovating Cities

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PiCture goeS here

methodology

City oF aS-Salt, haShemite kingdom oF jordan the City oF aS-Salt iS loCated aPProximately thirty kilometreS north-weSt oF jordanS CaPital City, amman. it iS an old City, Settled oVer 2000 yearS ago, and deVeloPed aS a mixture oF CiVilizationS oVer the ageS. aS-Salt haS more original nineteenth-Century Sand-Stone buildingS than any other City in jordan and they haVe been buried under make-ShiFt modern houSing and other urban deVeloPmentS. the aS-Salt greater muniCiPality engaged in the CitieS Programme and FoCuSSed on the iSSueS oF urban regeneration and heritage management. the enVironmental Street ProjeCt FoCuSeS on FiVe main areaS to Promote SuStainable deVeloPment inCluding Solar energy, PubliC ParkS, PaVement greening, Sorting oF reCyCling waSte and re-uSe oF grey water.

methodology
The Melbourne Model is an integrated and comprehensive approach. It provides a unique framework for assisting city leaders in understanding at least two dimensions: The inherent complexities of seemingly intractable urban issues; and The complexity of sustainability in general. The Melbourne Model operates on the initial premise that intersectoral relationships are pivotal in addressing complex urban issues. That is, it begins with the understanding that co-operation between the different sectors of municipal government, civil society and business is crucial to making a difference. These partnerships are then supported by a comprehensive set of research tools, expertise and ongoing advice from the International Secretariat. Each tool or exercise (many of which are optional, but all of which connect systematically to a larger purpose) is part of an integrated process for better exploring the social background to the issue on which the city has chosen to focus. In the process of engagement in the Cities Programme as an Innovating City the approach is tailored to a citys local context. It provides interconnected and flexible tools within a broadbased framework. Overall, the Model lays the foundation for fundamentally re-thinking of the ways in which difficult urban issues are being responded to now, and can be best managed into the future. The Model provides guidance and tools for Innovating Cities to refine how they identify, plan, implement, govern, monitor, and assess their chosen projects. The method is intended to sensitize the Local Secretariat and the city to the broad domains of social lifeeconomic, ecological, political, and culturalrelevant to all complex problems. In brief, although the method is intended to support project development, it also can be employed for more general analyses of the sustainability of a city (or any institution or polity). In the immediate sense it is intended to help cities to track their progress against desired outcomes. Table 1 sets out the steps in the process of engagement and locates the different tools and guidelines in relation to that overall process. The methodology thus consists of a number of interconnected tools and exercises that place city issues and challenges within a broader context. The tools assist in ensuring that the Local Secretariat in the city approach and design their project in a way that it can be developed and sustained over the long term. In summary, the methodology is intended to have the following qualities of engagement: As an inter-sectoral partnership of municipal government, civil society and business, working together in collaboration; As developed within a common methodological framework, but allowing for local choice about the most relevant tools, quantitative indicators and ways of assessment and monitoring; As conducted across the broad social domains of economy, ecology, politics, and culture, rather than focussed more 56 narrowly on the obvious connections (for example, the misleadingly assuming that a project on water need only deal with questions of ecology); As conducted with cultural sensitivity and attention to different understandings of success. That is, as translatable across different social formations and intersecting cultural layers of the city rather than concerned predominantly about modern efficiency and progress (for example, misleadingly assuming that successfully completing a project means getting the technical issues right); As enhancing both local and global learning and introducing some comparative bench-marking across different places, practices and institutions. Thus allowing cities to collaborate regionally and globally in learning about sustainability without the ignominy of competing on league tables; and As a task of reflexive practicewith the recognition that we learn from both successes and failures, and that mistakes addressed with an open mind lead to better solutions.

a tool box oF reSearCh methodS

Because of the diversity of the cities and communities that will take part in the project, the Melbourne Model draws upon a flexible toolbox of methods for gathering research material. The toolbox comprises the following processes, techniques, and resources: Partnership and project identification process Sustainability Questionnaire conducted across the city; Circles of Sustainability resource for choosing indicators, with quantitative data gathered from official and unofficial sources; City Profile writing process which provides background information on the city in general, and later can be used to assess the scale of social change (See Appendix 5.); Project Profile writing process which provides background on a pressing social issue (See Appendix 6.); Methods for conducting Strategic Interviews and Strategic Conversations with relevant individual and groups; Methods for eliciting Life-Stories, both personal and community-focussed, from people associated with the city, including through Photo-narratives or artistic representations of the city; and Processes and support for collecting policy documents and other material relevant and contextualizing official and unofficial discourses about the city. The Cities Programme also supplies a purpose-built and durable Local-Global Database that acts as a repository for all activities in the city related to the Cities Programme. With all these tools, although the Cities Programme provides guidelines for making them as useable as possible, the Local Secretariat are encouraged to enlist local researchers in the process by involving universities, research institutes, centres, NGOs, and businesses with research capacities. Ideally, the Local Secretariat should appoint a research convenor to oversee and co-ordinate the collection of material. Cities are encouraged to load all collected material from their projects into the Local-Global Database accessed through the Cities Programme website and to place key items on their city home-page on the website. The various tools and methods as part of the integrated methodology associated with the Melbourne Model are discussed below. They are introduced here one by one in the unfolding of the phases of engagement.

methodology

San Francisco Bay Area, USA

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Table 6 A Summary of Activities in the Methodology Process Notes Forums Phase OnePre-engagement Project Identification Focus on a complex or
seemingly intractable issue. Informal

Tools & Guidelines

Partnership Identification Project Development

Draw participants from across the three sectors of municipal government, civil society and business. After setting up a Working Group, seek to outline the immediately apparent complexities of the issue which the project will address.

Informal

Preliminary Workshop

Preliminary Workshop Guidelines Statement of Understanding

Phase TwoEngagement Project Refinement Refine the scope of the

project by thinking through how it relates to the various social domains of practice and meaning. Refine the social themes of the project by thinking through how responding to the issue behind the project needs different kinds of social negotiation (optional, and preferably facilitated). Strategic Workshop: I

Circles of Sustainability: Level 1 (Domains) Project Refinement Exercise Project Profile Template

Strategic Workshop: II

Circles of Sustainability: Level 2 (Social Themes)

Project Planning

2.2.1 Delineate the planning considerations of the project using the usual techniques such as a proposed timeline, proposed deliverables, budgeting, etc. 2.2.2 Project a series of alternative futures for the city in a two-day workshop (optional) 2.2.3 Write a City Profile (optional). 2.2.4 Write a Project Profile, linking to the project planning process.

Local Secretariat meetings

Project Design Template

Scenarios Planning Workshop City Profile Template

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Process Project Evaluation: I

Notes
2.3.1 Use the Sustainability Questionnaire to conduct a base-line survey (including a module of questions directly related to the project). In being repeated at the end of the project the survey will allow for assessment of effects and reach of the project. 2.3.2 Use the Circles of Sustainability method to choose a set of indicators that will be used throughout the project and beyond.

Forums

Tools & Guidelines

Sustainability Questionnaire (first run)

Strategic Workshop: III To be identified by Local Secretariat

Circles of Sustainability: Level 1 (Indicators) Indicator Selection Exercise Project Profile Template Project Design Template

Project Implementation Project Evaluation: II

Implement the project following the project design 2.5.1 Conduct ongoing (annualized) data collection of metrics in the areas of the chosen indicator list (see 2.3.2). Use the various methods below to give more depth to the quantitative metrics: 2.5.2 Strategic Interviews 2.5.3 Strategic Conversations 2.5.4 Life-Stories I: Personal 2.5.5 Life-Stories II: Community 2.5.6 Life-Stories III: Photonarrative 2.5.7 Collecting policy documents and other materials 2.5.7 Having conducted the sustainability questionnaire at the beginning of the project to set the baseline standing of the city (see 2.3.1), return to the questionnaire every two-three years to assess changes and continuities

Circles of Sustainability: Level 1 (Indicators)

methodology

Sustainability Questionnaire: Level 1 (second run)

2.5.8 Return to reflexively Social considering the negotiation of Theme social themes. Workshop

Circles of Sustainability: Level 2 (Facilitated)

Phase ThreeRe-engagement

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PhaSe one Pre-engagement

1.1 Project Identification
Project identification begins with reflecting upon basic issues that have consequences for your city. The project need not always address the biggest or the most obvious problem, but it ideally should take on a complex or seemingly intractable issue. This begins a process that will be later captured in the Project Profile that cities are asked to develop in the next phase of Engagement. ess across a negotiated zone or agreed area of adjacent properties with joint facilities in areas of water-collecting, grey and black waste-processing and energyproduction. Partners in the management of the project should be drawn across different sectors of the city: Local and municipal government Business Civil society, including universities and other research bodies The Local Secretariat should comprise a balanced representation of expertise, perspectives and motivations, committed to working together to achieving tangible outcomes. Moreover, the Local Secretariat should seek to reach out to the broader community through public launches, forums, and electronic discussions, while seeking ongoing public feedback on what it is doing.

PhaSe two engagement

2.1 Project Refinement
The usual way of taking on a major project is to use planning instruments such as a SWOT analysisidentifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. These kinds of methods can be used alongside the present approach to complement the existing integrated methodology, but the intention is that we have already incorporated the strengths of these methods in the overall approach while, hopefully, leaving behind some of their weaknesses. The benefit here is that the Melbourne Model provides an overall framework in which other existing tools can be used in a complementary way.

1.2 Partnership Identification

The Melbourne Model, as discussed in Part 2 (above), is built upon the strong recognition that cross-sectoral partnerships and collaborations are crucial for confronting complex issues in this world. Too often, a single sector or institution acts alone to attempt a process of amelioration in response to problems. A stark current exemplification of this acting alone has come to the fore with the recognition of the pressing issue of climate change. Individual companies are, for example, moving to construct or retrofit buildings to achieve zero carbonemissions. However, in most cases it can be shown that this is much better done as a part of a co-operative planning proc-

2.1.1 Circles of Sustainability: level 1 (domain themes)

This approach entails a complete rethinking of many existing approaches. (For a detailed account of this rethinking see appendix in this Review on the Circles of Sustainability). Most methods either focus too narrowly on the problem, or alternatively, if they broaden the scope of enquiry, tend to work from what is sometimes referred to as a triplebottom-line model. That is, they characteristically aim to measure the impact upon the economic, social, and environmental bottom-lines of a discrete functional unit or issue.

1.3 Project Development

See Preliminary Workshop Guidelines available on the web.

We have become so accustomed to such a phraseeconomic, social and environmentalthat it appears to be unproblematic. However, the key implication of seeing things in this way is firstly that it tends to centre on the economic, and secondly that it asLocal Secretariat, Le Havre, France sumes a strong commensurability of values between the different

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domains. Even when moving beyond plain monetary value and return on investment, triple-bottom-line approaches tend to presume that social, environmental and economic sustainability are either commensurable a priori of other considerations or that the economic domain provides the basis for translating between them. Why, for example, does the economic domain sit outside the social? Why, instead of treating the ecological domain has having its own imperatives, do we tend to treat the environment as an economic externality? Why is the environment just another cost to be considered when engaging in economic activity or a problem to be solved by economic incentives? Why are the first things that we think of when we hear the word sustainability environmental consideration rather than also cultural, political and economic considerations? The Model provides a method that goes beyond these limits on current thinking. The first step in our simple way out of that complex problem of methodology is to consider the project in relation to differently conceived social domains. Four different spheres of social life are distinguished: economy, ecology, politics and cultureall of them social:

we have chosen the following: Production and Resourcing Exchange and Distribution Consumption and Leisure Work and Welfare Construction and Infrastructure Wealth and Allocation Other

have the following sub-domains: Organization ance and Govern-

Rights and Justice Communication and Dissemination Representation and Negotiation Conflict and Insecurity Dialogue and Reconciliation Other

ecology
The ecological domain is defined in terms of the intersection between the social and the natural, focussing on the important dimension of human engagement with and within nature. It is relevant that the concept of ecology was coined at the turn of the nineteenth into the twentieth century and derived from the same Greek word oikos meaning house, dwelling place, habitation as in the concept economy. The domain of ecology can be considered to have the following sub-domains: Earth, Water and Air Flora and Fauna Place and Habitat Materials and Energy Building and Infrastructure Emission and Waste Other

Culture
The cultural domain is defined in terms of practices, discourses, and material expressions, which, over time, express continuities and discontinuities, and commonalities and differentiations, of meaning. It can be considered to have the following sub-domains: Engagement and Placement Symbolism and Aesthetics Memory and Projection Enquiry and Learning Wellbeing and Resilience Reproduction and Affiliation Other In the Project Refinement stage, this method is used to define the scope of the project by thinking through how it relates to the various social domains of practice and meaning. While the domain themes and sub-themes (just listed) provide a simple but systematic taxonomy of things in the worldpractices and meaningsthey tell us nothing, however, about how to judge what is good or bad. They are no more than carefully derived descriptive categories. They do no more than provide one way of showing how a particular issue has consequences and determi-

methodology

economy
The economic domain is defined in terms of activities associated with the production, use, movement, and management of resources, where the concept of resources is used in the broadest sense of that word. At the same the sub-domains of the economy can be considered analytically rather than putting together a list of the immediately obvious

Politics
The political domain is defined in terms of practices of authorization, legitimation and regulation, where the parameters of this area extend beyond the conventional sense of politics as concerning the state to include not only issues of public and private governance but also basic issues of power. It can be considered to

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nants across different domains of social life. Thus the second step in the Project Refinement process is intended to help project teams to think through how the chosen project needs to be negotiated in the context of different social themes:

ophers, these themes are relevant to understanding practice and meaning: participationauthority identitydifference securityrisk equalityautonomy needslimits belongingmobility inclusionexclusion All of these social themes are dialectical. In other words, the dual terms in each of the social themes are in tension with each other, and there is no given recipe about how they should be balanced or otherwise. For example, in relation to the theme of participationauthority, actors need to think about how it is that participation in sectors of social life is related to the authority structures of the body in question. It is not a matter of suggesting balance or a bit of this and a bit of that. The assumption here is not that participation is better than authority, or vice versa. Rather, what is being brought into question is the degree to which people participating in social life can do so in a meaningful way, and how they do so in relation to the forms of authority exercised within their city. A number of questions can be asked about each social theme. By attempting to answer these questions a group of city leaders can map the perceived awareness and sensitivity of both their own group, and the city in general, to some fundamental questions about the conduct of social relations: What is the depth of awareness of the relationship between the two terms of this theme and the chosen issue 62

(including in relation to each domain)? How adequate have been the practical responses to negotiating the terms of this theme (including across each domain)? How appropriate have been the resources brought to bear upon these negotiations? How well have the negotiations been monitored? The exercise provides a way of assessing the level of sustainability in relation to the different social themes and discerning change over time.

2.1.2 Circles of Sustainability: level 2 (Social themes)

Level 2 of Circles of Sustainability is introduced through an optional and facilitated workshop with the objective of sensitizing the Local Secretariat and the Critical Reference Group to the complexity of negotiating a series of background social themes. These themes, it is suggested, inform the practices of social life in general and therefore are crucial to understanding the issues that lay behind negotiating the success of any project. Further background to this can be found in the appendix called Indicators Briefing Paper. If there is no obvious answer to the question of what constitutes the good, then what provides guidance in how best to act? In Level 2 of Circles of Sustainability, answering this question drives this next step in the process. It sets the conditions for a thoughtful response to an even more complicated question, How are basic social tensions that characterize the human condition negotiated within very different settings in order to enhance positive sustainability? A series of social themes have been chosen that are fundamental to practice and meaning in all societies. Even if they are rarely, if at all, directly reflected upon, except by philos-

2.2 Project Planning

2.2.1 Planning Considerations
This is an area in which cities tend to have considerable experience already. A Project Design Template and City Profile Template are available to guide the planning process.

2.2.2 Scenarios workshops

Scenarios Workshops, in the approach developed by the Cities Programme, are forums held over two days with twenty to thirty persons representing a wide range of positions and expertise on the issue that the city has chosen to explore. The workshops do not attempt to predict the future, but rather to examine in detail a series of alternative future trajectories that relate to a core question chosen by the city. Background research is done on the assumed parameters that currently operate around that question. This is presented at the beginning of the workshop, but over the course of the two days, the question is explored through stories, episodes, and projections where the emphasis is on opening up those

features of the chosen issue that are less than obvious. The process actually begins months before the two-day event with a facilitated round of consultation to choose the core question, to select relevant background readings, to research the

to relate the central issue chosen by the city as the basis of its project. It needs to be agreed upon after wide consultation; The people invited to participate need to be diverse in background with the assump-

and historyand then map the city in relation to the following domains (the same domains and sub-domains that were used in the Project Planning stage in the Circles of Sustainability method): Ecology Economics

methodology
Aerial view of Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia (winkyintheuk CC www.flickr.com/photos/winkyintheuk/3257309392)

background, and to decide upon and invite the key participants. After the workshop the scenarios are written up in consultation with participants. Subsequent meetings are held to reflect on what came out of the scenarios. The process concludes months after the workshop with the final written scenarios and written analysis of their consequences for policy and practice completed, published and disseminated for further public discussion. The core question needs to be pointed and specific. It needs

tion that they will debate the basic contentions about the future of the city rather than falling in line with a dominant view; and The process needs to supported by a facilitating team, including skilled note-takers and writers.

Politics Culture The process of researching and writing a profile of the city is used to develop a sense of the larger composition of the city and its various communities. This includes finding out when and how the city came to be, as well as understanding the impact of different formative events, processes, and constraints on city life, including both local and global processes. (A template is available for the writing of City

2.2.3 City Profiles

City Profiles are made up of a series of thematic pieces of writing that begin with a general discussion of the urban fabricspecifically demography, geography 63

Profiles, and completed profiles will be featured on the Cities Programme website and in its major publications. If a City Profile is drafted at the beginning of the projectand then continually rewritten and reassessed during the course of the projectcomparing different drafts of the City Profile will give another way of assessing change.

rently being done in Milwaukee). A Project Profile might stretch beyond the immediate locale to explore issues in the region, the nation, or globally, relating to the project theme. Project Profiles can present the outcomes of thematic research and/or they can include elements of creative or lyrical writing on a theme.

places. However, it does not provide for an overall sustainability score, and therefore eschews the tendency of sustainability devices to set up league tables.

2.3.2 Sustainability indicators

The Melbourne Model also requires a substantial rethinking of dominant approaches to sustainability indicators (see the appendix on Circles of Sustainability: An Integrated Approach). Sustainability indicators are here in the first instance simply used as a means for assessing the distance between a current state of affairs and the ongoing task of achieving a sustainable way of life in the context of a given city, institutional or community setting. In the second instance, they can also be much morea means of instituting dialogue over the very conditions of sustainability. To achieve this, Circles of Sustainability: Level 1 is used again (see Section 2.1.1 above), but this time as a way of selecting indicators. The first use of the approach centred on redefining the core domains of social practice and giving equal weight to economics, ecology, culture and politics. This time we use the approach to select indicators for which data will be collected across the period of project implementation and beyond. Given that the city is undoubtedly already collecting data about itself, the Circles of Sustainability approach is a way of assessing the appropriateness of those indicators and provides suggestions for supplementation or change.

2.2.4 Project Profiles

Project Profiles are also made up of a series of thematic essays, written over time, but in this case they directly concern the different social domains and social themes relevant to the chosen project. These essays can be more than just a description or plan of the project that is being undertaken by the city. The essays can involve the writer or writers exploring some focussed aspect of social history or contemporary social life in relation to the chosen area of the project. Writing thematic essays relevant to the project is a way of providing context for understanding the complexity of the contemporary social issue that the city is taking on as a major point of intervention. A thematic essay could, for example, directly address one or more of the domain or subdomain themes and/or one or more of the social themes listed above. This might range, for example, from the social theme of belongingmobility (perhaps discussed in relation to the pressing social issue of the health of refugees and migrants, currently be done in Berlin), to the domain theme of culture, perhaps discussed in relation to a project such as water sustainability (cur-

2.3 Project Evaluation: I

2.3.1 Sustainability questionnaire
A questionnaire is used as a quantitative indicator drawing upon some of domain themes (see Section 2.1.1 above) and social themes (see Section 2.2.2 above). The questionnaire has a core set of thirty questions that ask about questions of place, community, personal wellbeing, social trust, and basic education and health. A further module of questions is developed for each city pertaining to the broad theme of their project. The questionnaire allows for comparative analysis across different locales in the city, and by gender, age, and other social differences in the city. The questionnaire is intended to be used twice across the life of a project. It is used first of all in the early stages of the project to develop base-line subjective understanding of city inhabitants and their sense of wellbeing, resilience and sustainability. And then it is repeated towards the end of the project in order to assess the nature and degree of changepositive and negative. in a number of countries around the world and comparative data is available for cities to assess their standing in relation to other

2.4 Project This questionnaire has been used Implementation

This stage of project implementation is framed by all the other process of project development, refinement, planning, and evalu-

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ation. The processes of implementation are set by the Local Secretariat in city, and it is difficult to anticipate the details of this unfolding series of interventions.

pirical metrics.

2.5.2 Strategic interviews

Two particular kinds of semistructured interviews are used to explore specific topics and themes with relevant people in the city. Sometimes interviews are used to capture deeper and more nuanced information about topics that are included in the Sustainability Questionnaire and sometimes to get a deep understanding of particular developments or projects within the city. The first kind of interviewsstrategic interviewsare conducted with people affected by developments that are relevant to the city project. These taped interviews, usually of ten minutes to thirty minutes duration allow for a cross-referencing of the experiences of a broad range of people, including those beyond the cohort of known experts that is conventionally drawn upon. The interviews are strategic in the sense that they address a narrow themefor the example, the problem address by the project in relation to one of the social themes. They are focussed rather than open and undirected. Strategic interviews are used as complementary to the longer and more complex strategic conversations.

2.5 Project Evaluation: II

Monitoring and evaluation is a complex area for which cities usually turned to trained expertise or dedicated professionals. In the Cities Programme, because of the way in which the parts of the methodology relate to each other, monitoring and evaluations can be done either partially or comprehensively, in-house or through collaboration with experts. It is strongly recommended that at least the first two tools are usedthe Sustainability Questionnaire and the Circles of Sustainability indicators resource the first a subjective assessment of liveability and sustainability in the city across the four domains of economics, ecology, politics and culture; the second a method for choosing an objective set of metrics that are collected by the city on an ongoing basis.

gic conversation indicates that an active dialogue has taken place in which the interviewer and interviewee have pushed each other, based on some prior understanding of each others views on the subject. A strategic conversation in this sense goes beyond the usual research interview where an interviewer faces an unknown respondent and asks them to answer a series of set questions on the designated topic.

2.5.4 life-Stories i: Personal

A personal life-story is not a biography or even a brief rendition of a persons life-history. Rather it is a story of a personal experience that tells of an episode in the life of a city resident. Unlike a directed oral history, a personal life-story is more open. It leaves room for dynamically contextualized and unromanticized stories of persons who live in your city. These stories are best centred on the subject area of the citys chosen project in relation to general questions such as the following possibilities: Tell us a story about x that has particular meaning to you. Relate an experience that you have had that expresses changes in the way in which the theme of x is understood. Describe a key event or episode in your life that illustrates the theme of x. Tell us a story about a place or locale that is relevant to the theme of x. Recount something about an institution or organization that is relevant to the theme of x. The examples given here are only intended as indicative elements that might prompt a response.

methodology

2.5.1 Sustainability indicators

This data collected in relation to each of the indicators, along with any analysis of trends and patterns, needs to be stored publicly in a way that is useful for inhabitants of the city. The collection needs to have a consistency that allows comparison over time. The importance of conducting ongoing (annualized) data collection of metrics in the areas of the chosen indicator list (see 2.3.2) cannot be overstated. However, the following sections introduce other methods of data collection that can be used to complement and qualify the emphasis on em-

2.5.3 Strategic Conversations

In the second kind of interview strategic conversationsconsiderable thought needs to go into the choice of people to be interviewed in relation to the nature of the topic. The taped interviews thus need to be preceded by background research and preliminary discussions with the interviewees. In such cases the interviewer plays a proactive and strategic role in the discussion of the researched topic. The term strate-

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Such stories, when taken together, come to provide a deeply-textured patchwork of city-life over time and through place. They enable a dynamic history of the present to be constructed without over-historicizing the social mapping of the city at the expense of the now. They begin as taped interviews of ten to fifteen minutes that follow a schedule of questions relating to the subjects direct experiences of the complexities and dynamics of local urban life (relevant to the project). After transcription, the interviewer rewrites this into a concise narrative that is returned to the subject for amendment and approval. Because this process is not very time-consuming it is possible to collect a large number of such personal life-stories over time and they can be used as background data for a wide range of research interests and to help to understand the background to the project and its implementation.

the form of written accounts or as digital stories (see PhotoNarratives below) that combine images and audio. In many cases they will touch on more than one of the domain themes or social themes listed below. Community life-stories provide background and context to contemporary city life. They involve background research, lengthy interviews and collaboration with the subject to ensure that the story is told accurately and with a degree of depth and reflection relating to the lifeworld or social themes. They provide an opportunity to explore the lived experience of changes over time and to capture dynamically-contextualized stories of local city and community life. Community life-stories are developed as a snapshot of local city and community life as it is experienced by individuals.

and will be asked to arrange their photos and to think about the connections between them. The purpose of this is to encouraging the community researchers to begin to construct reflexively meaningful narratives about the places and events depicted in the photos.

2.5.7 Policy and other documents

Cities and communities are constituted, in part, through official documents and reports, including those put out by the state, the municipality, civic and professional organizations, and representative bodies. Other relevant documents might include tourist brochures and pamphlets, information regarding cultural activities and events in the communities, business planning-documents, health reports and information and the like. Official discourse might also include official mappings of community against which our social mappings can be compared. It is recommended that these relevant documents are collected and deposited in the section of Local-Global data-base that is constructed for each city.

2.5.6 life Stories iii: Photonarratives

Another way of drawing community participants further into the project is to use photography as tool. The approach that will be used is known is reflexive photography. In this approach, community participant observers are given a camera and invited to take photographs of people, places and things in their communities around the project theme. Reflexive photography assumes that community members possess a great deal of inside knowledge about the communities to which they belong. Community participant observers will also be invited to supplement their photos with meaningful photographs from their own collections as well as other personal artefacts that they believe expresses something about their community. They can also be given a mini-photo album 66

2.5.5 life-Stories ii: Community

All kinds of stories already circulate in local communities and some untold stories deserve to go into broader public circulation. These can range from local histories and myths to oral histories, recent experiences and events. We are interested in eliciting local stories that are well-crafted and communicated as concisely as possible without losing their narrative richness. Such stories can be collected by community members, by outside researchers, or by a combination of both. They can be collected in

2.5.8 Sustainability questionnaire

At this stage, the questionnaire is used a second time to ascertain changes and continuities by comparison with its first use (see Section 2.3.2 above). Most of the work done in the Cities Programme is conducted at the analytical level of empirical analysis. And for most participants using the Melbourne Model there is no need to embark upon more theoretical levels of analysis. However, for those of you who want to understand the theo-

SoCial analySiS: Future reSearCh oPPortunitieS

retical grounding of the Melbourne Model there is the possibility of moving to more abstract considerations of the nature of analysis itself. The approach moves from empirical analysis to different ways of framing the understanding of peoples practice.9 One of the strengths of this method is its insistence on reflexive analysis which forces us to separate out different levels of analysis. There are four such levels: production is capitalism or the dominant mode of communication is electronic, the way of addressing an issue tends to be too localized. The continuities or contiguities between these modes are not generally well addressed in the literature. Doing so allows for a more complex and finely-nuanced reading of historical, political and social events, and social facts. In this approach a number of core modes of practice are distinguished: production exchange communication enquiry organization disembodied relations

Categorical analysis (questions of being)

Moving from examining how people relate to each other, the fourth level of analytical abstraction moves to analyzing the nature of the categories of social being itself. We concentrate on the four categories below. By mapping the dominant forms of these ways of being in the world we can distinguish a number of fundamentally different social formationstribalism, traditionalism, modernism and post modernism. These social formations have historical precedents but are not restricted to a particular time or place: they can and do exist side-by-side, and/or in tension in the same social space. time space embodiment knowing

Empirical analysis
The first level of analytical abstraction involves an ordering of things that people do and think. This is the level at which the research materials are gathered as outlined aboveand then analysed for immediately apparent patterns of practice and meaning. Empirical analysis involves mapping the social patterns that can be discerned, while drawing out generalizations about the immediate connections between issues.

Integrational analysis (questions of relating)

The third level of analytic abstraction involves categorizing ways in which people relate to others, or differentiate themselves from them. These forms of integration and differentiation vary with the kinds of societies that people live in, and are deeply related to the nature of lived social being discussed at the next level.

methodology

Conjunctural analysis (questions of doing)

The second level of analytical abstraction involves identifying, and more importantly, critically examining the intersection of face-to-face relations various modes of practice. These are established sociological, an object-extended relations thropological and political cat agency-extended relations egories of analysismodes of production, exchange, communication, enquiry and organization. Distinguishing different (intersecting dominant and subordinate) modes of practice allows for a more abstract way of framing the things in the world previously discussed at the first level of empirical analysis. For example, unless there is a recognition that glo- International Secretariat meeting Local Secrateriat and key stakeholders. bally the dominant mode of Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of Jamshedpur, India. 67

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city Profiles

Federation Square, melbourne, auStralia melbourne iS renowned aS auStraliaS Cultural CaPital. Federation Square, one oF the CityS main PubliC gathering SPaCeS iS uSed aS a meeting PlaCe and regularly aCCommodateS a hoSt oF Cultural eVentS, exhibitionS and FeStiValS. it iS ConVeniently loCated oPPoSite FlinderS Street railway Station, melbourneS main tranSPortation hub and FeatureS an eCleCtiC ColleCtion oF artS and Culture, inCluding the auStralian Centre For moVing image and a VaSt array oF dining oPPortunitieS.

City ProFileS
Current innoVating CitieS
Innovating Cities are located across all continents and the category includes cities within developed and developing countries. As noted in Part 4Methodology, there are three levels of engagement in the Cities Programme, and a city can choose to enter the Programme at any level. The levels of engagement reflect a progression in terms of commitment by a city; with Innovating cities representing the most substantive level of engagement. The projects of Innovating Cities as at 2010 are highlighted in the following pages. Further detail about the work of member cities can be found at the Cities Programme website: www.citiesprogramme.org

Figure 21 Location of Innovating Cities

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Figure 22 Practical application of Global Compact Principles amongst Cities Programme Innovating Cities

city Profiles

All cities that engage in the Cities Programme are committed to promoting the ten principles of the Global Compact. Whilst cities are actively promoting these principles to business, Innovating Cities are engaged in project-based initiatives that naturally have a particular focus area in human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.

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innoVating CitieS and their ProjeCtS

As outlined in Part 5 above, Innovating Cities undertake a pilot or demonstration project, which is co-ordinated by a nominated In-Country Convenor. The In-Country Convener convenes a supervisory body the Local Secretariatwhich has over-arching responsibility for governance and implementation of the project. Sharing a common motivation to improve a specific issue within their local region, Innovating Cities embark on an initial three-year commitment. Current demonstration projects are displayed in this section. Comprehensive case studies of Innovating cities are contained in Appendices 2, 3 and 4.

It is a sincere challenge to adequately describe the impact that becoming a

member of the UN Global Compact Cities program has had on Milwaukee and our water cluster. Literally overnight we were propelled to a new, wonderful stage that frankly we could never have imagined when we started talking to the staff in the Cities Programme. The designation provided incredible legitimacy with our own citizens and with water leaders around the world. The thoughtprovoking application process was an excellent exercise in clarifying our project and the adoption of the Melbourne Model and its principals solidified our commitment to building community-wide partnerships. There is no question that we jumped light years ahead by becoming a member of the Global Compact Cities Programme. Dean Amhaus, Spirit of Milwaukee

Milwaukee River (Photo: Indy Kethdy CC www.flickr.com/photos/indykethdy/4152069805/)

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aSker, norway
Asker is a commune of Norway, located twenty-five kilometers south-west from the capital city, Oslo. It has a population of approximately 52,000 people. A large proportion of the population are transient and live between Asker, neighbouring communes and the wider region. Although the geography is principally rural, the urban expansion of nearby Oslo has influenced Askers own urbanization. Established rail linkages and growing interest from business and related technology hubs to develop offices in Asker, have provided many workers an alternative employment hub.

Preventing corruption and unethical behaviour by working together.

suffers as a result of corruption and unethical behaviours in the public, private and civil sectors. As more organizations establish systems to assess and manage risks of fraud and corruption, one question remains. How can we measure the effectiveness of these systems to prevent fraud and corruption, and how can we rate how resistant an organization actually is? A Local Secretariat was formed which included representatives from civil and private sectors. There was a shared mutual interest to improve the communitys awareness of corruption and unethical project, Asker used the Fraud and Corruption Resistance Profile (FCRP) developed by DNV, an independent and autonomous foundation. This tool will be the main mechanism of monitoring change over time. It is an assessment system for measuring the resistance (or resilience) of an organization, company, or entity to the effects and impacts (on profitability, long-term value, reputation and internal culture) of fraud and corruption. During 2008, the International Secretariat visited Asker to meet the Mayor of Asker and members

Asker, Norway (Photo: Lars Tiede CC www.flickr.com/photos/lars-tiede/300042808/)

city Profiles

In 2008, the City of Asker engaged in the Cities Programme. The engagement was led by the Municipality of Asker with a focus on exploring the issue of anti-corruption and unethical behaviour, consistent with the tenth principle of the Global Compact. More specifically, Asker was interested in learning of the communitys understanding of corruption and ascertaining how the municipality and key organizations could work collaboratively to measure corruption and prevent it in the future. Locally and globally, societies

behaviour. This was considered a common social responsibility. The Local Secretariat seeks to do the following: Elicit and combine ideas, knowledge, experience and resources; Engender interest in and legitimacy for the project within the activities and in the local community; and Contribute to transparency and confidence, as well as to orderly relations and co-operation. To establish a baseline for the

of the Local Secretariat. The visit reconfirmed Askers determination to work collaboratively across sectors in order for the broader community to be educated in anti-corruption and unethical behaviour and build peoples awareness.

Askers main objective in the Cities Programme is to develop a clear and transparent culture that has zero tolerance for corruption and unethical behaviour.

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aS-Salt, haShemite kingdom oF jordon

As-Salt city is an old city, settled over 2,000 years ago, and developed as a mixture of diverse civilizations over the ages. The city witnessed the prosperous period of the Ottoman Turks from 1850 to 1916 and was central on the trade traversal between Haifa on the Mediterranean sea, Nablus, and Amman in Jordan. The city is located approximately thirty kilometres west of the capital of Jordan, Amman. It has a moderate Mediterranean climate and is situated in the highlands. Its population is about 80,000 citizens. In order to meet these challenges, As-Salt recognized the need for city leaders to work collaboratively between sectors. A number of projects, including the Environmental Street Project, were initiated by the As-Salt Greater Municipality, Jordan Environstrengthen their relationship and to develop a platform for their mutual engagement around sustainable development.

Focussed on engendering the environmental principles of the Global Compact, a workshop entitled The Opening Ceremony of the Environment Street was launched in As-Salt city hall on 14 April 2007 in the presence of a number of institutions, concerned stakeholders and some important formal and informal figures. The Environmental Street Project was one of a number of pioneering projects As-Salt city suffers from within the broader Ascongestion and the overSalt City Development crowding of its buildings. Project, initiated by the Due to the topography, Hashemite King Abdulroad access is restricted lah II in 2004. Now, after by narrow and steep ina meeting in 2009 of the clines. In the past these Mayor and representafeatures were virtue and tives of the Cities Procontributed to As-Salts gramme, these projects distinctive characterisare being treated as intics as a city built into the terconnected and are landscape. However, the being conducted in conabsence of public plazas, sultation with the Cities the limited number of Programme. The Project car-parking spaces and leaders want to emphathe randomly-scattered size the role of a city in buildings erected within terms of being a hub for the last three decades, skills, human potential, have started to endanger The Environmental Street Project, As Salt, Jordan economic growth and the heritage-based architectural social and cultural progress. ment Society and Al-Balqa Apstyle. The city has more original Accordingly, the Environmental plied University. nineteenth-century sand-stone Street Project is concentrating on buildings than any other city in The Cities Programme has created five main areas to promote susJordan, and they had been in- opportunities for city leaders to tainable development: creasingly buried under an over- participate and discuss the activi Solar energy. With the abunburden of advertising hoardings, ties, issues and develop solutions dant supply of sunlight, the electricity wires, shoddy exten- through practical workshops. It city intends to use solar ensions and make-shift modern has facilitated close links between ergy for street infrastructure buildings. local expertise and the best glolighting and traffic lights as bal practices. As-Salt Greater Muwell as electricity for areas nicipality, Jordan Environment where distributed electricity Society, and Al-Balqa Applied is scarce. University all work together to 74

The Environmental Street Project

Public parks. A series of public parks will be introduced into the urban fabric to address this community need. The parks will be landscaped and supported by retaining walls to prevent soil erosion. Pavement greening. Street beautification is intended to offer recreational use to the public and play an important environmental role. Sorting and recycling waste. A community questionnaire revealed that the public are generally supportive of recycling waste. Organic waste is to be used for organic fertilizer and non-organic waste will be re-used and recycled. Re-use of grey water. Jordan is a dry continent and water is a scarce commodity. Grey water could be used for many purposes including water for drinking and irrigation purposes. This particular project has seen the asphalting of the designated road and the setting aside of land in anticipation of developing the parks. However, this project, away from the centre of the town, has been slowed by lack of funding. The other major project has been much more successful. Building upon the Historic Old Salt Development Project, the city has concentrated on urban regeneration and heritage management in the centre of the city. In the first stage going back to the 1990s this was conducted as a top-down process with central agencies and global funding, but over the last few years much more emphasis has gone into community engagement, careful consultation and re-legitimization of local involvement and decision-making.

In an overall vision of urban renewal, the city is attempting to address the widespread issues challenging city leaders, including the growing levels of poverty, pollution, environmental degradation, health perils and the growing demand on transportation, communication and infrastructure.

city Profiles

Amman, Jordan, A Signatory City in the Program

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berlin, germany
As Germanys capital, Berlin has global impact. Berlin wanted to use its membership in the Cities Programme to promote implementation of the Global Compact Principles in urban politics to its seventeen partner cities on all continents. In 2007, the Berlin Senate joined with health-care providers Vivantes and Charit in holding an urban medicine conference. This identified and established best-practice models in the area of sustainable public health-care, disease prevention, and aftercare, which contribute to creating a socially-engaged and responsible framework for urban development. Berlin initiated a project Active Health: Strategies to Improve Immigrants Access to Health Care by Promoting Awareness and Empowerment. The project was developed and realized in close co-operation with the civil-society sector, in particular with two NGOs: BGZ Berlin International Cooperation Agency and Gesundheit Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.

Urban Health and Migration

6: Supporting and respecting human rights within ones own sphere of influence and Eliminating discrimination in hiring and employment. Active Health aims to achieve a number of outcomes: Increase immigrant involvement in shaping the health care-system; Promote awareness of inter-culturalism among stakeholders in politics, the administration, business, education, civil society, and immigrant organizations themselves; Attract immigrants to the health professions in the medium term; and Increase the percentage of immigrants working in the health-care sector. Project activities included network meetings, roundtable discussions, specialist meetings, seminars for opinion leaders, workshops and conferences, media campaigns and professional orientation events in schools and community centres. Active Health will continue and concentrate on the volunteer career-advisor work and maintaining the stakeholders network. Negotiations with the federal state of Berlin on long-term financial support for the project are underway. Berlin will continue to bring in intriguing new aspects as we build on the urban medicine focus over the next few years.

Project participants. Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of Berlin, Germany

Active Health addresses two core issues: Health problems experienced specifically by immigrants; and Health-care policy challenges triggered by demographic change in metropolitan areas. It supports the Global Compacts Principles 1 and

The heart of Active Health is the work with immigrants themselves. The volunteer Career Advisor Campaign started in September 2007. These volunteers are health professionals who have a migration background themselves. This volunteer career-advisor model has proven to be an excellent way of arousing interest in professions with which immigrants tended to be unfamiliar.

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jamShedPur, india
Jamshedpur is the largest industrial town in the state of Jharkhand. Located at 22.8 N 86.18 E in the East Singhbhum District of the state, Jamshedpur has an average elevation of about 400 feet above sea level. Surrounded by the Dalma Hills, the city is spread across sixtyfour square kilometres. It is bordered on the North by the river Subarnarekha and on the East by the River Kharkai. The city of Jamshedpur is the result of the vision of the Founder of the Tata Group, Jamsetji Tata. Over a century ago he applied himself to the task of creating a steel industry in India, which he believed would foster economic growth in the country. For Jamto build the city, his own Magna Carta for a well planned and organized town, finalized. In 1902, Jamsetji Tata said,

Basti Water Project

The latter has been made possible largely due to, once again, a pioneering decision made by Tata Steel in 2003. With the Government of India allowing private participation in the civic amenities space, the steel major developed a corporate model for delivery of civic amenities. This utility provider was to be efficient, customer-driven, revenue-oriented and therefore, a financially-viable entity. Tata Steel spun off its erstwhile Town Division, which had, for over nine decades, been responsible for civic services, to become JUSCO (Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Limited), Indias only comprehensive civic infrastructure company.

Be sure to lay wide streets planted with shady trees. Be sure that there is plenty of space for lawns and gardens. Reserve large areas for football, hockey and parks. Earmark areas for temples, mosques and churches.
Jamshedpur today is a vastly different city and immensely

In 2004, the United Nations Global Compact undertook the quest to identify six cities across the world for United Nations Global Compact Cities Pilot Programme. Jamsh edpur was selected to join an august group of cities across the world who would take the lead in addressing seemingly Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Limited (JUSCO) Facility. Imaged sourced: Local intractable Secretariat, City of Jamshedpur, India economic, posetji Tata, the city that he had larger than originally envisaged, litical, cultural and environmenenvisioned represented the home just as Tata Steel is vastly differ- tal issues in the urban context of more than just a commercial ent and immensely larger. Both, through a working partnership enterprise. Aware that the steel however, continue to reflect the between government, business plant would have to be developed spirit of Jamsetjis vision. Tata and civil society. Their experiencclose to raw material sources in Steel continues to remain com- es were to serve as learnings for perhaps one of the wildest spots mitted to sustainable growth and all other urban conglomerations. in eastern India, he had given Jamshedpur is arguably the best Jamshedpur city now consists of the spirited persons who came managed city in the country. 77

city Profiles

sixty-four square kilometres of land leased to Tata Steel by the Government of India for its steel works and employee housing, land for private housing subleased by Tata Steel, as well as small pockets which are not covered in the leasehold areas of Tata Steel. Over the years a sharp difference emerged between the quality of life enjoyed by residents of the leaseholds areas served by the town services of Tata Steel (now JUSCO) and those in non-leasehold areas with no urban local body. The United Nations Global Compact Cities Programme provided the perfect platform for a concerned Tata Group to address this imbalance. A survey was conducted to assess the needs of the people and to identify critical gaps in services. While the survey validated the need for all kinds of civic infrastructure services, supply of piped potable water emerged as the most critical need. The Tata Group sought the support of the local administration and civil society in creating a formal public-private partnership to resolve the issue of access to piped potable water in these areas. The key players were the local government, Tata Group and Bagan Area Vikas Sammittee (BAVS) a NGO representing the un-served non-leasehold areas of Jamshedpur. The Tata Group invested in back-end infrastructure to extend water supply to non-leasehold areas. BAVS was the nodal agency for creating awareness on water sustainability, working as a facilitator with the government and supporting the creation of local water distribution networks which were owned by the con-

sumers themselves. Consumers willingly agreed to pay for the service and infrastructure within their communities as water availability, quality, contamination and water-borne disease were problems they faced on a daily basis. Over 13,200 new connections have been provided since 2005. The additional water required has been made available through savings made through a systematic and scientific non-revenuebased water-reduction program launched by Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Limited. JUSCOs focus on process efficiency and effective resource management has enabled it to fulfill the principle objective of the Cities Programme of addressing most aspectseconomic, ecological, and politicalof an previously intractable problem. It has progressively protected the water sustainability of Jamshedpur, giving access to potable water while making the service affordable by enhancing its own efficiency in managing a valuable resource. It has progressively addressed the issue of sustainable development of civic society in Jamshedpur by the supply of piped potable water in its previously un-served areas.

When the project began in 2005 only 18 per cent of the people had access to piped water, while the rest depended on ground-water sources or public hydrants. Today over 48 per cent have access to piped water. By 2012 almost the entire population in non-leasehold area is expected to have access to piped water.

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jinan, China
the Peoples Republic of China and is the capital city of Shandong Province, located approxiroad accidents with obvious personal pain, and a direct economic loss of 2,627,000 RMB. Jinan set

Jinan Traffic Safety Project

Jinan is a sub-provincial city of 2003 alone, Jinan recorded 1,031 Research Institute. Since joining

the Cities Programme, the leadership of the Jinan Municipal government, in co-ordination with the Construct Committee, has ensured the participation from all sectors including science and technical disciplines.

Jinan Traffic Safety Project workers. Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of Jinan, China

mately 400 kilometres south of the national capital Beijing. It is administered by the Peoples Government of Jinan, the executive body of the Jinan Municipal Peoples Congress. Traffic is considered a major social development issue, and transportation is heart of city-life and considered the important link of the national economic development as well as being a symbol of modernization. Facing a familiar cross-road of expanding population, growing car ownership, and increased personal risk, government leaders were determined to develop Jinan in a harmonious manner by welcoming sustainable development and by building infrastructure that reduces potential hazards for its population. In

out to make a strategy and action plan for the Jinan Traffic Safety Project. Jinan focused on the issue of traffic-safety education and made it an important matter of legislative work. This has enabled the development of a legal education program which has had remarkable impact, with the residents and other social groups responding positively to the education program. This included the formulation of the Jinan Resident Civilized Transportation Behaviour Standards. Jinan wanted to strengthen the communication and co-operation from international organizations, and in 2005 joined the Cities Programme. The proposal was led by the SanLian Traffic Prevention

There has been a dramatic reduction in accident mortality and the project team has implemented a number of legislative changes, including the Jinan Road Traffic Order Safety Special Renovate Implementation Plan which has assisted to strengthen each measure of safety consciousness.

city Profiles

79

le haVre, FranCe
In March 2006, the City of Le Havre joined the Global Compact Cities Programme to focus on developing sustainable tourism in the Seine region. The Mayor, Antoine Rufenacht proposed to build this project on a regional scale and incorporate the entire Seine estuary. The region is divided into several levels of territorial organization including regions, departments, cities and town networks. The Sustainable Tourism project has enabled decisionmakers from different regions in the Seine Estuary to progress a shared agenda, which ultimately seeks to re-orientate Le Havre and Seine Estuary be organized and federated to make this territory more visible and more attractive? How can the Seine Estuary be made into a recognized tourist destination?

Sustainable Tourism
development of the region as a whole, which would collectively provide an improved image of Le Havre to visitor populations.

The International Secretariat visited Le Havre in 2008 and was able to see the tangible results of the Sustainable Tourism Project. How may the tourist offerPresentations from Le Havre City ings be improved, developed Council, regional transportation and promoted in a coherent committees and educational initimanner that conforms to the atives demonstrated how on-thecriteria of sustainable develground initiatives were contribopment? uting toward presenting Le Havre The Local Secretariat designed a as a sustainable tourism hub. At community questionnaire, which a local level, there had been a was able to ask and identify dif- diversity of activities to promote ferent peoples perspectives on the regions history and natural assets, including the Sustainable Tourism Forum in 2007 and a follow up event of Destination: Estuary in 2008. These milestones have attracted representatives from all sectors to develop key initiatives and identify actions for the best way Hanging Gardens. One of the many initiatives in the Sustainable Tourism Project forward. sustainable tourism. One of the the surrounding region to the main findings was that a holisworld. tic approach would be required Le Havre considered Key questions that drove Le Ha- in order for people to embrace it important to vres engagement included the sustainable tourism within their understand the daily lives. This meant considerfollowing: ing the industries and service local communitys How may the political, techsectors that support tourism, inperspective of nical, and other professioncluding retail, transportation, acals and the inhabitants of the sustainable tourism commodation, hospitality, education, and sport and recreational in order to create a providers. This approach enabled meaningful project. sustainable tourism to be integral to the strategic planning and 80

melbourne, auStralia
Melbourne first engaged in the Cities Programme in 2002 and implemented the Utility Debt Spiral Project. The project focussed on financial hardship and gained tremendous state and federal government support in changing legislation which introduced payment options for people who were struggling to meet their utility bills.

Climate Change and Residential Sustainability

ings toward the information and policies currently provided by the Council in relation to achieving residential sustainability.This information provides the Council with a basis for assessing and The Residential Sustainability Project is led by a Critical Reference Group which comprises government, residents groups, community advocacy groups, private enterprise and utility providers, who meet on a monthly basis to progress the process of engagement and undertake the technical work.

In 2008, Melbourne re-engaged The Cities Programme with a focus on examining residents By asking beliefs and behaviours relating to residents to climate change, express how to provide valuathey feel about ble insights to local government in the kinds their policy-makof power ing activities. The relations and overall objective of The Residenprevailing values tial Sustainability associated with Project is to facilitate Councils quantitative understanding of indicators of residents beliefs sustainability, in relation to the need to reduce such as the waste and mini- Residential living, Melbourne. (Photo: avlxyz CC www.flickr. ecological com/photos/avlxyz/2386597461/) mize resource use footprint, and, through this, contribute to a improving practical efforts to inreduction in the Citys residential the questionnaire crease programme reach and purecological footprint. elicits a more holistic sue change in residential water, A key question framing use of energy and waste services. It will understanding of the the questionnaire within the pi- present a greater understanding political and cultural lot is What are residents beliefs of possibilities or blockages in reabout their own and the Coun- lation to driving policy and regudimensions of the cils rights and responsibilities in lation reform or reinforcement Council efforts to relation to achieving sustainabil- within the Council, between the improve residential ity? The questionnaire provides Council and residents and bethe Council with insight into res- tween the Council and other tiers sustainability. idents perceptions of and feel- of government. 81

city Profiles

milwaukee, uSa
The City of Milwaukee, is the largest city in Wisconsin and is located on the south-west shore of Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes, United States of America. Its geography and natural resources have attracted a strong manufacturing base, being home to some of the worlds most established breweries and manufacturing enterprises (including MillerCoors). In recent decades the state of Wisconsin has paid particular attention to water quality. While the industries continued to operate, they made a concerted effort toward cleaning the water being used for industrial purposes. In the last three years there has been a rediscovery of the value of water from an industry and broader community perspective.

Maintaining and Improving Water Quality

ternational Secretariat. The Milwaukee Water Council was the driving force behind the engagement in close co-ordination with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and other civic organizations and business enterprises. The Water Council as an organization was formally created in 2009 with the mission to create a global centre for sustainable water. The Milwaukee Water Council includes a diverse membership from businesses, universities, individuals, government, investment firms, and non-profit organizations. The Board of Directors consists of leaders from business, higher education, gov To study the environment-toecological-health continuum that links the health of freshwater environments with human population health; To develop and create technologies that will create a sustainable freshwater infrastructure and supplies as well as improve human and environmental health; and To develop a policy and management program aimed at balancing the protection and utilization of freshwater.

Whilst these process-orientated objectives are important, Milwaukee has since had opportunity to reflect on their initial proposal and clarify their focus going forward. If there is to be behaviour change at After a review, Milwaua citizen level, then kee found that more investment needs than 120 businesses to occur at the eduhad some operational cational and awaredealings with water and ness level. Theremany other players (infore, the Milwaukee cluding private sector Water Council is and universities) had a Pabst Brewery. Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of proposing that the water-related focus. The Milwaukee, USA culture of water Milwaukee Water Council deterbe considered the focus area of ernment and environmental mined that if these different inigroups. Under the Milwaukee the demonstration project. A sigtiatives could work in unison, a Water Council, civic leaders have nificant amount of interest has powerful economic development come together and are promoting already been gained by local inprogram around water could be Milwaukees strategic position on terest groups who have a vested created, that could address other the shores of Lake Michigan. The interest in the area (schools, priwater-related issues, which could community has already attracted vate sector, international busithen be used as demonstration some leading water treatment nesses and cultural groups). for other communities around innovators and is establishing a the world. The overall aim graduate School of Freshwater of Milwaukees To provide a platform for their Sciences at the University of Wiscommitment, Milwaukee for- consin-Milwaukee. engagement in the mally engaged in the Cities ProThe overall project plan includes Cities Programme is to gramme in 2009 with a major the following objectives: public launch attended by the Inbuild a greater citizen To better understand the appreciation for water, processes related to freshwato be able to use it ter systems dynamics;

wisely and preserve it.

82

PloCk, Poland
Pock is a city in central Poland, located on the Vistula river bank, with 130,000 inhabitants. The city is situated about 100 kilometres to the north west of Warsaw. Amongst the other bigger cities surrounding Pock is d, approximately 110 kilometres away. The city of Plock is set on the banks of the longest river in PolandVistulaand it spreads across the grounds of the Mazovian Lowland, which dominate the central part of the country.

The Grant Fund for Plock

The main objective of Plocks engagement was to improve the quality of life for the citizens by achieving the following: Implementing adequate welfare programs including culture, education and training and sport; Drawing local non-government organizations in decision-making processes; and

Improving the image of inter-sectoral partnerSustainable development as been high on the ships to the community. agenda since the World Summit of Sustainable Development in The subsequent Johannesburg in Grant Fund for 2002. This event Plock seeks to emphasized the attract and disrole of partnerperse the finanships in building cial resources a society and was required for difinitiated and led ferent priority by UN Developareas. In Plock, ment Programme the focus of (UNDP) and PKN, improving the Polands largest quality of life petrochemical through partcompany. One nerships has main outcome been the cataderiving from lyst for many the Summit was other successful the establishinitiatives, inment of the Focluding Internarum for Plock, Door detail, Plock, Poland. (Photo: Sitiens Lucem CC tional Training which focuses on http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P%C5%82ock_Door03.JPG) Centre for Local regional developAuthorities/Acment. Specifically, the City of Plock used the Forum tors and CIFAL (Centre International de Formation as a platform to encourage private-public partner- des Autorites/Acteurs Locaux). ships and co-ordinated a series of events devoted to social business responsibility. Pock joined the Global Compact initiative with the objective of achieving two aims: To implement Global Compact bases as part of the citys business strategy; To broadly promote the Global Compact principles to government, economic field and to work closely with the private sector in order to respond to society needs; and To translate these objectives into outcomes, the Global Compact Cities Programme encouraged Plock to embrace a different kind of publicprivate partnership emphasizing collaboration between government, private and community sectors. 83

city Profiles

By bringing together decision-makers, the City of Plock was able to craft a new development strategy that redefined the relationships and core competencies in the socio-cultural and economic sectors, which led to form a new local agenda, the Sustainable Development Strategy for Plock.

Porto alegre, brazil

Porto Alegre is located in Southern Brazil and is the eleventh most populous city in Brazil. The city lies on a delta at the point where five rivers converge, making it the most important industrial and commercial centre of

Social Inclusion Project of the Chocolato Slum

wellbeing of slum dwellers. Education, health and labour were the key focus areas that needed to be addressed in order to eradicate the problems of house abandonment and inability to pay debts. These factors, it was hoped, stages. The Chocolato Slum Association facility was built at its current location to serve the community as the ground for the beginning of the social integration, and today it serves to oversee the PIM/PI10 and Brasil Alfabetizado11 (Literate Brazil) programs, among other activities in collaboration with the Municipality and non-governmental entities. Rio Grande do Sul Federal University undertook basic employment training for residents, which proved very popular. More recently, City Hall has been able to secure the provision of electricity to the site with the Estate Energy Company (CEEE). Until recently, electricity was treated as illegal because the risk of fire was too high.

Chocolato Slum. Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of Porto Alegre, Brazil Brazil. Development has brought with it significant issues of slum settlement as people have been drawn to the city from the rural hinterlands and congregated on irregular areas of the city. In Porto Alegre, the Chocolato slum exemplifies this social problem. The people in this area exist because of the garbage they collect and trade and their artwork symbolizes this existence. Instead of focusing on the usual approach to slum clearance by removal of the people, the Mayor of Porto Alegre held out the challenge of improving the overall would contribute to individual wellbeing and would contribute to achieving improved social cohesion. In 2003, Porto Alegre engaged in the Cities Programme with a focus on improving the quality of life for slum dwellers. City Hall recognized the need to work with other organizations and community institutions that provided these community services (education, health and labour). Hence, the project was steered largely by the community institutes who had pre-existing working relationships with homeless or slum communities, whilst the City Hall played a facilitator role during the design and implementation

The Vila Chocolato project has set a new precedence for slum rehabilitation in Brazil and illustrates how government can work with community institutes and utility providers to create sustainable and inclusive communities.

84

San FranCiSCo, uSa

San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and one of the most densely populated cities in the United States of America. The city is a cultural, financial, and tourist hub, and is located on the tip of the San

Business Council on Climate Change (BC3)

San Francisco adopted a Climate Change Action Plan, which proposes to enable residents and business to be able to track and reduce their emissions. In June of 2005, the City and benefit organization and is supported by an inter-sectoral Advisory Council, which acts as the governing body. The Bay Area Council, the San Francisco Department of the Environment and the UN Global Compact are the three co-sponsors of the Business Council on Climate Change. The three organizations serve primarily as conveners, facilitators, and content-and-knowledge providers in order to assist the members of BC3 in fulfilling their commitments to the principles. BC3 members collaborate to share ideas and real-world case studies, identify valuable tools, participate in educational forums, and establish best practices.

Farmers Market, San Francisco, USA

Francisco Peninsula, surrounded by the larger San Francisco Bay Area. It is famous for its hilly topography, and the area is susceptible to potential large-scale natural disasters through earthquakes linked to the nearby San Andreas and Hayward Fault lines. The unique urban environment is central to San Franciscos social life and has needed to be a key consideration for developments within the private, government and community sectors. In recognition of the rising importance of climate-change adaptation, the San Francisco Department of Environment joined the Cities Programme in 2002 with the objective of making San Francisco a model for climate stewardship. In 2004, the City of

County of San Francisco hosted United Nations World Environment Day (WED), at which Mayor Gavin Newsom signed on to the UN Global Compact Cities Program. For its participation in the Program, San Francisco has chosen to address greenhouse gas emissions in the commercial and residential sectors. The success can be best appreciated by the sheer number of business that have become part of the BC3 initiative. The BC3 has a growing membership of 100 companies. As a member-driven organization, businesses of all sizes commit to implementing the five principles on Climate Leadership. BC3 is registered as a non-profit 85

The Business Council on Climate Change (BC3) program seeks to give businesses the tools to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions and to take a lead role in helping their communities and employees do the same. Through participation in the Cities Program, San Francisco plans to create a universal model for implementing greenhouse gas reductions on the local level.

city Profiles

ulaan baatar, mongolia

Ulaan Baatar is the capital and the largest city in Mongolia. It has had several names in the past and was named Ulaan Baatar when it became the capital of the new Mongolian Peoples Republic in 1924. The name, Ulaan Baatar translates directly to red hero and was named in honour of Mongolias national hero Damdin Sukhbaatar. Located in the north central Mongolia, Ulaan Baatar was once a nomadic city, having moved to twenty eight different locations (each chosen ceremonially), before permanently settling in its present location in 1778. urban governance. To address this issue, the Mongolian Association of Urban Centers (MAUC) was established in 2003 by the city of Ulaan Baatar with the purpose of: Providing activity in four regions and thirty four cities; Collaborating with the provincial authorities through exchanging local knowledge in regard to decentralization and regional development.

Urban Development
tized action plans to realize the visions. The desired outcomes included: Build institutional capacity for improved governance; Establish frameworks to build an enabling environment for social improvement and economic growth; and Provide mechanisms for job creation and sustainable livelihoods.

There are several international aid and technical assistance initiatives operating within Ulaan Baatar who are working on various projects to adDuring the twentidress urban goveth Century, Ulaan ernance, which Baatar grew into a complement major manufacturprojects at the naing centre and totional level. The day prides itself as Cities Programme the countrys culis committed to tural, industrial and ensuring that the financial centre. It engagement of is also an important the Municipality transportation hub of Ulaan Baatar and is connected to continues to enthe Trans-Siberian courage collaboRailway and the ration between Chinese railway net- Housing, Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia (Photo: Lamoix CC the government, work. www.flickr.com/photos/lamoix/3790144059/) private and civil sectors with the Ulaan Bataar is divided into nine of urban-planning experiences shared objective of promoting districts. The city is an independand good governance by creating sustainable development. ent municipality not part of any highly developed decentralizaprovince. It is governed by a city The project aims to tion systems from national to locouncil, who appoints the Maycal authorities. address a number of or. Actions: urban issues in Ulaan Over recent years, the population Conduct an analysis of develas of Ulaan Baatar has rapidly exBaatar by ensuring opment levels across the city panded due to significant ruralinformation exchange to identify key issues and asurban migration. This shift in between cities and the sets; people and economy influenced the transition from a centralized national authority, Clarify city development vito a more decentralized system of sions through a participatory As part of the Cities Programme, the urban-development project seeks to support the exchange process; Formulate City Development Strategies (CDS) and priori-

particularly in the areas of urban planning and municipal services.

86

tShwane, South aFriCa

The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality was established on 5 December 2000 when following the integration of a number of local authorities which had previously served the Greater Pretoria region. On this date, a number of old Pretoria municipalities as well as others that fell outside the Greater Pretoria area were combined into one metropolitan area called The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. The City of Pretoria remained largely intact within this municipality.

Rosslyn Strategic Development Forum

ing a critical role in enhancing Tshwane as a smart city by providing the infrastructure required, particularly with regard to connectivity and communication. Tshwanes engagement in the Cities Programme demonstrated its commitment to supporting the ten over-arching principles of the Global Compact and fostering working collaboration between the business, government and civil sectors. Rosslyn is a predominately industrial area within the City of Tshwane and home to many global manufacturers including the ticipation in formulating the Rosslyn Development Strategy ; and Improve public opinion regarding developments in Rosslyn. The desired outcomes include: Raising the level of private sector and communities involvement in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipalitys development initiatives; Encouraging development opportunities for investment and job creation and industrial development for Tshwane; and Making recommendations to local, provincial and national government on a best practice model for public/private partnerships .

The City of Tshwane is the second largest municipality in Gauteng and is among the six biggest metropolitan municipalities in South Africa. The following towns and townships form part of the Municipalitys area: Pretoria, Centurion, Akasia, Soshanguve, Mabopane, Atteridgeville, Ga-Rankuwa, Winterveld, Hammanskraal, Temba, Pienaarsrivier, Tshwane, South Africa (Photo: Moyogo CC www. Crocodile River flickr.com/photos/moyogo/2006852021/) and Mamelodi. Tshwane has played a key role in the political history of South Africa. Pretoria, as one component of Tshwane, is the administrative capital of South Africa and houses the Union Buildings. It was appropriate, therefore, that the liberation struggle culminated in the birth of South Africas democracy at the Union Buildings. The eyes of an ecstatic world were on the city on 10 May 1994 when the peoples president, Nelson Mandela, was inaugurated as South Africas first democratically elected president. The City of Tshwane is also play-

BMW assembly plant. This project seeks to promote the Rosslyn area as a preferred business environment and a safe, secure place to work and reside through a means of a partnership between industry, government and the community. The project hopes to steer the development of sustainable world-class industrial areas that benefit business and the people of Tshwane as a whole. The Project seeks to: Alleviate poverty through job creation in the Rosslyn area; Increase private-sector par87

Over recent years, the Municipality of Tshwane has boosted investment in urban infrastructure to increase the accessibility and attraction of Tshwane to the business, government and community populations. The Rosslyn Strategic Development project has been progressing in parallel with other municipal strategic projects which share the same overall strategic vision.

city Profiles

88

media billboard, San FranCiSCo, uSa San FranCiSCo iS well known For itS Strength in leading enVironmental iSSueS and thiS ProjeCt iS no diFFerent. the buSineSS CounCil on Climate Change (bC3) waS initiated in 2005. it now boaStS a growing memberShiP oF oVer 100 buSineSSeS who are Committed to reduCing their greenhouSe gaS emiSSionS. the Fundamental aim iS to imProVe the quality oF urban liFe through the eFFeCtiVe uSe oF loCal CroSS-SeCtor PartnerShiPS betweeen buSineSS, goVernment and CiVil SoCiety. bC3 iS led by the San FranCiSCo dePartment oF enVironment in PartnerShiP with the San FranCiSCo bay area CounCil.

aPPendix

aPPendix 1
In the present context of global climate change, intensifying urbanization, increasing transnational insecurities, and a heightening divide of rich and poor, there is a pressing need for new ways of working towards local and global sustainability. However, with the intersecting pressures of marketbased drivers and national-interest considerations dominating policy-making, nation-states are confronting the limits of their negotiating possibilities. This was dramatically underscored in the Copenhagen Climate Conference. Similarly, the limits of corporate reform given the base-line requirements of contemporary capitalism have been shown time and againmost poignantly in the global financial crisis and its aftermath of business as usual. At the same time, just as nationstates have come under increasing pressure to act otherwise, so have corporations. Across the late-twentieth century and into the present, the century-long trend to audit corporations economically has been widening to include questions of ecological sustainability and social responsibility. The Global Compact, the Global Reporting Initiative, and a bourgeoning collection of other reporting and indicator sets have been developed in order to sensitize profit-driven corporations to the environmental cost of doing business.12 Now cities are increasingly being drawn into this same ambiguous process. What does this mean for the role of cities in providing a different kind of global leadership on sustainability questions, and becoming part of a different kind of global governance?

Circles of Sustainability: An Integrated Approach

Cities are amorphous and unwieldy entities. On the one hand, except in the fields of global tourism and commodity exchange, all but a few cities until recently have tended to be inwardlyturned institutions relatively unaware of the potential for their local practices to affect global regimes. On the other hand, the intensification of globalization has afforded cities the potential for renewed governance powerat least in some areasto set relatively independent agendas. This is particularly so in the arena of sustainability. Examples such as ICLEI (the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives), the C40 (originally, the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group), the UN Global Compact Cities Programme, and even the Mayors Group at Copenhagen in 2009 suggest that cities are moving to act collectively to affect social change around urban sustainability.13 Part of this process has involved cities monitoring themselves more actively in relation to sustainability measures, the subject of this briefing paper. The question that we want to pursue is, being done without sufficient attention to translating the process out of the economically-defined strictures of the triple-bottom line approach or the status-orienting fantasies of liveability lists. In other words, cities face the same issues that have bedeviled nation-states and corporations when it comes to sustainable development. The problems are manifold. Cities are being listed in league tables that do more to emphasize global inequities than enhance sustainability. The form of the sustainability indices tends to maximize practices of narrow compliance. There is a tendency for externally-derived indicators to drive planning on locally-specific questions. And most generally, there is a masking of structures of power and a distorting of values in relation to questions of sustainability and liveability in a given city. Reporting on sustainability indices and liveability metrics can potentially enhance the reflexivity of the urban planning process, but there is a galloping tendency to treat the issue of how to improve ones city ranking on a hierarchical table as more important than the sustainability issues themselves. Two prominent indicator tables are the Mercer Quality of Living survey and the Economists Intelligence Unit survey. Both get front-page headlines in cities around the world, particularly in those cities which do well. However, in neither case does the survey contribute substantially to enhancing either liveability or sustainability. This should be obvious when we consider their claims and orientations. Mercer for example is based on carefully selected factors representing the criteria considered most relevant to international executives. It is not based

Can a viable form of

sustainability auditing be developed that provides a platform for local-global learning and sustainability governance while avoiding the usual pitfalls of existing auditing and indicator systems? .

The animating concern of this briefing paper is that urban sustainability auditing is currently

90

Figure 23 Circles of Sustainability

on the life-quality of locals, but rather, For the purposes of this report, quality of living assesses the degree to which expatriates enjoy the potential standard of living in the host location.14 This briefing paper reflects on some of the ways in which the

auditing of cities might be done otherwise. Achieving sustainable cities we argue begins as the task of reflecting upon the nature of human activity in those places. The aim is to develop practices that can ensure that cities and communities are being re-created to meet the needs of the present 91

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.15 The renewed emphasis on the importance of the city brings together issues of sustainability, measurement processes, and how cities might be part of an alternative mode of

aPPendix

governance across the globe that takes the emphasis away from narrow market or prestige considerations. Our call here turns on three simple precepts. Firstly, auditing systems have the potential for masking the underlying problems and even inadvertently making them worse as cities concentrate on the metrics rather than the intersecting sustainability issues themselves. Secondly, developing an adequate auditing approach entails going back to basicsthat is, going back to rethink the very foundations that structure the way in which we attempt to measure issues of sociality. There are no perfect indicators of sustainability, and attempts to gather together good indicators without attending to the issue of their inter-relation are bound to fail. Thirdly, enacting an adequate auditing system entails building a global platform around (existing and newly formed) formal and informal institutions. As such, the following discussion takes as its orienting structure the work being done by the Global Compact Cities Programme in slow collaboration with other governance bodies such as the Global Reporting Initiative and UN Habitat.

consultants enlisted to generate the right indicators and then to tailor a technical solution in order to get the indicators back on track. This might work in a limited way for command-governance corporations with their hierarchical decision-making processes having direct and comprehensive reach within the institution, but it does not work in more complex social formations of governance such as cities. Secondly, the size, scope, and sheer number of indicators included within many sustainability projects, means that indicator sets are often unwieldy and resist effective implementation. Over recent decades, indicator-based projects have become central to a broad range of sociological, community-development, environmental and policy-oriented research aimed at engendering sustainability. An explosion of indicators is extending itself horizontally across the globe and vertically, on the back of processes of globalization, from neighbourhood to international policymaking. There are corporate-sustainability indices, city-liveability indices, community-sustainability indices, waste-disposal indices, and so on, and so on. The challenge here is to develop a flexible framework that speaks to existing relevant measures of sustainability, including for example incorporating many of the GRI indicators, while translating between them and broadening the terms of reference, the domains of focus, and the nature of the social engagement. Moreover, the techno-scientific emphasis inherent in many indicator-based projects tends to mask the possibility of taking into account the structures of power and the cultural-political assumptions that always frame indicator sets. Often primarily quantitative in approach, indica92

tors-based projects offer valuable tools for measuring the standing of a city, a corporation, or community in relation to some or other given concept of sustainability or sustainable development. This is where the focus seems too narrow, and is limited to the rise and fall of the metrics and the immediate responses required to move up the league table. Such approaches fail to bring into question the nature of the inter-relationships and of the societal structures that go into creating and reproducing conditions for a sustainable city, corporation or community. Fourthly, an emphasis on indicator sets that are completely externally derived too often means that a city, corporation or community loses focus on the locally available resources and conditions that might support alternative sustainable practices or challenge existing unsustainable practices that may not necessarily figure as part of the chosen indicator set. Fifthly, the current tendency of reporting initiatives to emphasize one kind of reporting agency usually corporationsmeans that attempts at integration tend to produce ad hoc assemblages of indicators with extra bits tacked on the end. Indicator sets become like the house that Jack built, trying to add rooms and corridors when what is needed is redesigning the whole abode. Triple bottom-line accounting is an instance of this with environmental and social sustainability being tacked on the back end of a continuing economic imperative of profitability. Metrics-centered projects present a relatively abstract view of things. Of course, all understandings of social life take the form of knowledge that is abstracted from lived conditions through observation and analytical reframing. However, our sixth concern is that the

The Limits of Sustainability Indicators

Developing an adequate indicator set is extraordinarily difficult. The one-dimensional quantitative basis of many such projects across both the Global South and North means that achieving sustainability is often reduced to a technical task16gathering data and ticking performance boxes. The problem of achieving sustainable development is dealt with as an instrumental one with expert

type of abstraction characterizing many quantitative indicatorsbased projects drives new forms of unsustainability. Indicatorsbased projects can thus in certain respects circumvent the problem of understanding cities and communities as places for human activities in the here and now. Achieving good results on the indicators themselves comes to be an end in itself. Technical questions submerge the need to engage reflexively in the long-term process of creating and reproducing a sustainable polity, community, or organization. The intense problems associated with developing good indicator sets and the associated issue of indicators proliferation are intimately related. Every new set tends to be developed de novo and for a new purpose. Our claim is not that existing quantitative data is unimportant or unnecessary, or that a new and more perfect set of indicators will be developed that will make all others redundant. Understanding and using quantitative data is part and parcel of engaging to achieve sustainability within complex and globalizing world. All manner of conditions, from population demographics to climate change data, resource-use figures, and even rankings, can provide useable information about the world. However, the approach advocated here views this information as one contribution or input into the creation of knowledge that can support practices aimed at achieving sustainability. On the other side of raw information are the fields of power and values that give shape and form to knowledge, and qualify its uses. Seeing things in this way involves a rethinking of what indicators actually are. In effect, we are suggesting that many of the things that are understood as indicators in quan-

titative terms need to be taken as metrics embedded within a more comprehensive qualitative framework. In other words, quantitative metrics need to be understood in terms of qualitative indicators.

Circles of Sustainability
The Global Compact Cities Programme Circles of Sustainability approach to developing layered indicators of sustainability is intended to overcome these problems. It is intended to involve policy-makers and citizens in reflecting upon and negotiating knowledges about how best to practice sustainability. The approach sets out a program for engaging citizens in the job of achieving long-term sustainability with the following dimensions: (1) as a task of reflexive practice; (2), as conducted across the broad domains of economy, ecology, politics and culture; (3), as translatable across different social formations and yet relevant to the local context of the city or community in contention; (4) as developed within a common global qualitative framework but allowing for local choice about relevant quantitative indicators or metrics; and (5) as enhancing global learning and allowing some comparative bench-marking across different places, practices and institutions, and allowing cities to collaborate regionally and globally in learning about sustainability. As such, the Circles of Sustainability approach suggests thatamidst major societal and ecological challengesactivities need to be woven, unwoven, and rewoven in the light of new knowledges about them. Here we will concentrate on cities and communities because of the relative complexity of these formations. However, even when indicators-based projects attempt to deal with such variable forma-

tions, particularly when they add in cultural and political dimensionsfor example, measuring and assessing well-being, inclusion or cohesion, they still tend firstly to reduce these social questions to step-by-step technical questions. Step one: assume a social good (for example, people meeting together socially is a cultural good); step two: draw a one-to-one connection between a social good and its indicators (social indicators should include how many cafs are in given area or how many bowling clubs operate to allow people to meet); step three: draw a one-to-one connection between the indicators and social policy (encourage the opening of more cafs or bowling clubs). In that process such projects tend to assume generative values of what is good and what is badinclusion is good, exclusion is bad; participation is good, authority is bad. Despite best intentions, such projects tend to displace understandings of living in cities and communities as a lived and contested condition differently conceived across different cultural settings, and they tend to use thin evidentiary claims about what constitutes a sustainable or unsustainable practice. In effect, good and bad practice is assumed, the indicator set is built, and policy is based on changing the indicators. Our argument is that indicators can make a greater contribution to understanding and practicing sustainability, but only when seen as part of a broader approach to how persons engage with each other and on what terms. Our intention is to include but going beyond the important abstracting task of measuring and assessing. We want to take the approach out into the field, so to speak. We want to make it work as an engaged set of practices designed with an image of human

aPPendix

93

activity as situated within and reflexively responding to the social and natural environment.17 In this approach, systems theories and hard or positive scientific knowledges become discrete elements of the research and practice rather than dominant framing rationales. Circles of Sustainability as a quantitativequantitative engaged approach to developing indicators does treat indicators as merely representing reality. Rather, they are seen as having the potential to change the relationships between people and between humans and nature, thereby changing people and changing nature.18 What is suggested here is that problems of technique need to take a back seat to the task of negotiating the form and content of the economic, ecological, cultural and political relations in and through which people create and reproduce the cities and communities that constitute a globalizing and localizing world. Seen in the light of these issues, this approach sets about the task of developing sustainability indicators from within a different

perspective upon social existence. Of concern are two over arching questions:
1. What is it that makes a city or

community sustainable? 2. What is it that, when present or missing, makes a city or community unsustainable? Sustainability indicators are in the first instance simply a means for assessing the distance between a current state of affairs and the ongoing task of achieving a sustainable way of life in the context of a given city, institutional or community setting. In the second instance, they can also be much morea means of instituting dialogue over the very conditions of sustainability. To achieve this, the Circles of Sustainability approach is conducted across two levels. After working through the scope and social definition of the body in questionthe city, community, or institution, including from corporations to non-government organizations the first level of analysis centres on redefining the core domains of social practice. It moves away the usual approaches, such as a triple bottom-line accounting

that continues to put economics at the centre, to one that gives equal weight to economics, ecology, culture and politics. The second level involves rethinking the question of how we engage both with others and with nature by situating social practice within a series of social themes that held together in dialectical tension (Figure 23).

The Approach in Practice: Level One

Many indicators projects work from what weve been referring to as a triple-bottom-line model. They characteristically aim to measure the impact upon the economic, social, and environmental bottom lines of a discrete functional unit. The key implication of seeing things in this way is not just that it tends to centre on the economic but also that it assumes a strong commensurability of values between the different domains. Even when moving beyond plain monetary value and return on investment, triple-bottom-line approaches tend to presume that social, environmental and economic sustain-

Economic Performace
EC1 Economic value generated and distributed, including revenues, operating costs, employee compensation, donations and other community investments, retained earnings, and payments to capital providers and governments.(Core) EC2 EC3 EC4 Financial implications and other risks and opportunities for the organizations activities due to climate change. (Core) Coverage of the organizations defined benefit plan obligations. (Core) Significant financial assistance received from government. (Core)

Market Presence
EC5 EC6 EC7 Range of ratios of standard entry level wage compared to local minimum wage at significant locations of operation. (Additional) Policy, practices, and proportion of spending on locally-based suppliers at significant locations of operation. (Core) Procedures for local hiring and proportion of senior management hired from the local community at significant locations of operation. (Core)

Indirect Economic Impacts

EC8 Development and impact of infrastructure investments and services provided primarily for public benefit through commercial, in-kind, or pro bono engagement. (Core) EC9 Understanding and describing significant indirect economic impacts, including the extent of impacts. (Additional)

Table 7 GRI Economic Indicators

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ability are either commensurable a priori of other considerations or that the economic domain provides the basis for translating between them. For example, instead of treating the ecological domain of having its own imperatives, the environment becomes an economic externality, another cost to be considered when engaging in economic activity. The approach developed here rather, recognizes the tension between (generative) values across different domains (for example, between needs and limits across the domains of economics and ecology) while remaining cognizant of the need for comparability across (particular) valuesthat

is, across the way in which such tensions are negotiated.

Defining the Domains of Sustainability

Instead of treating social life as something separate from the economy, the approach discussed here starts with the social and conceptually divides it into four domains of practicethe economic, the ecological, the political and the cultural. This is not to relegate the social to a background feature of human practice, but rather a deliberate decision to put sociality at the centre of all questions about sustainability. It means that the econo-

my is treated as one of the social domains rather than something separate from the social with its own intrinsic rules and norms. This not to suggest that the four domains are in practice completely divided spheres of activity. All that is being said here is that it is useful for analytical purposes and for assigning metrics to treat them as separable realms. It does not mean that we cannot talk of the culture of economics or the economics of ecology. Neither does it mean that we are simply taking for granted the contemporary sense of a separate domain of the economy, as distinct for example from the political, which

Materials
EN1 EN2 Materials used by weight or volume. (Core) Percentage of materials used that are recycled input materials. (Core)

Energy
EN3 EN4 EN5 Direct energy consumption by primary energy source. (Core) Indirect energy consumption by primary source. (Core) Energy saved due to conservation and efficiency improvements. (Additional)

Water
EN8 EN9 EN10 Total water withdrawal by source. (Core) Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water. (Additional) Percentage and total volume of water recycled and reused. (Additional)

Biodiversity
EN11 Location and size of land owned, leased, managed in, or adjacent to, protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas. (Core) Description of significant impacts of activities, products, and services on biodiversity in protected areas and areas of high biodiversity value outside protected areas. (Core) Habitats protected or restored. (Additional)

EN12 EN13

Emissions, Effluents, and Waste

EN16 EN17 EN18 EN19 EN20 EN22 EN23 EN24 Total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight. (Core) Other relevant indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight. (Core) Initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reductions achieved. (Additional) Emissions of ozone-depleting substances by weight. (Core) NOx, SOx, and other significant air emissions by type and weight. (Core) Total weight of waste by type and disposal method. (Core) Total number and volume of significant spills. (Core) Weight of transported, imported, exported, or treated waste deemed hazardous under the terms of the Basel Convention Annex I, II, III, and VIII, and percentage of transported waste shipped internationally. (Additional)

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Table 8 Some examples of indicators or metrics from the GRI

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is not supposed to interfere with the mechanisms of the market. That is a peculiarly modern understanding of the relationship between the economy and the political which arose historically with the establishment of capitalism as the dominant mode of production and exchange. It is relevant that the concept of ecology was coined at the turn of the nineteenth into the twentieth century and derived from the same Greek word oikos meaning house, dwelling place, habitation as in the concept economy. Part of the more recent confusion is that, with the dominance of capitalism, there has arisen an understanding of the economic that takes it in both directions. On the one hand, economic considerations are treated as having spread into all aspects of life, and, on the other, the economic is projected as a necessarily separate domain based on the imperative of market freedom. Within each of these domains, the difficult task of negotiating a set of indices remains. The following discussion sets out both to define the domains and begin to consider how they relate

to various metrics. In the final version of such an indicator set, like the Global Reporting Initiative framework, we would seek to have some core metrics (to allow for some comparability) and a large number of additional interrelated metrics which a body considering sustainability might choose from or add to (to allow for contextual relevance).

the economic domain

The economic domain is defined in terms of activities associated with the production, use, movement, and management of resources, where the concept of resources is used in the broadest sense of that word.
The domain of economics bears upon questions of production, exchange, consumption, organization, and distribution of goods and services, as well as the criteria for value that coincide with such relations. While the social

scientific sub-discipline of economics deals with important aspects of the economic domain as it is being conceptualized here, economics most often focuses exclusively upon quantitatively appraising the value and costs of production and distributive activities, and the market opportunities for active consumption. Such an approach is unsuited to the present aims, because in failing to account for where it is that (economic) value comes from, economics as a discipline tends to take as given the ends of economic activity. As such, the concept of an economic domain that is used here takes a step back and aims to look more closely at how value is constituted as a meaningful thing in and through the relations of exchange and production. That is, rather than privileging the technique currently predominant in the economic domainthat is, capitalistic markets mediated via abstract value (money) as the medium for exchangethe approach takes as given only that people draw upon resources to produce and exchange things, knowledges, and services in order to in order

a b Cultural Economic Sustainability Sustainability A B C D 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5

c Ecological Sustainability 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5

d Political Means/Sources Sustainability of Verification 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 1-2-3-4-5 Policy documents, Reports, Legislation. Quantitative Data Government Reports, Institutional Reports, Qualitative Evaluation Quantitative Data Government Reports, Institutional Reports, Qualitative Evaluation

Table 9 Extract of Circles of Sustainability assessment

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to maintain and enhance their lives. In this sense, key indicators of economic sustainability currently in use may be too narrowly conceived.19 For example, the unemployment rate, the percentage of persons participating in paid work in the formal economyoften determined quantitatively as a measure of workforce participationis a useful indicator only when is put in social context. It depends firstly on how the unemployment rate is determined: for example, in Australia, the United States, and Britain, an employed person is defined as working more than an hour in a week. Insofar as it is not possible to sustain ones self on one hour of paid work per week under almost any circumstances without other support this makes the figures suspect. Secondly, it depends upon the relationship between formal employment, wage levels and the cost of living. Even if the unemployment rate is set at a higher number of hours, such an indicator fails to draw attention to the average wage rate. People living in a city with low rates of unemployment might also be mired in working poverty because wage rates are too low. Alternately, such an indicator fails to draw attention to the number of hours that employed people work. People with jobs in a city with a high unemployment rate, and which may even have a good social security system, might be working unsustainably long hours even though they are paid relatively well. Thirdly, in many places and arguably across much of the Global Southunemployment measured on such terms is deeply problematic for reasons that turn on the relationship between the formal, the informal economy and the nature of social reproduction. The monetary aspects of the economic domain in cities

and communities across the Global South often take a subordinate place to non-monetary forms of economic activity. In terms of the overall goal of achieving sustainable development, enhancing the informal economic means of reproducing ones life might be more sustainable than advocating increased involvement in monetarized economic relations. The indicators or metrics of sustainability in the Economic Domain might include some of the Global Reporting Initiative indicators, but they would need to be rewritten in significant ways to make them relevant to other bodies than just corporations. To these we would consider adding other metrics such as the local minimum cost of living (that is, the socially defined poverty level taking into account the nature of economic reproduction); the proportion of population involved in sustainable subsistence agriculture (the first 2,500 Kilojoules per day from produce grown); or the proportion of population involved in in-kind trading networks (the first 2,500 Kilojoules per day from produce grown). More importantly, we would argue that the subdomains of economics as presented by the GRI need rethinking. Again this entails going back to basics to consider economics as a set of practices rather than an ideologically understood series of outcomes such as economic performance or market presence. We suggest the following subdomains:
1. Production and Resourcing 2. Exchange and Distribution 3. Consumption and Leisure 4. Work and Welfare 5. Technology and Fabrication 6. Wealth and Allocation 7. Other

the ecological domain

The ecological domain is defined in terms of the intersection between the social and the natural, focussing on the important dimension of human engagement with and within nature.
This is to emphasize thatdespite the fact that the natural environment is a material reality that extends beyond the human experience of it, and despite the increasing capacity of technoscience to reconstitute elements of naturethe ecological domain in the broadest sense as both social and natural. This is not quite the same as the point most crudely made in arguments which suggest that nature is always socially constructed or we are seeing the end of nature. Certainly, more and more of nature is being physically reconstructed, but it is important not to lose sight of the fact that nature continues as a realm beyond the human even as it includes us as biological beings. Nature beyond the human always bears back upon the human condition, and this has consequences for dealing, for example, with natural disasters and what used to be called Acts of God. Some examples of indicators or metrics in the Ecological Domain, which extend the GRI sets, may include indicator sets widely used in ecological economics: HANPP (human appropriation of net primary production); EROI (energy return on energy input); Ecological Footprint; MIPS (material input per unit service). Other ecological indicators or metrics used might include biodiversity across locality, preservation of

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species across locality, and carbon kilograms per head of population per year (carbon footprint mean). Here, the suggested subdomains are as follows:
1. Earth, Water and Air 2. Flora and Fauna 3. Place and Habitat 4. Materials and Energy 5. Building and Infrastructure 6. Emission and Waste 7. Other

in corporations, non-government organizations, and even non-formal institutions such as the family to the extent that relations of authority pertain in a relatively generalized and enduring way. Here the GRI framework does not help us very much though it does have suggested indicators around the question of corruption. Indicators of sustainability in the political domain might include the following, but note that this first take on the political domain has begun with conventional indicators that focus on the state and citizenry: citizens participation in electoral processes; presence of independent political parties; availability of representatives to electorate for consultation; accountability of government body to citizenry; and the number and intensity of armed conflicts per decade. They would be organized in relation to the following subdomains:
1. Organization 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

the Political domain

The political domain is defined in terms of practices of authorization, legitimation and regulation, where the parameters of this area extend beyond the conventional sense of politics as concerning the state to include not only issues of public and private governance but also basic issues of power.
In this sense, politics is not just a practice restricted to governments. It is carried on in space and over time, anchored in bodies, and is extended or amplified, withheld or diminished through technologies and the techniques and knowledges associated with their uses. The political is derived etymologically from the Greek concept of the polis or city, hence the concept of polity as a organized governance system, but we extend it here to include all processes of authority formation including those that occur

and Governance Rights and Justice Communication and Dissemination Representation and Negotiation Conflict and Insecurity Dialogue and Reconciliation Other

Like all the other domains, this apparently simple domain of human life is extraordinarily difficult to define simply.20 It has its etymological history in the concept of cultivation or tending including the cultivation of nature such as in agriculture, and then later the cultivation of character and aesthetics. While the dominant contemporary use of the concept of the cultural is in relation to the arts or popular culture, we have defined it here more broadly to emphasize patterned expressions of social meaning that include but extend beyond either the culture industries or the realm of the aesthetic. In working towards a set of relevant indicators, here again the GRI framework does not provide us with much help. Examples of indicators of sustainability in the cultural domain might include the following: the number of sacred places in a given area and the way in which they are recognized, used or maintained; the number of community celebrations or festivals in given area per year and the level of public involvement; and the percentage of individuals who feel that they have adequate access, freedom and time for artistic activity.21 The subdomains for culture can be analytically distinguished as follows:
1. Engagement and Placement 2. Symbolism and Aesthetics 3. Memory and Projection 4. Enquiry and Learning 5. Wellbeing and Resilience 6. Reproduction and Affiliation 7. Other

the Cultural domain

The cultural domain is defined in terms of practices, discourses, and material expressions, which, over time, express continuities and discontinuities, and commonalities and differentiations, of meaning.
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Qualitative Engagement: Moving Beyond Traditional Indicators

Developing an indicator set on these terms involves long-term social commitment of the par-

ticipants. Alongside and integral to the task of deciding on the metrics that will inform our understanding of the four domains, Level One begins with something of a sustainability self-definition task. This task is designed to get the process moving, and forms a discrete but complimentary aspect of the wider research effort of social mapping. One of the first tasks of the project is to ask how the body in question defines itself as such. This encourages participants to set out some objective criteria that establish where their community, city, or institution is located in space, in time, and within wider societal contexts. This task takes place in conjunction with a questionnaire and series of strategic interviews and conversations that are designed to establish some of the subjective understandings of the body in question. While this might include things like exploring historical relationships with other communities, cities, and/ or institutions for example, such matters are not at this stage central concerns of the mapping task. Included in the approach at this level is the need for development of a social profile. This is intended to provide a high-level, strategic view of the community, city or institution.22 This part of the project is strategic, and will serve as a guide and overview of the bodys aims and objectives, as well as a timeline for the project and identification of key participants and those affected by its implementation. In summary, this initial stage will build up a profile of the social body and its place in the world. The objective is for participants, and members of the collaborating research team to come to some understanding of what the social body is, and how it is situated within the world. To this end we suggest

that a series of four questions are useful to framing the first level of self-assessment: A What is the depth of awareness of (a. questions of cultural sustainability; b. questions of economic sustainability; c. questions of ecological sustainability; d. questions of political sustainability)? B How adequate have been the practical responses to (a, b. c. d)? C How appropriate have been the resources brought to bear on (a, b. c. d)? D How well have responses to (a, b. c. d) been monitored?

to further resources, mindful of the need to account for sustainable development to citizens, in order to increase sustainability in globalizing conditions. Hence, the over arching questions from Level OneWhat is it that makes a city or community sustainable? What is it that, when present or missing, makes a city or community unsustainable?are in Level two complemented by two further guiding questions: Who benefits and who loses in the current situation and how might this change as different practices are negotiated? What does it mean, for present and potential beneficiaries and losers, to negotiate these matters? The key questions in Level Two are designed to elicit reflection upon how some of the most important over-arching issues that inform social life in space and over time might contribute to or detract from the goal of achieving sustainability. Below are the seven social themes that constitute the basis for negotiating the boundaries within which indicators of community sustainability need to be established. Represented in the form of pairs of related concepts, each social theme draws attention to major sources of tension within communities. Participants are asked to reflect upon and substantiate the objective position of their community in relation to each of the themes, within the social domains of economics, ecology, culture and politics.
1. participationauthority 2. identitydifference 3. securityrisk 4. equalityautonomy 5. needslimits 6. belongingmobility 7. inclusionexclusion

The Approach in Practice: Level Two

The examples of indicators across the domains presented as part of Level One are helpful. However, these offer little room for actual negotiations over what it is people can put into making a city or community sustainable. The aim of going beyond traditional indicators is to negotiate over what constitutes knowledge about how best to practice city or community life, and to develop and implement learning and practice along these lines. Our suggestion is that it is only by engaging in the task of deliberating over the normative criteria that frame possibilities for implementing these indicators that these can become guides to sustainable development practice. Hence, Level Two takes things a little further, and builds upon Level One by developing a deeper understanding of what goes into understanding how communities change over time in relation to broader societal contexts. It is aimed at understanding how best a city or community might develop the resources it has, and how it might better gain access 99

aPPendix

Each of these Janus-faced themes is embedded in existing debates that draw broadly from existing ethical traditions. The concepts contained within the pairs are in tension, but they are not opposites. Even within the various classical traditions ranging from socialism to liberalism, and from Confucianism to Christianity, there is no obvious answer to the question of what constitutes the good; therefore, the key question is how are these tensions socially negotiated within different settings in order to enhance positive sustainability. Because of constraints of space, we limit ourselves to describing two or three of those social themes and showing how they might work as possible qualitative indicators of social sustainability. It bears repeating, that in each case the central issue is to work through in practices how the associate concepts with such social themes are being (and will be) negotiated.

ParticipationAuthority
Across the tensions inherent in this social theme, participants need to think about how it is that participation in sectors of social life is related to the authority structures of the body in question. The assumption here is not that participation is better than authority, or vice versa. Rather, what is being brought into question is the degree to which people participating in social life can do so in a meaningful way, and how they do so in relation to the forms of authority exercised within their community, city or organization.

about how it is that notions of difference are related to social identity. The aim here is to elicit an understanding of how well a community, city or organization copes with difference, while being mindful of the fact that too much emphasis on difference can lead to fragmentation and dissolution of the strengths of a life in common. If a social identity is too strong, or too strongly enforced, this might give rise to an unsustainable and unjust xenophobia. On the other hand, if difference and diversity within a given body are given too much emphasis, then it may be weakened in political situations requiring a common voice, such as in negotiations over funding matters. For example, in terms of the political domain, this question is aimed at eliciting how power relations within the community might support a strong sense of identity that, as such, includes a capacity for coping with change. The key here is not how much diversity and how much commonality, but how the play of difference and identity is negotiated.

InclusionExclusion
Typically in contemporary debates, social inclusion is treated as a social good to be achieved and exclusion is a bad thing to be avoided.23 The issue that this very common conception of the problem elides is that in certain circumstance it is exclusion that leads to a social good. For example, in places where harassment is common or social difference is threatening, there may legitimately be a need to exclude outsiders from certain activities or placesfor example, excluding other than Moslem women from a public swimming pool on Thursday afternoons. Sometimes even the open and mobile presence of others in a zone of difference for example a customary sacred

siterenders that site cultural and politically dead. A second, and more abstract point, is that concentrating on overcoming questions of exclusion tends to leave issues of exploitation unaddressed. Unless, for example, we take seriously the forms of poverty specific to being marginalized under contemporary conditions of globalization, exclusion is seen to have no perpetrator. Seen in this way, exclusion or exploited inclusion is the form that poverty develops in conditions where the realization of profit occurs through organizing economic operations in [globalizing] networks. It represents the exploitation of the immobile by the mobile and therefore, suggests that a city, community, or organization act to tie-down the perpetrators of such exclusioninclusion exploitation.24 The point is that only by coming to grips with howon what terms and whoa city, community or organization includes and excludes some and not others that sustainable development in its most meaningful sense can be implemented. Although for the present purposes the seven social themes listed are more than sufficient for highlighting the complexity of social sustainability the list could be extended for example to include the following:
1. pastpresent 2. wellbeingadversity 3. local knowledgesexpert sys-

tems 4. mediationdisconnectedness 5. freedomobligation In practice, a particular city, community or organization could choose to investigate less than the seven social themes in the primary list. As with the four domains we would give guidance on the appropriate set of metrics that would be appropriate to throw-

IdentityDifference
Across this continuum, participants are called upon to think

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ing light on the different social themes. At this level, we also can repeat the same questions asked in Level 1, except that this time the questions are asked in relation to the social themes.

Grounding an Alternative Approach

While it seems complex on first presentation, the Circles of Sustainability approach attempts to reverse the privileging of technique over reflexively engaging in the world. Indicators-based projects often seem to perpetuate a particular set of epistemological and ontological assumptions concerning our place in the world. At risk of caricaturing important and helpful efforts aimed at achieving sustainability, it does seem that some indicatorscentred approaches embed uninterrogated ideas or beliefs about the social within the research task. Themes such as inclusion, participation, identity, and security are treated as if they can directly be translated into substantive empirical claims. Moreover, indicators projects tend to see the social world as a closed system or unit possessing system-like properties. Of course at one (very abstract) level, the globe is for all intents and purposes a closed system. However, we argue that such a perspective privileges the possibility that the world and its parts are objectively knowable as a closed system, and that pulling the levers up or down will give relatively automatic and predictable outcomes. This is a problem for several reasons. Research premised upon understanding the social in terms of system differentiation tend to assume an apolitical metaphor of harmonious interchange can characterize human activities.25 We suggest that it is precisely in humans capacity to critically evaluate and even dis-

rupt the interchange of power and value that efforts to practice sustainability need to be understood as dissolving or breaching systemic boundaries. Humans are able to imagine themselves and to act as if they are not part of a closed system environment. Indeed, it might be argued that it is precisely the untrammelled proliferation of human activities that is a key source of unsustainability. With this view in mind however, the question emerges as to what kinds of forces would need to be deployed in order to create a world where conformity with system requirements is enforced? As writers such as Val Plumwood have suggested, these would more than likely need to be both deeply unjust, and as such would ultimately prove unsustainable.26 A number of relatively recent indicators-based projects, themselves based in systems-theorizing, do recognize and attend to this problem. For example, Joanna Becker argues that there are sufficient similarities between Living and Social systems, such that the latter may be understood on the same terms as the former. In this view, healthy social systems consist of a diversity of inter-dependent but self-sufficient entities appropriate in scale and low in entropy so as to provide stability and durability while at the same time being responsive to the uncertainty and fragility of evolutionary succession.27 Arguably, a priori meta-theoretical claimsabout the positive benefits of diversity, the self-sufficient inter-dependency of atomistic units, and the applicability of evolutionary succession to social lifehang over such approaches. Although recognizing the need in indicators projects for what Simon Bell and Stephen Morse call a circular soft approach of beneficiary learning by stake-

holders.28 However, Beckers systems-theory tends to be uni-directional. It privileges an understanding of systems that can be known in their entirety. In this case, obscured behind the metaassumptions of systems-theorizing is the need for cities or communities to deal adequately with disputes over pressing human issues that often run contradictory to predicted system expectations. Some examples include the possibility that members of a city or community might legitimately call for homogeneity, as against diversity, or demand measures to institute strong other-reliance, by contrast with self-sufficient interdependency. A similar example is found in work by John Peet and Hartmut Bossel. They aim to develop an ethics-based systems approach to indicators of sustainable development. Moreover, the co-authors emphasize how a participatory process is essential, to ensure that both knowledge and value are appropriately incorporated into the process of developing indicators of sustainability. However, their set of basic orientors, which draw on systems-theory existence, psychological needs, effectiveness, freedom, security, adaptability and coexistence frame the participatory choice of indicators by a city or community.29 Once more in this example, it is suggested that certain metatheoretical assumptions pervade such an approach, which may in practice remove from a city or community the capacity to debate and learn from sustainability projects. Interestingly, Peet and Bossel elevate the ecological challenge to the position of a working deontological principle.30 While recognizing that the sustainability moral postulate is entirely sensible and reasonable for most people, positing some or other deontological ethical principle

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of sustainability from it obscures the actual problem. That is, positing a deontological principle of sustainability returns us to the abstraction that allows the social to be observed as a system. By contrast, the approach developed here recognizes that the problem of establishing sustainability arises precisely at the point where debating and negotiating over the ethical principles to be applied breaks down. Gerard Delanty has argued that, Science is increasingly becoming a communicative system that interacts reflexively with society.31 This understanding of scientific knowledge is important. As the threats posed by climate change to the sustainability of human society become increasingly urgent, the nature of scientific knowledge about the environment becomes increasingly relevant to concerns with sustainability. Indeed, scientific knowledge is increasingly being produced and acted upon in ways that respond to and represent concerns hitherto seen as part of the ambit of the social sciences or humanities. Indeed, scientific knowledge is increasingly being politicized and as such, subjected to external and non-scientific evaluation and critique. Conversely, Delantys point can be understood to mean that contemporary citizenship needs to be partially re-conceived on process of engagement; as a learning condition. This is an argument that Delanty himself has taken up in relation to a concept of cultural citizenship that is developed through engagement in social practices aimed at fostering communicative competencies.32 Meanwhile, at least since the Rio Summit and Brundtland re-

ports, the knowledge created by the social sciences is increasingly called upon by policy-makers as a means for preparing societies for climate change, and for developing sustainable ways of living. In this sense, the social sciences have come to occupy an interpretive space in society. Social scientific knowledges, especially when combined in research with knowledge from the natural sciences, constitute part of what Peter Wagner sees as part of the discursive self-understanding of social life. What is important about these understandings is that they not only help to demystify scientific knowledge and represent it as a part of social life, but they help to break down a legitimacy deficit between hard and social science forms of knowledge.33

Conclusion
Overall, it is argued that this approach will go some way towards responding to the key contemporary issue in the literature on auditing sustainabilitythe difficultly of discerning clear links between the development of an indicator programme and actual changes in decision-making and policy outcomes.34 It is often recognized that many indicators projects continue to show few signs of true engagement and dialogue with citizens over time, and that the endeavour to put sustainable development into practice by developing indicators is a difficult task in terms of citizen participation.35 Guiding the present set of suggestions for rethinking indicators-based projects is the primary claim that they tend to blur the possibilities for bringing into question the structures of social power and criteria for values that can support sustainable practices or challenge unsustainable practices. Indicators-based research can tend to

conflate structural conditions, institutional processes and desired outcomes under pre-ordained understandings of societal conditions, as if these were objectively knowable. To the contrary, an excessive emphasis upon quantitative data sets and metrics as generically constituting indicators can work to mask or occlude possibilities for appraising situations in terms of the quality of human practices for those participating in them. Indeed, it has been suggested that educating stakeholders about the process of achieving sustainable development may be the most important result of the indicator selection process, even if implementation remains uncertain.36 While projects such as Sustainable Seattle and the Regional Vancouver Urban Observatory hold a deep commitment to expressions of citizens values, based on the vision of what residents want for themselves, their families and their communities,37 we want to take things further. That is, we want to engage people in the job of achieving sustainability as a task of itself, while being located within a framework of global collaboration that brings together cities as sites of local-global sustainability governance. The problem confronting research into sustainability that is aimed at developing indicators therefore appears as one of understanding on what terms a city, community, or organization creates and reproduces itself: in local-global space and over time. Recognizing this as a problem creates demands that the research engage with the social body that is being studied as well as examine how relations of power and its legitimation and criteria for socially determining values affects the task of achieving sustainable practices. Our argument is that achieving sus-

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tainable development is the task of reflecting upon the nature of development, and creating and implementing societal practices, such that people in place themselves create and reproduce their own ways of life, which meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Seen in this way, sustainable livingincluding sustainable producing, exchanging, communicating, organizing and enquiringrequires both local and globalizing knowledges. One side of the process of developing indicators of sustainability and implementing sustainable development involves learning about and negotiating over what constitutes knowledge about how best to practice sustainable, city or community life. Learning in this sense requires on the one hand that the epistemological status of expert abstracted knowledges is contextualized and qualified in the process of dialogue with citizens. On the other hand, it also means that citizens and planners have a responsibility that goes beyond minimally conceived rights and duties or stakeholder capacities and responsibilities. In this case it means citizens and planners trying to understand the implications of indicator systems beyond getting excited or depressed by the placement of ones city or community high or lowon taken-for-grant league tables. The emergence of this basic social competence in thinking about sustainable development requires an open sceptical questioning of both local visions and the taken-for-granted meaning of various presentations of indicators of sustainability in achieving those visions. It entails relating indicators to a broad commonsense of liveability in relation the possible economic,

ecological, political and cultural consequences of different pathways of development. In this light, any project engaging with people in a city to develop appropriate indicators of sustainability is an ethico-political project of co-operative practice. It is a practice best effected in the intersection of considerations over how institutions of local and global governance can work together. In effect, we are proposing a neo-deliberative approach to the in-common and ongoing task of delineating and enacting sustainability as a normative goal. This contrasts with accepting the Habermasian premise that deliberation is or can be freed of value-considerations and so offer normative criteria in itself. Rather, the approach developed here recognizes that a relative consensus on the norms or principles that will orient a city, community or organization to sustainability needs to be established as a point of departure by those holding different value commitments as they enter the debate. This relative consensus will most often not meet the standard set by communicative rationality. Therefore, interlocutors require a framework like the one developed here need to manage the situation. The task then of dialogically working together in a negotiated practice of intersecting governance can expose unsustainable practices, unhelpful relations of power and inappropriate ways of valuing things. In the words of the Regional Vancouver Urban Observatory, Urban indicator projects attempt to create consensus around shared values and key trends. 38 The requirement of negotiating over the effects of implementing sustainable development practiceswho benefits or loses out, which institutions or groups are empowered or disempowered, 103

what kinds of overall benefits accrue to a city, community or organization, or what kinds of losses will be taken on by a city, community or organizationis central to their success. To a large extent, sustainable development as a societal practice requires the approval and acceptance of those it involves. This claim holds in relation to macro-issues, such as urban-planning regulations, as well as micro-issues, such as kerbside recycling programs. Without the involvement and support of citizens, members and/or workers, sustainable development as a societal practice will fall short of its aims. To make this point is not to ignore or diminish the need for regulations or even punitive measures such as restrictions on resource exploitation or fines for non-compliance or participation. It is to suggest that these regulations need to be developed, negotiated and understood in the broader context of national-state and globalizing conditions as part of a commitment to sustainability. Indeed, it is the commonalities and continuities of the social worldin all their complexities and abstractions as global relations, states, cities, communities, and administrative, legislative, economic and civil institutions that make negotiating the complex intersecting dimensions of sustainability possible. An approach which begins at this level of generality and simultaneously takes into account, and encourages, critical reflection upon the differences between cities-inplace, we suggest, offers much more than all the high-profile global summits put together, with their dead-end agreements over metrics and levels of unsustainability.

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aPPendix 2
Melbourne is the capital city of the state of Victoria in the federated democracy of Australia. The city has a broad multicultural population of 3.8 million (2008 Australian Bureau of Statistics figure) and a built-environment radiating outwards from a densely urbanized centre into a region of massively sprawling suburbs, peri-urban zones of mixed use, and then a hinterland of dry-land farming and bushland. The city is situated in a temperate climatic zone, with cool winter-autumns and longer, warm-to-hot springsummer seasons. Historically, the city emerged out of two processes. Firstly, in the context of the British imperial project in the late-eighteenth century to displace the indigenous population and settle Australia, colonial efforts in the early-nineteenth century went into regularizing the township and relations with the numerous Aboriginal groups that already inhabited the area at the mouth of the Yarra River. Secondly, Melbourne grew rapidly in the mid-nineteenth century after a series of gold rushes. As primary industries, in particular wool growing, in the region expanded, Melbourne became a key global trading port. In the twentieth century, Melbournealong with Sydneywas central to the industrialization of Australia. The city attracted working-class immigrants from around the world, but particularly from southern Europe and the Balkans in the immediate post-war period and then more recently from Vietnam in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Now, Melbourne is an intensely global city that continues to attract significant numbers of migrants. The last four censuses show that between 90 per cent and 95 per cent of overseas migrants coming to Victoria settle in Melbourne. Permanent migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds tend to settle in lower-cost housing in outer areas, while temporary migrants such as international students and wealthier business migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds tend to reside close to the city centre. Metropolitan Melbournes population is projected to increase by 1.8 million people between 2006 and 2036, growing to a population of 5.5 million by the mid-2030s.

Melbourne, Australia
move to void the deal in 1836, but news of the new settlements fertile soil spread, and people continued to arrive until the New South Wales Governor accepted the presence of the settlement and established political control over the community. The first urban plan, a grid pattern similar to that applied to colonial cities across the world, was established in central Melbourne from 1837. Known as Hoddles Plan, the grid differs from the common North and Central American city grids only insofar as both north and south running easements interpose (major) streets with (minor) lanes, and they are given names rather than numbers. From the early 1850s, Melbourne went through a period of rapid and enormous market-driven economic growth. Rising public revenues generated by massive population increase followed the discovery of gold in central western Victoria. Key groups arriving in the period were British, Irish, United States American, German and Chinese. The economic growth was accompanied by a large-scale construction boom from the 1860s until 1890 when the collapse of the global financial bubble that had been building for several decades reverberated across the colony. By 1900, Melbourne was Australias industrial centre and a world leader in the development of what would later become the social democratic political movement. However, while the city remained central to Australian political life and was the proxy national capital until 1927, the ensuing economic recovery was slow. Nonetheless, Melbourne workers were among the first in the world to achieve legislation mandating an eight-hour working day, and in 1908 the Harvester Judgement

Past and Present

In 1803, a colonial party was sent from Sydney to establish a British presence in Port Phillip Bay. However, the colonists landed on the arid and sandy eastern side of the bay near the present-day Sorrento, and, after five months of failure were evacuated. European settlers from Tasmania in 1835 established an agricultural settlement on the fertile northern side of the Yarra River that eventually developed into the present city. The colonial leader and entrepreneur John Batman sought out eight chiefs of local Aboriginal clans in 1835 and presented them with an assortment of trinkets, axes and blankets, requesting that they sign a document. Batman held up this document as a treaty of sale for 600,000 acres of land on which the city now stands; he boasted of being the greatest landowner in the world. Many Melbourne residents and descendants of the Aboriginal groups involved continue to recognize that the offering of gifts from Batman was only for passage through the territory. The Colonial administration did 104

established a minimum wage standard and industrial relations law system that was to remain in place in Australia for one hundred years. The city did not experience the Roaring Twenties phenomenon to the extent that other large metropolises around the world did. However, despite entering a period of economic stagnation also experienced at the time by global second cities such as Vancouver and Boston, major public infrastructure projects were undertaken, including the electrification of the suburban rail and tram networks and the construction of a brown-coal-fired electricity plant. By 1928, Melbourne was the dominant commercial/administrative centre of Victoria. It had a sophisticated electrified public transport system which was shaping the metropolitan area, with most of the present-day train and tram network in place. Owing to the nature of the land to the west, Melbourne showed a bias of development to the south and east which has been sustained to the present day. The global great depression of the 1930s further dampened economic growth in the city. However, by the 1950s Melbournes industrial production rose with the global post-war boom and again attracted migrants from around the world, in particular from the Mediterranean and Baltic regions. A spate of feverish modernization spread across the citys built environment in the 1950s, 1960s, and into the 1970s, though many major buildings erected in the gold rush era prior to 1890 were left standing and remain in use across the central business district today. By 1950, Melbourne had grown out further along the radiating railways and roads,

spurred on by high immigration, high birth rates, and the desire by an increasingly affluent population for suburban housing. In the 1970s, as the long economic boom faded, so the growth of Melbourne slowed: with high inflation and significant unemployment; with the first rumblings were coming from OPEC oil-producing countries which led to a quadrupling of oil prices; and with the placement of the oral contraceptive pill on the Medical Benefits List, reducing its cost while increasing its social acceptability (fertility rates dropped form 2.8 in 1971 to 1.8 in 1981). It was at this time that the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works published its new metropolitan plan, expanding its planning area and introducing a corridor green-wedge growth. Ironically the plan was being released as the momentum for growth was slowing. Even so, in 1974 the nine-corridor plan was cut down to three corridors plus two satellite townships. By the turn of the millennium, Melbourne had become a large suburban city. About two-thirds of the built-up area had been constructed since 1945, making it a very different city to somewhere like Greater London which had ceased its continuous outward growth around 1945 due to its green belt policy. The Melbourne of 2000 had continued the strong bias to the southeast and east. Three-quarters of the population lived east of a line drawn northsouth through the city.

which is linked to the Tasman Sea in the south by a narrow inlet. The Yarra River, originating in the upper reaches of the Yarra Ranges National Park about 240 kilometres east, flows out into the bay near the city centre. Metropolitan Melbourne stretches over an area of 8,831 square kilometres and had a population of 3.74 million at the time of the 2006 census. Cities with comparable metropolitan spatial and population profiles include the Vancouver Metro Region (2,877 square km) and Greater Boston (3,680 square km), but depending on where their boundaries are taken to end they do not have the same spread. Greater London, for example, is much smaller at 1,579 km. The inner coreformally called the City of Melbournecovers an area of 36.5 square kilometres with an estimated resident population in 2006 of 81,366 residents. As is the case in Canada and the United States, Australia is a settler society where great cultural, economic and political emphasis has been placed upon private family home-ownership. The ideal of the domestic quarter-acre block with home and garden for a nuclear family has thus entrenched high levels of demand for lowrise, low-density suburban housing. Given ecological considerations, important cultural shifts are required in relation to the normality of the single-family occupancy of standalone dwellings and the use of private transport for occupational, business and leisure practices. The hinterland surrounding Melbourne can be divided roughly into a number of zones. To the north lies relatively fertile soil that is suited to a variety of agricultural uses, while to the west

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Urban Environment
Metropolitan Melbourne is located in a temperate zone in the south-eastern corner of the Australian continental land mass. It is built around Port Phillip Bay 105

the land is characterized by heavy clay over basalt which is difficult to farm, while to the east and south-east the soils are sandy and of little agricultural value except when built up. Further away, the vast plains of central and western Victoria have been Australias most fertile agricultural region since the colonial settlement of the city. To the east of the city, massive coal deposits have been used to fuel electricity generation in the La Trobe Valley. The Melbourne metropolitan area is the cultural, political and economic hub for a number of provincial centres: the La Trobe Valley to the east and the cities of Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo to the west. Geelong is a major port and industrial city on the west coast of Port Phillip Bay, while the former gold mining centres of Ballarat and Bendigo lay inland to the northwest and are currently agricultural and service economy centres. Each of these cities is linked to Melbourne by rail and freeway, with some people commuting between them and metropolitan Melbourne.

transport services has increased in recent years. Most of the citys major attractions, including museums, galleries, cinemas and theatres, as well as its several major sporting facilitiesswimming centres, cricket, team-sports and tennis stadiumsare accessible by public transport. The Victorian Transport Plan sets the direction for transport planning and investment to 2020.2 The metropolitan area of Melbourne has thirty public hospitals and thirteen public health-centres. The network of Community Health Services covering the citys Eastern, North and West, and Southern Metropolitan Regions is recognized as Australias most comprehensive. Melbourne also hosts a number of internationallyrenowned medical, neuroscience and biotechnology research institutions. It has a number of major research and teaching universities as well as research centres for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL). Gas and electricity utilities in Melbourne were privatized in the mid-1990s. Electricity generation is highly reliant upon brown coal-fired power plants in the La Trobe Valley to the east of the city. These significant activities in Victoria and serving Melbourne contribute to Australia having one of the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the world. The controversial Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project, recently completed to enable entry of larger shipping vessels to Australias largest working port, has further challenged the environmental sustainability of the city. As have two other major and equally controversial waterinfrastructure projects: the Wonthaggi Desalination Plant and the Sugarloaf Pipeline Project, which centres upon a 70 km pipeline 106

linking the Goulburn River near Yea to the Sugarloaf Reservoir in Melbournes north-east at a cost of $750 million. The pipeline will distribute water to regional Victorian agricultural irrigators and increase natural flows to watercourses, while the desalination plant is intended to supply potable water to the city. A key environmental constraint upon the growth of the city is the availability of fresh water. The experience of a long-term drought affecting south-eastern Australia over the last decade has prompted the state government to set relatively stringent binding water restrictions upon commercial and residential water-use, but this was not seen as sufficient.

housing
Over 75 per cent of dwellings in the Melbourne metropolitan area are detached homes, characterized by single-family occupancy. High and medium-density dwellings are concentrated in the inner areas of the city. The number of informal dwellings is negligible. A key environmental issue relating to housing is that while the size of households in decreasing over time, the size of dwellings is increasing. Both demand for purchase and rental of all types of dwelling is extremely high, and this is set to continue into the future. As is the case across the rest of Australia, private ownership of dwellings, typically financed by twentythirty-year term mortgage loans, is the primary and popular means of obtaining a dwelling. High-density public housing makes up only a small percentage of dwellings, and these are concentrated in the inner areas of the city. Public housing is spread across the middle and outer areas and comprises largely of single family occupancy dwellings.

urban infrastructure
Most of Melbournes building stock was constructed prior to official recognition of the need for environmentally-sustainable construction methods, which raises environmental issues especially in relation to thermal insulation and water metering in multiple occupancy dwellings. Melbourne has an extensive public transport system, based on rail, tram and bus networks. Once a publiclyowned system, the transport services are now all privately owned and managed. Due to population growth and rising automotive fuel costs, demand for public

Politics

At the municipal level, Metropoli- the electoral process is compulsotan Melbourne is administratively ry for all adult citizens eighteenand politically divided into thirty- years-old and over, and non-comone local government regions. Of pliance is penalized by a fine. The these, twenty-six are designated citys main broadsheet, The Age, cities and five are shires. The hosts regular discussion of urCity of Melbourne is the most ban political, cultural, economic prominent among these. Local and environmental issues, as do councils are largely responsible city area-based newspapers such for planning and waste manage- as The Melbourne Times. Local ment within their geographical councils across the metropolitan areas, and also provide library region frequently host commuand public information services, nity forums and public consultawith the local town hall often tions on planning, environmental doubling as a community centre. and social issues. Agencies of the Metropolitan and state-wide gov- State Government regularly unernance is the responsibility of dertake community engagement the Victorian State Government. This includes responsibility for metropolitan and state-wide land use and transport planning and implementation, public transport, main roads, traffic control, policing, primary, secondary and in part, tertiary education, healthcare and planning for major infrastructure Urban life in Melbourne, Australia projects. Of the eighty-eight state electoral in relation to a vast range of plandistricts in Victoria, fifty-five are ning, development, infrastrucin metropolitan Melbourne. The ture and other issues, and such Australian Federal Government engagement is also sometimes a holds responsibility for national feature of Federal political issues. violence matters, including the majority of Politically-motivated taxation issues, and twenty-one is largely unknown. While relafederal electorates lay within the tively minor corruption scandals periodically erupt at the level of Melbourne metropolitan area. local government, politics in the Citizen Participation city are on the whole transparent As with all federal, state and lo- and in accordance with liberalcal council elections in the Com- democratic principles. The State monwealth of Australia, voter Governments A Fairer Victoria registration and participation in social policy action plan seeks 107

to address disadvantage and promote inclusion and participation.3 Almost all local councils in the metropolitan area have developed and implemented social inclusion policies that are specifically designed to address the needs of particular neighbourhoods or districts.

informal Political Systems

Large business groupings, trades unions and social and environmental organizations are based in the city, and are vocal on many urban issues. These include the peak body representing Austral-

ian corporations, the Business Council of Australia, the peak body representing Australian workers, the Australian Council of Trades Unions, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the United Nations Global Compact Cities Programme, the influential quango Environment Victoria, and a large local chapter of the global environmental organization Friends of the Earth. In keeping with Melbournes diversity of cultures, the city is home to a strong and influential group of

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ethnic and cultural organizations dedicated to advancing the political and cultural interests of their members. Key forums for these groups are hosted by the Victorian Multicultural Commission and Multicultural Arts Victoria.

ropolitan Melbourne speaking a language other than English at home (based on 2006 census figures). The city is home to significant British, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, New Zealand, Greek, Indian, Sri Lankan, Malaysian, Croatian, German, Maltese, South African, Macedonian, Hong Kong Chinese, Polish, Pilipino, Lebanese, Dutch and Bosnian-born residents, as well as increasing numbers of persons born in the Horn of Africa countries and the Sudan. The city is home to large Italian, Greek, Maltese, Vietnamese and Chinese communities. A large influx of Europeans of Jewish faith also arrived in Melbourne in these decades, making a major global centre of Judaic culture. The city hosts a number of refugee-immigrant communities. In the late 1960s and into the 1970s, large groups of refugee-immigrants arrived from the Lebanon and Vietnam, and more recently have settled in the city from the Sudan and Horn of Africa countries. Melbourne is also home to large Orthodox Christian communities from various nations, and communities from each of the major Islamic traditions. Although the phenomenon of ethnic enclaving has not been apparent in the city, several different areas of Melbourne possess a distinctive character that is linked to a particular culture. Languages other than English spoken at home across the city include, in declining order, Italian, Greek, Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Macedonian, Turkish, Spanish, Croatian, Maltese, Polish, Tagalog, German, Serbian, Russian, Sinhalese, Hindi, French, Indonesian, Khmer, Hungarian, Tamil, Netherlandic, Persian, Japanese, South Slavonic, Samoan, Portuguese and Korean (2001 figures).

educational attainment
According to figures in the ABS 2006 Census for the Melbourne area, 15,216 males and 37,677 females had no formal school education; 93,092 males and 214,901 females had only primary school education; while 652,231 males and 702,737 females had completed the highest level of high school. It is estimated that the relatively high overall numbers of people with only primary or no educational attainment, and the high proportion of these people who are female, (practically 2:1) is a condition of the citys high migrant and refugee population. Such estimates are supported by the inverse figures for highereducation attainment, where fractionally more females than males hold university or higher degrees, which suggests that established groups are more likely to attend university than recent arrivals. Education infrastructure across the city is well developed by world standards. Melbourne has 837 government schools and approximately 600 religious and independent schools. There are eight main university campuses in the metropolitan area: the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, La Trobe University, Deakin University, the Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria University and the Australian Catholic University. Other universities with a presence in the city include Ballarat, Central Queensland, Charles Sturt and James Cook universities, which cater primarily for international students.

land-tenure System
Within the metropolitan area, residential land-use makes up 47 per cent, most of which is privately-held freehold properties with some social (state-owned) housing, and followed by industrial use, public parks and conservation areas. Commonwealth-controlled land has declined significantly over the last fifty years, and accounts for only 0.5 per cent of land-use. The proportion of land dedicated to conservation and parkland in the expanding city has declined over this period, even though the area occupied by such land has increased threefold. The size of the city itselfthe sum of all land-use areas combinedhas increased fourfold since 1951. Debates over political issues continue shape the social and built environment across the metropolis, especially in relation to mitigation of and adaptation to climate change.

Culture
The area now occupied by the city had for about 40,000 years been inhabited by Aboriginal peoples, primarily of the Wurundjeri-Willam, Boonwurrung and Wathaurong tribes, and was an important meeting place for several Kulin clans. Aboriginal Australians continue to have a significant presence in the city, especially in inner northern and western suburbs. In metropolitan Melbourne, 29 per cent of residents were born overseas, with 26 per cent of residents in met-

Celebration, events and rituals

Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympic Games, an event which is widely seen as the citys introduction to the world. Other ma-

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jor events in the city that attract international audiences are the horse-racing Melbourne Cup and associated Spring Racing Carnival, the automotive Melbourne Grand Prix and the Melbourne Open Tennis Tournament. Melbournians are avid observers and participants in a range of sports. The Melbourne Cricket Ground hosts an international test match every Boxing Day (26 December). Melbourne is both the historical home of Australian Rules football, which is played professionally in front of large crowds from March until September. The city also hosts a professional Rugby League football team, which plays in the National Rugby League competition from March to September. Melbourne hosts a professional Association Football (soccer) team, which plays in the national A-League competition from August to March. Across Melbourne throughout the year, people play all of these sports, as well as highly popular netball, golf, hockey and basketball games, at local fields and parks. Regular events include the ANZAC Day Memorial March, a national day of remembrance commemorating the contributions and sacrifices of Australian military service men and women. Public cultural events held in Melbourne include the International Film Festival, Writers Festival, the city is a UNESCO City of Literature, an International Comedy Festival and, the city is frequently ranked among the worlds most liveable cities by commercial ratings agencies. Melbourne hosts the Moomba Parade in May each year, a commercially-driven parade (once controversially) organized by city businesses in the 1950s to coincide with May Day celebrations. It has since largely displaced the original celebration. The Royal Agricultural Show presents re-

gional agricultural products to the city in a carnival atmosphere in March-April and the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show provides a forum for the citys gardeners. Multicultural events include the Greek Antipodes Festival, the Melbourne Italian Festa, the Asian Food Festival and Australian Chinese New Year Celebrations which centre upon the citys long-established Chinatown. The city has around 5,000 cafs and restaurants, and hundreds of bars and nightclubs are scattered across the inner city and middle sectors of the metropolitan area, largely around existing public transport hubs. Melbourne has many commercial popular music and talk-based radio stations, as well as a number of uniquely popular, well-supported community (public) radio stations offering popular and classical music. Attending live music events is a popular pastime, and large sports stadiums regularly host international touring popular musicians, while a number of dedicated venues and bars host performances by classical, jazz and popular artists.

Melbourne@5million, the Central Business District located in the City of Melbourne council area remains the focal point for the economy of the metropolis. The GDP per capita for Melbourne at the end of 2008 was USD$30,700, with an overall GDP of USD$611.7 billion.

labour markets and work

The Melbourne metropolitan area represents a significant financial centre not only for Australia, but also for the wider Asia-Pacific rim, containing the headquarters of several large banks and corporations, and important manufacturing industries. The sea-port is Australias largest with US$75 billions worth of trade moving through it annually. Melbournes ICT industry employs more than a third of Australias workforce in this sector and generates high rates of turnover and export revenue. The major sources of employment in Melbourne are property and business services, finance and investment services, and retail services, transport and storage, accommodation and cafes, manufacturing, and wholesale trade. Most businesses in Melbourne employ less than twenty people, and only 1 per cent employs more than 200 people. Overall labour-force participation varies across the metropolis, from 18 per cent to 69 per cent depending on the local government area, while female participation (which is more likely to be part-time) varies from 42 per cent to 49 per cent. As with the rest of Australia, anecdotal evidence suggests that the informal sector centres upon parttime, often student and female employment in bars, cafes and other small service sectors of the economy. The unemployment rate across Melbourne is around 4.5 per cent (2008 figures), which is close to the national average.

Economy
Like Australia as a whole, the prevailing economic system in Melbourne is a regulated capitalist market, jointly overseen by the federal and state-level governments. Although economic activity across the metropolis is widely dispersed and divergent, the city can be divided into three broad spatial sectors. The innercity areas are characterized by the predominance of finance, banking and high-level services industries, the middle sector is characterized by manufacturing and services; the outer areas by manufacturing, services and small-scale agriculture, such as market gardens. Although set to change under the influence of

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109

Unlike comparable North American and European cities, but like other Australian cities, spatiallyconcentrated poverty and social dislocation are highest on the peri-urban fringes. Inner city areas are largely areas of high per capita wealth, yet concentrations of homelessness in the CBD do exist.

middle sector from west to east, and the outer south-east.

environmental impacts monitoring system

In Australia, state of the environment (SoE) reporting occurs at both the national and state/territory level. National reports provide information about environmental and heritage conditions, trends and pressures for the Australian continent, surrounding seas and Australias external territories. Victorias comprehensive SoE Report delivered by the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability in Victoria in 2008, covers a wide range of issues from details on the status of Victorias natural environment to the impacts of consumption and an analysis of climate change. The Melbourne 2030 strategy sets out nine criteria for measuring and assessing the environmental impacts of planning and development across the metropolis: ensure that water resources are managed in a sustainable way; reduce the amount of waste generated and encourage increased reuse and recycling of waste materials; contribute to national and international efforts to reduce energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions; reduce the impact of stormwater on bays and catchments; protect ground water and land resources; ensure that landuse and transport planning and infrastructure provision contribute to improved air quality; protect native habitat and areas of important biodiversity through appropriate land-use planning; promote the concept of sustainability and develop benchmarks to measure progress; and, lead by example in environmental management. The most important ecological trend is the climate change problem itself, and the response by

Ecology
Melbourne has extensive parkland and reserves of various sizes throughout the metropolitan area to protect ecosystems and to provide recreational opportunities. Melbourne 2030 designates twelve Green Wedges for protection from inappropriate development. The Green Wedges were once designated as spaces that cut into the greater city boundary; now, much less impressively, they designate non-urban areas that surround the built-up urban areas. The government has announced in 2009 that it will establish a 15,000 hectare grassland reservation to protect some of the worlds largest remaining concentration of Volcanic Plains Grasslands, as well as a range of other habitat types including wetlands, riparian habitats and scattered open grassy woodlands. While this sounds good on the face of it, the announcement was made in the context of a decision to extend dramatically the urban growth boundary across these open areas. It is estimated that less than one-third of native vegetation remains in the metropolis, with approximately one-third of what remains situated on private property. There are over eighty introduced plant-species that cause significant damage to waterways in the metropolis. Natural areas at risk form an arc across the

city institutions and citizens to it. Given continued dry weather, water-usage patterns are of paramount concern, and efforts to rein in water-consumption rates by industry and householders will shape metropolitan growth and change in the future. Similarly, efforts to reduce emissions from transport and electricity generation will also shape the metropolis. To a lesser yet still important extent, the need to address hard-waste landfill and damage to waterways, flora and fauna will emerge as other key drivers of change. It is estimated that the Ecological Footprint for those living in the Melbourne metropolitan area is 4.5 hectares per person, which is 3.5 times the global average per person. Average temperatures are predicted to increase by 0.7o Celsius over the next 65 years. Waterways and storage dams to the east of the city supply most of the potable water to 75 per cent of the population, and are currently under severe pressure. Motor transport is a major contributor to airborne pollution across the city, and mortality due to airborne pollutants is higher than that attributed to vehicle accidents. It is questionable whether or not Melbourne@5Million provides a plan that can respond to this complexity. It has included a number of refinements to Melbourne 2030: Designation of six new Central Activities Districts with functions like Melbournes Central Business District; Employment corridors to improve accessibility to jobs and services and reduce congestion on the transport network; Provision for 600,000 new dwellings by 2026, with established areas to accommodate

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53 per cent and growth areas to accommodate 47 per cent of new dwellings; Proposals to extend growth areas with a focus on the north and west to accommodate future population growth and align with significant transport projects, with proposals set out in Delivering Melbournes Newest Sustainable Communities (June 2009); More efficient use of greenfield land with a target of fifteen dwellings per hectare; Creation of two grassland protected areas in Melbournes west.

Conclusions About the Present

Melbourne, like metropolitan regions across the globe, is confronting the challenge of providing for substantial population growth in an economically, ecologically, politically and culturally responsible manner. The approach to managing growth is sometimes characterized as a choice between the extremes of urban sprawl or high density towers across suburbia. Within these extremes, urban sprawl is sometimes characterized as being associated with poor transportation options, neighbourhoods that are not pedestrian-friendly, loss of valued non-urban land, and associated environmental and health impacts. However, restricting land supply is also criticized for the impact it has on housing affordability and housing choice. At the same time, there is community concern regarding the impacts of intensification on existing urban amenity and the greater complexity of developing housing amongst existing urban fabric. Finding a path through these chal-

lenging issues and the extremes of views represents a significant challenge. While Melbourne 2030 included a focus on getting more housing and development into established areas, it also decided politically that there would continue to be a need to provide for some outward growth. Substantial effort has been focused on growth area planning since the release of Melbourne 2030 and has included undertaking longterm planning for growth areas and establishing a Growth Areas Authority to work in partnership with local councils, developers and infrastructure providers to ensure effective co-ordination of growth area planning, infrastructure and service provision. This has also included a new emphasis on precinct structure planning which involves designing new residential and employment areas on a suburb-by-suburb basis that allows much better integration of planning, with better infrastructure coordination and more efficient use of land and community expenditure. Despite this, Melbourne has continued to grow more unsustainable. Household growth over the first five years of Melbourne 2030 implementation has been broadly in line with what was anticipated with dwelling approvals at strategic redevelopment sites increasing from 25 per cent in 20012002 to 28 per cent in 20042005; and 48.3 per cent of household growth between 2001 and 2006 accommodated through green-field development. However, recently-released population projections (which will see an additional 600,000 dwellings needed in metropolitan Melbourne between 2006 and 2026), together with land-use and transport modelling, have indicated that the city faces severe pressures. In 2006, 1.86 million people had jobs in Melbourne. This is expect111

ed to grow to nearly 3 million in 2036. Most of these jobs are located in central and inner Melbourne, with a jobs ratio of more than three local jobs for every resident of working age. This ratio drops to 0.7 in Melbournes west and 0.8 in Melbournes east. The imbalance between the location of jobs and where people live is increasing congestion on the transport networks in the inner and middle suburbs. The predominance of single-direction travel during morning and evening peaks congests roads and public transport. Outer-suburban dwellers experience long commute times and are much more likely to use cars as their primary means of travel.

Melbourne Critical Reference Group

Caroline Bayliss (GCCP), Assoc. Prof. Meg Holden (Urban Studies and Geography, Simon Fraser University), Alex Fearnside (City of Melbourne), Prof. Paul James (Global Cities Institute, RMIT), Ms Liz Johnstone (Municipal Association of Victoria), Mary Lewin (International Congress of Metropolis), Stephanie McCarthy (GCCP), Prof. Mike Salvaris (Adjunct Professor GSS&P, RMIT), Dr Andy Scerri (Global Cities Institute, RMIT) Dom Tassone (State Government of Victoria), Wayne Wescott, (formerly of the International Council for Local Environments Initiative, ICLEI)), Andrew Wisdom (ARUP), Prof. John Wiseman (Director, McCaughey Centre, University of Melbourne), Sally Capp (Formerly Director of the Committee for Melbourne). The text is by Paul James and Andy Scerri, with thanks also to Liam Magee, Martin Mulligan, Heikki Patomki, and Supriya Singh.

aPPendix

aPPendix 3

Le Havre, France. Sustainable Tourism in the Seine Estuary

2009. All these projects show that the Estuary is aiming to show of sustainable tourism at a local regional level. The city believed

The City of Le Havre is a UNESCO World Heritage site located in the Seine Estuary. The city is constituted by old and new zones, industrial and ecologically-protected areas. The Estuary is the largest such complex in northwest France and one of the largest in Europe. The Seine Estuary has an international port, Grand Port Maritime du Havre, which forms the base of a strong economic activity but detracts from the regions attractiveness. Maritime activity is significant, and the port is flanked by a large industrial zone and agricultural areas. The region has an abundance of natural and built assets that offer significant potential for use by local communities and tourist populations. These include rich natural spaces: the Nature Reserve of the Estuary and the Regional Nature Park of the Boucles de Seine Normande (the Bends in the Normandy Seine); a coastal zone with a strong tourist tradition (Deauville, Trouville-surMer, Honfleur, Etretat); and modern architectural sites (the centre of Le Havre) and ancient ones (the abbeys of the Seine Valley, and numerous chateaux), as well as remarkable structures such as the Pont de Normandie (Normandy Bridge). Communities in the Seine Estuary share common tourism objectives and the region is also the target of major sustainable development projects, such as the EANA, Terre des Possibles Park, which opened in June 2008 in Gruchet le Valasse, and the Sea and Sustainable Development Centre in Le Havre, whose construction began in

Figure 24 Connections between the Tourist Sites across the Estuary

that a large industrial port area can co-exist with natural areas and sustainable tourism. In the end, the very diversity and originality of the Seine Estuary lie in all these differences.

that the development of a coherent and structured tourism strategy was necessary to meet the demands of the tourist population. A major focus of the proposed project is the revitalization of the industrial areas and the encouraging of other uses such as educational and sporting activities. A main challenge is for city leaders to communicate a positive message to the local residents and tourists. Key issues that drove Le Havres engagement were framed by the following questions: How best can the political, technical and socio-profes-

Engagement in the Cities Programme

In March 2006, the City of Le Havre joined the UN Global Compact Cities Programme with the objective of developing sustainable tourism. Mr Antoine Rufenacht, Mayor of Le Havre, proposed that the project work across the whole Seine Estuary. Le Havre was determined to investigate the theme

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sional players and the residents of the Seine Estuary be organized and brought together to make this territory more visible and more attractive? How can the Seine estuary be made into a recognized tourist destination? What is the most appropriate way for the tourist strategy to be based on the principles of sustainable development, and how can the sustainability of the region be improved and promoted in a coherent manner? The Sustainable Tourism Project aims to make the Seine Estuary into a tourist destination at a regional, national and international level. It aims to improve and promote the tourism opportunities and related sustainable tourism initiatives. It attempts to integrate land-use and transportation in the Seine Estuary so that tourists and locals can use either public transport or less polluting modes of transport to get from one site to another. It sets out to construct and promote the tourism opportunities of the Estuary by encouraging the development of water-sports, leisure activities connected with the coast, as well as those concerning the interior of the Estuary territory and its countryside.

de Mission Tourism of the five areas of the territory (Le Havre Pointe de Caux Estuaire, Hautes Falaises, Caux Valle de Seine, Risle Estuaire, Pays dAuge), the persons responsible for tourism in the Conseils Generaux, the persons responsible for tourism in the Conseils Rgionaux, the Managers of the Tourist offices (Le Havre, Honfleur, Etretat, Deauville, Fcamp, Pont-Audemer), and the local federations and syndicates of stakeholders in tourism. The public stakeholders engaged in the project are numerous. The private sector is represented by the providers of accommodation and restaurant-owners interested in the economic impetus connected with sustainable tourism. Local sports clubs and other associations represent the civil sector. A full list of participants is available on the Cities Programme website.

of 2007 an inventory of the installations for receiving tourists (restaurants and providers of accommodation) was developed, in order to analyse their attributes against the criteria for sustainable tourismecological, economic, cultural and political. The Local Secretariat worked with a number of hypotheses: that sustainable tourism is not a new form of tourism; that it entails an emphasis on quality which must be supported by professionals in the industry; and that the approach need not have as one of its objectives to create an additional label of sustainability but rather should seek to enhance the existing certifications so as to lead participants to further progress. After the first stage of consideration the following conclusions were drawn: That the current sustainability labels were not adequate in covering the broad criteria of sustainable tourism; That the environmental domain was the best represented of the various domains of sustainability; and That issues across the economic, political and cultural domains tended to be treated as background considerations, with the exception of the issue of tourism and disability. The second stage of the project, conducted across the summer of 2008, involved the distribution of a questionnaire on sustainable tourism to all the accommodation providers and restaurant owners in the Estuary so as to obtain a benchmark for the quality approaches undertaken. While the main objective was to better understand the realities of the situation in terms of tourist establishments, there were a number of ancillary objectives:

Implementation
In 2007, the Local Secretariat questioned the communitys understanding of the term sustainable tourism. It confirmed that whilst people had a good understanding of the environmental dimension of sustainability, the economic and culture domains of sustainability were not well recognized. The impetus for the project was given by the Comit des Elus de lEstuaire, an informal structure of elected politicians of the Estuary which regularly meets concerning various issues. The technical working group is responsible for implementation. Besides this, a limited critical reference group (a political steering group) has been recently constituted. Composed of part of the elected politicians of the Comit de lEstuaire, it carries out a regular monitoring of the dossier and validates the stages of it. Two stages have been accomplished. Firstly in the summer

The Local Secretariat

The territory is divided into several levels of organization: regions, departments, inter-communalities (communities of several towns), and municipalities. The Agence dUrbanisme de la Rgion du Havre (the Urban Planning Agency of the Le Havre region) which acts as secretariat for the Comit des Elus de lEstuaire, has been charged with this project. A technical working group came together, comprising the Chargs

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 To inform the tourism professionals about the notion of sustainable tourism and to make them aware of the wide interest in undertaking steps of this type; To propose to the tourism professionals lines of action easily achieved, and to incite them to take on activities of sustainable tourism; and To identify the best positioned establishments, and to understand how best to promote their activities.

to sustainable tourism. However, they considered that they lacked information on the big projects for the territory and regretted the low level of training and the lack of awareness. They also expressed a desire for more personalized

ist centres, public transport lines, the rambler circuits, the bicycle paths, the bicycle-hire stations; the existing theme circuits (the Cottages Route, the Cider Route and so on). These nodes and lines of connection were mapped in relation to each other with the map highlighting the existing efficient connections, the not-so-efficient connections, and the inadequate or nonexistent connections.

Promoting the Tourist Offerings

The project confronted obstacles to the implementation of the project which stemmed mostly from the multiplicity of stakeholders, the diversity of the participating organizations, and the different competencies of the industry professionals. Stakeholders were dispersed across both banks of the Seine, and getting political validation by each stakeholder has not been straightforward.

The thirty questions in the questionnaire were grouped under five topics: energy and water, waste and refuse, land and countryside, ecoconsumption and transport, and other social aspects. About 200 questionnaires were returned to the Agence dUrbanisme de la Rgion Havraise (AURH). The results of the questionnaire showed that the Seine Estuary tourism map. Imaged sourced: Local SecreTwo principles of providers of accom- tariat, City of Le Havre, France complementarity and modation holding a support in their steps towards coherence have guided the prosustainability label were more sensitive to the projects falling in improvement. Finally the survey motional campaigns for the tourthe field of sustainable tourism. indicated a real need for improve- ist offerings across the Estuary Hence 73 per cent of the replies ment in the public transport net- and helped to overcome obstacame from labelled establish- work and alternative transport in cles. Two promotional operations the Seine Estuary. were carried out: a public forum ments. on sustainable development and The survey showed that 90 per Movements and the Destination Estuary operacent of industry professionals said tion. These two events constitute Inter-modal Transport that they felt concerned, or even the high points of the project. very interested by the approaches A diagnostic investigation across The first edition of Destination the Estuary region was carried Estuary organized met with a out by AURH on transport and real success and brought together mobility. It took into account the five Countries of the Seine Esthe main tourist offerings, tourtuary. Each of the Countries was 114

provided with a dedicated space for the promotion of its territory and its attractions. The exhibition also provided a transversal space with round tables organized. The Sustainable Tourism forum on 30 October 2007 brought together the stakeholders in tourism at the same time as the Transat Jacques Vabre was being held in Le Havre. The day was organized with round tables on several topics: Sustainable tourism, a shared definition; Successful French experiences in matters of sustainable tourism; Achievements and projects for sustainable tourism in the Seine Estuary; and Concrete actions for the project of sustainable tourism in the Seine Estuary. The second edition of the Destination Estuary was held across 810 May 2009 in the Suspended Gardens of Le Havre in the form of an exhibition. It had the following objectives: To present the tourist products and advantages of the Estuary to the inhabitants of the territory; To promote tourist sites, products and advantages which fall into the context of sustainable tourism; To promote the big sustainability projects of the territory; and To unveil the wealth and diversity of the Estuary to visitors, to persuade them of the interest of this territory as a destination, and to entice them to come and stay again.

tasks:

action 1: develop the offerings of Sustainable tourism

Enhance the sensitivity of the accommodat ion-prov iders and restaurant owners to sustainable tourism through the services of the tourist offices. The objective here is to incite industry professionals to undertake a sustainable tourism approach through such activities as selective sorting of refuse, economies of water and energy-use, better insulation, and so on; Organize training courses in sustainable tourism for the accommodation-providers and restaurant-owners in the territory. The implementation of this item of the project would be achieved by calling on the services of the Chambers of Commerce of the Estuary; Design an internet page dedicated to sustainable tourism which would be identical for all the partners. This page would have the aim of informing the accommodation-providers and restaurant-owners about sustainable tourism. It would include three parts: general information on sustainable tourism; the existing courses on sustainable tourism; and the subsidies which the industry could claim; Draw attention to the sustainable tourism approach. It is notably envisaged to draw up a tourist map on which would be listed the tourist sites, the ramblers paths, the bicycle hire stations, and the establishments implicated in a sustainable tourism approach. This map would be made available to tourists in the Tourist Offices; and Continue the work on im-

proving the transport network already started with the partners of the projectinterurban buses, road and rail networks.

action 2: enhance the Sustainability of movement across the Seine estuary

Set up a river-sea shuttle-service between the towns of Honfleur, Deauville/Trouville and Le Havre. A study carried out during the summer of 2008 showed a real demand from the population. A second study on the financial feasibility of this project is underway. The first results should be known during the summer of 2009. These first two studies have been financed by the four local government bodies concerned. Besides this, a think-tank is working on the development of a river-service between Le Havre and Caudebec-en-Caux; Launch a study on creating a network of bicycle-hire stations. The objective here is to be able to take out a bicycle from one station and return it to any other station in the territory of the Estuary. The creation of an inter-modal tariff structure is also planned. Drawing up a concrete action programme regarding the improvement of the transport system in the Seine Estuary.

Action 3: Promote the Tourist Offerings

After the second edition of the Destination Estuary operation, other promotional actions for the tourist offer are envisaged, in the form of roving exhibitions organized in the Estuary region or, on other occasions, on a national or even international scale.

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Prospects of the Project

As the project goes forward we have set ourselves the following

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aPPendix 4
The City of San Franciscothe densely populated financial core of the metropolitan regionhas a population is 808,000 people (July 2008), while the San Francisco Bay Area comprises approximately 7.4 million people in the surrounding 100 cities and nine counties. The Citys growth was fairly gradual, starting with the gold rush of the 1848 and steadily increasing over the following century. During the involvement of the United States in World War II (1941-1945), the city was strategically located as a final domestic destination for soldiers and materials en route to the Pacific. The end of the war coincided with the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, after which many previously restricted Chinese immigrated to the Bay Area and settled in the now culturally vibrant Chinatown neighborhood, the oldest and largest in the country. San Francisco is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the United States. According to the census figures for 2007, about 45 per cent of the population is White, 33 per cent Asian, 14 per cent Hispanic or Latino (of any race), and 7 per cent AfricanAmerican. This rich cultural heritage is further exemplified by the fact that over one-third of the citys residents were born outside the country, reiterating Californias immigrant history and reputation. Because San Francisco is rooted in international commerce and culture, over 112 languages are spoken in Bay Area homes.39 In the approximately forty-nine square miles of the city there are over fifty hills: the tallest, Mount Davidson, rises 242 meters above sea level. The rise and fall of city streets have inspired San Franciscos unique and innovative architectural designs in its building-stock and municipal infrastructure. Most important, however, is San Franciscos proximity to water. It is a peninsula surrounded by bay and ocean. Because of this, the threats posed by global climate changeintensification of Pacific storms, increased temperatures leading to sea-level rise and growing drought conditionsmust be treated with redoubled sobriety and focus. On a local level, many neighborhoods, such as the Marina, North Beach, Hunters Point and Mission Bay, are built on infill. While at a particularly high risk of damage from seismic activity, these areas are also most at risk to be affected by sea-level rise. For this reason, it is imperative that San Francisco remains at the forefront of addressing the crisis at a local level and influencing regional bodies to take the necessary steps as well. In the Project Profile below, we will discuss the local role the Business Council on Climate Change plays on addressing the risks of sea-level rise and climate change.

San Francisco, USA

large urban centers like Oakland, Berkeley and San Jose. San Francisco, however, is unusual in being both a city and a county, with co-equal legislative and executive branches. The San Francisco Bay Area has a long history of environmental leadership. Numerous national and international environmental NGOs are headquartered in the Bay Area, and San Franciscos mayor Gavin Newsom has championed environmental justice as one of his administrations top priorities. In June 2005, Mayor Newsom hosted representatives from fifty cities across the globe at the annual United Nations World Environment Day conference. Attendees signed the Urban Environmental Accords, which sought to provide leadership to develop truly sustainable urban centers based on culturally and economically appropriately local actions.40 The Accords challenge local governments to implement policies to improve energy efficiency and sourcing, waste reduction, urban design, urban nature, transportation, environmental health, and water quality. Additionally, Mayor Newsom enacted the Livable City Initiative to ensure sustainable practices within government operations, to green expanded public spaces and to empower grassroots greening projects. San Franciscos Department of Environment has also implemented sweeping incentive programs in the city to push forward Mayor Newsoms environmental agenda. One example, the GoSolarSF Program, offers rebates for city individuals and businesses to install photovoltaic units and reduce electricity consumption. The City programs goal is to have 10,000 solar roofs installed by 2012. (To

Politics
The United States has four main levels of government: federal, state, county, and city. Both the State of California and the US federal government maintain a republic form of government, with legislative, executive, and judicial branches equally represented. The San Francisco Bay Area consists of nine counties and a number of cities, including

Urban Environment
San Franciscos personality is characterized by its topography.

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Figure 25 BC3 project timeline

find more information on the San Francisco Solar Map, please visit http://sf.solarmap.org.) On a separate front, San Francisco is taking steps to fulfill its goal of 75 per cent waste diversion from landfills to recycling or organic waste centers by 2010 and zero landfill waste by 2020. The city recently passed a mandatory composting and recycling ordinance in June 2009. The city is taking an active approach in recognizing that regional, national and international solutions to a range of environmental concerns, including climate change, must be tackled at the local level and on a smaller scale. This, of course, is only possible because the culture within San Francisco is conducive to the implementation of environmental initiatives. San Francisco is a politically liberal city, and has a history of progressive activism. It has been at the center of global political movements, demonstrated by the meeting of representatives from fifty countries in 1945 to draft

the United Nations Charter, eventually signed on 26 June of that year. Much of todays liberal culture is rooted in the youthful influx during the 1960s and 1970s. The Hippie movement that centered itself in the Haight Ashbury neighbourhood has helped form current attitudes toward environmental and social issues as they have shifted over the past forty years. Currently, many San Franciscans (and Bay Area residents) are actively engaged in socially responsible practices, including taking active steps to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions though a variety of techniques. It is this voluntary enthusiasm that allows organizations like BC3 to thrive, drawing technical expertise, advice and direction from business leaders seeking to share knowledge.

when the US Navy drew private contractors for its development of radio and military technology. Historically, the Bay Area has been on the cutting edge of the technological revolution, from software and dot-com companies to venture capitalists looking to fund the next great advancement. A climate of competition and creativity pervades the Bay Area, which is the home of Americas largest and most successful tech companies, such as Google, Intel, Apple Computers, and others. This entrepreneurial spirit attracts an unusually educated workforce: according to the US Census Bureau, 85 per cent of San Francisco County residents hold a high school diploma (or equivalent) and 50 per cent a bachelors degree as of 2007.41 The excitement in the 1990s that surrounded the dot-com industry is now being revamped into building the products, designs and philosophies of a sustainable future. And while the pairing of

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Economics
The Silicon Valley region of Northern California has been a driver of technological innovation since prior to World War II,

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technology and environmental awareness is by no means unique to Silicon Valley and San Francisco, the regions history of progressive innovation has it slated it be a leader in the new green economy. The USs burgeoning renewable energy industries have significant backing from Bay Area-based venture capital, which exhibits the economic strength and awareness of regional businesses to be on the forefront of the clean tech movement. The agricultural sector accounts for $21 billion per year in revenue for the State42, and one cannot ignore the impacts that significant variations or fluctuations in weather would reap on this industry. About 80 per cent of Californias precipitation occurs during the winter months43, and much of it is stored as snow pack at higher elevations. Boosted temperatures could eliminate a significant portion of this snow, leading to an earlier and more substantial runoff. This, combined with Californias ongoing drought and ever-increasing population, poses a serious potential threat, placing a vital premium on water in the region.

Ecology
The Bay Area has a Mediterranean climate, characterized by moderate, wet winters and dry summers. California is renowned for its wines, and the climate in Sonoma and Napa Counties, an hour north of San Francisco, is ideal for grape production. The threat of temperature fluctuations and increasingly variable rainfall posed by climate change can be detrimental to the states agricultural sectors, especially Bay Area vineyards. The city of San Francisco is sand-

wiched between the San Andreas and Hayward fault zones, which pose a unique threat to residents and pushes architects, engineers and planners to incorporate rigorous environmental reviews into their project proposals. Liquefaction caused by seismic tremors specifically target shoreline neighborhoods such as North Beach and the Marina. Landslides from heavy rainfall and earthquakes threaten neighborhoods surrounding San Franciscos many hills. Not only does this dictate building standards, but places significant limitation on other infrastructural planning projects, such as bridge, tunnel and underground public transportation. The infamous 1906 earthquake destroyed about 80 per cent of the city and killed upwards of 3,000 people by most estimates44. However, the reconstruction effort was equally impressive. Despite damages estimated at $400 million, there was a rush to rebuild the city in time for the 1915 PanamaPacific Exposition, widely seen as a showcase for the citys rebirth. Interestingly enough, although adopted in 1850, the official seal San Francisco depicts a rising phoenix, which can be interpreted as a symbolic revitalization of the city after the earthquake.

local residents started reporting significantly elevated cases of cancer, heart disease, asthma and emphysema, PG&E agreed to a plan to phase out its use of the facility, ultimately leading to its decommissioning in September 2008. The neighborhoods surrounding the plant are historically comprised of poor and African-American citizens who organized a cohesive protest. While they succeeded in closing the air pollutant, they are left with health problems that call for serious attention. The recent closing speaks to the ability of local citizens and municipal governments abilities alike to recognize and rally around an environmental cause.45 Similar grassroots efforts are taking shape around the Bay Area with respect to climate change and its affects on local residents. A slew of non-profit organizations such as Sustainable Silicon Valley, the Green Chamber of Commerce, and 350.org are continuing the spirit of activism in San Francisco, emphasizing the real challenges posed by global climate change.

Steps to mitigate and adapt to Climate Change

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) 46 is a state body focused on preserving the San Francisco Bay. BCDC is spreading awareness about the impacts of sea level rise in the Bay Area due to global warming. In 2001, BCDC developed the San Francisco Bay Plan, a draft report that analyzes vulnerabilities to climate change in the Bay and on the shoreline. The Plan details the studys findings and makes recommendations for regional policy solutions.47 In addition, the state of California has drafted a climate adaptation strategy48 which identifies areas of risk statewide and provides

environmental justice
In 1929, energy provider Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) installed a power plant on the shores of Hunters Point in the south part of the city. While meeting the energy needs of the citys residents, the power plant also proved to be one of the dirtiest in the state. It emitted pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide that, after about sixty years of production, were found to cause abnormally high rates of disease in surrounding communities. When in mid-1990s San Francisco 118

recommendations for adapting to those impacts.

In 2002, the City and County of San Francisco announced its Climate Action Plan.49 The San Francisco Climate Action Plan aims to reduce the citys greenhouse gas emissions to 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. The plan is comprehensive, including all sectors municipal, residential and commercialand The co-sponsors provides chose to develbackground op a principleinformabased approach tion on for BC3, guided the causes in part by the of climate examples such change as UN Global and projecCompact and the tions of its Principles for Reimpacts on sponsible InvestCalifornia ment. BC3s goal and San was to attract a Francisco. broad segment The plan San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom speaking at the BC3 launch at City Hall targets re- April 5, 2007. Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of San Francisco, USA of the local business community ductions of to share best practices and work emissions by focusing on transsectors. Secondly, because Caliwith local government and nonportation, energy efficiency, reforniaincluding San Francisco profits to leverage resources. The newable energy, and solid waste and the Bay Areais traditionco-sponsors concurred that a prein order to reach its goal. ally a testing ground for national scriptive approach would be very environmental programs, the Project Profile: Climate limiting and therefore chose a United States looked to Califormodel that we felt gave memChange Mitigation nia for leadership on methods bers more options and encourIn June 2005, San Francisco host- to reduce GHG emissions. If San aged creativity and innovation. ed UN World Environment day Francisco is successful at reducand Mayor Gavin Newson signed ing GHG emissions in a cross-sec- The co-sponsors developed a draft on to the UN Global Compact. tor manner, it is likely that other set of Five Principles. This lanThe City of San Francisco joined cities in the United States will be guage was shared with a group of the UN Global Compact Cities eager to replicate the San Fran- about twenty-five local businessProgramme in December 2005. cisco model. Additionally, the es and related non-profit organiShortly after joining, the co-spon- city of San Francisco set the goal zations during a meeting in July sors decided to pursue a project of reaching Carbon Neutrality by 2006. There was broad support for aimed at reducing citywide GHG 2030, which requires every sector a principles-based approach and the draft language was discussed, emissions by fostering a collabo- to participate. rative effort between govern- The Business Council on Climate debated and revised. With tacit ment, civil society, and business. Change (BC3) became the admin- approval from the businesses, we This topic fit the objectives of the istering body. The BC3 is a part- went through a series of text and Cities Programme for three rea- nership of San Francisco Bay Area content revisions over a period of two to three months and resons. At the time the co-sponsors 119

were conceptualizing the Cities Programme project, San Francisco government, civil society, and businesses were mobilizing around the goal of reducing GHG emissions, but efforts from the three sectors were not co-ordinated. It was logical to leverage the Cities Programme project to help unify efforts from the three

businesses committed to reducing their green house gas emissions. BC3 members and partners collaborate to share ideas and real-world case studies, identify valuable tools, participate in educational forums, and establish best practices. As a result, BC3 members demonstrate leadership, as well as drive economic growth, environmental sustainability and social well-being in our community.

aPPendix

purpose of reaching out to the member companies to help them develop their profile pages on our website, including examples of how they have addressed each of the Five Principles of Climate Action in their business operations. This effort also allowed BC3 to The next step was engaging the solicit suggestions and feedback membership and disseminating from members and to connect tools to take action on climate directly with members that have change. Over the course of 2007 historically not and 2008, BC3 been engaged hosted over in events. At twenty events the completion ranging from of this effort, topics including BC3 was able green leasing, to compile and climate adaptasynthesize the tion, and a series profile informaon energy effition to deterciency. The panmine the collecel events drew tive successes on the expertise and challenges of the growing of member BC3 membership companies efand focused on forts. The four interactive, eduinterns met cational events with members which could easat their offices ily be translated Climate Chamge Mitigation Project: Top five mitigation areas. Imaged or on the phone sourced: Local Secretariat, City of San Francisco into action. BC3 to go through organized mixers hosted by mem- In 2008, BC3 developed and the profile questions and suggest ber companies or in conjunction launched an interactive website ideas for content. The interns with partner organizations like with the help of member comthen developed a profile draft stopwaste.org. During this time, pany, Sun Microsystems. The that each company could edit the advisory committee directed website is built on the openeco. and upload to the website. working groups to fill out much org platform and serves as a porof the structure and content of tal for BC3 resources and infor- Principles BC3. The working groups com- mation-sharing. All content from BC3 events is uploaded to the The Business Council on Climate prised the following: site and it includes a calendar, Change (BC3) believes that the International Engagement member directory, news section, climate crisis offers corporate Membership and resource guide. In addition, leaders an unprecedented opportunity to shift practices to realize Best Practices and Implemen- each BC3 member has a profile page where they can show how economic growth, environmental tation they are implementing the Five sustainability, and social well-be Business-to-Business Network- Principles on Climate Leader- ing. Our mission is to capitalize ing and Events ship and share best practices. on the Bay Areas entrepreneurThe members section is password ial culture to create a thriving Web Development protected, so members can ac- economy, while at the same time These working groups had mixed cess additional information, re- contributing to public dialogue successsome accomplished sources, and contacts after login. and positive action on climate change. Each BC3 member and www.bc3sfbay.org partner signs on to the Five PrinIn the summer and fall of 2009, ciples of Climate leadership. BC3 hired four interns with the leased the final Five Principles on Climate Leadership in November 2006. The Principles set high-level goals with suggested actions attached to each. All members are required to commit to the Five Principles to join BC3. their stated objective (such as creating a BC3 website), while others failed to produce compelling results. In the spring of 2009, these working groups were disbanded in favour of six-month projects. These projects offer the advantages of having clearly defined goals and specific time requirements from the professionals who donate their time. 120

Principle 1. internal implementation

We acknowledge our responsibility to reduce our impact on climate change and adopt practices within our companys operations to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a climate-friendly San Francisco Bay Area economy. Potential actions include: Conduct an assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from operations; Set a company-wide greenhouse gas emission reduction goal; Develop and implement a greenhouse gas reduction plan as appropriate to each company; Monitor and verify progress towards achieving reduction goal; and Become a certified Bay Area Green Business.

and Institutionalize corporate policy to offset company travel emissions through carbon credits.

ceedings at the state and local level (for example, California Public Utilities Commission and regional air district); and Support international initiatives such as the UN Global Compact.

Principle 3. advocacy and dialogue

Principle 5. transparency and disclosure We will engage in dialogue with

policy-makers and advocate for the development of the best business solution through, for example, supporting the Bay Area Councils advocacy platform on climate change. Potential actions include: Collaborate with local and state governments to identify policies and incentives for businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions; Make public statementsindividually and collectivelyon the importance of preparing for and minimizing climate change; Actively engage sources of capital to invest in clean tech and climate-friendly businesses; Sponsor events that raise awareness about climate change in the corporate and/ or residential sectors; and Support appropriate legislation to address climate change. We will each report regularly on our activities and progress towards reducing our climate footprint. Potential actions include: Disclose actions and results in annual reports; Participate in the BC3 Learning Forum; and Share best practices and lessons learned with other members of BC3 and the public. BC3 has a tiered membership dues-requirement based on company revenue, ranging from $100 to $12,000 per year. While initially voluntary, BC3 began collecting mandatory dues in late 2008 as membership increased in order to boost revenue. BC3 also accepts in-kind gifts such as tech support, advertisement and event coordination in exchange for dues.

Principle 2. Community leaders

We will be active leaders in the San Francisco Bay Area community to help combat climate change. Potential actions include: Provide transportation alternative incentives for employees (public transit / bicycle commuting / carpooling / car share / low emission vehicles); Provide educational materials to employees on how to reduce residential greenhouse gas emissions; Work with supply chain partners and, where appropriate, with clients and customers to reduce indirect impacts of products and services; Incorporate and showcase green building strategies;

Key Players
BC3 has three co-sponsors:

Principle 4. Collective action

Through the Business Council on Climate Change, we will collaborate and share best practices with other participating San Francisco Bay Area companies to help solve the problem of climate change. Potential actions include: Partner with BC3 members to leverage our impact with public agencies, customers, residents and community organizations; Provide input on regulatory pro-

San Francisco department of the environment

SF Department of the Environment is charged with managing all SF city and county environmental initiatives. It is the mission of SF Environment to improve, enhance, and preserve the environment, and to promote San Franciscos long-term wellbeing by developing innovative, practical and wide-ranging environmental programs in recycling, toxics reduction, environmental justice, energy efficiency, climate change, commute alternatives,

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and urban forest. SF Environment is excited to be involved in the Cities Programme as a means of continuing to foster a functional relationship with Bay Area citizens and businesses. In addition, BC3 is providing a venue for SF Environment to share relevant programs and services, such as the commuter benefits program, recycling and composting services, and green business certification services. SF Environment has taken the lead on the Cities Programme project. As the project lead, SF Environment manages the dayto-day activities of the project, convenes meetings, and manages and houses BC3 staff.

The UN Global Compact includes more than 5,000 companies and stakeholders from eighty countries. BC3 is fortunate to have the UN Global Compact as a project co-sponsor. The UN Global Compact has provided BC3 with invaluable assistance in developing an organizational structure. With the Compacts feedback and help, we are confident that BC3 is on the right track to putting the UN Global Compact framework to practice. In addition to helping structure the organization and providing feedback on a regular basis, Gavin Power, a Senior Advisor at the United Nations Global Compact, played an integral role of forming the Principles on Climate Leadership. BC3 has over 100 member companies from a range of industries including construction, engineering, retail, consulting, banking, telecommunications, Internet services, and food services. Member companies vary in size from less than ten employees to hundreds of thousands of employees. The unifying aspect of BC3 member companies is their commitment to reduce GHG emissions. Each member company has committed to the Five Principles of Climate Leadership. Members are at various stages on their journey to reduce their GHG emissions. Some companies are iconic leaders while others are just getting started on reducing their emissions. Depending on the maturity of their climate practice, members can offer guidance to or receive guidance from other member companies. guished from the role of members in that partners are non-profits and government entities and often have resources and services to assist BC3 members in reducing their emissions. The ideal relationship between the partners and the members is one where 122

both parties benefit and the ultimate goal of reducing emissions is met. For instance, an academic institution that has a strong focus on sustainability may be looking to make connections with member companies who can provide their students with opportunities to hone their skills or even to find employment; an industry association may be interested in providing their members with the opportunity to participate in the BC3; a think tank may be looking for insight from membership in order to develop policy positions and so on. The Advisory Committee is the leadership body of BC3 and represents the Local Secretariat. The Advisory Committee is comprised of representatives of the membership, partners, and the project co-sponsors. It is co-chaired by a representative of both business and local government. The BC3 Advisory Committee is composed of twelve seats. A representative from each of the three co-sponsor organizations; one representative from a partner organization; and eight representatives from member companies who have knowledge of climate change issues and represent a diverse mix of small, medium, and large companies from a variety of sectors within the Bay Area. Advisory members serve staggered two-year terms, with the option to apply for up to three consecutive terms. Cosponsor organizations have permanent seats on the Advisory Committee.

bay area Council

The Bay Area Council is a business-sponsored, public-policy advocacy organization for the ninecounties of the San Francisco Bay Area. The Council proactively advocates for a strong economy, a vital business environment, and a better quality of life for everyone who lives in the Bay Area. The Council has over sixty years of experience working with regional businesses to help shape policy. Through the years of service, the Bay Area Council has gained the support of more than 275 of the regions largest employers. BC3 is privileged to have Bay Area Council as a co-sponsor. The Council has drawn from their experiences and have provided BC3 with important insight on how to foster collaboration between local businesses and local government. In addition, the Council has helped BC3 gain traction within the Bay Area business community.

Project Aim and The role of BC3 partners is distin- Objectives

The aim of BC3 is to create a network of private-sector leaders committed to taking climate action within their companies. The goal is to create a system for private-sector leadership to work in parallel with municipal efforts to reduce regional emissions. BC3

UN Global Compact

is not focused on converting uninterested individuals to become climate leaders. We are focused on aggregating and empowering existing leaders already interested in climate solutions, and giving them a more powerful stage to lead by example in their business community. Additionally, BC3 believes that much of the information, resources and content required for businesses to take action on climate already existsit just needs to be disseminated among networks where personal relationships and public leadership encourages implementation. BC3 seeks to be the convener and facilitator of a ripe environment for climate action.

bership-wide action on initiatives can be difficult. For example, during our membership tracking project, it was often difficult to make initial contact with members. We addressed this challenge by attempting multiple means of contact (including email, phone, newsletter announcements, and conversation at events) and succinctly expressing the importance of this effort. Ultimately, we were able to obtain contact with 80 per cent of dues-paying members, which is 48 per cent of our total membership. Every BC3 member representative has a full-time job at their company, and cannot always make BC3 participation a priority. BC3 must constantly work to avoid burn-out among its member representatives, while pushing for the most aggressive climate commitments from the network.

entire BC3 network together to celebrate the past six months achievements and set direction for the initiative. These events offer compelling speakers, entertainment, results from BC3 members collaborative projects, and a chance to socialize. In addition, we seek engagement from members on short term projects and setting goals. BC3 has publishes quarterly newsletters which spotlight member achievements, highlight climate news, and identify ways members can increase involvement.

2009 Member Survey

Our 2009 Member Survey analysis found that 100 per cent of members surveyed are recycling and 88 per cent are composting. We also found that 73 per cent are utilizing green commute and travel options, 63 per cent have conducted a lighting retrofit in their offices, and 46 per cent consider green criteria in their purchasing decisions. These numbers illustrate that BC3 members are taking responsibility not only for carbon emissions from business operations but also for emissions from employees and supply chains. This holistic approach demonstrates real leadership in climate action. However, only 48 per cent of members surveyed are tracking their emissions and only 23 per cent have set a reduction goal. A baseline emissions inventory would allow BC3 members to set goals and measure effectiveness, generating information that can be communicated to clients and customers to demonstrate real commitment to sustainability. This effort provided us with personal information about our members values and what they hope to receive from our program. It also allowed us to determine areas where our members may need further assistance,

Challenges
A significant challenge BC3 faces is a paucity of financial and human resources. We operate on a very small budget, with no capital to pay for office space, supplies, website development and hosting, event venues, catering, or other vital program expenses. We have been successful at obtaining in-kind donations and partnership relationships that cover most of these program areas, but the struggle to cover basic costs persists. For most of BC3s history, the organization has been run entirely by volunteers and unpaid interns. This presents a significant hurdle in terms of cohesive direction and leadership, because nearly every contributor to the organization has another full-time job, and cannot always make BC3 a priority. This dynamic has led to slower-thandesired growth and development of the organization. Additionally, a central challenge to BC3 is that it is a participationbased organization. Everything BC3 member companies do is voluntary, so different members participate at different levels of involvement. Pushing for mem-

Outcomes and Progress to Date

BC3 has organized over fifty events including panel discussions, interactive workshops, full membership meetings, networking events, and summits with international delegations. BC3s workshop or panel events, held twice monthly, are led by members. The focus is to transfer tangible skills, action steps, and best practices among members. An example of this is a Carbon Action Planning workshop, led by member representative Jeff Caton from Environmental Science Associates. BC3s networking events, held once every-other month, are designed to provide an informal space for members to meet, socialize, and build relationships. An example of this is a two-hour networking session hosted by the W Hotel (a member). BC3s full-member events, held twice yearly, are designed to bring the

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123

such as in tracking and reporting their greenhouse gas emissions and setting a reduction goal. Members can update their profiles whenever desired, and future member sign-on forms and annual dues invoices will include directions on how to update the profile to capture new efforts. There has also been discussion of developing a more robust tool for tracking member progress.

Enables us to maximize our minimal staff time for the best return; and Most importantly, helps us give BC3 members true leadership and growth opportunities via their role in our network A second lesson has been the process of recognizing our organizational limitations. Our ambitions are great, and we feel weve achieved laudable success, but weve also had to reconcile with the reality that our organization can only play one small role in the broader ecosystem of climate action in the Bay Area. Part of BC3 reaching maturity has been clarifying and stepping into our niche, and feeling comfortable with what we can accomplish in that role. A specific structural lesson learned was our attempt at establishing productive, volunteer-based working groups to tackle program areas of BC3. We opted to change this structure in June 2009 in favor of six-month, member-led projects. This change occurred because our board-member volunteers were too busy, over-committed, and lacked a firm incentive to complete working-group tasks on a relevant timeline. In order to complete key program areas, we realized we needed to both scale-back the level of activity BC3 was undertaking, while ensuring that the biggest responsibilities fell on our one paid staff and several unpaid interns, who had the accountability structures

and incentives to execute their work. This has proved to be the most productive model, and one we continue to employ.

Future Direction
BC3 will continue to play a leading role in climate action efforts of the Bay Area. Our organization priorities moving forward include: Attracting new members from a wider range of Bay Area industries and sectors; Restructuring our revenue model to make our organization more accessible for more companies, and interested public participants while still generating the necessary operating funds; Increasing transparency and open-source information flow among our members in the areas of GHG reductions, green-business certification, green buildings, recycling, composting, employee behavior, etc; Assisting more of our members to track their GHG emissions and set reductions targets Increasing our brand recognition and prestige; Solidifying and packaging the conceptual content of our organizational model, to eventually roll-out the model to be shared with other cities and the Global Compact.

Lessons Learned
A central lesson that BC3 has learned is the value of facilitation over content creation. At various points in our organizational history, we attempted to create new educational content to deliver supposed value to our members. But as a small, volunteer-run organization, our efforts resulted in significant staff time, and products that were similar to existing resources. We realized that our best value offering was to tease out and facilitate the dissemination of existing knowledge and resources within our network, and empower our members to take the lead on sharing best practices within BC3. This strategy has many benefits: Allows us to focus on facilitating many diverse, member-driven events, rather than host only a few proprietary events ourselves; Helps us stay tuned to our members needs, rather than assume their needs and create content for them that may be irrelevant;

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aPPendix 5

City Profile Template

The city profile is intended as a description of your city and its hinterland in relation to local, national and global processes and histories. The city profile with be used alongside your project profile to highlight your city. The style of the writing should be clear and discursive. It should be written as a detailed and interesting introduction to your city without having the quality of a tourist brochure. In other words, the profile is not intended to extol the virtues of your city as much as paint a bold picture, qualified by careful nuances, idiosyncratic colour and local knowledge. We want to know what it means to live in your city, and therefore the profile will need to recognize differences across cultural background and economic standing. The essay will be reviewed and edited by an experienced writer with some knowledge of your city. That editor may write into your profiles and add more material, but any changes will be checked with you before publication. The inclusion of citations and references to other existing publications is encouraged, as is a bibliography. (A style guide is available for referencing and bibliography) The overall word length of the city-profile essay can vary, but we suggest something between 1,500 and 3,000 words to allow for some uniformity between profiles. The template is intended as a helpful guide rather than sets of strictures, but we would like to achieve some comparability across the essays.

aPPendix

Delegation visit. Imaged sourced: Local Secretariat, City of Porto Alegre, Brazil.

125

Heading

Sub-heading

Questions/Issues to consider
Location and size Neighbouring/regional cities Terrain and climate Natural resources

Recommended word count

300-1,000

Urban fabric Geography

Demographics

Demographic profile / population trends Population and global movements of peoplemigrants, refugees, tourists etc. Education and training

History

Changes across the history of the city, including the place of the city in global changese.g. colonial history if relevant; place in global events and processes Current system of governance, both munici- 300500 pal and national Citizen participation in the politics of the city (e.g. voting) Informal rights) political systems (customary

Politics

Other activities from non-government and other advocacy groups Land-tenure system

Culture

Cultural diversity Indigenous history Languages Celebrations, events and rituals

300-500

Economics

Currency and other trading systems Labour markets and unemployment Industry and commerce Wealth and poverty, including housing (formal / informal)

300-500

Ecology

State of the Environment Ecology and urban development Climate change and adaptation

300-500

Table 10 City Profile: A template (1,500-3,000 words)

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aPPendix 6

Project Profile

The style of the writing should be clear and discursive. It should be written as a detailed and interesting introduction to your city without having the quality of a tourist brochure. In other words, the profile is not intended to extol the virtues of your city as much as paint a bold picture, qualified by careful nuances, idiosyncratic colour and local knowledge. We want to know what it means to live in your city, and therefore the profile will need to recognize differences across cultural background and economic standing. The essay will be reviewed and edited by an experienced writer with some knowledge of your city. That editor may write into your profiles and add more material, but any changes will be checked with you before publication. The inclusion of citations and references to other existing publications is encouraged, as is a bibliography. (A style guide is available for referencing and bibliography) The overall word length of the city-profile essay can vary, but we suggest something between 1,500 and 2,000 words to allow for some uniformity between profiles. The template is intended as a helpful guide rather than sets of structures, but we would like to achieve some comparability across the essays.

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127

Table 11 Project Profile: A Template (1,5002,000 words)

Heading Project title Issue Background

Sub-heading
Project summary Politics Culture Economy Ecology

Questions/Issues to consider
Identify and describe the issue that your city chose to explore. Consider how each domain contributed toward the issue. For each, identify key aspects that the project will focus/focus on to improve the situation. Describe Working groups structure and activities Describe each sectors relationship to the issue and their role within the project. How would each benefit? Detail the project aims and objectives and strategies for implementation. Apart from inter-sectoral concept of the Melbourne Model, were there any specific approaches/methodologies adopted specifically to implement the project? Document the different stages of the project and explain how the project milestones have/have not been achieved. To what extent did it differ from the initial project plan?

Recommended word count

200-500 100-200 100-200 100-200 100-200 100-200

Key players

Local Secretariat Government sector Private sector Civil sector

Project planning

Aim and objectives Methodology

100-200

Implementation

100-200

Progress to date

100-200

Challenges faced

During planning and implementation, share some of the challenges the Local Secretariat faced and ways in which these were resolved. For example, at any stage, was there any resistance from key players to implement goals? How were differences of opinions managed?

100-200

Project highlights

What have been some of the most memorable moments in terms of achieving the objectives and project goals? For example, perhaps there was significant event / media interest gained that influenced support/outcomes.

100-200

128

Heading Monitoring and evaluation

Sub-heading
Tools

Questions/Issues to consider
How was the project monitored or evaluated during the implementation? Were there any particular tools used? Government support Policy influence/ change In consideration of approach, resources, planning and implementation; are there any particular lessons learnt that your city would approach differently? Explain these.

Recommended word count

100-200

Outcomes achieved

100-200

Lessons learnt

100-200

Future Direction

Will the project continue in the future? If so, how? In terms of the key players, what is the likelihood that the approach adopted will be undertaken again in the future? Is there particular interest from the Local Secretariat or other interested organizations to continue to implement the project within their capacity?

100-200

aPPendix

129

innoVating CitieS PartiCiPantS

Asker

La Communaute de Communes
de Saint-Romain de Colbosc

Les Clubs sportifs locaux (local sports clubs)

Le Pays Caux Vallee de Seine Le Pays dAuge (Auge country) Le Pays de Hautes Falaises Le Pays Risle Estuaire Le Conseil regional de
la Basse Normandie

Regional Federations for Tourist Destinations in Normandy

Asker Municipality Asker Arts Council Asker Music Council Asker Home Owners Federation Asker Sports Council
As-Salt

The Town Planning Agency for Le Havre and the Seine Estuary (AURH) Melbourne

Le Conseil regional de
la Haute Normandie

City of Melbourne Environment Victoria City West Water Consumer Utilities Advocacy Centre

Le Conseil general de
la Seine Maritime

As-Salt Greater Municipality Al-Balqaa Applied University Faculty of Technological Agriculture

Le Conseil general du Calvados Le Conseil general de lEure Le Comite departemental de

tourisme de la Seine-Maritime

Cool Melbourne Future Canvas.org Moreland Energy Foundation Owners Corporation Victoria Origin Carbon
Milwaukee

Jordanian Environmental
Society As-Salt Division Berlin

Le Comite departemental de tourisme de lEure

Berlin City Hall Berlin International Cooperation Agency (BGZ)

Le Comite regional du tourisme de la Normandie

Le Parc naturel regional des

Boucles de la Seine normande

City of Milwaukee CH2MHILL Greater Milwaukee Committee Milwaukee 7 Water Council Spirit of Milwaukee University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Berlin Senate Department (Ministry of Health)

Le Parc Eana - Terre

des possibles

Charite Vivantes
Jamshedpur

La Maison de lEstuaire Loffice de toursime du Havre Pointe de Caux

Bagan Area Vikas Samiti, Jamshedpur

Loffice de tourisme de Deauville Loffice de tourisme

de Pont-Audemer

Veolia Water Milwaukee World Trade Centre Wisconsin

Plock

Jamshedpur Utilities & Services Company Limited

Tata Steel Limited

Jinan

Loffice de tourisme dEtretat Loffice de tourisme dHonfleur Loffice de tourisme du Pays

Caux Vallee de Seine

City Hall of Plock ABC Hurownia ARS (Agency for Old

Town Revitalisation)

Anhui Sanlian Accident

Prevention Institute

LUnion Departementale
des Offices de Tourisme et des Syndicats dInitiative de la Seine-Maritime

Jinan Municipal Government Public Security Department

of Shandong Province Le Havre

Auchn Plock Sp. Zoo Basell Orlen Polyolefins Sp.zoo BEM Sp zoo BEM Brudniccy Sp j Dominet Forest Inspectorte Municipal Services Utility MZGM TBS Sp zoo

La Federation Regionale
des Pays dAccueil Touristique de Normandie

Le Havre City Hall Fecamp Tourism Office

La Delegation Regionale au Tourisme de la Haute Normandie

LAssociation Tourisme en Pays dAuge

130

 MTBS Sp zoo Oddzial ZEP w Plocku PERN Przjazn S.A. PKN Orlen SA Plock Culture and Arts Centre Plock Municipal Police Plock Fire Brigade Plockie Przedsiebiorstwo
Robot Mostowych S.A.

CSRware David Baker + Partners, Architects

ment and Consulting

Sustainable Spaces Inc. TerraPass Inc. The Communication Group TRC Companies Inc Universal Paragon Corp. Vantage Communications Varian Designs W Hotel San Francisco Waldecks William McDonough + Partners Webcor Builders Zen Compound, LLC
Tshwane

EnerNOC,Inc Environmental Science Associate

Fair Ridge Group Farella Braun+Martel LLP Food from the Parks Galley Eco Capital LLC Green Consultants Green Key Real Estate Green Zebra LLC Green Web, Inc Hallisey and Johnson Hanson Bridgett LLP HMR USA Inc HOK Kwan Henmi Architecture/Planning Inc

Rynex Sp zoo Spolem PSS Zgoda Technical School 70 Vectra s.j. Vocational School Complex No.2 Wereszczynski Zaklad Instalacji WodKan, CO I Gazu Porto Alegre

City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality

BMW South Africa Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC)

City Hall of Porto Alegre Rio Grande do Sul Federal University

Luminesa Mazzetti & Associates Mixt Greens New Resource Bank Oliva Global Communications organic ARCHITECT Pacific Gas & Electric Pankow Builders Pet Camp Plan-It Hardware Rebecca Geller Recreational Equipment Inc. Sherwood Design Engineers Schwartz Communiactions, Inc. Shift Design Studio SMWM Architecture Interiors Planning + Urban Design

South African Breweries Supplier Park Development Company (SPDC) Ulaan Baatar

The Estate Energy Company (CEEE) San Francisco

City of San Francisco San Francisco Department of Environment

Committee for Ulaan Baatar Mongolian Association of Urban Centers

Arup San Francisco BCCI Construction Company Bentley Prince Street Blue Green Pacific, Inc. Bite Communications Blue Shield of California Borders + Gatehouse Brown Bear Events Catering by SMG CH2M Hill San Francisco Cityscape Graphics Inc. ClimateCHECK Cole Hardware Creative Eco-Catalysts

Governor of the Capital City

aPPendix

Sustainable Energy Partners, LLC Solutions Sustainable Industries Swinerton Manage131

endnoteS
1. Mike Davis, Planet of Slums, 2.

3.

4.

5. 6.

7.

8.

Verso, London, 2006, p. 1. United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 1. Series M, No. 67, Rev. 1, UNSD, New York, 1998. Graeme Hugo, Anthony Champion and Alfredo Lattes, Toward a New Conceptualization of Settlements for Demography, Population and Development Review, vol. 29, no. 2, 2003, pp. 27797. Here we have drawn heavily on the European Conference of Ministers Responsible for Spatial/Regional Planning (CEMAT), Glossary of Key Expression Used in Spatial Development Policies in Europe, CEMAT, Lisborne, 2006, available at: www.mzopu. hr/doc/14CEMAT_6_EN.pdf, accessed 15 August 2007. The Global Compact website: www.unglobalcompact.org A joint initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the International Chamber of Commerce, comprising a comprehensive network of business organizations that came together at the Summit to promote sustainable development. Speech by Kofi Annan, Secretary General United Nations, Business and Society Stand to Benefit From working Together, World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 1 September 2002. There are reporting requirements for cities that are

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

undertaking a project or research task as part of their engagement. The Communication on Progress is consistent with the Global Compact reporting guidelines and offers opportunity for cities to demonstrate implementation of the ten principles of the Global Compact. The methodological background to this work is found in Paul James, Globalism, Nationalism, Tribalism: Bringing Theory back In, Sage Publications, London, 2006. PIM/PI is a Municipal project that intends to strength familiar bonds in families with children from one to seven years (still not in formal education age). Brasil Alfabetizado is a Federal Government Project that intends to raise literate rate among adults. Its method includes classes inside the poor communities. See S. Fritsch, The UN Global Compact and the Global Governance of Corporate Social Responsibility: Complex Multilateralism for a More Human Globalisation? Global Society, vol. 22, no. 1, 2008, pp. 125. One important joint publication in this area is the report by Cities Alliance, ICLEI and UNEP, Liveable Cities: The Benefits of Urban Environmental Planning, Cities Alliance, Washington, 2007. www.mercer.com.au/ qualityofliving (last accessed 5 January 2009). This is the classic definition of sustainable development from the World Commission on Environment and Development, Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997, p. 8. Y. Rydin, N. Holman, and 132

17.

18. 19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

E. Wolff, Local Sustainability Indicators, Local Environment, vol. 8, no. 6, 2003, pp. 58189, cited from p. 582. M. Mulligan and Y. Nadarajah, Working on the Sustainability of Local Communities with a Community-Engaged Research Methodology, Local Environment, vol. 13, no. 2, 2008, p. 81. A. Gare, personal correspondence, 30 March 2008. As has been described by B. Ehrenreich, Bait and Switch: The Futile Pursuit of the Corporate Dream, Granta, London, 2006; J.B. Schor, The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, BasicBooks, New York, 1991; R. Sennett, The Culture of the New Capitalism, Yale University Press, London, 2005; amongst others. See Raymond Williams, Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, Fontana, Glasgow, 1976. The last example comes from M. Holden and C. Mochrie, Counting on Vancouver: Inaugural Report of the Vancouver Urban Observatory, 2006. Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Reporting Guidelines: Version 3.0, Collaborating Centre of the UN Environment Programme, New York, 2006. M. Eames and M. Adebowale, eds, Sustainable Development and Social Inclusion: Towards an Integrated Approach to Research, Policy Studies Institute, London, 2002. L. Boltanski and E. Chiapello, The New Spirit of Capitalism, Verso, London, 2005, pp. 3545. J.C. Alexander, The Civil Sphere, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006, p. 33. V. Plumwood, Inequal-

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33. 34.

35.

36. 37.

ity, Ecojustice and Ecological Rationality, Ecotheology, no. 5/6, 1999. J. Becker, Measuring Progress Towards Sustainable Development: An Ecological Framework for Selecting Indicators, Local Environment, vol. 10, no. 1, 2005, p. 99. Becker, Measuring Progress Towards Sustainable Development. J. Peet and H. Bossel, An Ethics-Based Systems Approach to Indicators of Sustainable Development, International Journal of Sustainable Development, vol. 3, no. 3, 2000, pp. 224-5, 33. Peet and Bossell, An Ethics-Based Systems Approach, p. 224. G. Delanty, Knowledge as Communication: A Review of Recent Literature on Method and Theory in Social Science, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, vol. 5, no. 1, 2002, p. 83. G. Delanty, Citizenship as a Learning Process: Disciplinary Citizenship versus Cultural Citizenship, International Journal of Lifelong Education, vol. 22, no. 6, 2003, p. 558. P. Wagner, Theorizing Modernity, Sage, London, 2001, p. 36. F. Sommers, Monitoring and Evaluating Outcomes of Community Involvement: The Litmus Experience, Local Environment, vol. 5, no. 4, 2000, pp. 48391. K. Eckerberg and E. Mineur, The Use of Local Sustainability Indicators: Case Studies in Two Swedish Municipalities, Local Environment, vol. 8, no. 6, 2003, p. 612. Becker, Measuring Progress, p. 88; Sustainable Seattle, Sustain-

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43. 44.

45. 46. 47.

48. 49.

able Seattle and Indicators, King County, Seattle, 2005, p. 6; Regional Vancouver Urban Observatory, www.rvu. ca, accessed 5 May 2008. SF Chronicle www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/03/14/ BAG2CBOTOP1.DTL Urban Environmental Accords: www.sfenvironment.com/downloads/ library/accords.pdf US Census Bureau http:// factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&context=adp&-qr_ name=ACS_2007_3YR_G00_ DP3YR2&-ds_name=&-tree_ id=3307&-redoLog=false&all_geo_types=N&-geo_ id=05000US06075&format=&-_lang=en) www.cdfa.ca.gov/state_ board/docs/CBACAWATERCDFABOARD1-21-09.ppt SF Climate Action Plan US Geological Survey http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ regional/nca/1906/18april/ casualties.php Photograph courtesy of www.energyoverseer.com www.bcdc.ca.gov/ www.bcdc.ca.gov/proposed_bay_plan/bp_ amend_1-08.shtml www.climatechange. ca.gov/adaptation/ www.sfenvironment.org/ downloads/library/climateactionplan.pdf

aPPendix

133

the ten PrinCiPleS oF the CitieS Programme human rightS

Principle 1: Support and respect for the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; Principle 2: Active rejection of human rights abuses.

labour StandardS
Principle 3: Upholding of the freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining; Principle 4: Support for the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour; Principle 5: Upholding of the effective abolition of child labour; Principle 6: Support for the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

enVironment
Principle 7: Support for a precautionary approach to environmental challenges: Principle 8: Undertaking to promote greater environmental responsibility; Principle 9: Encouragement of the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

anti-CorruPtion
Principle 10: Work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery.

134