New catalogue presents best practices in sustainable urban development

"Urban sustainability – Learning from the best" is the title of a new catalogue of best practices produced by the European Commission on the basis of the 2010 and 2011 European Green Capital Awards. The aim of the catalogue is to share experience and visions among European cities as well as inspire cities to introduce new measures within the field of sustainable urban development.

Learning from the best
In the catalogue, the eight finalists for the 2010 and 2011 awards present best practice examples on the basis of 10 environmental indicator areas on which the cities were evaluated in the race for the award. One or two examples for each indicator area are given in the catalogue to illustrate how the 2010 and 2011 finalists have tackled these environmental challenges in an effective and efficient manner.

The eight finalists
Amsterdam, Bristol, Copenhagen, Freiburg, Hamburg, Münster, Oslo and Stockholm were chosen as finalists for the 2010 and 2011 European Green Capital Awards in a friendly competition among a total of 35 applicant cities from all across Europe. Swedish capital Stockholm is the current European Green Capital, to be succeeded in 2011 by Hamburg, Germany.

October Conference in Stockholm
Best practice sharing is also a key element of the European Green Capital Conference which takes place in Stockholm from 20 to 22 October. Furthermore, a Gala Dinner will be held in Stockholm City Hall as part of the conference, where the winners of the European Green Capital Award for 2012 and 2013 will be announced by Mr. Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment.

Keynote speakers for this event include EU Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Janez Potočnik, Mayor of Seoul, Mr. Oh Se-hoon, and Stockholm's Mayor, Mr. Sten Nordin. For more information and registration for the conference, official conference website.