Network of City Networks

Following the recommendation of city networks at the 2008 CITYNET Congress to establish a network of city networks in order to enhance collaboration between them, the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) Center and the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) developed the “Network of City Networks” Project. The Project aims to contribute to enhancing collaboration among city networks so enable them to scale up their efforts and reach more of the 2,500 Asian cities that require assistance across a broad range of urban environment and development challenges. The project started in January 2009 and ended in October 2009.

In 2009, the project conducted:

• a survey of organizations with city networks (that include Asian cities) or work closely with city networks was conducted in July-August 2009, and
• a roundtable to present results of the survey, identify approaches to improve synergies between existing networks, and seek commitment from networks to form a Network of City Networks was held in September 2009 in Yokohama City, Japan as a side event to the 2009 CITYNET Congress.

To know more about the City Networks, check out their Profiles below.

Donor and Partner: CDIA

CAI-Asia contact:
Glynda Bathan, glynda.bathan(at)cai-asia.org

[header=Survey Findings]

SURVEY FINDINGS

A survey was administered among organizations and initiatives that operate through or work with city networks to address development issues relevant to environmental management, urban management poverty reduction and climate change adaptation/mitigation. Fourteen organizations completed the questionnaire.

SURVEY PARTICIPANTS

• Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network of Rockefeller Foundation
• Cities Development Initiative for Asia
• CITYNET
• Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities
• Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative
• Global City Indicators Facility
• Global Energy Network for Sustainable Cities
• ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability
• International Center for Sustainable Cities
• Kitakyushu Initiative for a Clean Environment
• Metropolis
• Sustainable Cities Program, UN-Habitat
• United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific
• SMART-Sustainable Mobility and Accessibility Research and Transformation (University of Michigan)

[header=City Networks Roundtable]

On 10 September 2009, the City Networks Roundtable was held as a side event of the CITYNET Congress at the Pacifico Yokohama Hotel in Yokohama, Japan. Eleven city networks and organizations supporting cities were present (i.e., Asian Development Bank, CITYNET, Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative, Global City Indicators Facility, Cities Development Initiative for Asia, International Center for Sustainable Cities, International Global Environmental Strategies, Union of Cities and Local Governments Asia Pacific, Urban Age Institute, Association of Municipalities and Development Authorities of India, Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities Center).

AGREED NEXT STEPS

• Identify templates, key tools, processes, products and mechanisms within the city development framework to find possible points of convergence/cooperation with other members of the network in concrete terms
• Develop a City Network Portal which could serve as the first point of entry to information on cities, projects in and city networks working with the cities
• Organize face-to-face meetings as a side event to other meetings where city networks plan to already participate
• Organize an online forum to increase communication and interaction among city network focal points
• Develop a Conceptual Framework of cooperation with external support agencies

[header=City Tools]

CITY TOOLS

Cities are vital to economic development. They are considered engines of economic growth. However, with this growth comes many challenges including keeping cities livable and economically and environmentally sustainable. With the aim of assisting cities in finding solutions to these challenges, tools have been developed for them by City Networks.

This section provides links to tools and toolkits (assessment, benchmarking, planning and others) made for cities.

To feature city tools on this page, email glynda.bathan(at)cai-asia.org and/or gianina.panopio(at)cai-asia.org

1. Clean Air Scorecard
http://cleanairinitiative.org/portal/scorecard

The Clean Air Scorecard is an objective and comprehensive analysis tool for understanding the air quality management status in cities incorporating (1) air quality levels, (2) clean air management capacity and (3) clean air policies and actions and is capable of identifying potential improvement areas for the city.

Kaye Patdu, CAI-Asia Center, kaye.patdu(at)cai-asia.org
May Ajero, CAI-Asia Center, may.ajero(at)cai-asia.org

2. Global City Indicators Facility
http://www.cityindicators.org/Default.aspx#

The Global City Indicators Program provides an established set of city indicators with a globally standardized methodology that allows for global comparability of city performance and knowledge sharing. The above website serves all cities that become members to measure and report on a core set of indicators through a web-based relational database.

Patricia L McCarney, Director, gcifdirector(at)daniels.utoronto.ca
Angela Garvey, Program Coordinator, Angela.Garvey(at)daniels.utoronto.ca

3. Low Carbon City Development Index
http://www.lowcarbondevelopmentindex.net/LowCarbonCityIndex-leaflet.pdf

The LCCDI is an initiative to measure how much and in what way cities contribute to low-carbon development. The focus is on cities as global solution providers and how cities link low-carbon strategy to overall economic and social development. The LCCDI is conceived of as an open source tool applied by leading cities, regardless of their size or development state.

Karin Wessman, karinwessman(at)gmail.com, info(at)lowcarbondevelopmentindex.net

4. Model Municipal Green Building Ordinance
http://www.law.columbia.edu/centers/climatechange/resources/municipal

This is a draft model municipal green building ordinance that is the product of an empirical analysis of common practices in existing municipal green building regulation and research on possible legal impediments. The model ordinance accommodates the rapidly developing field of substantive green building standards by allowing for the adoption of new standards within the ordinance’s framework.

Michael Gerrard, Columbia Law School, michael.gerrard(at)law.columbia.edu

5. Project Programming and Prioritization Tool
http://cdia.asia/knowledge/cdia-tools-and-learning-material/

This tool developed by the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) assists cities and municipalities throughout Asia to do a better and more structured job in urban infrastructure planning, prioritisation and programming. It facilitates the first step in the process from a wish list to a shortlist of infrastructure projects ready to be presented to financiers and project developers. It consists of a manual and an excel workbook. The manual can be downloaded free of charge from the CDIA website.

Michael Lindfield, ADB-CDIA Program Manager, mlindfield(at)adb.org
Emiel Wegelin, GTZ-CDIA Program Coordinator, emiel.wegelin(at)gtz.de

6. Rapid Assessment Framework (RAF) - A Diagnostic Tool for City Energy Use
http://www.esmap.org/esmap/node/235

RAF offers an innovative approach to cities by helping the cities quickly assess their energy performance, identify underperforming sectors, and recommend measures the city can take to make improvements. It is designed to present a quick, first‐cut and sectoral analysis on city energy use. The RAF covers energy efficiency across six sectors—transport, buildings, water and waste water, public lighting, solid waste, and power and heat. The RAF was field tested and validated in Quezon City (part of Metro Manila, Philippines) during February-March 2010.

Ranjan Bose, ESMAP Energy Efficiency Cities Initiative (EECI), rbose(at)worldbank.org

7. Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments
http://www.epa.gov/region4/recycle/green-building-toolkit.pdf

The information in the Toolkit can help communities evaluate their existing codes/ordinances and apply the information to create more environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable communities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developed Toolkit to assist local governments in identifying and removing barriers to sustainable design and green building within their permitting process. It addresses the codes/ordinances that would affect the design, construction, renovation, and operation and maintenance of a building and its immediate site.

Karen Bandhauer, EPA Project Manager, bandhauer.karen(at)epa.gov

Attachment	Size
City Network Survey Results 2009.ppt	1.55 MB
City Network Survey Report 2009.pdf	364.81 KB
ACCCRN.pdf	30.98 KB
CAI-Asia.pdf	30.69 KB
CDIA.pdf	29.9 KB
CITYNET.pdf	30.59 KB
List of CITYNET Members.pdf	50.1 KB
EMI.pdf	28.57 KB
GCIF.pdf	27.15 KB
GEN.pdf	29.92 KB
ICLEI.pdf	32 KB
ICSC.pdf	28.51 KB
Kitakyushu Initiative.pdf	29.84 KB
Metropolis.pdf	26.56 KB
SMART.pdf	26.05 KB
UCLG ASPAC.pdf	41.64 KB
UN-HABITAT.pdf	35.68 KB