Table 5.
Mapping of the main urban networks and initiatives across the globe, with a focus on their thematic and geographical scope.
| City network name | Thematic scope | Objectives | Geographical scope: global/regional |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Resilient cities | Post Carbon cities | Achieving sustainable post‑carbon cities in the EU, thereby contributing to the Roadmap for moving to a low-carbon economy in 2050 | Worldwide |
| 25 years of Energy Cities | Energy | Strengthen skills in the field of sustainable energy as well as represent the interests and influence the policies and proposals made by EU institutions in the fields of energy, environmental protection and urban policy. Exchange experiences, transfer know-how and jointly implement projects. |
Regional: Europe |
| ACR+ | Recycling and sustainable resource management | Promoting smart resource consumption and sustainable management of municipal waste through prevention at source, reuse and recycling. | Global |
| Avitem | Urban Sustainable Development | Establish a mechanism for exchange of knowledge for achieving urban development | Regional: Mediterranean |
| C40 Cities | Climate change | Reducing greenhouse gas emissions. C40 works with participating cities to address climate risks and impacts locally and globally. | Worldwide |
| CESMED/ Cleaner energy saving Mediterranean cities | Transport | Supporting local and national authorities in the ENPI South Mediterranean Partner Countries to respond more actively to sustainable policy challenges. | Regional: Mediterranean(FAO. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2019) and East European countries(Runyan and Stehm, 2019), plus Russia |
| City Net | Urban Sustainable Development | Connect urban actors and deliver tangible solutions for cities across the Asia Pacific region. | Regional: Asia Pacific region |
| Civitas | Transport | Sustainable mobility in Europe: introducing change towards greener transport under one dynamic and very active network. | Regional: Europe |
| CORDIS (Community Research and Development Information Service) | Sustainable urban housing | 1) Speed up innovation, 2) Stimulate market development; both in terms of sustainable urban housing | Regional: Europe |
| Covenant of Mayors | Energy efficiency | Increasing energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources on their territories. Aim: to meet and exceed the European Union 20% CO2 reduction objective by 2020. | Regional: Europe |
| David Suzuki Foundation | Diversity of nature and our quality of life | Assist urban centers in Canada to protect green and blue spaces and promote transit-oriented development and pedestrian- and cycle-friendly transportation options | Regional: Canada |
| Eltis | Sustainable Urban Mobility | Support the transition towards competitive and resource-efficient mobility systems in European cities. | Regional: Europe |
| Eurocities | Climate change / Energy efficiency | Achieving energy efficiency for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and for the transition to a resource efficient economy | Regional: Europe |
| Go 100% renewable energy | Renewable energies | Supply electricity, heating, and transportation energy needs with 100% sustainable renewable sources | Worldwide |
| ICLEI | 10 different urban agendas, dealing with multiple sustainability issuesa | Help local and sub-national governments address 10 main challenges and advance the objectives of global sustainability frameworks, from the Sustainable Development Goals to the Paris Agreement and New Urban Agenda. | Worldwide |
| Low carbon future cities | Low carbon | Share information about sustainable urbanization and understanding the concept of low carbon cities | Regional |
| Med Cities | Urban Sustainable Development | Achieving urban sustainable development as a way to improve living conditions in the Mediterranean region. | Regional: Mediterranean |
| Milan Urban Food Policy Pact | Resilient urban food systems | Develop equitable, resilient and sustainable food systems. It encourages inter-departmental coordination at municipal and community levels, working to integrate urban food policy considerations into social, economic and environment policies, programs and initiatives. | Worldwide |
| Natural Resource Defense Council | Creating strong, just and resilient communities | Creating models to solve a selected set of key urban challenges that can be applied to other cities nationwide. By 2020, at least 25 urban areas will have deployed integrated, equitable and replicable climate response strategies as a result of Urban Solutions' tools, technical expertise and on-site capacity, ultimately reaching a tipping point for market-wide adoption of these strategies. | Regional: North America |
| PLEEC (Planning for energy efficiency cities) | Energy efficiency | Reduce energy use in Europe in the near future | Regional: Europe |
| Pocacito | Carbon Efficiency | Increase energy efficiency and use of renewable energies. Meet and exceed European Union 20% CO2 reduction objective by 2020 | Regional: Europe |
| Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities (RFSC) | Sustainable cities | Hhelp cities promote and enhance their work on integrated sustainable urban development. | Regional: Europe |
| Regions4 Sustainable Development (formerly the nrg4SD) | Urbanization, biodiversity, and ecosystem services | Strengthening conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in an urban context. Brings the voice of regions to the biodiversity agenda. | Global |
| RUAF Global Partnership | Food as a tool for city resilience | Reduce urban poverty, enhancing urban food security, improving urban environmental management and stimulating participatory city governance | Global |
| The Gold Standard | Low-carbon development | Develop ground-breaking solutions that will unlock the finance needed by cities around the globe for low carbon development. | Worldwide |
| UN Habitat | Sustainable urban development |
Build inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities. Promote urbanization as a positive transformative force for people and communities, reducing inequality, discrimination and poverty | Worldwide |
| URB ACT | Sustainable cities | Assist cities in developing pragmatic solutions that are new and sustainable and that integrate economic, social and environmental urban topics. | Regional: Europe |
| World cities network | Resilient, vibrant, and sustainable cities | Help deliver more resilient urban infrastructure through shared learning, procurement, planning, and financing models | Global |
| World Council on City Data | Smart, sustainable, resilient, and prosperous cities | The WCCD hosts a network of innovative cities committed to improving services and quality of life with open city data and provides a consistent and comprehensive platform for standardized urban metrics. | Global |
a
ICLEI's 10 urban agendas are: 1) Sustainable City, 2) Low-carbon city, 3) Resource-efficient and Productive City, 4) Resilient City, 5) BiodiverCity, 6) Smart City, 7), EcoMobile City (Sustainable Urban Mobility, 8) Happy, Healthy, and Inclusive Communities, 9) Sustainable Local Economy and Procurement, and 10) Sustainable City-Region Cooperation.