Michel Bezuijen* started his administrative career as councillor and first deputy mayor of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. In 2013 he became mayor of the municipality of Rijswijk and in March 2019, the city council of Rijswijk nominated him for a second term as mayor. On June 18, 2020, Bezuijen was nominated by the Zoetermeer city council as the new mayor. He […]
City
Look to cities, not nation-states, to solve our biggest challenges
Robert Muggah The world in 2020 is looking more turbulent and uncertain than ever. Powerful economic, demographic and technological forces are rewiring international politics. According to the World Economic Forum’s new Global Risks Report, structural shifts are encouraging nation-states to adopt more transactional and unilateral postures. Read more
Rising Seas Will Erase More Cities by 2050
Denise Lu and Christopher Flavelle. Rising seas could affect three times more people by 2050 than previously thought, according to new research, threatening to all but erase some of the world’s great coastal cities. The authors of a paper published Tuesday developed a more accurate way of calculating land elevation based on satellite readings, a standard way of estimating the […]
Turning up the heat on city planners
By Garry Booth | Lloyd’s Madrid’s climate could resemble that of Marrakech in 30 years’ time, while London will experience the sort of summer conditions that residents of Barcelona are accustomed to today. This is the finding of new research by the Crowther Lab, whose environmental scientists tested the extent to which cities around the world are likely to be […]
Essentials of City Management
Malta, 7 December 2018. About increasing urban complexity and the challenge for the city manager PRIMO Seminar in cooperation with UDITE. Download program
Is this Peruvian city the most polluted on earth?
Source BBC. Residents of Cerro de Pasco, a city high in the Andes, say the soil is harming their children. Peru’s government has declared a health state of emergency for the region on three separate occasions, but has not accepted that mining activity is to blame… Video by Grace Livingstone and Jasmin Souesi.
Using water to create resilient cities
Source: UToday. European project CATCH, with the UT as one of its partners, wants to prepare cities for climate change and resulting extreme weather events – by putting water in the center of urban design. It’s starting with seven pilot cities, where new climate adaptation measures are being tested. Enschede is one of them. >>
The Urban Resilience Strategy of Rotterdam
Source: 100 Resilient Cities. Rotterdam formally published its resilience strategy on the 16th of May 2016. The executive summary is very clear about the new concept of approaching city management and public governance and the ambitious goals for the near future. “We must come together in a holistic way to face our challenges and take actions that can enhance resilience […]
New EU regulation for data protection
The European Commission has proposed a comprehensive reform of the EU’s 1995 data protection rules to strengthen online privacy rights and boost Europe’s digital economy. Technological progress and globalisation have profoundly changed the way our data is collected, accessed and used. In addition, the 27 EU Member States have implemented the 1995 rules differently, resulting in divergences in enforcement. A […]
Rotterdam Climate Initiative
As a low-lying delta city with Europe’s largest international port, Rotterdam takes its responsibility seriously in creating a sustainable city, region and Europe. By linking sustainable ambitions to a strong economy, Rotterdam will become the most sustainable world port city. Improving the climate for the benefit of people, the environment, and the economy; that is the challenge confronted by the collective […]
Cohesion Policy
The main goal of PRIMO is to develop an holistic approach of city governance, i.e. an integrated approach where the city is considered as an entity and in which all institutions and stakeholders cooperate to realize political targets. In this approach the common adressing of risks and benefits, of chances and threatenings is crucial for success. Moreover the ‘tuning’ with […]
City typology as the basis for policy
Towards a tailor-made approach to the benchmarking and monitoring of the energy and climate policy of cities Source: KPMG Advisory “Cities are responsible for about eighty percent of the global energy consumption and half of the total greenhouse gas emissions (European Commission, 20081). Cities are therefore one of the key locations in the fight against global warming.” Download report
An Unrealized Opportunity for Revenue, Risk Free
Source: ICMA (International City/County Management Association) by Ron Blanquie “It’s no wonder that risk management’s public role is often underused and misunderstood. Government entities have incorrectly concluded that risk management’s overall costs can only be tethered but not controlled or reduced. Public entities in California today face an unprecedented challenge as they try to maintain the levels of public service […]
Sharing a common goal: local authorities as crucial factor
The The Committee of Regions underlines the importance of local authorities in sharing a common goal, such as the challenges associated with global warming. The multi-level governance approach could lead to a true cooperation in the governance of common risks that we face. Local authorities can function as building blocks to develop a common strategy, crucial for public management and […]
The social crisis warrants as much political commitment as the banking crisis
Source: Committee of the Regions 03.06.2010 – Europe’s financial and economic crisis is increasingly becoming a social crisis too, and is testing European solidarity to the limit. The EU’s territorial cohesion and public confidence in European integration are both at stake. At their plenary session, to be held on 9 and 10 June 2010, the elected representatives of Europe’s regions […]
Saint-Etienne and pandemic flu
The city of Saint-Etienne has taken a renewing initiative to arm itself (the workforce)) against the risk of a pandemic flu. This initiative is a pilot, a remedy to improve the processes. The initiative can be fully integrated into all running projects. The aim of such system is maintaining an optimal level of services and simultaneously protection of the workforce […]