Three words are breaking the schemes of the traditional architecture of cities and their planning, not for introducing us to new concepts, but for trying to combine them in a reasoned, coherent and beneficial way. We talk about urbanism, sustainability and energy efficiency that well combined can bring benefits and create the sustainable city or break the economic balance of any administrative entity if its execution and application is little reasoned.
At the time we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Smart Cities pointing out a new concept that resonated After its implantation, the appearance of cities of primea and second class initially propitiated according to the state of the coffers of each city.
I was wondering if there weren't any initiatives that tried to minimize these consequences by finding a project interesting in Brazil, it is called “Cities Program sustainable”.
For an overview, there is a worksheet route for sustainable cities that involves different points until 2020 and 2050. We believe it is of interest to show the scheme:
Content menu:
The first thing is to emphasize that individualism as a city does not is viable, it is necessary to promote global guidelines that that frame the territory and that benefit the city sustainable . Sensitize, mobilize and offer tools for cities to develop economically, socially and environmentally jointly recalling the article on sustainable development projects and their models.
The general objective of these initiatives is to articulate, from co-responsibility, the efforts of local initiatives in pursuit of the building of just cities , democratic and sustainable.
– First step:
It is recognized that the initiative has no political color, the purpose is a common welfare and the importance of active citizenship in the promotion and achievement of true transformations, recognizing that those transformations require, in turn, the transformation and involvement of the State and its political will.
– Second step:
Involve the agents involved. The program of Sustainable Cities has drafted a proposal called "Commitment Letter" to which more than 320 have adhered municipalities in Brazil, of which 20 are part of "province capitals" as well as have signed such commitment to various important political parties.
On the other hand, the citizen must be involved, in this case began a mobilization and campaign «Eu Voto Sustentável» (I Vote Sustainable). There is no urn where vote, there is no political party, it is about involve society, see that citizens join to the objective through the different means of communication (Including social networks, websites…).
Schematically we can see the following graph for better understand the phases and characteristics of sustainable cities of a city:
If we want to follow a step-by-step methodology from the IDB (International Development Bank) provide us with some guide documents from HERE. Now we have the perfect combination to present common guidelines to follow.
The guidelines that must be followed are embodied in a agreement on several key points:
– Sustainable Cities Platform, an agenda for the sustainability of cities that addresses the different areas of public management, in 12 thematic axes, and incorporates integrated way the social, environmental, economic, political and cultural.
– General indicators associated with the axes of the platform.
– Basic indicators that will form part of the commitments of the candidates and mayors.
– Exemplary cases and national and international references international standards of excellence for the integrated improvement of the indicators of the cities.
– Campaign for the candidates to adopt the platform and assume commitments to the Program.
– Campaign for voters to value the Candidates committed to the Cities Program Sustainable.
Mayoral candidates can confirm their commitment to sustainable development by signing the Charter Commitment (www.cidadessustentaveis.org.br/carta). With this, elected signatories should be willing to promote the Sustainable Cities Platform in their cities and to pay accounts of the actions carried out and progress achieved through reports that reveal the evolution of the basic indicators related to each axis.
Participating cities will gain visibility in press releases dissemination and in the media, will have access to information strategies and exchange experiences with other cities, In addition to being part of an unprecedented movement in Brazil that represents another step in the process of building fairer, more democratic and sustainable cities.
All the present sections are described by means of two points; General description and specify where they are included all guidelines to be followed.
To access all the information presented here is the document that highlights the aforementioned bases of the sustainable cities program… HERE.
I wanted to clarify some point of this article, the initiative was inspired by the Aalborg commitments (Denmark – 1994), a political pact with development sustainable, which more than 650 municipalities have already signed, mainly Europeans. In Spain it had its initial repercussion, I say initially since the political will ended up obscure and forget an initiative that could have had its repercussion and benefit all of us, it is true that in the Northern Spain took the initiative more seriously.
Another curious fact is that in the Report on the «Program of sustainable cities" alludes to Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, chosen European Green City in 2012 as a point of reference for what "at home" we already have where to look and learn. In short, how nice it would be if we got together for such a noble goal. It is important to collect information about environmentally friendly cities managers and from the article on environmental projects and innovators we have indicated in the future of ecology.
What do you think about it?... Would it be viable in Spain?
