The IUC North America Region (IUC-NA) has published a final report chronicling its achievements and results as well as reflections from participating cities; the program concludes this month with a flurry of virtual results presentations highlighting more than three years of activities. Across the world, the rate of urbanisation is increasing at a rapid pace. As the areas in which the majority of people live and work, cities are increasingly acknowledged as the arena in which solutions to major
IUC-North America Region - Final report
- 10 November 2020
The IUC North America Region (IUC-NA) has published a final report chronicling its achievements and results as well as reflections from participating cities; the program concludes this month with a flurry of virtual results presentations highlighting more than three years of activities.
Across the world, the rate of urbanisation is increasing at a rapid pace. As the areas in which the majority of people live and work, cities are increasingly acknowledged as the arena in which solutions to major societal and environmental challenges must be implemented. This rapid change has put many cities under significant strain. Local governments are struggling to meet the higher demand for services in fields such as energy, water, health, and transport prompted by the increase in population.
Launched in late 2016, the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) program has enabled cities to learn and share solutions to common urban challenges. It is part of a long-term strategy by the European Union to foster sustainable urban development in cooperation with the public and private sectors and civil society.
The IUC program includes five regions: Asia, China, India, Latin America and North America. The IUC North America region has two principal components: City-to-City Cooperation on sustainable urban development and sub-national action on the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM).
The IUC-NA City-to-City Cooperation includes 20 EU cities from 11 EU member states and 20 North American cities (seven Canadian, five Mexican and eight US cities) who are collaborating together on topics which range from sustainable urban mobility to circular economy to social inclusion and equity in planning processes. Highlights include: 40 Learning Exchanges (one hosted by each participating city), 20 jointly completed Urban Cooperation Action Plans, 130 new business contacts for private sector opportunities, 82 Delegates participated in yearly global IUC events in Brussels, 33 online technical and networking sessions and over 20 regional and national events organized. Many pairings plan to continue collaboration together beyond the IUC program to be able to implement pilot projects and plans created through their IUC partnership.
The GCoM in North America aspect has focused on forming national partnerships across the three countries to institutionalise the initiative and develop associated capacity-building amenities for member cities such as Helpdesks, webinars, e-learning modules and other tools/resources. In addition, 27 cities/metropolitan areas have been provided with technical support to help them advance through the GCoM process, building practical expertise within local governments while showcasing the value of GCoM to other cities around the region.