The battle against global warming and climate change will be won or lost in our cities. Cities are the capitals of consumption and power.

To promote greener cities, the Urban Sustainability Framework (USF), launched by the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), serves as a guide for cities seeking to enhance their sustainability.

Launched at the ninth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF9) in Kuala Lumpur, this guide supports cities along the sustainability pathway, from creating a vision to identifying financial resources to implement their plans.

The USF lays out six key dimensions of urban sustainability:

• governance and integrated planning,
• fiscal sustainability,
• economic competitiveness,
• environment and resource efficiency,
• low carbon and resilience, and
• social inclusiveness. 

The Framework is a collaboration among cities, organizations, and experts who have contributed to the development of the Framework.

Cities can understand their urban sustainability by using indicators that help track their progress toward sustainability goals.

The USF is part of a larger collaboration for knowledge exchange on sustainable urban planning. Financed by the GEF and led by the World Bank, the Global Platform for Sustainable Cities was launched in March 2016. It was designed to meet the need for an enabling environment – a platform – that allows cities to exchange ideas, share experiences, use analytical tools, and, most importantly, steer investment toward long-term sustainability.

The GPSC assists cities in tapping into cutting-edge knowledge and expertise on topics ranging from urban planning to low-carbon strategy, transit-oriented development, and sustainable financing. Together with various partners in the urban realm, the GPSC is creating a suite of knowledge products and tools that will help cities drive their development agenda. The platform currently includes 28 cities from 11 countries.

An important collaborator joined the platform at WUF9 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the city of Aarhus, Denmark, and the World Bank. Through the MOU, Denmark’s second largest city becomes a knowledge partner of the GPSC.

“We definitely have worthwhile experiences to share with our peers, and likewise hope to learn from others to improve the city’s sustainability,” said Jacob Bundsgaard, Mayor of Aarhus.

GPSC and Aarhus will be collaborating in the following areas:

1. sustainable, integrated planning strategies;
2. low carbon development towards the goal of carbon neutrality;
3. adaptation and resilience; and
4. water management

Greener Cities is a division of Crossbow Communications. Greener Cities is a resource for sustainable and resilient cities and communities around the world.

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