THE IRISH PRESIDENCY of the EU have launched the Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities website, which aims to promote and enhance a European city’s work on integrated sustainable urban development.

The Irish Presidency said in a statement that the main purpose of the RFSC site was to guide citizens to do things in a better way that will benefit all of society:

For Europe to be truly prosperous, environmentally sustainable, and a place in which no citizen is marginalised, our urban areas must be empowered to act as pioneers that guide the rest of society towards a better way of doing things.

Inspired by the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities which defined key fields of action and possible solutions to sustainability issues, the process leading to the tool’s creation was initiated at the request of the European ministers for urban development during the French Presidency in 2008.

There are 25 main objectives that define the European sustainable city, including:

1. Reinforcing the economic attractiveness of the area by providing training and assistance to staff of local administration.
2. Develop the local economy through knowledge and skills provision by creating and maintaining good relations with both the business and non-profit sector.
3. Ensuring city connectivity and the provision of efficient infrastructures.
4. Develop/promote/support appropriate sustainable local production and consumption of goods and services.
5. Meet the needs of the population in terms of employment types and access to jobs.
6. Improve the quality and accessibility of public services for everyone.

The remaining 19 objectives can be seen here.

Anyone can sign up to use the website, however, it was developed with cities in mind and so is best suited to the needs of local authorities dealing with urban areas.

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