What we are doing
The Urban Transitions Alliance, an initiative led by ICLEI and supported by the Germany-based Stiftung Mercator, presents an opportunity for industrial legacy cities across the world to demonstrate their commitment to inclusive and sustainable urban development. Launched in 2017, the Alliance is a city network and knowledge-exchange hub of innovative urban transition policies and projects. It supports industrial legacy cities from across the globe to identify common challenges, share knowledge and develop equitable solutions to successfully guide their individual sustainable transitions.
Severe job loss in legacy sectors and ongoing disinvestment that primarily impacted former worker’s neighborhoods have led to social inequality as a major transition challenge in Alliance cities. The equity aspect of urban transitions constitutes a joint priority, guiding the conversations and helping to identify clear objectives for cooperation. Throughout the activities, the Alliance is building a knowledge base on how sustainability plans and programs can be designed to benefit all residents and increase equity. This can provide value to local governments worldwide and raise equity ambitions locally.
Read more
Read less
How we are tracking
Feedback from cities on achievements of targets set for their implementation actions.
Read more
Read less
What we are achieving
The Urban Transition Alliance connects industrial legacy cities from Europe, USA and China committed to accelerate ambitious and inclusive transitions, as well as showcasing their sustainability leadership. Alliance cities share their own transition experiences, knowledge and good practices based on social, economic and environmental challenges within their unique industrial legacy context. Through a tailored exchange platform hosted by ICLEI, the Alliance helps cities to identify and leverage expertise to co-create implementation strategies for sustainability-related projects.
During the current project phase, the ICLEI further encourages the Alliance member cities to include an equity-based approach in their transition projects, not only to achieve climate and environmental targets, but also to provide opportunities to vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. Alliance cities receive support on key equity-focused sustainability issues through annual challenge cycles with 4-5 challenge topics selected per round. The outcomes of these challenge support cycles will shape a blueprint of lessons and good practices for cities worldwide on how social equity and climate action can reinforce each other.
Read more
Read less
