Singapore—June 26, 2009—The World Bank today launched a new urban development program that supports cities in developing countries in their move towards greater ecological and economic sustainability.
Called Eco2 Cities – Ecological Cities as Economic Cities, the program recognizes that successful cities create economic value and opportunities for their citizens in an inclusive, sustainable and resource efficient way, while also protecting and nurturing the local ecology and global public goods, for future generations.
A three-part book on the Eco2 Cities Program presents the program’s analytical and operational framework along with profiles of effective and practical methods and tools. The next step is to put the framework into action in a first set of cities.
Launching the Eco2 program at a seminar in Singapore on “Liveable Cities in Asia”, the World Bank’s Hiroaki Suzuki – team leader of the Eco2 Cities program – said cities like Curitiba in Brazil, Stockholm in Sweden, Singapore, and Yokohama in Japan have demonstrated that they can greatly enhance their resource efficiency while decreasing pollution and unnecessary waste.
Eco2 Cities co-team leader, Arish Dastur said many cities have found imaginative and practical solutions even with limited budgets. “Sustainable planning is an investment in the future of a city’s economy and welfare,” he said. “The Eco2 Cities program is designed to enable cities in developing countries to put the theory into practice.”
Developed collaboratively by an international team of practitioners and experts from the urban, transport, energy, water and waste management sectors – the Eco2 program is based on real experiences, challenges and lessons learnt from cities in the developed and developing world. The program is building strong linkages with best practice cities like Curitiba, Singapore, Stockholm and Yokohama.
For more information on Eco2, go to www.worldbank.org/eco2.
