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Urban environment - SOER 2010 thematic assessment: The global population is congregating in our cities. Eighty per cent of the world’s estimated nine billion people in 2050 are expected to live in urban areas. Our cities and urban areas face many challenges from social to health to environmental. The impacts of cities and urban areas are felt in other regions which supply cities with food, water and energy and absorb pollution and waste. However, the proximity of people, businesses and services associated with the very word ‘city’ means that there are also huge opportunities. Indeed, well designed, well managed urban settings offer a key opportunity for sustainable living.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › Thematic assessments
Land use — key message 1: Land is a finite resource and the way it is used is one of the principal drivers of environmental change, with significant impacts on quality of life and ecosystems as well as on the management of infrastructure. In turn, environmental change will increasingly influence the way Europeans use land as communities work to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › Land use — SOER 2010 thematic assessment › Key messages
Urban environment — key message 1: For the three-quarters of Europe's population that lives in cities and towns, a good urban environment is a precondition for a good quality of life. This quality of life depends inter alia on clean air and water, efficient transport, low noise levels and green spaces.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › Urban environment - SOER 2010 thematic assessment › Key messages
Ensuring quality of life in Europe's cities and towns: In May 2008, the Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities captured the concerns and desires of urban policy‑makers and citizens in the title of its new European Urban Charter: Manifesto for a new urbanity. Like numerous other international and European charters, conventions and declarations, the manifesto describes with some apprehension the 'unprecedented environmental, democratic, cultural, social and economic challenges' facing urban centres and their inhabitants. Our report on quality of life in Europe's cities and towns reiterates these concerns but also unravels the many apparent paradoxes of urban development and the sometimes perplexing realities of urban Europe today. The report defines a vision for progress towards a more sustainable, well‑designed urban future.
Located in Publications
Cities, where the living is good?: Quality of life in cities and towns can mean many different things to people. Finding the right balance of a healthy environment and good social and economic provisions is a precondition. Participants of the 2008 Open Days (European Week of Regions and Cities) talk about how they see their cities and towns as a good place to live in.
Located in Multimedia centre
10 messages for 2010 - Coastal ecosystems: Key messages: 1) As an interface between land and sea, European coastlines provide vital resources for wildlife, but also for the economy and human health and well-being. 2) Multiple pressures, including habitat loss and degradation, pollution, climate change and overexploitation of fish stocks, affect coastal ecosystems. 3) Coastal habitat types and species of Community interest are at risk in Europe; two thirds of coastal habitat types and more than half of coastal species have an unfavourable conservation status. 4) Integrated and ecosystem-based approaches provide the foundation for sustainable coastal management and development, supporting socio-economic development, biodiversity and ecosystem services. Coordinated action at the global, regional and local levels will be key to sustainable management of coastal ecosystems.
Located in Publications
Europe's forests at a glance — a breath of fresh air in a changing climate: Forests do not only provide us food, fibre and medicine, they regulate our climate and improve our quality of life. Human activities and climate change exert increasing pressure on our forest resources and the services they provide. With increasing demand on forests services on the one side, and uncertainty and risks linked to climate change on the other, we need to ensure that forests can continue fulfilling their multifunctional role.
Located in Publications
10 messages for 2010 — Mountain ecosystems: European mountain regions provide essential ecosystem services for lowlands and host a great diversity of habitats and species, many adapted to specific extreme climatic conditions. Mountain ecosystems are fragile and vulnerable, and face severe threats from land abandonment, intensifying agriculture, impacts of infrastructure development, unsustainable exploitation and climate change.
Located in Publications
Percentage of urban population resident in areas where pollutant concentrations are higher than selected limit/target values, 2001-2010 (EU-27): The rationale for selection of pollutant and corresponding limit/target values for CSI 004 is given in the justification for indicator selection. Only urban and sub-urban background monitoring stations have been included in the calculations. Data for Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta, are not included due to the geographical coverage of the Urban Audit.
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Living in an urban world: An increasingly urban world will probably mean spiralling consumption and greater affluence for many. But it also means greater poverty for the urban underprivileged. Poor urban living conditions and associated environmental and health risks could impact all areas of the world, including Europe.
Located in The European environment – state and outlook 2010 › … › SOER 2010 — assessment of global megatrends › Key facts