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The state of European Cities in transition 2013 - launched

In October 2013, UN-Habitat has released its report: The state of European Cities in Transition 2013: Taking stock of 20 years of reform. The publication analyzes the impacts on the cities of the 23 countries and territories of transitional Europe that in the early 1990s embarked on their transition from centrally planned economies to democratic and marked-based systems.   

The report notes that transitional Europe has put a lot of efforts on addressing its notorious air, soil and water pollution. But there is still a lot to be done on this regard, with a special emphasis put on the quality of the urban air. The closure of many heavy industries was an environment-friendly act, but transportation became next major source of air pollution, mostly on account of the old vehicle stock. Motorization in Eastern Europe has increased dramatically over the past two decades due to growing mobility demand associated with suburbanization. More investment in urban public transportation systems could relieve these problems.

Radical shifts to address climate change have neither occurred nor are to be expected soon. Eastern European cities mostly show little interest because few experience any direct threats. Since almost two-thirds of the transitional region's population is urbanized, cities' compliance with EU 2020 targets would be of paramount importance. Therefore, national policy reform is required in all transitional countries to help municipalities improve their air quality, waste management and energy efficiency. Urban brown field redevelopment is another urgent matter to be addressed so that polluted and abandoned urban areas can be used for urban redevelopment.

With rising oil and gas prices, the report notes, improving urban energy consumption and efficiency should become a priority. Households are the main energy consumers because housing stocks are mostly old, energy-inefficient and equipped with energy-intensive appliances. Energy inefficiencies in district heating are of particular concern, with systematic losses up to 88 per cent recorded. Also, given the climatic conditions in the Baltic States, energy saving through improved house insulation could be very significant.

Waste water and solid waste disposal also remain problematic in many cities throughout transitional Europe. That is typically the case among the smaller municipalities who lack the capacities to adequately deliver these services. Connections to sewerage systems, for instance, vary widely throughout the region but, at only 39 per cent, are worryingly low in Montenegro. Albania performs similarly poorly in this respect, with less than two-thirds of the housing stock fitted with an indoor toilet.

Full report available as free pdf at:

http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=3493    

Contacts

UN-HABITAT Pristina Office:

Ministries Building "Rilindja", 10th Floor
10000 Prishtina, Kosovo
Phone: +381 38 200 32611
Fax: +381 38 224 122
E-mail: info@unhabitat-kosovo.org

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