Around half of the population in OECD countries live in predominantly urban regions and the number rises to almost 80% if some other less densely populated urban areas are taken into account. Cities are important generators of wealth, employment and productivity growth and often quoted as the engines of their national economies.
Productivity levels are generally higher in metropolitan areas and the increased trade and capital flows give rise to increased flows of people, goods, capital, services and ideas. In many OECD countries, metropolitan regions produce a larger percentage of the national GDP than their representative population percentage.
As globalisation progresses, the pursuit of competitiveness in urban regions has become a major local and national policy objective. Cities increasingly compete with one another, and with other cities around the world, to attract innovative investments and knowledge activities.
Meanwhile, they have to face typical negative externalities connected with urbanisation such as inequalities and social cohesion, urban sprawl and congestion, environmental problems, housing shortages and distressed areas.
Addressing such issues as well as implementing new strategies to foster city attractiveness and competitiveness requires an appropriate metropolitan governance that could mobilise all stakeholders including public from all layers of government as well as from the private sector and the civil society.
The OECD's Working Party on Territorial Policy in Urban Areas (WPURB) works with the Territorial Development Policy Committee (TDPC) to assess trends and challenges of urban regions; to promote regional competitiveness and achieve a more sustainable urban development; and to address institutional changes needed to enhance the capacity of urban governments, in partnership with civil society and the private sector.
Focus on Cities and Climate Change
Cities are a central part of the solutions for climate change
Today the OECD is actively working with governments to highlight the role of cities to deliver cost-effective policy responses to climate change. Cities are centers of innovation and can advance clean energy systems, sustainable transportation and waste management to reduce greenhouse gases. With access to up to date climate science, they can also work with scientists and experts to assess impacts and vulnerability, and with local stakeholders to design and implement effective adaptation strategies to respond to unavoidable impacts of climate change.
A number of OECD Projects are advancing the understanding of the roles that cities can play to respond efficiently and effectively to climate change.
OECD co-organises a session on Cities and Green Growth at the Global City Forum in Abu Dhabi, March 15-17, 2011
The Global City Forum is an international forum where public and private leaders meet to exchange best practice and share sustainable urban strategies. Under the Patronage of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and hosted by the Abu Dhabi Government, the Global City’s 5th edition will focus on the integral role of values and identity in shaping successful, sustainable cities. A session co-organised with the OECD will discuss practical tools that can be used to green cities’ economies, including the production of “green collar” jobs and the development of green infrastructure and technology. Confirmed participants include Jacques Attali, President of PlaNet Finance, Alan Frost, Director of Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, Mayor Phil Gordon, Phoenix, USA; Falah Al Ahbabi, General Manager, Urban Planning Council, Abu Dhabi, Mayor Jussi Ilmari Pajunen, Helsinki, Finland. Other important topics will include ‘Using events to bring business to the city’ and ‘Implementing City Policies and Solutions for Economic Growth and Social Cohesion’. To register with a 50% discount and view the full programme and list of speakers, see www.Globalcityforum.com – please quote the code GC11OE50 when registering.
The OECD Metropolitan Database is now available on line at the OECD Statistical Portal
In its current version it provides statistics on 90 large metropolitan areas in the OECD countries and shows how these regions have changed over the past decade. Available statistics include population, elderly dependency rate, labour force, employment, unemployment, GDP per capita and PCT patent applications. Territorial statistics and indicators are fundamental tools for enhancing cross-cities comparability and improving the analysis and evaluation of policies.
Consult the web page on Regional Statistics and Indicators for more information on how metropolitan regions are defined and examples of how eXplorer can help to understand regional responses for global challenges.
Recent Key Events
The analysis of urban development is complemented with input from a series of international conferences gathering a large number of international experts, politicians, mayors and ministers, bureaucrats and practitioners, journalists as well as representatives from international organisations, the business sector and the civil society.
OECD Urban Roundtable for Mayors and Ministers: Cities and Green Growth 25 May 2010, OECD Conference Centre, Paris The Third Annual Meeting of the OECD Roundtable of Mayors and Ministers worked on identifying a common policy agenda for cities’ contribution to a global green growth agenda. Participants addressed how existing models can be fine-tuned to create synergy, rather than conflict, between national and localised urban growth, sustainable development, and climate change action plans.
The OECD Roundtable for Mayors and Ministers provides the preeminent forum to develop inter-governmental approaches for stronger, more effective urban policy. This video from the 3rd meeting, which focused on “Cities and Green Growth”, features interviews with Bordeaux Mayor Alain Juppé, Copenhagen Lord Mayor Frank Jensen, DKI Jakarta, Governor Fauzi Bowo, Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle, Toronto Mayor David Miller, and Yokohama Mayor Fumiko Hayashi. Find out more at www.oecd.org/urban/2010roundtable. See the proceedings.
Display of Urban Best Practices from the Shanghai World Expo Videos detailing a sustainable urban initiatives from the Urban Best Practices Area were on display at the Roundtable, such as Bremen’s car sharing program. The selected cities are hallmarks for urban sustainability and livability on display at the Shanghai World Expo 2010 whose theme is 'Better Cities, Better lives'. Madrid, a collaborator of the OECD Urban Roundtable since it’s inception, is also promoting sustainable urban development at the Expo.
The OECD was an official member of the International Selection Committee (ISC) which was responsible for selecting cities for the Urban Best Practices Area. Remarks from OECD at ISC.
OECD work on cities, urban and metropolitan regions, has led to a number of Territorial Reviews on urban regions (metropolitan areas and city-regions), specific chapters in National Territorial Reviews and thematic publications on globalisation and city competitiveness and attractiveness, infrastructure, housing and environment, as well as social cohesion and distressed areas.
Click hereto access the full list of urban development publications.
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