During the 11th European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels, UN-Habitat launched its latest regional report - The State of European Cities in transition 2013: Taking Stock After 20 Years of Reform.
The report’s launch was hosted by the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the European Union and introduced by the Lithuanian Vice-Minister of the Environment, Daiva Matonienė, and by Aisa Kacyira Kirabo, UN-Habitat Deputy Executive Director. This first European Regional State of Cities Report provides an in-depth study of the monumental transition to democratic and market systems by 23 Eastern and Central European countries and territories.
Central and Eastern Europe, the report notes, have succeeded in achieving significant, although uneven, improvements in living standards and quality of life. Notwithstanding the significant progress, much remains to be done. The Central and Eastern European countries still face major challenges of adequate area-wide governance, planning, and environmental problems and will need to focus on further improvements to their environmental records. Attention is also required to better guided spatial development, as well as holistic regional urban management to address social and economic inequalities.
By focusing on a European urban dimension, the Report calls for regulatory framework and action to effectively address inequality, human suffering and undesirable exclusion that followed the rapid transition. Whilst identifying emerging features and challenges, The State of European Cities in Transition 2013 thus leads the way for future discussion at both a European and global scale.
You can download the Report here |
