OECD Green Growth Studies: Green Growth In Cities

This report synthesises the findings from six case studies of urban green growth policies, four at city level (Paris, Chicago, Stockholm, Kitakyushu) and two at the national level (China, Korea). It offers a definition of urban green growth and a framework for analysing how it might play out in different types of cities. It demonstrates the importance of urban policies for achieving national environmental policy goals and discusses the increased efficiency of policy intervention at the urban level. It identifies urban activities to reduce environmental impact that are most likely to contribute to the policy priorities of job creation, urban attractiveness, metro-regional supply of green products and services, and increased urban land values. It also provides guidance on addressing potential financing and governance challenges that may arise in pursuing urban green growth. Finally, the report offers a preliminary proposal for how green growth in cities could be measured.

Table of Content :

Acronyms and abbreviations
Executive summary
Chapter 1. What is green growth in cities?
-Fostering urban economic growth and development by reducing urban environmental impact
-Conditions and scenarios for green growth in cities
-Bibliography
Chapter 2. Why are cities important to national green growth strategies?
-Cities outsize role in national growth and environmental degradation
-How urban policies can lower the costs of meeting national environmental policy targets
-Cities are key spenders on infrastructure relevant to green growth
-Bibliography
Chapter 3. What are the high-priority green growth policies for cities?
-Green growth policies for job creation
-Policies to consider when the priority is attractiveness
-Policies to consider when the priority is to foster regionally produced green goods and services
-Policies to consider when the priority is to increase value and reduce environmental impacts
-Bibliography
Chapter 4. How should urban green growth governance and financing challenges be addressed?
-Governing the green city: A case for stronger multi-level governance tools
-City revenues: Getting the financial incentives right for green growth
-Mobilising private finance for green infrastructure
-Bibliography
Annex A Measuring green growth in cities
-The context for a new set of indicators
-Proposed indicators for measuring progress towards urban green growth
-Bibliography
Related OECD work on green growth and cities