The Center for Science in the Public Interest, in collaboration with other organizations, presents the Sugary Drinks Summit of 2012, a national advocacy conference to motivate and strengthen national, state, and local initiatives, both public and private, to reduce sugary-drink consumption in the United States. During the event, researchers, government officials, state and local legislators, health professionals, low-income and minority advocates, youth activists, consumer groups, faith-based organizations, health insurers, and business leaders, will strategize to improve health by reversing the dramatic increase in sugary-drink consumption over the past decades. The meeting will convene a diverse group of experienced activists, as well as those who have only begun to address sugary-drink issues, facilitating an open exchange of expertise and ideas that benefits each level of participant. That interaction will both broaden and strengthen the constituency working to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks and add momentum to a growing public health movement. For more information: http://www.fewersugarydrinks.com/elements/pdf/summit_registration.pdf

by Naira Antoun

Space is never something that people simply use; we make meaning out of space through how we use it. And the revolution has seen a transformation in public space. That it is no longer surprising to see public walls – even those of Cairo’s administrative Mogamma building or Supreme Court – adorned with political graffiti speaks powerfully to this transformation, and to public space both as a site and instrument of revolutionary struggle.

This transformation takes place against the backdrop of urban planning that sought to limit the availability of open spaces in which citizens might congregate, and the development of gated communities for the wealthy that, along with exclusive parks, constitute a privatisation of space.

Read More:

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/114/32336/Egypt/-January-Revolution-continues/The-battle-for-public-space-Squares-and-streets-of.aspx

MONTREAL, Aug. 26, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - At the closing ceremony of the ninth Ecocity World Summit, held for the first time in Canada and organized by the Montréal Urban Ecology Centre (MUEC), Jayne Engle-Warnick, vice-president of the MUEC, said: "The Ecocity Summit brought together 1,500 delegates from 280 cities and 70 countries. Based on what we heard from experts during the conference, cities in Canada and all over the world are facing enormous challenges with limited resources. But we also heard that cities are the key to solving global issues such as climate change, the fight against poverty, and social exclusion."

Luc Rabouin, executive director of the MUEC, added: "During the Ecocity Summit, we learned about hundreds of inspiring solutions and ideas from all over the world, including Quebec and Montréal. Montréal has inspiration to offer for other cities, especially with its Charter of Rights and Responsibilities, public consultation practices, and numerous initiatives led by different civil society organizations in different neighbourhoods. But we have a lot to do before we catch up to the most advanced cities in the world. We need to refuse absurd and incomprehensible projects like the Turcot interchange. We have some interesting plans, but it is time to put them into action."

Six Future Challenges
Before becoming an ecocity, Montréal and its greater metropolitan area will meet many challenges: ending urban sprawl and increasing density in existing urban areas, investing more in public transportation, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and greening, and creating more space for citizens in decision-making processes.

Revising the Act Respecting Land Use Planning and Urban Development, currently underway at the National Assembly of Quebec, and developing a new Metropolitan Land Use Planning and Development Plan, an initiative taken on by the Montréal Metropolitan Community, are two excellent opportunities for ending urban sprawl and increasing the density of existing areas around efficient public transportation hubs.

Investing in Public Transportation
To overcome the current transportation crisis in Quebec, the Government of Quebec will need to immediately invest great sums of money in permanent highly efficient public transportation infrastructures and services.

Densification and Greening
Dense urban areas concentrate local services and reduce travel distances. To prevent urban heat islands and create quality public spaces, densification also needs to include greening measures and urban agriculture, both of which are often low-cost, high-impact solutions.

Favour Active Transportation
The Montréal Transportation Plan, adopted in 2008, stresses the importance of "restoring the appropriate quality of life to Montréal's residential neighbourhoods" and promises the creation of green neighbourhoods to favour walking and biking. Eventually, the City of Montréal will have to support the implementation of a network of interconnected green neighbourhoods. "Here, it's also time to move from planning to action," says Luc Rabouin, executive director of the Montréal Urban Ecology Centre.

Citizen Participation
The Montréal Development Plan and the revision of the Master Plan are ideal opportunities to involve the city's entire community, especially citizens, in developing a major collective project for Montréal.

Taxation and Good Governance
Despite the clear intentions of certain cities in Quebec, such as Montréal, one thing is clear: cities are part of the solution, but they have very few resources and little power to realize their ambitions. The true fiscal imbalance in Canada is the disadvantage cities have in relation to other levels of government. Cities should have access to a bigger part of the tax base.

Cities also need to change their methods of governance to re-establish a transparent relationship with citizens and ensure optimal use of limited public resources. Montréal needs to join the movement of more than 1,400 cities around the world, of which more than 300 are in Europe (Paris, Rome, Seville, Berlin), and implement a Participatory Budget that is appropriate for its context. Participatory budgeting is a solution that has been approved and recommended by major international agencies, such as UN-Habitat.

Principal Partners The Ecocity World Summit 2011 could not have taken place without the support of its principal partners: Bombardier, TD Group, the City of Montréal, and the Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire (Government of Quebec).

About the Montréal Urban Ecology Centre
The Montréal Urban Ecology Centre is an independent not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1996. Its mission is to build and share expertise concerning the most viable and democratic approaches to sustainable urban development. www.urbanecology.net