Cities with strong visions of a successful future lead the 2010 league table of Britain's most sustainable cities, released by sustainable development NGO Forum for the Future and sponsored by GE.
Newcastle, top for the second year running, and Leicester, in second place, are outpacing rivals Brighton, Bristol and London. But all five have set themselves ambitious targets and are guided by long-term visions of how to improve life for their citizens by reducing their impact on the environment and seizing new opportunities in the green economy.
The Forum's fourth annual Sustainable Cities Index tracks progress on sustainability in Britain's 20 largest cities, ranking them on environmental performance, quality of life and future-proofing, which looks at issues like how well cities are addressing climate change and how dynamic their economy is.
Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, said: "Cities are having to count every penny so it's essential that they invest wisely for long-term success. Leaders like Newcastle and Leicester are developing plans to run services in smarter ways, tackle challenges like climate change and secure the jobs of the future."
Barry Rowland, Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council, said: "Sustainability is right at the top of our agenda, and we intend to keep it there."
Mark Elborne, President and CEO of GE in the UK, said: "We are delighted to be sponsoring this report which addresses a topic of great interest to GE. We offer a comprehensive range of solutions to help build sustainable cities of the future. We are working around the world to apply the very latest technologies in renewable energy, healthcare, transport, water and waste treatment to make a cleaner more sustainable future for generations to come."
2010 Sustainable Cities Index Highlights
Newcastle, which was eighth in 2007, has extended its lead over a tight cluster of four rivals. It has placed itself at the centre of an increasingly vibrant clean tech cluster in the North East and aims to become a world class centre of science and innovation, benefiting economically and socially from the green economy. It aspires to become the UK's "electric car capital" and has started installing 580 charging points in the region.
Leicester, in 14th place four years ago, is second and leads on environmental performance. It has the lowest ecological footprint, produces the least household waste and is best at managing its biodiversity. It has a strong climate change plan, a high recycling rate and an emerging new business sector pursuing opportunities in sustainability and environmental management.
Brighton, third, scores well for quality of life and future-proofing, with a healthy, highly skilled population and a vibrant economy, but high-consumption lifestyles give it the worst ecological footprint of any city.
Bristol falls to fourth place but retains the top spot in the quality of life basket, with a low unemployment rate, highly skilled and qualified residents, and improving school standards.
London is fifth and comes top on future-proofing with strong new plans to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change and the highest level of business start-ups. It has the longest life expectancy, but by far the worst air quality and one of the largest ecological footprints.
Leeds remains sixth with good progress on recycling. It's followed by this year's two biggest climbers, both up four places. Coventry is seventh overall with the third best environmental performance. It has risen 10 places since 2007 showing good progress on a number of indicators. Plymouth, in eighth place, ranks third for quality of life with the second highest life expectancy and an excellent improvement in education.
Edinburgh, ninth, is best for employment and ranks second on education. Sheffield, 10th, has seen improvements in bus and tram services. Cardiff, 11th, scores well on future-proofing and has made notable improvements in recycling.
Nottingham is the biggest faller, dropping four places to 12th. As with many cities it contends with significant inequalities in health and wealth. However, life expectancy is improving, with reductions in levels of cancer and heart disease.
Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham take the next three places followed by Sunderland, Derby and Bradford. Glasgow remains in 19th place despite some tangible environmental improvements, such as reducing waste and its ecological footprint.
Hull remains bottom for the third year in a row. It comes last on employment and near the bottom for business start-ups. Although more than 20,000 citizens were affected by floods in 2007, it still needs to make plans for adapting to climate change.
Our media resources page contains more information
http://www.forumforthefuture.org/press-release/sustainable-cities-2010-resources-for-media
* Download the Sustainable Cities Index 2010 report, including details of each city's performance, comment and information on the methodology we use to compile the index.
* Download factsheets on each city
* Download an image of the report cover
The report and factsheets will be available to the public on this page from 18 October http://www.forumforthefuture.org/projects/sustainable-cities10
Overall city rankings
2010 rank - (2009) - [2008] - {2007}
1. Newcastle -----(1)-------[4]------{8}
2. Leicester-------(4)-------[8]-----{14}
3. Brighton--------(3)-------[2]------{1}
4. Bristol-----------(2)-------[1]------{3}
5. London---------(5)-------[9]-----{10}
6. Leeds-----------(6)------[13]------{5}
7. Coventry------(11)-----[14]-----{17}
8. Plymouth------(12)------[3]------{4}
9. Edinburgh------(7)-------[6]------{2}
10. Sheffield--------(9)-------[7]------{7}
11. Cardiff---------(10)-------[5]------{6}
12. Nottingham----(8)------[10=]---{11}
13. Manchester---(14)-----[15]-----{12}
14. Liverpool------(15)-----[17]------{20}
15. Birmingham--(17)----[19]------{19}
16. Sunderland---(13)-----[12]------{13}
17. Derby -- First year in index
18. Bradford------(16)-----[10=]-----{9}
19. Glasgow------(19)-----[18]------{15}
20. Hull------------(20)-----[20]------{18}
For more information and to arrange interviews about the index please contact:
David Mason, Head of Communications: [email protected] or +44 (0) 20 7324 3631
Ruth Harwood, Communications Manager: [email protected] or +44 (0) 20 7324 3665
For more information about Newcastle please contact:
Nigel Whitefield, Press Officer: [email protected] or +44 (0) 191 211 5097
For more information about GE please contact:
Sara Cruz, Director, Eloqui PR: [email protected]or +44 (0) 20 7534 0623
Sara Cruz
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0207-534-0623