Green Growth in Cities


224

Green Growth in Cities. OECD Green Growth Studies. OECD Publishing, Paris, 2013 
136 p.

Today more than half of the world population live in or near cities. By the middle of the 
21st century, urban areas will host to over two-thirds of the global population and a large 
share of economic activities and wealth. Cities can generate economic growth and creating 
jobs while becoming greener – this is the key message of the OECD’s new “Green Growth 
in Cities” report. Based on case studies of Paris, Chicago, Kitakyushu and Stockholm, the 
report identifi es green policies that can respond to urban growth priorities and suggests 
how to implement and fi nance them.

Cities must be an integral part of international and national eff orts to make economies 
more sustainable, societies more inclusive, to reduce increasing urban environmental im-
pact, stimulate economic growth and improve well-being of their residents. The potential 
synergies and interlinkages between the environment and the economy in cities are obvi-
ous. For example, reducing traffi  c congestion and air pollution makes a city more effi  cient 
and more att ractive to fi rms and highly skilled workers, healthier and more liveable for 
the local population.

The OECD’s city-level case studies provide city leaders with new insights on how well-
designed environmental policies can contribute to diff erent types of growth. Right urban 
sustainability policies can create new jobs including retrofi tt ing the existing building stock 
for improved energy effi  ciency. For example, the Chicago Tri-State metropolitan region has 
built a regional specialty in green building design and retrofi tt ing. In 2010 it gave 45,000 
people green jobs, 36% of which were in the green building sector.

Effi  cient transport systems, in particular, good public transport networks, help cities to 
att ract new fi rms to invest and workers as well. The private sector in the Paris/Île-de-France 

region has long recognised this, 
and fi rms that benefi t from prox-
imity to the transportation system 
contribute to its fi nancing.

Cities can also foster innova-
tion, entrepreneurial spirit which 
can stimulate growth of the green 
technology sector by creating 
green regional clusters that build 
on existing industries, services, re-
search and innovation. Kitakyushu 
in Japan has built an impressive 
recycling cluster, the Eco-Town, 
which recycles hundreds of tons 
of industrial waste every day, 
while producing energy for resi-
dential and commercial purposes 
in neighbourhoods.

Urban redevelopment, hous-
ing stock renewal and develop-
ment of eco-districts can enhance 
land values while increasing den-
sity and reducing residents’ envi-



225

ronmental impact. Following the success of its Hammarby Sjöstad eco-district, city of 
Stockholm is now working with the private sector to develop the Stockholm Royal Seaport 
eco-district following the SymbioCity concept. The buildings there will use less than the 
energy of others in Stockholm and the new district will have an advanced smart grid and 
district heating system.

According to the fi ndings of the OECD report there is an urgent need to fi nd bett er ways 
to “green” urban fi nance and to mobilise private sector money for green infrastructure 
development. Introducing green incentives into municipal revenue streams would be a 
big step towards a more sustainable growth path. Property taxes could help prevent urban 
sprawl by eliminating the preferential tax treatment of single-family homes that exists in 
many places. Traffi  c regulation, congestion charges and parking fees can help reduce traf-
fi c and air pollution, while fees for water and waste services should be more responsive to 
actual resources used consumers. For example, the city of Stockholm is greening its income 
with revenues from the traffi  c congestion charges system. Introduced in 2006, this system 
has led to lower carbon dioxide emission and traffi  c congestion and is also becoming a sub-
stantial source of local government’s income. National governments also have an important 
role to play in sett ing the right price signals and standards that will provide coherent and 
att ractive environment for green fi nancing. 

This book is recommended for urban geographers, planners, environmental scientists 
as well as wider audience interested in urban issues and environmental challenges.

István POMÁZI