Tag: Johannesburg

At the end of September, the City of Johannesburg was honoured to host the first ever C40 Land Use Planning Network Workshop. Bringing together senior officials from 15 cities around the world, the workshop addressed a number of very important topics related to land use planning challenges and policies.

Today, C40 announced the 35 finalists competing in ten urban climate action categories for the fourth-annual C40 Cities Awards, sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies and BYD. The winners will be announced on December 1, 2016, at a ceremony in Mexico City, held alongside the sixth biennial C40 Mayors Summit.

​The unprecedented growth of cities in emerging economies, coupled with the legacy of apartheid in South Africa has, since the early 1990s, led to a rapid increase in informal settlements, or slums, in Johannesburg.

As the economic heartland of South Africa, it is estimated that Johannesburg receives more than 10,000 new citizens each month. Inadequate provision of shelter, distorted land and housing policies, have led to the growth in informal settlements where these migrants from within and outside the borders of South Africa come to settle.

At the start of December 2015, all eyes were on Paris for the COP21 climate negotiations, regarded by many as a pivotal moment in determining global climate action. C40 was fortunate to be there on the ground to help showcase innovative and effective climate actions taking place in the world’s cities. Through a series of fantastic events at Paris City Hall, Le Bourget and other iconic locations around the city, mayors from around the world gathered to celebrate successful projects and plans, share their stories and knowledge, voice their ideas, and establish opportunities for action over the next 5 years and beyond.

In March of this year, the City of Johannesburg hosted a regional workshop on emissions measurement and reporting for C40 cities in Africa. At this workshop it was clear that African cities are not only determined to reduce GHG emissions, they are interested in measuring, reporting and publicly disclosing emissions data.