Research Article
Selada C, Silva C, Almeida AL
Abstract
Considering the urgency of global climate change and other environmental, social and economic pressures, it is presumed that a new system is needed–the post-carbon city. Through their adaptive capacity, post-carbon cities use the threat of climate change as an opportunity to reduce vulnerability as they restructure humanecological and human-human relationships toward ecosystem health and a clean energy economy. This article intends to analyse this transition process towards a post-carbon city model in 10 European case study cities (Barcelona, Copenhagen, Malmö, Istanbul, Lisbon, Litoměřice, Milan, Turin, Rostock and Zagreb) based on a set of environmental, economic and social Key Performance Indicators (KPI). Through the analysis of the KPI, namely reference indicators such as energy efficiency and GHG emissions indicators, it is possible to identify groups of cities with different stages of development in the transition towards a post-carbon city, namely: Group 1 (Copenhagen, Malmö and Rostock), Group 2 (Milan, Turin and Barcelona), Group 3 (Istanbul and Zagreb) and Group 4 (Lisbon and Litomerice). Copenhagen and Malmö are at the forefront of this sustainable trajectory. These cities have clear strategic visions in the area of urban sustainability, and are implementing several projects on mobility, energy and climate with positive impacts. This work has been developed under the framework of the POCACITO–“Post-carbon Cities of Tomorrow” project, supported by FP7 of the European Commission (EC).