The Urban Audit: The Urban Audit An Overview and First Results by Lewis Dijkstra the Urban Unit Directorate-General for Regional Policy European Commission


Goals of the Urban Audit: Goals of the Urban Audit Allow citizens and city leaders to compare their city with other cities in Europe Support the development of urban policy Facilitate the exchange of experience between cities Inform Member States and the EU of the quality of life in European Cities


Structure of the Presentation: Structure of the Presentation Urban Audit Overview 1. City Selection 2. Variables 3. Points in time First results 1. Neighbourhood level 2. City and LUZ level 3. Perception Survey


The Urban Audit Pilot Project 1997-2000: The Urban Audit Pilot Project 1997-2000 The first round 58 large cities in the EU 15 without London and Paris 500 variables on socio-economic aspects participation in civic life education and training environment culture and leisure Carried out by a consultancy


Urban Audit 2002-2005: Urban Audit 2002-2005 City selection Both large (>250 000 inhabitants) cities and medium-sized (50 000) cover 20% of the population geographical dispersion 258 cities in EU27


Slide6: 123 Large cities 135 Medium-sized cities


Example of City Selection in Norway: Example of City Selection in Norway


The Urban Audit : The Urban Audit


Variables per spatial level in 2001: Variables per spatial level in 2001


Variables over time at the City level: Variables over time at the City level


Nine Domains : Nine Domains Demography: age, gender and nationality, household Social Aspects: housing, health and crime Economic aspects: employment and income Civic Involvement: elections and local administration Training and Education: education levels Environment: climate, air quality, water and waste Travel and Transport: travel to work, accidents Information Society: ICT use and ICT sector Culture and Recreation: cultural activities and tourism sector


Neighbourhood Level Results: Neighbourhood Level Results


Neighbourhood Disparities: Neighbourhood Disparities


Unemployment in Berlin: Unemployment in Berlin


Education in Budapest: Education in Budapest


Housing in Warsaw: Housing in Warsaw


Poverty in Amsterdam: Poverty in Amsterdam


Suburbanisation in Helsinki: Suburbanisation in Helsinki


Crime concentrations: Crime concentrations


City and Larger Urban Zone Results: City and Larger Urban Zone Results


Singles prefer Cities: Singles prefer Cities


The educated prefer (large) cities: The educated prefer (large) cities


Tertiary Education: Tertiary Education


Young & Old Cities: Young & Old Cities


Cities and the Lisbon Target: Cities and the Lisbon Target


Cities and the Lisbon Target: Cities and the Lisbon Target


Unemployed often concentrated in cities: Unemployed often concentrated in cities


Not in Suburbs in EU15: Not in Suburbs in EU15


But in many suburbs outside EU15: But in many suburbs outside EU15


Unemployed Urban Youth: Unemployed Urban Youth


Most foreigners live in large cities and capitals: Most foreigners live in large cities and capitals UK data not available


Owners or Renters?: Owners or Renters?


Owners or Renters?: Owners or Renters?


Summer Smog still a problem: Summer Smog still a problem


On a lighter note…: On a lighter note…


Top Tourist Cities: Top Tourist Cities


The Perception Survey: The Perception Survey Perception data is an important complement to the "objective" data collected by the Urban Audit (safety ≠ small number of recorded crimes) How citizens feel is important to politicians Show the differences in citizen opinions in different cities


31 Cities in the EU 15: 31 Cities in the EU 15 Bruxelles/ Brussel Antwerpen Liège København Berlin München Leipzig Dortmund Athina Irakleio Amsterdam Rotterdam Wien Lisboa Braga Helsinki Stockholm London Glasgow Manchester Madrid Barcelona Malaga Paris Marseille Rennes Dublin Roma Napoli Torino Luxembourg


18 Cities in outside EU15 (2005): 18 Cities in outside EU15 (2005) Sofia Burgas Lefkosia Praha Ostrava Tallinn Budapest Miskolc Vilnius Riga Valletta Warszawa Gdańsk Opole Bucuresti Cluj-Napoca Ljubljana Bratislava


Perceptions of Safety: Perceptions of Safety


Employment Opportunities: Employment Opportunities


Housing Costs: Housing Costs


Public Transport: Public Transport


Air Pollution: Air Pollution


Conclusions: Conclusions The Urban Audit enables for the Europe-wide city comparisons allows better targeting of urban policy facilitates the exchange of experience will be continued and improved!


Good News: Good News