European Cities Getting Dirtier, Noisier

BRUSSELS, Belgium, February 18, 2004 (ENS) - Europe's 500 largest towns and cities could be required to adopt sustainable urban transport plans and environmental management plans backed by an environmental management system, the European Commission said on Monday. Such a move would extend the European Union's reach into the sphere of land use planning that has traditionally been led by the individual European countries.

In many European cities, poor air quality, noise, heavy traffic, neglect of the built environment, poor environmental management and a lack of strategic planning have led to a lower quality of life, health problems and premature deaths, the Commission says.

Cities also have a considerable impact on the environment, producing large volumes of greenhouse gases, air pollution and waste, and consuming large amounts of resources.

"As 80 percent of EU citizens live in towns and cities, it is very important to improve the quality of urban life," said Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, announcing the strategy.

"Pollution, noise, heavy traffic and many other environmental problems are concentrated here. Meeting environmental targets and objectives is vital to making cities healthy places to live in. This is why we need a coordinated and coherent strategy," she said. "I am looking forward to discussing this with member states and cities to ensure that we help them deliver a real change."

Traffic on the Avenue de Champs-Élysées, Paris, France (Photo by Ian Britton courtesy FreeFoto)

Noise at home affects health, and people whose sleep is disturbed by noise at night are 46 percent more likely to have an accident at home than those who sleep more peacefully, the WHO found. Studies indicate that one third of the population complain about sleep problems, which in Europe means 350 million people.

The working group of experts responsible for the overall analysis of this data met in Munich, Germany last week. Their final recommendations will form part of the agenda at the World Health Organization's forthcoming ministerial conference on environment and health, to be held in Budapest, Hungary in June. By then Hungary and nine other accession countries will be member states of the European Union, following a formal ceremony on May 1.

The idea of binding European Union rules that will cover all 25 EU member states is the highlight of a communication on the urban environment issued by the European Commission in preparation for a formal urban environment strategy due in summer 2005.

The communication focuses on sustainable urban management and urban transport, as well as sustainable construction and design. These are areas where the potential benefits to the environment are highest and where significant progress can be made in most towns and cities, Wallstrom says.

The communication is the fruit of extensive consultations with towns and cities, NGOs, business, the academic community and member states over the last two years.

Traffic congestion in London, England (Photo courtesy FreeFoto)

For this reason, most of the commication pursues what the Commission calls a "strong," but nevertheless voluntary EU framework aimed at turning existing examples of good practice into the "norm across Europe."

The Commission says it will encourage member states to adopt national or regional urban environmental strategies. It identifies tripartite agreements between the EU, national and local authorities as a possible way forward and notes that three pilot projects have already been launched.

Under the heading of sustainable urban transport, the Commission says it will encourage all EU states to create framework policies. They will also be encouraged to evaluate impacts of infrastructure projects on urban transport sustainability.

The Commission pledges to propose an action plan on promoting alternative vehicle fuels and to identify a set of urban transport indicators. It also pledges to develop the capacity of existing regional energy agencies to engage with transport issues.

A directive on public procurement of low energy, low emission vehicles is already under development, it notes.

To promote sustainable construction, the Commission promises to develop an EU methodology for evaluating sustainability of buildings and the built environment, including life cycle cost indicators. It suggests that member states should offer incentives to greener buildings. Member states are to be encouraged to develop sustainable construction programs and to introduce sustainability requirements into tendering procedures.

Measures to tackle construction and demolition waste are promised in a parallel waste prevention and recycling strategy. The Commission says it will also develop environmental labeling of construction materials.

Plane approaching Heathrow International Airport over the west London Borough of Hounslow. The borough is protesting expansion of Heathrow on social, economic, transportation, environmental, health and safety grounds. (Photo courtesy Borough of Hounslow)

The communication also suggests a wide range of linkages between an EU urban environment strategy and other EU policies in areas including water management, climate change, biodiversity and pesticides.

There will be extensive consultations on this approach during 2004, including an open internet consultation, lasting from today until April 1, discussions with the EU institutions, the EU Expert Group on the Urban Environment and different stakeholder groups, and more detailed discussions in working groups.

The aim of all these talks is to address problems in European cities like those found by the World Health Organization researchers. Poor ventilation can reduce air exchange levels and thus exacerbate potential problems of air pollution and mold growth, triggering or aggravating air related diseases, said WHO. The air indoors is often polluted by tobacco smoke, which also contributes to severe health effects such as asthma and allergies or cardiovascular diseases. About 10 percent of the children studied suffer from asthma, a complex condition whose development can be affected by several environmental factors.

But if urban residents have easy access to green space and public parks they are less likely to be overweight, partly because they can take the opportunity to exercise, WHO concluded. It is also increasingly recognized that if people’s immediate home environment is pleasant it positively affects their psychological well being.

{Published in cooperation with ENDS Environment Daily, Europe's choice for environmental news. Environmental Data Services Ltd, London.}