TISSUE: Trends and indicators for monitoring the eu thematic strategy on sustainable development of urban environment

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 03.0043

Key words (English)

Sustainability; urban environment; trends; indicators; monitoring

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: 502427

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 6. Frame Research Programme - 1.8.1 Policy-orientated research

Short description (English)

See abstract

Abstract (English)

Within the 6th Environment Action Programme, the Commission will develop a Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment. The work will include the development of appropriate indicators and other monitoring tools to assess the effectiveness of the strategy. This task is taken as a premise for the project.
TISSUE will evaluate whether the information that can be received with help of existing indicators will be adequate to monitor the Strategy or whether further indicators should be developed. In order to successfully fulfil the task, the project will co-operate with other ongoing actions. This includes in particular the work of the Expert Group on the Urban Environment and their Thematic Working Groups.
The overall goal of the project is deployed in specific objectives as follows:
· analyse demand and define appropriate trends (in consultation with the Commission) which should be measured to properly determine progress towards sustainable development of the urban environment at local level;
· carry out comparative research on existing sets of indicators to determine whether they: i) are able to provide the information needed to monitor developments at the different local levels on the trends identified in the first step; ii) can be used to assess trends at the EU level; iii) their implementation is viable;
· define the set-up needed for a harmonised set of indicators and for effectively utilising the information from existing indicators and make recommendations for further research; analyse the conditions how to increase the acceptance of harmonised sets of indicators through Europe and motivate the cities to use them.
· collect indicators and structure the indicators into a database.
The indicators to be considered are urban environment indicators in use or being developed at EU level (e.g. European Common Indicators, Urban Audit), national level in the 15 EU member states and associated countries, and at regional and/or local level in use across EU.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 03.0043