It began as the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). Actually, that’s not quite correct. In 1990 it began as an organization called the Local Governments for Sustainability, a global organization representing local interests.
Today, it goes by ICLEI. Its current ambitions are broadly defined by the title of an interview in theMayor.eu:
“True urban development must be inclusive and affordable, otherwise it’s not sustainable.”
Inclusive and affordable: this phrase must be music to the ears of politicians and managers who are somehow expected to solve the growing urban problems of housing affordability. The challenge of mitigating this growing international crisis means finding solutions to housing affordability that don’t drive citizens out of homes, scratching for shelter on sidewalks, in alleyways and other public lands.
As to inclusive, many local governments are facing an eruption of local, regional and national prejudice. It is expressed by some who are far too ready to loudly condemn, with little or no knowledge, the importance accepting and welcoming others when creating strong communities.
ICLEI’s recent conference in Brazil selected a new president, Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, who shared her vision of the future of the ICLEI with a reporter from theMAYOR.eu: Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh: True urban development must be inclusive and affordable, otherwise it’s not sustainable
