SLIMCITY A CROSS-INDUSTRY PUBLIC-PRIVATE INITIATIVE ON URBAN SUSTAINABILITY

The SlimCity initiative, launched by the World Economic Forum in 2008, facilitates the exchange of best practices between city leaders and private sector executives to improve urban sustainability. The initiative operates through three primary workstreams: Smart Energy, which focuses on smart grids and low-carbon energy systems; Sustainable Buildings, which addresses the building lifecycle and carbon footprint metrics; and The Future of Urban Mobility, which tackles congestion and sustainable transport. Additionally, the 'Housing for All' project addresses lower-income housing needs. Key tools developed include the SlimCity Knowledge Cards for sharing global best practices and a City Issues survey conducted with ICLEI. The initiative is supported by the Global Agenda Council on Future of Cities, which advocates for improved urban governance to enhance eco-efficiency and resiliency.

• Cities are central to the climate challenge because they account for over 70% of global CO2 emissions and approximately 67% of global primary energy demand.
• The Smart Energy workstream produced the "Accelerating Smart Grid Investments" report in 2009, which examined the role of smart grids in creating low-carbon energy systems within urban environments.
• The Sustainable Buildings workstream collaborated with nine rating agencies and the United Nations Environment Program’s Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (UNEP-SBCI) to create a standardized method for calculating the carbon footprint of buildings globally.
• The Future of Urban Mobility workstream addresses urban transport challenges including public transport regulation, financing, demand management, and transit-oriented development.
• The 'Housing for All' project, launched in 2009, focuses on the needs of the world's lower-income housing, tracking the economic impacts of inadequate supply and cataloging government policies that encourage private sector involvement.
• SlimCity developed Knowledge Cards in collaboration with Arup to provide a record of global best practices and solution-oriented strategies that city administrations can implement.
• The Global Agenda Council on Future of Cities argues that fragmented or weak urban governance hinders the implementation of eco-efficiency and resiliency, suggesting the need for better integrated planning and a global accounting of urban well-being via a Health and Happiness index.

APA

World Economic Forum (2009). SLIMCITY A CROSS-INDUSTRY PUBLIC-PRIVATE INITIATIVE ON URBAN SUSTAINABILITY. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_SlimCity_UrbanSustainability_Report_2009.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. SLIMCITY A CROSS-INDUSTRY PUBLIC-PRIVATE INITIATIVE ON URBAN SUSTAINABILITY. 2009. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_SlimCity_UrbanSustainability_Report_2009.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=SLIMCITY A CROSS-INDUSTRY PUBLIC-PRIVATE INITIATIVE ON URBAN SUSTAINABILITY |date=2009 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_SlimCity_UrbanSustainability_Report_2009.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2009slimcity, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{SLIMCITY A CROSS-INDUSTRY PUBLIC-PRIVATE INITIATIVE ON URBAN SUSTAINABILITY}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2009}, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_SlimCity_UrbanSustainability_Report_2009.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }