Today, more than two thirds of Europeans live in towns and cities. Ecological projects implemented in urban areas are therefore of primary importance to improve the quality of life of EU citizens. The Award’s slogan “Green cities – fit for life” stresses the idea that it is important to reward efforts to improve the urban environment and raise awareness among the citizens as well as other cities about good practices and environmental projects.
The conditions for cities to win the award are :
- To have a consistent record of achieving high environmental standards;
- To be committed to ongoing and ambitious goals for further environmental improvement and sustainable development;
- To act as a role model to inspire other cities and promote best practices to all other European cities.
Bristol, as the eighth most populous city of the UK, has won this year’s edition thanks to its impressive investment plans for transport and energy. Despite a growing economy, the city has known a consistant decrease in carbon emissions and has managed to create thousands of green jobs. Bristol is also the UK’s greenest city due to its high number of cyclists and pedestrians, and has the potential to act as a role model for the EU and the world.
