1. Conclusions of the European Cities Report
By Lewis Dijkstra
Deputy Head of the Economic Analysis Unit,
DG Regional and Urban Policy
European Commission 1

2. European cities in the world
Only a few mega cities, while most live in medium-sized cities ( to 5 million)
A network of cities, but also remote cities
With moderate densities, twice as high as in North America, but much lower than in Asia and Africa

4. Demographic change Still urbanising, but slowly
Cities have a higher share of working age population with young people moving in and retirees moving out
European cities have a higher share of foreign-born residents, but their employment rates are often (much) lower than the national born residents

6. Economic development Convergence Agglomeration Middle income trap
Metro regions with a low GDP per head grow quickly, but lose population and no employment gains
Agglomeration
Metro regions with a very high GDP per head grow fast and gain population and employment
Middle income trap
These metro regions tend to grow more slowly
Focus on human capital, business environment and institutions

8. Social issues in European cities
From a global perspective European cities are safe and offer a high quality of life
Urban poverty is still high in many western cities
Unemployment rates are very high in many southern cities
But affordability and quality of housing is an issue.

10. Urban mobility
Traffic safety is high in most EU cities, but can still be improved
Some cities have high share of low carbon mobility (walking, cycling and public transport)
Congestion needs to be addressed, but more through demand management than through asphalt

11. Road fatalities
Green below 2020 target
Purple above 2020 target

13. Urban environment and climate change
Air pollution remains a challenge in many cities
GHG emissions and energy use need to shrink
Housing renovation
Reducing waste and recycling more
Maintaining land use efficiency
But cities can experiment with new solutions

15. Urban governance
Successful cities have sufficient autonomy and funding, govern at the functional level and are highly trusted by the residents
But many cities lack leadership, autonomy, funding, competencies and are highly fragmented into competing and conflicting jurisdictions
Corruption and nepotism continue to be problem in several cities

19. Conclusions
European cities have many benefits and others can learn from them
But European cities need to improve their performance and innovate
European cities are central to reaching many of the EU goals and objectives: social, economic, environmental, climate change
Metropolitan governance systems are needed

20. Next steps Presentation to REGIO directors June
EC inter-service consultation July
September publication of the report
October
Presentation during the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels
Habitat III conference in Quito