Cities and towns

Every city and town works as a system with inextricable links between the key components of consumption and production – energy, waste, water, public space, green infrastructure, transport and the location of homes, schools, healthcare, shops and businesses.

Sound partnerships are essential for the implementation of holistic, local authority-wide approaches to climate change - and to enable effective responses to environmental, economic and social challenges in the future. Ultimately, integrated working will be more likely to result in an improved quality of life for residents, greater economic resilience and adaptation to climate change.

Spatial planning and Local Development Frameworks are key to delivery of strategic climate change and sustainability objectives. The Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change website provides advice on achieving good performance in delivery of the 3 national indicators on climate change – and most local authorities have adopted at least 1 of these in their Local Area Agreement.

Strategic working across council service delivery areas facilitates the development of win-win strategies which not only deliver on the climate change indicators - but also maximise the resilience and sustainability of places. Examples include:

Increasing use of public transport, walking and cycling and reducing car use can contribute to:

• reducing CO₂ emissions from local authority operations (NI 185)
• reducing CO₂ emissions from the local authority area (NI 186)
• tackling obesity in children (NI 055 and 056)
• reducing the number of people killed or injured in road traffic accidents (NI 47)
• reducing the negative effects of congestion (NI 167)
• Air quality – % reduction in NOx and primary PM10 emissions through local authority’s estate and operations (NI 194)

Increasing the insulation of existing homes can contribute to

• reducing CO₂ emissions from the local authority area (NI 186)
• tackling fuel poverty (NI 187)

Opportunities for council wide initiatives to embed climate change and sustainability actions in policy include:

• Local Development Framework – core strategy
• Other development plan documents
• Supplementary planning documents
• Local and Multi Area Agreements
• Signing and implementing the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change

Guidance on doing this is available from:

• The Carbon Trust
• Sustainable Development Commission
• Improvement and Development Agency for local government
• Planning Advisory Service
• Homes and Communities Agency
• Energy Saving Trust
• Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change

More about the city scale

Advice for cities and towns

Advice for sustainable design and management at the city scale.

Examples for cities and towns

Examples of sustainable design and management at the city scale.