Green Economy is a key theme of the June 2012 Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. The inclusive Green Urban Economy approach embodies a challenge to local government leaders and city practitioners to apply existing tools and methods in new ways to develop innovative approaches by engaging economic-environmental considerations and stakeholders in a much more active fashion.

This volume bridges the gap between the global promotion of the Green Economy and the manifestation of this new development strategy at the urban level. Green cities are an imperative solution, not only in meeting global environmental challenges but also in helping to ensure socio-economic prosperity at the local level.

Environmentalists must learn to understand the language and dynamics of the economy, and to combine important economic interests (such as cost savings) with ecological interests (such as saving of resources). Business and economic leaders must also understand and accommodate ecological interests to advance social improvement and sustainable development.

The editors compiled contributions of varying perspectives and practical experiences from the emerging fields of environmental economics, urban development and green cities, along with concrete examples from city governments.

The Economy of Green Cities documents and demonstrates the different layers of knowledge required for a Green Urban Economy. The compendium supports researchers, business thinkers and practitioners to explore, detail and discuss an urban Green Economy agenda.

Zusammenfassung
This volume bridges the gap between the global promotion of the Green Economy and the manifestation of this new development strategy at the urban level. Green cities are an imperative solution, not only in meeting global environmental challenges but also in helping to ensure socio-economic prosperity at the local level.

Inhalt
PART I: Agenda Setting for the Urban Future with a Green Urban Economy.- 1. Introduction: Agenda Setting for the Urban Future with a Green Urban Economy.- PART II: Setting a Green Economy Agenda for Cities.- 2. Introduction: Setting a Green Economy Agenda for Cities.- 3. New Urban Spaces: The Emergence of Green Economies.- 4. Environmental Discourse and Economic Growth in the Greening of Post-Industrial Cities.- 5. Sustainable Urban Transformation and the Green Urban Economy.- 6. Green Cities: Benefits of Urban Sustainability.- 7. Working in Green Cities: Improving the Urban Environment While Creating Jobs and Enhancing Working Conditions.- 8. Sustainable Development for Cities and Citizens: Green Housing, Employment and Transport.- 9. Cities and the Green Economy.- 10. Green Cities Into Practice.- 11. Emerging-Market Cities Could Set a New Standard for Sustainable Development.- PART III: Joining Forces to Accelerate Action.- 12. Introduction: Joining Forces to Accelerate Action.- 13. Accelerating Green Urban Growth.- 14. Linking Green City Politics with Green Business.- 15. Policy Instruments for Promoting a Green Urban Economy: The Changing Role of the State.- 16. Local Sustainability: Driving Green Urban Economies Through Public Engagement.- 17. We Know Enough: Achieving Action Through the Convergence of Sustainable Community Development and the Social Economy.- 18. Seven Conditions for Effective Green Governance.- PART IV: Strategies and Approaches for Greening Urban Economies.- 19. Introduction: Strategies and Approaches for Greening Urban Economies.- 20. The Economics of Low Carbon Cities: Approaches to a City-Scale Mini-Stern Review.- 21. City Development Strategies and the Transition Towards a Green Urban Economy.- 22. Low Carbon Enterprise Zones: Towards a Fossil Fuel Free City Economy.- 23. Green Clusters and the Entrepreneurial Local Government: Portland's Economic Development Strategy.- 24. Green Cities RequireGreen Housing: Advancing the Economic and Environmental Sustainability of Housing and Slum Upgrading in Cities in Developing Countries.- 25. EcoMobility and its Benefits in an Urban Context.- 26. Assessing the Cost of Groundwater Degradation in the Urbanizing Desert Area of Wadi El Natrun.- 27. Constructed Wetlands for the Treatment of Domestic Grey Water: An Instrument of the Green Economy to Realize the Millennium Development Goals.- 28. Decentralized Composting in Asian Cities: Lessons Learned and Future Potential in Meeting the Green Urban Economy.- 29. Biodiversity and Culture, Two Key Ingredients for a Truly Green Urban Economy: Learning From Agriculture and Forestry Policies in Kanazawa City, Japan.- 30. An Economic Assessment of the Deforestation of Ghana's Garden City of West Africa.- 31. Financing a Green Urban Economy: The Potential of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).- PART V: Experiences and Examples from City Governments.- 32. Introduction: Experiences and Examples from City Governments.- 33. Synergies Between Environment and Economy Within a City Administration - Experiences Made by the City of Hannover, Germany.- 34. Auckland Council: Creating a Transformational Shift Towards a Sustainable Eco-Economy.- 35. Sustainable Urban Development Policy in the Region of Flanders.- 36. Greening the Local Economy Through Municipal Sustainable Procurement Policies: Implementation Challenges and Successes in Western Canada.- 37. City of Raleigh Office of Sustainability: Green Building Training Program.- 38. Changing to a Sustainable Socio-Economic System: A Challenge for Kyoto as a Historic City.- Index.