More than half the world’s population now lives in urban environments and by 2020 it is forecast to rise to more than two-thirds.  As the world becomes increasingly urbanised it is clear we need to learn to live together in cities in ways that work for people and the environment.

Energy security, growing population, climate change, declining resources, and food supply are just some of the pressing issues we’ll need to tackle in cities around the world in the coming decades.  At the same time we will need to find ways to improve city dwellers’ quality of life, creating pleasant urban environments which enhance their health, better access to services, and good urban transport systems.  Some of these solutions will be built into new cities, others will need to be retrofitted into existing cities with historical infrastructure.

The solutions to these problems won’t lie with one individual or organisation.  More than any other issue, creating sustainable cities will need new types of collaboration and partnership working to create change at a quicker rate than before.

Our work
Forum for the Future helps cities find and fix the problems that prevent them being sustainable.  We also help public bodies to rethink their services so they can offer the people they serve a better life without destroying the environment.

We’ve been working in London for over a decade.  We founded the London Sustainability Exchange with the City of London Corporation back in 2000 and launched it as an independent NGO in 2008 with a portfolio of groundbreaking climate change awareness work with London’s black and minority ethnic communities. We are now working with Olympic Sustainability Partners BP, BT, Cisco, EDF and General Electric to make the London 2012 games the greenest ever.

In 2008 we launched a 10-year programme to make Bristol the most sustainable city-region in the UK, bringing together partnerships of local government, business and NGOs to achieve change. We’re helping people to insulate their homes, eat local food, and encouraging them to walk and cycle. We’re also helping businesses cut carbon.  

Our annual Sustainable Cities Index tracks progress on sustainability in Britain’s 20 largest cities. We seek to encourage healthy competition, benchmark progress and give citizens the tools to hold their leaders to account.

We’ve teamed up with Vodafone, FIA Foundation, and EMBARQ to help key global cities find better ways to provide access for their citizens - to goods, services, people and information - through sustainable mobility solutions. More details on the Sustainable Urban Mobility 2040 page.

We’re working with Birmingham City Council, Leeds City Council, the Corporation of London, and London Borough of Newham, to embed sustainability into their corporate strategies.

Partners

London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Croydon
London Borough of Waltham Forest
Birmingham City Council
Bristol City Council
City of London
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
Leeds City Council

Contacts Paul Rainger, Head of Bristol Sustainable City Region Programme p.rainger@forumforthefuture.org
Helen Clarkson, Deputy Director, h.clarkson@forumforthefuture.org
Martin Hunt, Head of Built Environment, m.hunt@forumforthefuture.org