• Global City Indicators Facility (GCIF)

• Urban Europe, Latin America and Caribbean: Knowledge   transfer for Sustainable Cities (URBELAC)

Global City Indicators Facility (GCIF): The Platform has made a strategic alliance with GCIF. GCIF offices opened in 2008 at the University of Toronto, Canada with support from the World Bank’s Development Grant Facility, the University of Toronto, The Government of Canada and the participating cities.

The Platform encourages the cities to participate and enroll in GCIF given that as we consider it very useful. The Global City Indicators Program provides and establishes sets of city indicators with a globally standardized methodology that allows for global comparability of city performance and knowledge sharing. The Inter-American Development Bank through the Platform, actively uses the information provided by GCIF. Cities enrolled in GCIF increase their chance of being to be selected by the Platform.

GCIF is structured around “themes” organized into two broad categories – city services and quality of life. City Services covers: education, finance, governance, recreation, transportation, wastewater, energy, fire and emergency services, health, safety, solid waste, urban planning, and water. Quality of Life covers: civil engagement, economy, shelter, culture, environment social equity, technology and innovation.

The work methodology is through the generation of reports by groups or themes. The reports’ peer groups are generated according to region, land area, climate type, gross operating budget, population or GDP per capita and the reports by themes are made according to core indicators or selecting desired themes for comparison. The key to confronting the cities’ challenges is to share information, knowledge and experience.

For more information and enrollment details please contact Talia Davis, Program Officer, 170 Bloor Street West, Suite 1100, Toronto, Ontario, Canadá - M5S 1T9; o Tel: 416-966-2368 ex. 223; Fax: 416-966-0478; Talia.Davis@daniels.utoronto.ca or visit the following web page: www.cityindicators.org

The objective of the URBELAC Program – “Urban Europe, Latin America and Caribbean: Knowledge transfer for Sustainable Cities” is to improve the quality of life of cities in Latin America by promoting collaboration among cities in order to identify innovative sustainable and integrated programs and strategies. URBALAC is based on common interests shared by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Community (EC) to support local and national governments to meet the challenge of combining social cohesion and urban productivity, in the face of increasing urban growth and centrality of developing cities.