Origins

In September of 1998, Environment Canada initiated work to develop a Website for urban decision-makers -- municipal leaders, provincial government officials, managers of corporations, and others -- focused on environmental management issues. This initiative followed up on the Sustainable Cities Program of Action endorsed by Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) Environment Ministers held in Toronto in June, 1997. Recommendations from the Toronto meeting were confirmed by APEC Leaders in Vancouver in November, 1997.

The proposed new Website would aim to support APEC objectives by helping to build capacities and strengthen institutions of local government to enhance sustainability of cities. It soon became apparent that such a Website would need to be global in scope, to match the scope of the Internet itself.

Initial reviews of the World Wide Web then revealed that there was rapid proliferation of Websites with information relevant to urban decision-makers. However, each focused on a different aspect of urban environmental management. It had become essential to integrate different aspects of the subject in relation to the real needs of decision-makers. It was also necessary to connect technical and informational decision-support and training tools developed in research institutes to activities in the real world.

To pursue the development of such a Website further, Environment Canada contracted The Bayswater Consulting Group Inc. of Ottawa, Canada to undertake a study of the potential usefulness of and performance requirements for a new Website, which was envisaged as a focus for a "knowledge network" of practitioners in cities and also researchers and technical experts.

Websites of Greatest Value to Urban Decision-Makers

The consultants undertook extensive research and interviews with experts across Canada and in Washington, D.C., over the period from October, 1998 to February, 1999, again in December of 1999, and again in February of 2000. They spent well over 700 hours on the Internet focusing on this topic. They identified more than 500 relevant Websites, including those of both organizations and individual municipalities. They also found about 230 relevant electronic "tools" and guides. They interviewed two dozen Canadian experts. They also conducted dozens of interviews and meetings at the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Canadian International Development Agency, and the International City Managers Association. The consultants also invited on-line comments from approximately 1,500 members of the Canadian Institute of Planners, and received about 100.

They obtained comments as well from urban planners, municipal officials and technical experts in several Asia Pacific economies, notably from Hong Kong SAR, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, Singapore. It became clear from these contributions that there were comparatively few Websites specifically designed to support sound urban environmental decisions by senior officials in cities of developing and transitional economies, as compared with those of more developed economies.

Moreover, it appeared that few comprehensive knowledge networks currently exist. Few organizations appeared to be undertaking systematic "knowledge management" initiatives on behalf of urban decision-makers, with the notable exception of the World Bank for its own managers and employees.

Nonetheless, high expectations were being raised for the Internet to assist whole economies in "leapfrogging" barriers to international development. Most emphasis was being placed on one of three main barriers identified by the study: lack of adequate computers, telecommunications connections and trained technical personnel. Two other barriers: lack of relevant and trusted substance, and "information" overload among users, had received considerably less attention.

These barriers became the main focus of the City Solutions Network as it evolved into the year 2000. The project managers reasoned that establishing better and better connections for cities without considering what was being transmitted, or its impacts on users, would lead to increasing frustration.

Despite the limits of Internet offerings, more than a dozen current Websites did offer key information and calculation tools specifically relevant to urban decisions in the developing and transitional economies. (Note: these are reviewed elsewhere in City Solutions Network.) It remained to integrate the most useful offerings, through a single Website, and also through organized links across many sites.

In addition, there was much more work to be done in developing additional substance to be placed on the Internet, in order to attract the attention of urban decision-makers, and to serve their needs better.

Electronic Guides and Decision-Support Tools

The consultants also examined various guides and "decision-support tools" available, through direct access by "downloading" documents and software from the Internet, or alternatively, by ordering them from suppliers advertising on the Internet or in publications. Examples would be "best practices", "Geographic Information Systems" (GIS), models of urban change processes, models of toxic effects of pollutants, software for designing infrastructure and buildings, and manuals on specific aspects of urban problems.

It appeared that some tools would be of value to elected decision-makers and to senior appointed decision-makers in developing and transitional economies. This would be the case if they were to be adapted in relation to language, culture, and realities of data-gathering in developing and transitional economies. (These are reviewed elsewhere in this site.)

The vast majority of tools, however, were geared to the functions and tasks of those operating at the professional staff and technical levels, whether in developing and transitional, or in developed economies. These appeared to involve the fewest embedded value assumptions, and to have the most practical and widespread application in economies with some technical capacities.

The main barriers to their widespread use lay in the lack of basic data and parameters, and in possible limitations relating to local computer technology, as well as language used. In some cases, vast amounts of data need to be collected before a tool can begin to be used, not a feasible proposition for many cities.

Overall, it would appear that the available guides and decision-support tools make most sense when coupled with personal contacts, either in formal training seminars, workshops and courses, or else through mentoring and governmental "twinning" processes.

Conclusions of the Research

Environment Canada and Bayswater Consulting, in consultation with others, reached a number of conclusions as a result of their work over the period 1998-2000:

1. A new Website specifically geared to the needs of urban leaders would be in order, provided it is only offered within the context of frequently-visited existing sites as "hosts". Two possibilities explored in most detail were the "Global Gateway" being established at the World Bank with the aid of Microsoft Corporation, and the site of Urban Age magazine.
   
   
2. The new Website should be closely linked to training and capacity-building in urban environmental management, and marketed mainly in this context. An example would be courses offered by the World Bank Institute for urban leaders. However, there are excellent courses in a variety of institutions around the world.
   
   
3. A selection of existing guides and "decision-support" tools should be assembled in this new site, either as actual items for use, or as preferably as links to other Web pages, coupled with reviews on utility, data and technology requirements, etc.
   
   
4. A training module for first-time users based on the research about Internet access problems should be developed and included in the Website.
   
   
5. Urban leaders should be invited to express their needs and interests in knowledge, information and tools to support them in their work, and user requirements should be conveyed systematically to suppliers of information and software.

Following completion of the basic research in February of 2000, a pilot "launch" of a Website embodying the above recommendations was made in Bangkok, Thailand, in March, 2000. Urban leaders and municipal technical specialists from around the Asia Pacific region were able to use the sample Website and provide comments on its value. Results from this pilot project were incorporated into the final design and contents of the City Solutions Network.

Looking ahead, Environment Canada began to consider how such a Website might be sustained over time through a combination of grants from sponsoring organizations, advertising revenues, and user subscriptions. The survival of this Website now rests on the success of its founders in tapping these sources. Of course, it also rests on success in maintaining and improving on the contents and services of the Website and its associated network of practitioners and researchers.

A short summary of the degree to which City Solutions Network and/or similar Websites geared to the needs of urban leaders may be sustainable over the long term is set out below.

Long-Term Sustainability of a Website and Tools
Dedicated to the Needs of Urban Decision-Makers