Thriving Cities Initiative
A pilot project for pioneering cities who aim to transition to more equitable and sustainable economies and lifestyles to achieve the targets of the Paris agreement
The Thriving Cities Initiative (TCI) is a two-year pilot project for pioneering cities that recognise the need to transition to more equitable and sustainable economies and lifestyles to meet the Paris climate targets of limiting global overheating. A TCI city is one that fosters new systems, community activities and business models to reduce overall levels of consumption to become a thriving city—one that supports giving all people a good life within planetary boundaries.
ZOE Institute supports C40 Cities, a global network of mayors taking urgent action to confront the climate crisis and create a future where everyone can thrive, for the second phase of the TCI.
To do this, ZOE will support the City of Glasgow to co-create innovative solutions for the local context to shift behaviour and win public support for transformative action. Participation in this pilot and the resources it offers will help Glasgow achieve its ambitious climate goals. The project will focus on consumption-based emissions, with the aim to maximise local benefit and scale up the potential for change.
ZOE’s intervention will focus on:
- Conducting a needs assessment of city policymakers and decision-makers to inform engagement and development of the process and outcomes.
- Designing and conducting a co-creation process on governance and policy measures for the city to reduce consumption-based emissions.
By the end of the pilot, the City of Glasgow will have:
- An action pathway to reduce harmful consumption in the city, targeting major consumption categories with a combination of policy and community outreach.
- Active collaboration among communities, businesses, and the city on the transformation towards a ‘new normal’ of living well, within planetary boundaries.
- A strategy for how to track progress towards thriving and reducing consumption-based emissions.
The learnings from the pilot will be captured in the Thriving Cities Playbook so that this process can be replicated in other cities, always adapted to the local context and with the participation of local actors.
