Mediterranean Trends and Urban Challenges

MedCities is a network of Mediterranean cities created in Barcelona in November 1991 at the initiative of the Mediterranean Environmental Technical Assistance Programme (METAP). Its main goals are to promote sustainable development, to reinforce the role of local administrations in the adoption and implementation of sustainable local development policies, to develop citizens’ awareness and involvement in the sustainable development of their towns and cities and to get under way and develop policies for direct cooperation and partnership between partners and with other associations. This input paper outlines 10 major trends in the Mediterranean that will have a strong impact in urban contexts and for local governments. Although local governments may not be able to reverse these trends, they shall have the means to mitigate adverse impacts or profit from new opportunities. Thus, each of the trends outlined in this paper translates into specific challenges that cities from both rims of the Mediterranean are likely to face in the coming decade and that could provide a fertile ground for joint action and cooperation programs among them and with regional and international organisations.