The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN HABITAT) have launched the ABC for Sustainable Cities, a glossary of terms and definitions commonly used across sectors working in the built and urban environment. The glossary was created in cooperation with the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) and their European counterpart, the EFCA. FIDIC is an active contributor to the UN HABITAT World Urban Campaign and advocate for sustainable development in the consulting engineering industry.

The ABC for Sustainable Cities aims to help facilitate the discussion on cities by developing a common language and providing clarity for technical and non-technical audiences. The glossary terms range from the basics such as pollution and greenhouse gases, to more recently popular jargon such as green building, urban resilience and wellbeing.

The explanations are not set international definitions, rather the developers compiled publically available definitions from recognised institutions, journals and reports from around the world and emphasised the key essential information. The document was peer-reviewed and developed in consultation with numerous international organisations and experts to further broaden the collaboration and knowledge sharing goals of the project and to ensure the definitions meet the needs of policy makers worldwide.

More information on the development process can be found on the EFCA brochure and the glossary can be downloaded from FIDIC here.