Background Although awareness of sustainable development in Europe has increased dramatically in the past decade, this has yet to result in sufficient commitment by the various stakeholders to ensure implementation. As a result, concrete sustainable development has yet to be significantly advanced. A small number of initiatives are exploring the potential contribution of peer review techniques to monitoring and advancing both environmental performance and sustainable development. The effectiveness of peer review relies on the exchange of information and experience among equals, as well as on the influence and persuasion exercised by the peers during the process. The latter effect, known as “peer pressure”, is, however, particularly effective when it is possible to provide both qualitative and quantitative assessments of performance. Objectives The PRE-SUD project aimed to: • Build upon the ‘peer review’ methodology as developed by the OECD, to create a new pan-European tool for measuring and encouraging sustainable development in Europe’s cities; • Pilot the use of the peer review tool by undertaking two rounds of sustainability performance assessment of the urban development of the partner cities involved, and thereby testing and optimising the methodology; • On the basis of the recommendations resulting form the first round of performance assessment, implement specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited (SMART) action plans in the partner cities, seeking to achieve improvements in urban sustainability performance of between 10 and 25%; and • Demonstrate the potential of the peer review tool, by achieving a wide-spread dissemination of the project’s results. The project partners were the University of the West of England (UWE), the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government (IDeA) and Eurocities, as technical partners; as well as the the Birmingham City Council, Nottingham City Council, City of Leipzig, Magistrat der Stadt Wein, Gemeente Den Haag Dienst Stadsbeheer, Comune di Venezia, Malmo Stad, as implementing partners. Results Project implementation comprised four components: 1. The elaboration of a peer review methodology. This included the development of quantitative and qualitative criteria for measuring the environmental, social and economic aspects of urban development. A comprehensive peer review tool was developed, comprising a set of ‘sustainable development theme tables’ which enables cities to report their current situation to other cities for peer assessment. 2. Piloting the review tools. Two rounds of performance assessment were carried out to test and optimise the peer review methodology. One of the main concerns was the need for the methodology to be made more simple, flexible and participative. Two-day visits by peer review teams resulted in the production of post-visit reports that set out recommendations for improvements in the respective cities’ performance. 3. The implementation of actions. Based on the peer recommendations, each city developed SMART action programmes, aimed to deliver 10 to 25% improvements in sustainability performance, in relation to the prior baseline analysis. These were developed by a senior officer, approved at a high level by appropriate politicians/committees, and implemented over a period of 18 months. Performance improvements were evaluated at a second round of assessments. For many of the cities, however, it had been hard to establish effectively quantifiable benchmarks by which to monitor progress. It was, therefore, not always clear if set targets had been achieved. There was also a consensus that the specified timescale was too short, and that for real change to be achieved, a much longer timeframe would be required. 4. The demonstration of the tool’s usefulness. A wide dissemination of the achieved results was undertaken through a website, a video, seminars, news briefings, leaflets, and a joint EU/OECD conference. The project built on the work of a previous LIFE project, EuroEmas, the EC’s 10 European Common Indicators, and the ‘peer review’ methodology developed by the OECD. The main innovative aspect of the project was the integration of these initiatives, and the adaptation of the resulting methodology and assessment criteria for use by municipal stakeholders. Three of the cities that took part in the performance assessments have continued implementing their SMART action plans, and the tool is now being tested by the City of Aalborg. Peer reviews based on the PRE-SUD tool are also being carried out as part of the EC co-funded project Baltic Urban Sustainable Transport Implementation and Planning (BUSTRIP). Lastly, the OECD recently completed a Territorial Review of the North East of England, as a follow-up to the PRE-SUD reviews of the City of Newcastle.