European cities continue to grow greener.

Two-thirds of Europeans currently live in cities, predicted to rise to 80% by 2050. People choose to live in increasingly dense urban areas to gain better education and employment. However, urban living brings a range of environmental challenges and civil engineers need to provide solutions. The European Commission initiated the European Green Capital Award in 2008 to reward cities for environmental performance, sustainability plans and acting as a role model for other cities. This paper describes notable civil engineering features of four of the more recent winning cities: Copenhagen in Denmark, Essen in Germany, Nijmegen in the Netherlands and Oslo in Norway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]