At a conference on certification systems for urban neighbourhoods, I recently came across an innovative new instrument for sustainable urban development in Luxembourg called Ecoquartier. The term originates in a contraction from the french quartier écologique, “ecological district”. Conceived and designed according to the three main process stages used by the brain to assimilate information, [...]
Fab Labs: Potential for Sustainable Urban Development
According to the Fab Foundation, there are currently more than 400 Fab Labs (Fabrication Laboratories) worldwide. Most of them are located in Europe and in North America but their number is constantly rising on all continents. Since 2013, there is also a Fab Lab in Luxembourg , located within the Technoport business incubator and co-working [...]
The Rise of Alternative Practices in Urban Development
In many European countries, traditional planning approaches are facing various problems. In the more developed countries, spatial and urban planning is often characterised by over-formalised procedures, whereas in the less developed countries, the authorities responsible for spatial and urban planning are often unable to regulate private and other particular interests in favour of the common [...]
Capitalising, Gaining Influence – Why Communication Matters
The Roma-NeT II project follows up on the Roma-NeT URBACT project that aimed to motivate cities to improve local service delivery towards Roma populations by making services more accessible, by motivating more active participation from Roma communities and by introducing new interventions. ROMA-NeT members learned a lot about the core themes of Roma inclusion and [...]
From Biking to Solidarity
The proportion of people using bicycle for everyday transport in Budapest has increased beyond all expectations after the political change. Along with this, a number of NGOs came to existence, aiming at improveming conditions for urban cycling, and later, striving for a new paradigm in the use of urban space. In 2011 one cyclist group [...]
URBACT in Sweden: Cooperation Gives Results!
Since I have started to work with URBACT in 2003, the interest for URBACT in Sweden has increased dramatically, and it has never been as high as now. I think that the reasons for that are a combination of the facts that more people can speak about URBACT experiences in Sweden, that the interest for [...]
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
When I Grow up I Want to Be… Do you remember being asked that question as a child? What was the answer you gave? I remember at various moments I wanted to be a tour guide, an air hostess and a judge. But mostly I wanted to be an international spy. The type that wears [...]
Charlie Hebdo and The Challenge to Cohesive Cities
The worst start to a year? Has there ever been a worse start to a year? January has always been my least favourite month; long, cold and grey. The only glimmer is the prospect of a new start; the offer of renewal as the calendar page turns. But even that irrational flicker of optimism has [...]
Internet Week: Aarhus Provides Knowledge for Growth
The URBACT CityLogo Network is a transnational learning experience on citybranding and -marketing in modern urban politics. It is about a better positioning of cities in the (post) crisis economic arena and reinforcing the communication dimension in urban management. Aarhus is one of the Partner Cities of the City Logo Network, and holds a significant [...]
Authors
Eddy Adams
Fernando Barreiro Cavestany
Antonio Borghi
Ilinca-Adela Margineanu
Bertil Nilsson
Alison Partridge
Hans Schlappa
Aldo Vargas- ALL AUTHORS