In the last ten years the attitude of cities and their citizens towards what is possible and what can be achieved through cooperation with each other has changed. Active citizen organisations, NGOs and different initiatives have shown that they are capable to contribute to urban development with their own activities and deliver what they set [...]
Cities, actors of change
URBACT’s Emmanuel Moulin takes us on a trip to the Brussels of the future in this article first published as part of a collection for his former doctorate supervisor Prof Dr. Klaus Kunzmann. As a 75th birthday tribute to Kunzmann, who 20 years ago identified five key challenges for spatial development and planning in Europe, [...]
New tools for mapping city systems: Understanding complexity in urban ecosystems
As societies become increasingly complex and unpredictable, cities’ decision-making models and strategic development tools also need to evolve. Here is a case study to illustrate how a simple public consultation process can provide a clear understanding of a social system. The process is based on notions from systems thinking, complexity and network theory. Take the [...]
Cities and culture: lessons from Italian cities
As the EU gears up for its 2018 Year of Cultural Heritage, Simone D’Antonio takes us to three Italian towns to explore some of the diverse roles that culture can play in sustainable urban development. Walking through the streets of Mantova’s city centre or using the public library San Giorgio in Pistoia, it is easy [...]
4 lessons for driving digital growth: TechTown’s tales from Tallinn
In a hilltop meeting room overlooking stunning San Sebastian in early 2016, TechTown’s Lead Expert Alison Partridge and I told our new, fresh URBACT network of 11 European cities that we wanted them all to come on a study visit to Tallinn (Estonia) in 12 months time. Cue awkward silence… and only one or two [...]
Age-Appropriate neighbourhoods? Overcome competition and test new forms of cooperation!
In Europe, we are facing demographic change and the pleasing prospect of rising life expectancy. But as a consequence, the share of elderly people with a need of care will increase in the next two decades. According to Eurostat data, the share of people aged 65 and over is set to increase to approximately 29% [...]
Making URBACT crucial in the Italian urban policies debate
The URBACT programme currently runs 23 National URBACT Points covering 26 countries across the European Union. The number is expected to grow in the near future. The National URBACT Points, represented by Ministries, Associations of Cities, Universities, or consultancies, are in charge of communicating on and supporting URBACT-related activities and integrated urban development in their [...]
Want to reduce traffic in cities? These parking policy tools will help
Parking policy in Europe has a long tradition of following parking demand, and many European cities have ended up giving a large part of their public spaces to parking, at a high cost. It is estimated that on average cars in cities are being used for only 1 hour per day, and that up to [...]
Why we need the urban dimension in future EU Cohesion Policy
By Jonas Scholze, German Association for Housing, Urban and Spatial Development, National URBACT Point for Germany and Austria The urban dimension in the European Union’s Structural Funds policy became an intrinsic part of EU Cohesion Policy over the past two decades. Today, approximately 15bn euros are reserved within the EU Structural Funds for integrated and [...]
How fighting energy poverty helps reduce social and spatial exclusion in cities
Between 50 and 125 million EU citizens are estimated to be energy poor. The situation is even more severe in South East Europe, where in some areas 30% or more households are struggling with energy poverty. What is energy poverty and who suffers from it? Energy poverty happens when a household finds it difficult or [...]
Authors
Antonio Borghi
Alina Andreea Băileşteanu
Anna Leidreiter
Bertil Nilsson
Alison Partridge
Ania Rok
Aldo Vargas- ALL AUTHORS
