Creative Ceramics

August 26th, 2010 Post a comment

cermaicsProbably since the very beginnings of ceramic production there has been a duality of purpose, to make objects designed for daily (even construction or industrial) utility but also objects with a decorative or ornamental quality. This has, together with use of local materials and colour preferences, shaped the development of different decorative national or local styles, which are evident in the traditions of the URBACT UNIC project partners. Everyone has an image of what Limoges or Delftware means. Or we can imagine the intricate often Moorish or Asian influenced patterns reflecting the historic cultural exchanges which define the Portuguese experience. The tableware and “azulejo’s” are instantly recognisable even if, in the interim, industrial production has responded to contemporary needs and desires in terms of functionality.

Today the ceramic industry in Aveiro (URBACT UNIC partner) but also in the area around Obidos (URBACT Creative Clusters partner) in the neighbouring Caldas da Rainha, bear testimony to this tradition. However in an effort to explore and capture new markets, creative designers are experimenting with innovative extreme temperature kiln techniques, successive heating and (shock) cooling, alternative raw materials (including recycled production waste), grains and compound compositions, to produce ceramics often with utility value, but also  primarily as artworks or even purely sculptural pieces. So while the value and appreciation of the traditional local style and production of objects, even for daily use, remains a keystone of production - new objects are attracting new clients to the shop windows in historic cities like Obidos.

The departure from local source styles but using the technical skills and knowledge developed in these areas over centuries, is giving the sector a new and innovative dimension to stimulate small local industries and exploit sales potential for delicate articles, where transportation is an added marketing consideration. The relationship between artistic creation and the heritage city, providing a high quality exposition space while at the same time delivering a specific clientele, represents an important asset in heritage linked urban economies. It brings the issues concerning a number of URBACT projects into sharp focus. The “Guardian”  journalist Andy Beckett suggests that “property firms have learned the big lesson of gentrification: where artists go, estate agents follow”*. Perhaps urban heritage and other sectors of the economy could be equally added to this equation.

*(“In the gaps developers left, another world is being built” – The Guardian newspaper 21/08/2010)     

Philip Stein
Thematic Pole Manager

Creativity and Innovation in Europe

July 26th, 2010 Post a comment

creative1A few months after the presentation of the Green Paper on Cultural and Creative Industries the European debate has been more centred on innovation, rather than creativity. In a document produced for the European Commission Enterprise & Industry Directorate-General called “New Cluster Concepts Activities in Creative Industries” the core definition of creative industries is linked to art, music, culture, writing and fashion. This approach is mainly metropolitan-based.

The document also states a big difference between creativity and innovation: “Art and culture and most other creative industries are not driven by neither research, nor new solutions based on new knowledge from users; creative industries are basically taste-driven and most creative workers aspiration is to set new standards for users taste and choice”.

As appealing as this theory can be, for us, the two words are connected. We don’t have one without the other. In small and medium-sized urban areas the main difference is to have an integrated strategy connecting creativity, innovation, sustainability and education.
And that’s why Education was the subject of our last Creative Clusters project thematic workshop in Reggio Emilia. For the partners, it was the opportunity to learn with one of the world references. The degree of specialisation and educational development in Reggio Emilia is impressive, and the feeling from outside is that Reggio Emilia has the future guaranteed. Obviously, things are always most complicated, but one thing is for sure, Reggio has a huge advantage when competing with other places: Innovation.

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Miguel Silvestre
Creative Clusters Lead Partner

NeT-TOPIC partners Haidari and Sacele start a twinning process

July 20th, 2010 Post a comment

twinningSacele (Romania) and Haidari (Greece), two partner cities in the NeT-TOPIC project, are currently in the process of twinning their cities. After learning about each other’s features and specificities within the context of network collaboration, they discovered a series of common points between them. Some of the most important are: the fact of being a peripheral city located next to a central city in a metropolitan area (Brasov and Athens) and the fact that both are crossed by a main road (DN1A and Athens-Corinthus road), two relevant features as far as NeT-TOPIC thematic content is concerned.

During the First Workshop held in Haidari in February 2010, the mayors of Sacele and Haidari had the chance to meet and discuss the twinning of the cities. The cities have agreed to collaborate in areas of common interest, using modern forms of collaboration specific to the current stage of development in their countries. Sacele and Haidari aim to develop economic cooperation and, for this purpose, intend to favour activities with an economic and commercial character, as well as activities related to citizenship and private entrepreneurship. Development of an industrial and commercial collaboration at local level will be especially supported, including investments and direct cooperation between private entrepreneurs. Both cities will also give special attention to collaboration between small and medium private entrepreneurs. They will participate in exhibitions and fairs within their countries, where they will be able to agree on cooperation actions and exchanges with foreign partners on a common basis. Partners also aim to increase cultural and economical exchanges and for this purpose will facilitate collaboration between local associations and folk ensembles, organisations and institutes. Partners also intend to promote contact between people from the fields of art and culture, and to encourage collaboration between schools through student and teacher exchanges. Both cities wish to apply to the Europe for Citizen Programme, Measure 1.1 - “Town Twinning and Networks of Twinned Towns”, to get the relationship off to a good start.

Bilbao City Council, Spain receives Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize

July 15th, 2010 Post a comment

bilbaoBilbao City Hall, partner in OPENCities URBACT project, has been named the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize Laureate in recognition of its integrated and holistic approach to urban transformation. Bilbao’s success is founded on visionary leadership, commitment to long-term planning, strong processes and supporting infrastructure.

Jointly co-organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore’s land-use planning and conservation authority, and the Centre for Liveable Cities, the biennial international Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize seeks to generate positive social, economic and environmental impact in cities around the world. It provides a platform to highlight and celebrate urban solutions and to spur further innovation in the area of sustainable urban development and city excellence.

The award focuses on the four key pillars of liveability, vibrancy, sustainability, and quality of life, which are instrumental to the success of every city and its quality of urban life. These qualities were evidently demonstrated in Bilbao’s radical transformation from a post-industrial city to a vibrant metropolis. The 78 worldwide nominations for the Prize were carefully considered through a rigorous two-tier process comprising a Nominating Committee and a Prize Council. Both jury panels were particularly impressed with what Bilbao had achieved, through a chronological and systematic order of development over a period of 25 years that was both well-integrated and skilfully executed.

What makes a city buzz?

July 9th, 2010 Post a comment

socialexchangeThis is the question which will be addressed by the  social innovation exchange at its Summer School 2010 which takes place in Singapore in September. 

The most dynamic cities in the world have always been immersed in the critical innovations of their time, but why do some do it better than others? What inhibits a city’s ability to innovate? How can cities around the world capitalise on and mobilise the wealth, creativity and knowledge within them to speed up our ability to tackle social challenges?

The Meeting will examine:

  • Conditions for innovation: How can we empower cities to radically innovate to better address pressing social challenges? What are the specific tools and institutions that are helping cities to creatively solve their problems?
  • Barriers for innovation: What is preventing some cities becoming truly innovative? Is it a matter of a lack of institutions or the right people; is it a problem of governance; or a cultural issue, are people just scared of taking risks?
  • To what extent does either the physical environment of a city, or its virtual environment, hinder or foster social innovation?

Participants from across the globe with a ranges of backgrounds - social enterprise, incubators, government, the private sector, charities and foundations - are being invited to Singapore to meet each other and to share ideas, best practices, and methods on innovating to create a better city. The programme will combine key note speakers, open space sessions, time for collaborative working, and opportunities to visit the best of social innovation in Singapore, as well as plenty of time for networking to maximise the exchange of ideas, experiences and thoughts.

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Peter Ramsden
Thematic Pole Manager

Gentrification versus Working Class Neighbourhoods

July 6th, 2010 Post a comment

housing_forumDarinka Czischke, Thematic Expert of the URBACT SUITE project gave the last of this season’s series of lectures sponsored by the European Housing Forum in Brussels on the 29th of June. It was in fact the 4th lecture organised under the theme “Changing Lifestyles, Changing Climate – The role of Housing in the EU”.

The lecture and debate which followed focussed on a wide-ranging examination of gentrification as an urban phenomenon - and the many facets which influence, or are influenced, by this dynamic in our cities. The question of how to live together in socially diverse cities was set alongside the values which can follow a process of gentrification (regeneration, creation of new opportunities) as well as the costs which can result in terms of population displacement and functional mutation. Important links were identified with densification, consequences of sprawl or compact city, and with the notion of social mix, does proximity bring integration or simply co-existence? A pertinent categorisation of “Urbanites”, “Suburban leavers” and the “Trapped” highlighted the tensions being experienced in terms of socio-spatial segmentation or integration in many of our urban contexts. Furthermore the relationships between social mix, (housing) tenure mix, income mix and functional mix were considered in relation to the negative associations which often prevail between low-income concentrations and housing tenure - generating residualisation and stigmatisation of social housing neighbourhoods and communities. The role of gentrification in improving or aggravating such trends proved to be a vibrant subject of discussion.

The presentation was also illustrated by examination of well-chosen though northern European cases drawn from Darinka Czishke’s research experience both in the London School of Economics and with CECODHAS. Utrecht provided two contrasting examples in Hoograven and Leidsche rijn together with a revealing analysis of 5 London neighbourhoods. The topic covered here is one which particularly parallels concerns shared by projects in the URBACT “Quality Sustainable Living” area of expertise but certainly not exclusively. So it may be interesting to consult the powerpoint presentation which will appear in due course on the EU housing Forum website and/or make contact with Darinka Czishke via the SUITE project website.

It is the intention of the European Housing Forum to produce a report based on the material covered by all 4 lectures in this series and this should appear for general consumption in the autumn of this year. So for those interested to learn more I would advise – “watch this space!”

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Philip Stein
Thematic Pole Manager

4th RegGov Newsletter: Regional Governance of Sustainable Integrated Development of Deprived Urban Areas

July 1st, 2010 1 Comment

reggov_nlThe RegGov project has published its 4th-reggov-newsletter. The fourth issue of the RegGov newsletter focuses on the core work within the RegGov project. The first three of four cluster meetings with defined topics have already taken place. Therefore, RegGov partners involved in the accordant clusters contribute their impressions of the meetings and give a brief overview on the two-day meetings with their contents and discussions. Each of the RegGov cluster meetings followed a Local Support Group meeting (LSG) which the Lead Partner Brigitte Grandt and Petra Potz, the Lead Expert, attended. As result of the LSG meetings, an article within this newsletter describes the processes of participation in integrated neighbourhood development, directly from the local level. One further highlight of the newsletter is the article on the integrated urban development plan of the city of Satu Mare which represents a good practice example of the RegGov network. At the end, the newsletter closures with interesting news related to the RegGov network.

Dominik Erbelding
RegGov Communication Officer

Can Sofia be like Rome and Athens?

July 1st, 2010 Post a comment
Alexander Nevski Cathedral Sofia, capital city of Bulgaria, is a city with rich cultural and historical heritage. The new Bulgarian Government is planning to grant funds for the realization of a project which would breathe new life into Sofia’ s historical character. 
 
 
Three years ago the Chief Architect of Sofia presented his idea for restoring the ancient appearance of Sofia’s centre before the participants in the international conference “The European City”. This has now become an ambition of Sofia’s mayor Mrs. Yordanka Fandakova - the city’s ancient history to become visible to everybody through revealing the archeological and historical sites of the city center. 

In the course of the construction of the underground, Roman thermae and an amphitheatre by the size of the Coliseum in Rome dated back to the II-III century were discovered. 

There is a joint project between the municipality and the Ministry of Culture, providing for the ruins of ancient Serdika to be formed as an underground city with streets and building foundations, located within an area of 16.5 decares. In the place, where the main Roman road “Via Principalis” was passing, there will be shops, cafes and restaurants. The center of the restored ancient city will be a square with a stage, where concerts and theatrical performances will be organized. The part of the archeological space, situated between the buildings of the Presidency and the Council of Ministers, will be covered with a glass dome, measuring 22 to 65 meters. The area around it will be arranged with flowers, alleys and decorative lightning.

The project requires significant financing. Sofia Municipality and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria intend to apply for funding before UNESCO.

Bulgarian URBACT National Dissemination Point
NAMCB

Bruges, UNESCO World Heritage Site – Watchdog groups reactivate debate

June 23rd, 2010 2 Comments

bruggesThe romanticism of John Ruskin apart, Bruges has long had a tradition of civic engagement around the question of conservation of its urban heritage. Particularly during the post war years the development of the city has been closely monitored by a series of motivated individuals, heritage pressure groups and politicians in opposition - who have often been successful in mobilising public opinion to influence city policy, championing conservation and preservation.

It is therefore no surprise that the designation of the city centre as UNESCO World Heritage Site some 10 years ago, was accompanied by the establishment of an umbrella group within the city. “SOS Brugge” has adopted the position as vociferous guardian of the urban heritage under the UNESCO banner and has recently reignited discussion by pressing forcefully on the alarm bell. Apparently independently, this watchdog organisation has mobilised UNESCO inspectors to visit the city and draw up a “state of play” report  which mentions that “ there are signals appearing which demonstrate gradual erosion of the singular universal values of World Heritage in respect of the Historic Centre of Bruges”.

While it is not so clear how formal any UNESCO position may become as a result of this initiative, the topic is once more reignited in the public arena. Quite apart from political positioning, which undoubtedly plays some role, the polarised opinions once again remind us of the ongoing and challenging  tensions in our most historic and also by definition contemporary cities.

Dries Van den Abeele of SOS Brugge:
“ The city authorities have underestimated the pre-conditions to be respected as World Heritage Site – you may not just build what you want, there are those who think that wind turbines can be built next to the city gates or modern offices constructed next to the railway station, or that a 19th century convent can be demolished to make way for new apartments. The conditions imposed to respect the historic urban landscape as a whole are not being met by policy makers who want to instigate change”

Patrick Moenaert, Mayor of Bruges:
“ To lose UNESCO classification would be terrible. Neither is it the objective to preserve the city like a picture postcard within which nothing can be altered. Bruges is not a shrine but a city which lives and must continue to live in the 21st century”

If, as is suggested, the situation in Bruges will be subject of discussion at the UNESCO end July congress in Brazil, it might be a debate worth following. Graz and Edinburgh revisited?

Philip Stein
URBACT Pole Manager

Real Estate Transactions in Romania will soon require energy performance certificates

June 14th, 2010 Post a comment

romania21

Romania must comply with the Energy Performance for Buildings Directive (EBPD), requiring energy audits for constructions. According to the national legislation on the energy performance of buildings, in the following months energy performance certificates will be mandatory and made available to potential buyers or tenants by the building’s owners, for all real estate
transactions. These certificates will be valid for ten years and will be drawn up by energy auditors.

The certificate informs the potential buyer or tenant about the apartment’s energy efficiency, expressed, generally, through the total yearly energy consumption, in kW per hour per square meter, integrating it into an energy class (from the A - high-efficiency class to the G- low efficiency class).

In Romania, the percentage of poor energy performance housing stock built during the communist regime is extremely high, meaning that few are the cases of buildings that can obtain a high-class efficiency certificate. According to a study developed by the European Institute of Romania, around 30% of the primary resources consumption is, in fact, losses, half of them coming from the residential sector.

Although it is clear that enforcing the energy certificate and complying with the EU directive is the road to follow, a number of debates and concerns were raised around this topic. The real estate agents feared a blockage on the market due to an insufficient number of energy auditors and an unequal distribution of them in the country’s cities.

The Romanian National Union of Public Notaries requested a delay in applying the law, as it would increase the prices of old houses by 5-10% and freeze transactions. Also the investors are worried about the price of the certificate and the future extra paper work in view of a real estate transaction.

The real estate investors should know that it is the building owner’s  obligation to obtain an energy audit and that they are taking a risk if they do not have the proper paperwork and do not understand the basic performance of the building. There is also a very close correlation between building quality and energy performance, which is further assurance for the investor. The Romanian Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism considers that the price of building energy certification does not affect the sales price too considerably, because it accounts for an insignificant percentage compared to the rest of the legal expenses related to the transaction.

Currently, a number of around 200 of future auditors are being formed in different technical universities across the country, which will be added to the existing auditors. Although delays in transactions or different procedural issues still may occur, the process must start and will be adjusted accordingly to respond to specific situations. The owners
must understand that the final purpose of this new legislation is the thermal rehabilitation of their properties and not complicating the process of selling or renting the property.

All considered, the law is one of the main legislative instruments already “in force” for monitoring the energy efficiency level of the Romanian homes and encourages the development of highly efficient buildings.

Read more:

Romanian National Dissemination Point

Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism

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