Archive for the ‘Urban Development’ Category

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Eltis – The Urban Mobility Portal gives you the knowledge to deliver new mobility solutions

Monday, February 20th, 2012

eltis“Interested in Know How on Urban Transport?”
“Change urban transport”
“Take action to make it more sustainable”
“Find out what you need to really make a difference”
“Inspire others – and be inspired by them”
“Build your network to help you deliver”
“Share your experience to build better urban transport”

Just log on to eltis.org
Browse its more than 1500 best practice case studies (selected ones in all EU languages)
Read inspiring news stories – 2 per news items working days
Download photos for own use or video clips on good practice implementations.
Get materials and tools to strengthen your arguments
Find events where you can find out even more
And follow the links to build your network. Become a Friend of Eltis. Registration doesn’t give you any obligations, doesn’t cost anything and takes you 2 minutes. Click to http://www.eltis.org/index.php?id=64&relid=68
Wit a registration you can get all services of Eltis free of charge and additionally the monthly Eltis Mobility Update in 6 languages.
If you want to disseminate your urban transport solutions, see Eltis as your dissemination platform. Use the online submission forms for case studies or news items.

The URBACT projects EVUE and Active Travel Network already spread their findings via Eltis.

Eltis which exists since 1998 is an initiative of the EC, DG MOVE and operated by the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI).
Eltis intensely co-operates with other big initiatives like CIVITAS, EPOMM, Managenergy or Covenant of Mayors

Link to Eltis promo clip: http://www.eltis.org/index.php?ID1=23&id=92

Robert Pressl
Active Travel Network Lead Expert

Posted in Urban Development | 1 Comment »

Are Electric vehicules sales falling flat?

Monday, February 13th, 2012

chickenRecent coverage in the UK media has questioned the viability of the electric cars with the observation that there are now more charging points than cars registered in the UK. Given the nascent state of the market, this is a point that is likely to be closely followed.

Most research indicates the ‘chicken or egg’ scenario when it comes to the vehicles as prospective buyers are hesitant due to the lack of charging infrastructure and infrastructure providers are hesitant due to the low number of vehicles. From the URBACT EVUE project experience however, it has become clear that once an initial availability of charging points has been provided, the focus needs to go on education and awareness training.

This can be achieved through Electric Vehicules days where people can test the cars and experience the cars for themselves. In addition, a focus on getting electric vehicules  into commercial fleets will contribute significantly as they give access to large numbers of employees to travel. So perhaps it’s less of which comes first, but both come together.

Read more:

Matthew Noon
EVUE Lead Partner

Posted in Urban Development | 2 Comments »

Bottom-Up vs Top-Down Procedures for Achieving a Bottoms-Down System: A Benchmark Christmas Tale

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

bancImagine, if you will, that a few everyday folk decide to put a bench in a public square in their local neighbourhood. What could be easier? All they need is four breeze-blocks and a plank. It would take them about five minutes to set it up and the whole business would be finished with no time or space wasted; there would be no money wasted either; last, but not least, a local need would be almost instantaneously satisfied, while the whole structure would also be recyclable. This is what we might refer to as a bottom-up process – one leading to a highly satisfactory, bottoms-down sort of behaviour! Unfortunately such a swashbuckling procedure might well lead to the immediate consignment of the bench to the dustbins of history by the authorities owing to non-compliance with urban planning rules. Those responsible for it might well be forced to stand before a court of justice…

Let us now imagine that some overarching body or other, such as a town hall or a ministry declares this bench to be a “public” bench and, furthermore, to be a system for promoting social cohesion, one which will develop citizen participation and democracy. After all, people could then sit down in public together and sustain long conversations about sustainable development in their city.

Substantial public funds will now be allocated to the bench project within the framework of a multi-level contract policy, complemented by a request for further funding from the EU. Given the strategic importance of the project and given also the irresistible growth in spatial Balkanisation, the now geological-scale Layers of political and administrative “responsibility”, the Sectorisation of skills and services (the famous BL-S…), a vast panoply of aldermen, vice-presidents, directors, departmental heads will soon be au courant of the project, providing, that is, they can all be contacted, given the huge numbers involved. They will give forth opinions and counter opinions, all brilliantly presented and backed up, concerning the appropriateness and necessity of such a facility, its location and the inputs required for it. All this will of course be accompanied by the necessary permits, authorisations, rules for its use and cost estimates in terms of future frequentation worked out using EXCEL +++. The bench will probably take two or three years to be set up; it will no doubt be placed in the spot where local residents wanted it the least and completed when such street furniture is no longer in vogue. It is indeed quite possible that the bench will never come into existence at all, despite the expensive research contracts on which a multitude of shady organisations batten. This is the usual upshot of these top-down procedures in which we are all mired.

We all know that top-down and bottom-up procedures rarely meet up. This is referred to in France as the efficient optimisation of the Revision Generale des Politiques Publiques (the Reform for New Public Management).

Any resemblance between the foregoing and actual fact is purely coincidental.

And after all, as we say in my region, Savoy, all this is not as bad as if it were worse.

It’s Christmas! Bottoms down and bottoms up everybody!

Claude Jacquier
A bonkers benchmarker, one among an ever growing number of others

Posted in Urban Development | 1 Comment »

Helsinki: World Design Capital 2012

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

helsinkiHelsinki, partner city in the URBACT CTUR project,  has been designated “World Design Capital” in 2012: as Pekka Timonen, Director of the Helsinki World Design Capital 2012 foundation, said, it is a ‘dynamic’ designation and not a ‘prize’.

Helsinki has been selected by the world design community. Focus is on the use of design for cultural, social and economic development, thus creating an additional visitor interest for Helsinki as a cruise destination. Helsinki was chosen because it is credible, it has a substantial design history, and that design is part of the national identity, providing intelligent solutions for everyday life, and a boost for innovation.

The political commitment and understanding of design is a competitive factor for well being too. Helsinki has over 10 000 design professionals, and design is seen as essential for business, the city has a strategy, and the EU is now taking design onto its agenda, considering design as a competitiveness factor: the new EU design agency is going to be based in Aalto University.

The city believes that design should be ‘embedded in life’, playing a key role. Design is a ‘creative human-centred’ way of approaching things: objects, methods, decision-making, services/public services, in a holistic view. Design is always about people, and about creating a good experience, often solving people’s problems, and concerns all of society: metropolitan areas, governments and NGOs.


Read more:


CTUR Project

Posted in Urban Development | No Comments »

Electric Vehicles – noise reduction, noise production?

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

elvinAlongside a cooling of urban relations with the motor car, through the years there have been many sound arguments put forward supporting moves to revolutionise mobility management in our cities. The increasing interest in applying traffic calming measures has been provoked by the need to counter the paralysing  impacts of congestion but also as a result of concerns raised in connection with road safety, pollution, visual and spatial hindrance, etc. The aspect of noise generated by traffic was also part of this consideration, but often appearing subordinate as citizens seemed almost to have been conditioned to accept this as part of normal urban life.  Nevertheless EU figures suggest, that as a result of road traffic alone, during daytime around 40% of the population are exposed to noise levels exceeding 55dBA (30% night time) and 20% are exposed to levels higher than 65dBA. While it might be argued that in itself, this does not constitute a “harmful” level of exposure, it is a serious part of total urban noise production and in many cases the noise generated by road traffic is continuous and therefore more than simply intrusive or annoying.

Renewed, and today truly operational, interest in electric (and hydrogen powered) vehicles presents us with a new weapon to tackle the problems of traffic related noise. While vehicle noise is  the sum of noise produced through moving contact with the road surface together with engine noise, still the relative silence of the electric motor has real potential to seriously reduce noise levels in our cities (even although technological advancement is also improving this feature in fossil-fuelled vehicle engines).

It seems strangely incongruous then, that the benefits of silent locomotion may have to be offset against the objectives of one of the other traffic calming motives, namely road safety. A study currently being conducted at the University of Warwick is researching the introduction of an artificial noise component to diminish possible dangers of the silent vehicle particularly for key risk groups, the elderly, children and people with reduced sight capacities. The project is testing an electric vehicle, ELVIN (Electric Vehicle with Interactive Noise) using various noise options in an attempt to find new reduced sound levels, but simultaneously which emit the necessary warning signal (presence, speed and acceleration) which people associate with approaching vehicular transport.  Synthetic noise linked to motor power is being evaluated here, but reactions indicate that options (even considerations of music) and opinions differ greatly both on questions of necessity and on the most effective sound type. There have been suggestions to adjust the use of sound to times of day, to specific types of urban landscape (around schools). Similarly the operation of sounds could be linked to speed or smart GPS systems, while many manufacturers will probably prefer a sound which corresponds to the image of the vehicle they want to project.

This suggests that there are many questions to be answered and that the search to find an optimal, broadly accepted solution(s) will be an extremely delicate exercise. However the results of this study which also employs people with impaired vision as privileged test cases, can have a useful input to EU legislation on electric and hydrogen car sounds which is currently in stages of preparation.

Why not try evaluating ELVIN yourself by following the link.

Some other relevant projects on traffic noise in the EU:

Philip Stein
Thematic Pole Manager

Posted in Urban Development | 2 Comments »

Jugendbauhütte – Youth Masons’ Lodge: Voluntary Year in Monument Preservation for Young people between 18 and 26

Friday, March 4th, 2011

The ‘Jugendbauhütte’ (young_regensburgYouth Mason’s Lodge) is a project of ‘Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz’ (German Foundation for Monument Preservation) organized by the International Youth Community Services (ijgd) that offers young people between 18 and 26 to do a voluntary year in monument preservation and care.

The work places are museums and cultural institutions, archaeological institutions, organizations involved in the preservation of historic ground and gardens as well as crafts and building firms (carpentry, masonry, processing of natural stones, etc.), monument preservation authorities , architectural and planning offices and research institutes. There are twelve ‘Jugendbauhütten’ in Germany, one of them being located in Regensburg, the URBACT HerO project Lead Partner city.

The voluntary year starts on 1st Sepember each year. The practical work will be accompanied by 35 days of seminars where the young people learn about ancient handicraftsman techniques (like blacksmith, stucco and clay sculpturing), constructing using natural materials, constructions styles, archaeology and the protection of antiques. During the seminars the participants learn, work and live together and thus also have the opportunity to exchange experiences with other volunteers. The ijgd covers pocket money, maintenance costs, extra fund for an apartment, the participation in seven seminars as well as social and medical insurance.

The ‘Jugendbauhütten’ started as a pilot project in 1999. In the meantime their social value has been acknowledged by numerous awards such as the UNESCO Award for Sustainability in 2007 and the Europa Nostra Award for European Heritage in 2008.

The voluntary year in monument preservation and care applies to young people not only from Germany but also from abroad (basic knowledge of German language is required). If you are interested, please find further information on the websites of  ijdg and ‘Deutsche Stiftung
Denkmalschutz.

Barbara Bühler
HerO Lead Partner

(Photograph: City of Regensburg, Peter Ferstl)

Posted in Urban Development | No Comments »

Slow post-earthquake reconstruction in Abruzzo

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

After the Abruzzo earthquake, housing emergency experienced an innovative model of reconstruction in comparison with the last fifty years’ experience in Italy.

After a first phase during which the population  experienced temporary housing solutions for five-six months, two programs of residential settlements have been launched: the C.A.S.E. Plan (Antiseismic Sustainable Eco-friendly Complex) and the M.A.P. Plan (Modules for Temporary Housing).

The buildings realized under these two programs (especially in C.A.S.E. Plan) provide design features of long-term buildings which enable to think beyond the housing emergency, which will hopefully be done in a period of 10 or 15 years.

A new overall strategy to revitalize the local economy is needed

There is a  clear need to identify an overall strategy to revitalize the local economy. And this should include the building’s heritage in an sustainable approach.

A year after the earthquake all constructions have been led in the frame of the two housing programs. It is true that no one spent the winter in tent camps and therefore it seems that the first objective in terms of emergency housing has been fully achieved, thanks to the efficiency of the Italian Civil Protection.

However, beeing enthusiastic about what has been done and especially about what is planned is difficult, both as regards to the revitalization of local economy, and to the recovery of the immense historical heritage damaged by the earthquake, like the historical center of l’Aquila.

Reconstruction of the city as it was appears unlikely

The ancient “city of 99 churches” is still a “red zone”, even inaccessible to the residents themselves: ruins have still not been removed and rebuilding has not started.  At the moment only the unsafe buildings have been secured. Governmental authorities should take the lead of the recovery period.

There are some rising slogans (“where it was, as it was” or “widespread universitary campus”) but these are not sufficient.A new concept for the city is needed. Even though it is quite unpopular, we should now be clear and have the courage to say that L’Aquila cannot return to be the city it was.

It will take at least 10-15 years to recover the buildings of the Historical Centre; in the meantime all business forces will be transferred elsewhere, rebuilding their activities from scratch.

A new concept for the city

It is necessary to imagine “a new idea of city”, where high value-added activities, new technologies in companies and residences and the historic landscape must play a leading role.

At the moment, the few ideas mentionned on how to revitalize the economy appear to contradict one another. For instance, the way the reuse of C.A.S.E. Plan buildings is thought is symbolic of these shortcomings. Before the earthquake , L’Aquila had almost 73.000 inhabitants and a student population of over 21.000 people. Today the idea is to use the 185 new buildings of the 19 peripheral areas of the C.A.S.E. Plan to make a campus and/or a series of residences for tourists. This contrasts with a policy aimed at revitalizing the historical centre.

Why removing University and students from the old city?

On the contrary we must encourage their presence and facilitate access to renting in the central and prestigious location of the university. Then knowledge economy could become one of the driving forces behind the new birth of one of the most important Italian historic centers.

Paolo Fusero, University of Pescara-DART
URBACT NDP for Italy
extract from URBAT NDP Italy – Biannual report

Posted in URBACT, Urban Development | 2 Comments »

Earning money while saving the world, is that social entrepreneurship?

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Although not new as a phenomenon, the term social entrepreneurship has increased its popularity during the last couple of years. The European Commission has launched the programme Innovative Union and in many countries, national and local projects aiming at social entrepreneurship have been launched.

Earning money while saving the world, is that social entrepreneurship? According to Wikipedia, a social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to achieve social change with an objective of public interest. Instead of measuring performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur focuses on creating social capital, while at the same time making a living out of it. Also, social entrepreneurship is not limited to starting a business, but more generally to launch an activity or any form of organization.

In Sweden, a major movement towards social entrepreneurship has been going since 2009. The Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen), the research financier for universities, connects the need of social entrepreneurship to the globalisation process:

The Knowledge Foundation has initiated a 9 year long program for social entrepreneurship, aiming to create space for the people and organizations who invent socially beneficial initiatives. Around €12 million has been invested to strengthen social entrepreneurship in Sweden.

Eight research projects at Swedish universities were granted funds and just recently a platform for social entrepreneurship, www.samhallsentreprenor.se, was launched. The platform is a national forum operated by Malmö University and Mid Sweden University in joint venture, with the aim to be a national nod that collects all initiatives under way in Sweden and to develop research, knowledge and expertise in the growing field of social innovation and social entrepreneurship.

But if social entrepreneurship isn’t a new phenomenon, then what is the need for a national platform? Erika Augustinsson, project leader for the platform samhallsentreprenor.se:

“What is new today is that social entrepreneurship has renewed strength. And this renewal is related to how the world looks like. [...] we see problems such as social gaps more clearly. There are a lot of people who want to do something about this.”

According to Erika Augustinsson, the gain in interest for social entrepreneurship can also be connected to a generational change. “Among the younger generation, there is a new logic to solve societal problems”, Erika says. What the market economy previously was doing, the civic society is doing now. And it’s in the intersection of market economy and civic society the interesting stuff is going on, she continues.

With this new interest for social entrepreneurship, a need for an organisation has occurred, according to Erika Augustinsson: “This type of hybrid players needs an organization to influence society”.

The samhallsentreprenor.se platform is not only a meeting place. The aim is that the nod will be active in creating a strategy for how to work with social entrepreneurship. During the two years that the pilot project runs for, the platform will start pilot projects, try out different methods and arrange workshops. The platform will result in a national strategy for how to work with social entrepreneurship and how to encourage and make it easier for social entrepreneurs in the future.

Furthermore, the platform looks to support organisations and cooperation. Models for integrated approach will be in focus, according to Erika Augustinsson:

“ With this platform, we want to see if we can find structures and models for such interaction and perhaps transfer good examples to other cities in Sweden and Europe. “

Erika Augustinsson is looking for cooperation with other member states when forming the national Swedish strategy for social entrepreneurship: “We’d love to hook up as many as possible in the national strategy, which is exciting to work with other countries. Can you use the skills we have in other parts of the world?”

Erika Augustinsson means that what social entrepreneurship is about us letting in more players with ideas and visions in sustainable development. This is essential for achieving change, Erika Augustinsson concludes. Perhaps this also has been a tool in dealing with the current economical crisis.

Read more:

URBACT NDP for Sweden City of Malmö

Posted in Urban Development | 1 Comment »

How Cities from the Caribbean could turn into sustainable ones ?

Monday, February 14th, 2011

sfcuThe International Town-Planning Days are celebrated each November 8th, in 30 countries on 4 continents. Such celebration is the very occasion to discuss on the future of cities and territories.
For the first time in France, these International Days occurred in French overseas territories, in Fort-de-France, Martinique, thanks notably to SFU (French Society of Town-planners), on the following topic : « How Cities from the Caribbean could turn into sustainable ones ? »

The participants (representatives of the state, regional and local authorities, associations, companies etc.) presented the « Fort-de-France Statement». These experts enhance the fact that the Caribbean area, which is used to undergo natural and societal disasters, has a high potential in terms of geographical vitality and projection : in a word the Caribbean space represents a major laboratory between Europe and America. The participants ask for implementing several actions to promote « the Caribbean sustainable city and territory of tomorrow ».

The SFU which celebrates its centenary in 2011, is the only French national association composed by professional town-planners. The SFU represents French town-planners in the European Council of town-planners.

Read more:

Posted in Urban Development | No Comments »

Integrated urban development in German cities

Friday, February 11th, 2011

Read more:

URBACT NDP for Germany Deutscher Verband für Wohnungswesen, Städtebeau und Raumordnung e.V.

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