The fact that many countries are experiencing a structural shift in demographic composition provoked by ageing populations has take some time to gain universal awareness. It seems only some years ago that early retirement or shorter working weeks were being promoted to create space in the labour market for a younger work force (60 year […]
Archives for 2010
Demanding more from the weakest
Controversial decision from the Spanish government to ban any loans by municipalities from January 2011. The socialist government of Rodriguez Zapatero passed last week a law with immediate effect that forbids local governments to contract debt to finance investment. The decision, which was adopted without prior notice or debate, came as a surprise for all […]
“Behind the Front Door” – outreaching social support in the Netherlands
In the Netherlands there is one form of outreaching social support that has increasingly been applied in the past few years. It is generally addressed as the ‘behind the front door’ method. Professionals using this method actively and directly approach marginalised people to find and help them with their most important problems. This new method has been widely applied in the Dutch ‘neighbourhood approach’.
Homeless People in European Stations (HOPE)
In his book “Down and Out in Paris and London”(published 1933), George Orwell sketched a documentary picture of itinerant homelessness where the underlying causes and effects, many might argue, are little changed some 80 years on. In the URBACT Tribune Heidrun Feigelfeld returned to a feature of this theme in her article “Lost Job – […]
Cities in crisis – Report from Hungary
In autumn 2008 the world was shocked by a financial crisis which has affected the economy. Cities, as focal points of socio-economic processes have experienced the consequences in a concentrated way. Though information on the real effects is scarce, it has been on the agenda of events and conferences to better understand the impacts and […]
3rd RegGov Newsletter online!
The RegGov project has published its third newsletter. The third edition of the RegGov newsletter starts with a statement from Merja Haapakka, representative of the European Commission (DG Regio) and contact person for the RegGov project, in which the importance and expectations of the Regional Policy is stressed. Afterwards the Managing Authority from the Province […]
REPORT: Bridging the Urban Divide
Under the patronage of the EU Parliamentary Urban Intergroup (presided over by MEP Jan Olbrycht), this bi-annual UN “state of cities” report was launched today in Brussels by MR. Jean Bakole (Director of UN Human Settlements Programme) and one of the principal authors Mr. Eduardo López Moreno. Following up on the Urban Forum of Rio […]
Fairtrade cities in Sweden – municipalities taking a stand
The term Fair Trade is widely known as a social movement aiming to help small and local producers and to promote sustainability. Originally associated with developing countries, the term has during recent years also been connected with sustainable development in a local context. During recent years, a trend in Sweden is for cities and municipalities […]
A statement of Bernd Mielke, Managing Authority of the RegGov partner city of Duisburg
Managing authorities play a prominent role in implementing integrated urban development. This approach requires close cooperation between cities, communities, Managing authorities and other project partners. URBACT RegGov project focuses on how to make this relationship as fruitful and efficient as possible. As RegGov received a Fast Track Label, there is a regular exchange with the […]
International Roma Day: Roma integration in the spotlights
Roma communities, the European Union’s largest ethnic minority, continue to face persistent discrimination and segregation. On the occasion of the International Roma Day, the European Commission urged Member States in a policy communication published on 7 April 2010 to use EU funds for the social and economic integration of Roma. Ensuring these communities’ access to jobs […]
Authors
Aidan Cerar
Aldo Vargas
Alice Ferguson
Alina Andreea Băileşteanu
Alison Partridge
Amy Labarrière
Ana Resende
Anais de Muret- ALL AUTHORS
