Connecting cities Building successes

Our study of key websites spreading ideas around the blogosphere for building a sustainable urban development is getting more precise!

Below are  other websites URBACT has discovered as reference sources on the thematic fields URBACT covers: transport, innovation, environment, inner cities . Let’s have a look at them !

Transport

Ville, Rail & Transports focuses on debates around public transportation. Eager to expose new mobilities   innovations, it publishes urban news dealing for instance with a project cluster of rail stakeholders in Spain, or with the construction of innovative trains in Poland; the website also exposes in-depth investigations like this one about the 30-city, a concept born in Austria that limits cars’ speed to 30 km/h in the whole city.

Another website deals specifically with cities that encourages biking.  Villes cyclables is managed by the Club of Cities and Territories for cycles. Created in 1989, this club unifies 1000 regional authorities in France which represent 16 million people. Its mission is to promote the use of bikes and active ways of moving around the city. They notably participate in Velocity congress each year to represent France. Discover their magazine, Ville et vélo! These websites clearly refer to some URBACT projects like EVUE or Active Travel Network.

Inner cities

Different website on different topic : Centre villes en mouvement. The objective of this website is simple : to unify all stakeholders involved in city centres’development whether in the transport sector, retail, town planning, employment or environment. By networking with the cities that decided to lead pilot actions for their city centre, Centres villes en mouvement wants to highlight the specific challenge city centre’s developement is in the current metropolization context. Let’s have a look at this reportage on the reconquest of new spaces in inner cities! Such input is linked to the concrete actions partner cities of LINKS implement at local level, like Bayonne municipality which regulates commercial expansion to foster artistic activities.

Urban Innovation

On the topic of environment and innovation, Cleantech Republic exposes a wide range of green innovations. 

Through blog reviews, expert’s interviews, businessman of the week’s interviews, Cleantech Republic is an exhaustive way of staying tuned to what is going on in this sector. Read more here about electro bikes’ innovation !

The well-known “Smarter cities initiative” launched by IBM leans upon an interesting website. Growing urbanization around the world questions the ability of cities to upgrade infrastructures and services in a more efficient way. IBM helps cities willing to integrate innovations in education, healthcare, water management , energy, food etc.
The IBM Intelligent Operations Center helps managing city services through 2000 smarter cities projects. Discover how IBM helps Valetta, Malta to build a smart grid, or Coventry about future smarter governance. The related blog, A smarter planet blog, is the occasion to read contributions from urban experts around the world.

To finish, URBACT recommends a global urban information website: Planetizen. The website covers a diversity of topics ranging from world’s biggest cities’strategies to fight global warming to strategies to revitalize stagnating commercial strips.  It also broadcasts a collection of videos on urban planning, design and development, and feeds a blog where you can read an advocacy of leading a smart growth strategy at local level.

Ségolène Pruvot and Alexandra Solom
URBACT Web partners