December is a time for looking backward and forward. It’s also a time of tradition and sharing, so as 2013 draws to a close I’d like to share one of my family traditions with you. Ever since my kids were small, we have got together at this time to share our favourite things of the […]
Archives for 2013

Accelerating Electric Mobility in Cities
What is the best approach to electric mobility in cities? Some of the answers to this tricky question were presented at the international industry Forum, the Electric Vehicle Symposium 27, in Barcelona last week by the URBACT Electric Vehicles in Urban Europe team. The event brought together engineers, scientists, researchers, inventors, manufacturers as well as […]

Do We Have Data On Urban Development and Are We Using It?
About the 6th workshop towards an Integrated Urban Monitoring in Europe (IUME), held on 22 October in Brussels at the Directorate-General for Regio and Urban Policy: for comparative urban analysis first and foremost comparative data are needed from cities. This sounds simple – however, the reality is quite difficult. In a recent meeting (details later) […]

Cities for People
The conversation on urban design must change in focus from the physical structure of the cities to the people who live in them. This is the strongly held belief of Camilla van Deurs, a partner with Danish architectural practice Gehl Architects, which works around the world implementing its vision of creating resilient places that are […]

The Right Skills, Fair Pay and Access to Quality Jobs: Reflections on the German Dual System and How Cities Can Tackle the Youth Jobs Crisis
“That says it all. Here they use a BMW cabriolet for apprentice mechanics to train on – back in Italy it’d be an old Fiat cinquecento!” A Transnational Delegation at Kaiserslautern Vocational Training Centre We were walking through the vocational training centre in Kaiserslautern, and my Italian colleague was not the only one feeling green […]

Land Take and Industrial Added Value: a Compass for the USEAct Project
To reduce land take and to develop the re-use of urban areas is an aim that can be achieved with adequate integration of many tools, both direct and indirect, at different levels. The frameworks of national legislation and regional planning can play important roles, giving guidelines and implementation regulations for the cities. Creating planning tools […]

Rural-Urban Partnerships: An Integrated Approach to Economic Development
Research and publications of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are usually of high quality. Correspondingly, I had high expectations when arriving to Bologna to participate in the OECD 9th Rural Development Policy Conference on Rural-Urban partnerships: an integrated approach to economic development. No doubt, the topic is of high importance. European policies and funds […]

Budapest through the Eyes of the Homeless
While the parliament votes on a law containing restrictions on the homeless living in the street, the team of index.hu website went to a city walk to see how this policy would make the homeless people invisible. Lots of bars, jam-packed hostels, ruined huts, friendly policemen, inhuman laws – we had a conversation with the […]

Migrant Integration: Inventing Multicultural Citizenship at City Level
Migration in Europe today presents a complex picture.The previous trends of predominantly Mediterranean migration to the industrial north, and post-colonial migration from third countries have been replaced by more diverse patterns, with many cities now playing host to a mix of migrants from different ethnic groups, including new immigrants, for example from Latin America, people […]