Picture by Wonderland on Flickr
When you hear about the URBACT programme, does it sound like an abstract thing that wouldn’t be of any use to you? Check out these suggestions. You may be surprised to find out what this program can do for you!
1. Are you an elected representative or a decision maker?
Discover the trending issues in urban development around Europe. Like the Dutch say: Go softly and look afar! While you need to focus on your own local issues, being aware of the global context will add a strategic twist to your decisions.
- Have a look at the ‘Cities of Tomorrow: Action today” report.
Inform and support your political decisions with existing cases and approaches. Know and show what others have done before. Everybody wants to develop innovative approaches, but the most effective—and difficult—thing to do is to learn from the successes and failures of others.
- Looking for some insight about a specific issue? Check out URBACT projects.
Learn how to work together with different stakeholders in your city. Build a common vision with them. Otherwise you can find yourself heading off alone in a direction that no one else in the city understands or supports. Listen and be surprised by innovative inputs from previously unheard voices.
- Learn about Local Support Groups and have a look at the materials from the Training Scheme for Elected Representatives.
Find methodologies and structures you can reuse. Have you considered creating something like a Local Support Group? Have you tried sharing knowledge with other cities within a network? What’s your approach to participation?
- As an introduction, take a look at the URBACT method.
These are just a few suggestions on how you could take advantage of URBACT’s open knowledge and transparency principles, which leave all the working documents and results exposed for you to review, reuse and adapt. We are sure you can find even more creative and productive ways of using all of the information that is available. Will you miss this opportunity?
Are you not a decision maker or elected representative? Check the other, upcoming articles in this series, specifically aimed at public employees or municipal technicians, practitioners or students, and citizens, activists or users.
Is—or was—your city a part of URBACT? Find out here!
If not, invite your local representatives to join the URBACT Infodays!
