The URBACT City Festival was an experience that I will never forget. I guess many articles begin with such a common phrase, but allow me to explain my reasoning more thoroughly and maybe, just maybe, you may find something unique in my experiences. I attended the URBACT City Festival with no prior experience with the […]
Archives for 2017
Umeå – Gender equality at the heart of the city
It is, or should be, in the interest of everyone to create more equal and inclusive cities, since that is how we generate long-term sustainability for European citizens – socially, financially and environmentally. The current development of urban infrastructure and the built environment needs to be redesigned to promote greater gender equality in the use […]
Brexit proofing Irish cities: buidling resilience through URBACT
As Phase 2 of Brexit talks look set to begin in early 2018, and as the UK strives to agree a new trade deal with the EU, it is timely to take stock of the challenges and risks which will confront Irish cities in the coming year and beyond as a result of the UKs […]
2017: URBACT Year of Good Practices
97 Good Practices to inspire urban policy making The Good Practices selection has been the big novelty for URBACT in 2017. URBACT is now proposing an in depth look at the experience of more than 90 European cities on topics as diverse as Gender Equality (Umea), Spring Clean Up Campaign (Tallinn) or Refugee Solidarity (Ghent). URBACT […]
Brexit culture
One month after Five UK cities submitted their bids to become European Capital of Culture 2023, the announcement by the European Commission, on November 23, that UK cities cannot be eligible has created a small storm in the UK’s Brexit teacup. Here is why Peter Ramsden considers that UK cities risk being sidelined in European policy making. […]
A postcard from the SS Rotterdam: Reflection on the 2017 Cities Forum
Memory’s a funny thing. Sometimes, after moderating big events, I remember almost nothing of the detailed discussions. It’s as if the intensity of the exchange is so much that nothing sticks. Or maybe inside my head it has nothing to stick to! But, just back from moderating the 2017 EU Cities Forum in Rotterdam, my […]
“From placemaking to placekeeping?”
How to involve citizens in the long-term management of public spaces. Public spaces are thought to positively affect the wellbeing of their users in various ways. These associated benefits are reason enough for local authorities to invest in the creation of such high quality places through place-making processes. Place-making means the creation and shaping of […]
Urban DNA and the birth of Urban Acupuncture Therapy: Story from Murcia, Spain
A decade of citizen engagement in Murcia (Spain) Murcia, a city in southeast Spain, was awarded the URBACT Good Practice label for an urban regeneration and revitalisation project carried out in its Espiritu Santo neighbourhood, a peripheral and run-down area of Murcia. Murcia City Hall and all the people that were involved in this project, […]
From Liveability to Lovability – The role of the placemaker in co-creating vibrant cities
Placemaking is a term that captures the collaborative process used to design and animate the public realm, and promote social and cultural life in the urban environment. Jan Gehl, the famous Copenhagen based urban designer, wrote about ‘Life between buildings’, and how quality public spaces connect people to the places they share, and enhance happiness, […]
6 recommendations for cities that aim to join an URBACT Transfer Network
The call for the creation of URBACT Transfer Networks is open until 10 January 2018. The objective of these networks is the adaptation and transfer of URBACT labelled Good Practices to other municipalities that have similar challenges, but less experience. Some questions may arise to the city wishing to apply: What does the Good Practice […]
Authors
Aidan Cerar
Aldo Vargas
Alice Ferguson
Alina Andreea Băileşteanu
Alison Partridge
Amy Labarrière
Ana Resende
Anais de Muret- ALL AUTHORS
