News from our cities and networks

Strategic sustainability goals

Irish, French and Polish cities in the Global Goals for Cities network share their visions of how the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will be brought into action locally. Take a trip to the future: ‘Trim, a place for the people’; ‘La Rochelle, a zero-carbon territory on its way to SDGs’; and ‘Dzierżoniów, an attractive place for a good, safe life’.

Tourism for all

Panevėžys (LT), partner in the Genderedlandscape network, is testing ways to increase competitiveness in the tourism sector and make sure that tourist attractions and services are accessible to all.

Art revives a city

“Vacant shops are like a canvas where we can start trying out new things and open more possibilities for rejuvenating the city centre.” Pori, Finnish partner in the iPlace network, brought empty commercial spaces to life with work by 40+ artists – attracting 15 000 visitors.

Halting the decline of historic quarters

See how Mula’s (ES) two years in the URBACT network KAIRÓS is leaving the town with a clear set of agreed actions, links to EU funds, and wide-ranging enthusiasm for “the power of heritage as a driver for development”. Mula is also hosting the network’s final event on 27-28 April 2022, open to anyone interested in cultural heritage and urban regeneration.

Petrol company joins zero energy group

The Urb-En Pact network’s eight cities all aim to become net-zero energy (NZE) territories by 2050, working with key players in local energy transition. Meet Antonios Mountouris, Chemical Engineer for Hellenic Petroleum, member of Elefsina’s (EL) local group.

URBACT training – feedback on city funding plans

Get a peek of a training event for URBACT networks. The USE-IT network leaders Birmingham (UK) got a peer review of the ‘Springboard plan’ their URBACT Local Group had drafted with expert support, and partner cities benefited from feedback on their ‘Investment plans’. Also, take a quick tour of the network’s Sicilian partner Trapani (IT).

Smart cooking oil collection

Portalegre (PT), partner in the DigiPlace network, is to install an intelligent, digital network for collecting used cooking oil. Containers are monitored using Smart S+ software and IoT technology, facilitating route management and collection. The oil can then be transformed into biodiesel, soap, and other products. Also, read the highlights of the DigiPlace site visit to Latvian partner Ventspils Digital Centre and its new Science Centre "VIZIUM".

Collaborative urban regeneration in action

These short reports from Turin (IT) are worth reading to explore the Beeozanam Community Hub, and CasaBottega – a public-private urban regeneration experiment allocating unused spaces to young artists. From the CO4CITIES network, sharing the UIA CO-CITY method for better collaboration between the municipality and citizen groups. Also, find out about partner cities’ Investment Plans at the end of this meeting report.

How do you really feel about URBACT in your city?

ULGs are “a real novelty which shows how citizens and local governments can and should work together” and “an extraordinary governance tool”… Partners in the RU:URBAN network working on ‘urban agriculture for resilient cities’ tell all.

Interview: connectivity, mobility, and healthy cities

The Healthy Cities network’s latest expert interview for urban planners on improving health in cities is on mobility and connectivity. The stars: healthy urban mobility advocates Melissa & Chris Bruntlett, two authors who want to promote the benefits of sustainable transport and inspire happier, healthier, more human-scale cities.

Read our publication for stories from cities understanding, adapting and re-using URBACT Good Practices: Good Practice Transfer – Why Not in my City?

We hope you enjoy this URBACT city news round-up. If you have any news to share from URBACT cities, or ideas for more stories on sustainable urban development, get in touch!

URBACT promotes sustainable, integrated urban development, supporting exchange and learning between EU towns and cities. Since its launch URBACT III has enabled the creation of 83 networks involving 454 cities from 28 countries. Almost half of these cities have populations of under 100 000. Ongoing projects include Action Planning Networks, Transfer Networks, and National Practice Transfer Initiatives. Meanwhile five networks are transferring urban solutions from UIA projects, and another is localising the Sustainable Development Goals.