News from our cities and networks

Niches for sustainable local economic development

“We must focus on togetherness and the ability and willingness to do something for each other…A city that we (the council and the residents) can be proud of and remain proud of!” Thanks to the iPlace network, Heerlen’s (NL) residents get involved in rethinking their city centre. And a virtual hackathon in Pärnu (EE) brings the community together to improve the city: four winning ideas have been granted a budget for implementation.

Facts helping fight homelessness

Cities in the ROOF network understand that to fight homelessness, it’s important to understand people and their needs. In this focus on Toulouse Métropole (FR), Dominique Fievez asks “Who are the homeless in our city? and How many are they?”.

New solutions for better tourism

A ‘historic aqueduct tour’ in Genoa (IT), ‘pilot boat tour’ in Dubrovnik (HR), a study of friendliness and accessibility for people with disabilities in ‘Druskininkai’ (LT), better communication with visitors in Venice (IT) and Rovaniemi (FI) – discover these and more Small Scale Actions tested out by the Tourism-friendly Cities network.

Too many cars? Try a new bus route!

Thanks to the Space4People network, the town of Panevėžys (LT) analysed its traffic problems and decided to trial a new bus route linking a major hospital site with local residential areas. The route has now been made permanent and further research may lead to more new bus lines.

Building supplies exchange

Here’s a great idea from the URGE network: Riga Energy Agency trialed a construction material exchange point for four months – the first of its kind in Latvia – and now plans are afoot for a larger exchange point.

Baby-care space

The Greek city of Trikala, partner in Genderedlandscape network, is trialing a breastfeeding and baby care area-station in its central municipal cultural centre. One of a range of actions to work towards gender equality in urban policies, planning, and services.

Imagine reaching our sustainability goals by 2031!

‘A net-zero carbon and climate-resilient city, with a healthy biodiversity and healthy people’; ‘Safe, Connected and Resilient’. Take a trip into the future with Glasgow (UK) and Schiedam (NL). Two partners in the Global Goals for Cities network share their visions of how the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will be brought into action locally.

Connected entrepreneurs

“Have a vision of what an ideal ecosystem looks like, communicate that clearly, and show how your initiatives, programmes and policies will help build a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem”, Laura Bennett, 2022. TechRevolution 2.0 network cities explore entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Storytelling for urban change

On World Storytelling Day, a focus on how the cities in the Thriving Streets network are integrating a narrative element into their local urban strategies as they explore links between mobility and public space.

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.