Understand how this process can successfully take place in cities and how to tackle the challenges ahead
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Innovative Heritage Management -
Combating poverty in deprived urban areas
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Boosting creative entrepreneurship through creative-based urban strategies -
Boosting the Frequency of Qualification
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All networks
or explore:
CO4CITIES
CO4CITIES is the UIA - URBACT Transfer Mechanism pilot network that transfers the methodological structure of UIA CO-CITY: the Regulation on collaboration between citizens' organizations and the Municipality in the co-management of urban commons; the Pact of collaboration, a legal tool providing for a change of attitude in the public/communities relationship; the essential role of Community Hubs in the process of community empowerment and in the path of building a new collaborative approach between the citizens and the public administration.
Ongoing
Global Goals for Cities
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call of action to protect our planet, end poverty and ensure peace and prosperity for all by 2030. "Global Goals for Cities” is a pilot network and strategic partnership aimed at accelerating progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in 19 cities of the EU, through peer learning and integrated action planning. The partnership is funded through the European Regional Development Fund's URBACT III European Territorial Cooperation program.
Ongoing
VILAWATT
The VILAWATT UIA - URBACT Transfer Mechanism boosts the energy transition process by setting up a public-private-citizen partnership, where citizens and main social actors play a key role. The priority is to increase citizen commitment and sense of belonging to promote a sustainable energy transition process. Main achievements in the Lead Partner city, Viladecans, include: citizens got a saying at the Consortium through the associations linked to it. These associations have been created thanks to Vilawatt’s participatory strategy, as they did not exist before. When it comes to energy supply, Vilawatt pools the demand for energy and provides energy to all association members (100% Certified Renewable Energy) Faster energy retrofitting of private buildings. In addition, three residential buildings (in an underprivileged district) have received 1,4 M€ investment in a process that has been boosted by the city hall, naturally, the neighbours were part of the decision making process of the retrofitting works.
Ongoing
CHANGE!
In times when personal sacrifices are much needed to tackle burning societal issues, fostering and enabling collaboration at local level of public administration is of the utmost importance. The partners of this Action Planning network had the opportunity to reflect upon social design, a process to think over alongside local stakeholders how to co-design their social public services towards a more collaborative service. This means to create an urban strategy that somehow engages volunteers to improve communities and public services, reducing costs at the same time.
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CREATIVE SPIRITS
The partner cities from this Implementation network have a common need to improve the implementation of their existing integrated urban strategies and action plans by including new approaches linked to creative and cultural industries (CCI) – creative places, people, and businesses. The joint policy challenge for the network is to better facilitate the above 'creative ecosystem' to be able to attract (more) creative entrepreneurs and boost creative entrepreneurship in dedicated urban areas, this comprises activities that create economic value through the generation and exploitation of intellectual property. A city is able to mobilise ideas, talents and creative organisations when it knows how to foster a creative milieu by identifying, nurturing, attracting and sustaining talent. Local governments all over the world are increasingly becoming aware of the CCI’s potential to generate jobs, wealth, and cultural engagement.
Closed
INTERACTIVE CITIES
This Action Planning network explored how digital, social media and user generated content can improve today’s urban management in European cities, whatever size. This challenge has been tackled in two ways: as an opportunity to redefine and deepen the concept of citizenship and civic engagement today, providing a path to spark cohesion, commonalities and shared value as well as increasing sense of place. As well as a way to improve the quality of public services, in terms of efficiency and transparency, and even widen the current service chart provided by local authorities.
Closed
MAPS – Military Assets as Public Spaces
The Action Planning network MAPS (Military Assets as Public Spaces) was focused on enhancing former military heritage as key elements for sustainable urban strategies, combining both functional and social aspects. Highlighting the potential of the dismissed military areas can be deemed as the new symbols of a more conscious and participatory urban planning.
Closed
Procure
The goal of this Action Planning network was to explore how to harness the spending power through procurement of public and anchor institutions in the partner cities to bring about economic, social and environmental benefits for businesses and people which in turn will have a positive impact on the city and its local economy. The topics to be explored include: the regulations and law at both European and national level, and what cities are able to do around innovative procurement; how to analyse procurement spend and develop a procurement strategy; the use of social criteria and environmental criteria in procurement; and how to raise awareness of procurement amongst local businesses and SMEs.
Closed
RetaiLink
This Action Planning network created strategic plans to enhance the competitiveness of small and/or independent retail businesses, considering them a key economic driver. The project’s scope of work includes areas such as regulation, employment, urban planning, managing public spaces, mobility, cultural and creative industries and citizens participation. The multi-stakeholder approach brings together public sector, private sector, retailers and major commercial operators, consumers or cultural and creative industries.
Closed
SmartImpact
The focus of this Action Planning network was less about technology solutions per se, but more about governance structures, process and business models. The partner cities are specifically worked together to: develop models of how organisations can adapt their structures to deliver smart cities; effectively finance smart solutions and creating new ways of understanding value with co-investment strategies; develop and support innovation ecosystems within cities; explore the role of regulations and incentives, e.g. the carrot and stick approach; better understand how data integration and urban data platforms can support the smart city.
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TechTown
By exploring how small and medium sized cities can maximise the job creation potential of the digital economy, this Action Planning network examined whether there is potential for spillover from stronger city level digital economies; how clusters can work at city level and look collaboratively at what cities can do to support businesses to access the digital skills and innovations they need in order to start, grow and compete. The city partners further explored the role and viability of digital, content creation and technology clusters and how benefit may be gained from major city or national initiatives to benefit job creation and growth in small and medium sized cities. The project was 'of the digital economy' as well as 'for the digital economy' in that it used digital technologies as much as possible throughout management and delivery.
Closed
VITAL CITIES
Seeking answers on how to combat social exclusion through the redesign of public spaces in deprived residential areas by using the power and common language of sport, this Action Planning network found solutions through innovative urban sport actions, physical equipment and better orchestrated service delivery. Active living positively contributes to social cohesion, wellbeing and economic prosperity in cities. However, currently cities are challenged by the opposite: dramatic increase in the frequency of diseases as a result of sedentary life style and social exclusion. To tackle these challenges, European cities have invested in large scale sports facilities over the past decades. These strategies have a limited success, hence a new approach is needed: instead of ‘bringing’ the inactive citizens to the sports facilities, public space itself should be turned into a low threshold facility inviting all citizens to physical activity.
Closed
CASH, Cities Action for Sustainable Housing
Propose new solutions and promote new policies for the sustainable renovation of social and affordable housing units in the European Union.
Closed
Creative Clusters
The starting assumption of the project is that creativity can act as a driving force for economic development of small urban centres and not only of big cities. Thus, the main value-added that the work of the Creative Clusters network can produce is to transfer the “creative city model” (too much focused on big and middle-sized metropolis) to low density urban areas. In other words, to transfer a range of so far considered urban attributes (accessibility, cultural life, technological facilities, competitive clusters, global networking, etc.) to middle-sized and small towns.
Closed
EGTC
The first objective of the EGTC URBACT project is to promote the development of cross-border urban development strategy.
Closed
ESIMeC
How medium sized cities can generate new employment opportunities, prepare workers for jobs, and address mismatches between the supply of labour and demand for workers
Closed
ESIMeC II
Explores how demand-led workforce development strategies can be used as instruments of sustainable economic recovery in medium sized cities
Closed
JOBTOWN
A European Network of Local Partnerships for the Advancement of Youth Employment and Opportunity
Closed
SURE
Implementation of integrated socio-economic regeneration strategies which build on local strengths and opportunities. This will be achieved by developing an integrated Socio-economic Urban REhabilitation Model for small and medium sized cities.
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