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Projects Reach Completion in Their Final Conferences

Edited on

17 February 2015
Read time: 2 minutes

After three years of work, nine URBACT projects are presenting their recommendations to delegates in the coming months.

Besides Active Travel Network, two more URBACT low-carbon projects are holding their final conferences this autumn. The Electric Vehicles in Urban Europe (EVUE) project met in London on October 4, a gathering of over 60 delegates, who focused on how future EU policy can support electro-mobility in cities. Among the key messages were that cities need to find the right strategies so that electric vehicles are integrated into multimodal transport. The Cities Action for Sustainable Housing (CASH) project, led by Echirolles in France, will meet in Brussels on November 27-29. It intends to recommend the best use of new structural funds 2014-2020 for the energy-efficient renovation of social housing.

Promoting young people and social inclusion

Two further projects will meet under the banner of Active Inclusion. OP-ACT (Options of Actions for the Strategic Positioning of Small and Medium Sized Cities) will assemble in its lead partner city of Leoben, Austria, on November 8. An important part of the project is the promotion of young people, and 16-year-old Felix Leitner will show delegates his short film on the future perspectives of young people. Then on January 16-17 Budapest will host the final conference of Roma-Net, dealing with the social exclusion of Roma people. Representatives of European cities will be asked to spread the word about the project’s results and to form alliances for future cooperation. Social inclusion will also dominate the agenda at the pioneering city of Mulhouse on November 22-23 for the final conference of Together. The international meeting will seal a new network of “territories of co-responsibility” that will continue to influence local policies and involve a wide range of actors in the challenges facing cities.

Improving medium-sized towns and historic centres

The SURE project, which tackles disadvantaged neighbourhoods in small and medium-sized towns using initiatives such as tourism and small enterprises, will be hosted by lead partner Eger in Hungary on November 14. Improving the fabric and vitality of historic city centres has been the project of LINKS, which will report in Brussels on January 9-11, when its partners will be invited to present their policy recommendations to the Urban Intergroup of the European Parliament. Finally, the innovative ESIMeC winds up its project in Brussels on November 7 with a culinary theme, offering a “cookbook” to help city officials blend a series of key ingredients into a successful recipe for a job-rich recovery in medium-sized towns.


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