After the grand kick-off ceremony on Monday 8 October, the European Week of Regions and Cities opened its doors to the urban community in Europe. Until Thursday, 11 October 2018, countless plenary sessions, workshops, receptions and presentations will gather around 6,000 stakeholders and policy-makers from across the continent to tackle and discuss cohesion across regional, territorial and urban policies.

The Urban Corner wants to contribute to this debate. Located in Cluster 1 of the Agora, it hosts a wide range of partners who share their perspective in short sessions. Today, Coordinators of the Urban Agenda Partnerships on Public Procurement, Urban Mobility, Jobs and Skills and Housing took the floor to present their work, including their Action Plans, and answered questions of the public.

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The Joint Research Centre devoted two sessions to presenting how new data bases, tools and visualisations can add to more informed urban policy-making. The Knowledge Centre for Territorial Policies bundles this unique information.

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EUROCITIES engaged in a conversation with the public to discuss innovative ways to finance energy efficiency policies. They also helped understand what SUMPs are and why they matter by highlighting the SUMPs-Up project, launched to develop sustainable urban mobility plans under the European Union's CIVITAS 2020 initiative.

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The European Investment Bank colleagues showcased the advisory offer of the Advisory Hub, as well as interventions in key sectors such as climate, urban development, circular economy or energy efficiency. Closing the day, we learnt how JASPERS, an independent tool, helps beneficiaries of EU Structural and Investment Funds.

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URBACT Programme Expert Ivan Tosics contributed to the programme with a presentation on the troubles of urban development and illustrated new ways of solution thinking with innovative URBACT projects such as Refill or 2nd chance.

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Next to the thematic sessions, there was more – an ongoing Virtual Reality experience on urban air quality and its links with mobility, the board game on urban decision-making, and of course many encounters and conversation between members of the urban community!

Do you prefer moving pictures over text? Check out our video playlist of the day.

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No less than 13 presentations will animate Day 2 (10 October 2018) at the Urban Corner (check the programme here) and, of course, the Virtual Reality experience and the serious game. Make sure to visit us at Cluster 1 of the Agora (level -2 at The Square)!

Do you have any questions on the Urban Corner? Please contact the Urban Agenda for the EU Communications Team via UA.communication@ecorys.com.

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