Dear Members of the Community of Practice on Cities,

We hope that you have had a good end-of-year break and an inspiring start to the new year. 2020 was a very challenging year for us all and we hope 2021 will bring with it positive changes, that will enable us to live, work and interact a bit closer to each other again!  

This year, cities will have central roles to play both in supporting and streamlining vaccination campaigns locally, and in the implementation of Member State Recovery plans, which are currently under review. The recovery, while necessary, is also a pathway to rebuilding our cities in a better, more sustainable, more resilient, and more inclusive way. In particular, the impact of the Renovation Wave, implementation of the Green Deal and launch of the New European Bauhaus bring many exciting opportunities for urban areas.

Please let us know if you would like to highlight your project, publication or upcoming event in the next edition of this newsletter (end March). Any inputs, as well as any other comments or suggestions are welcome to our functional mailbox: JRC-KCTP@ec.europa.eu. 

Wishing you all a peaceful and productive year!                                                       

The Editorial Team

Ine Vandecasteele, Jean-Philippe Aurambout, Patrizia Sulis