"Community of Practice on Cities Newsletter" Newsletter Issues

Foreword (20/03/2024)

Farewell

Foreword (14/11/2023)

Welcome!

CoP Cities Plenary 2023 (14/11/2023)

The CoP Cities Plenary 2023 was held in Brussels in October 2023 and saw the participation of numerous members and stakeholders of the community. After Lewis Dijkstra (JRC) opened the plenary and welcomed CoP members, Laura Hagemann Arellano (Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy – DG REGIO) presented an overview of initiatives on urban policy and inequalities from DG REGIO and the European Urban Initiative.

A fairer future for European cities: navigating urban inequalities and vulnerabilities (14/11/2023)

The EWRC session ‘A fairer future for European cities: navigating urban inequalities and vulnerabilities’ tackled urban inequalities and vulnerabilities, with a focus on pressing issues such as housing and homelessness, featuring recent scientific research on several European cities. Two opening keynote speeches by Alessandro Rainoldi (JRC) and Thomas Dé Bethune (DG REGIO) were followed by a panel session. Speakers addressed the main theme of the session from different and original angles.

Monitoring the SDGs in European regions (14/11/2023)

The EWRC session ’Sustainable Development Goals: How are European regions monitoring them?’ showcased the final results of the REGIONS2030 project. This collaboration between the European Parliament, the European Commission, and ten pilot regions aimed to develop a set of regional indicators for monitoring the SDGs. The session was moderated by Iraklis Stamos (JRC) and featured speakers were MEP Petros Kokkalis, Audrey Parizel (European Committee of the Regions), and Joachim Maes (DG REGIO).

The JRC Policy Atlas on Small Urban Areas (14/11/2023)

The crucial role of towns in regional development and policy-making was the focus of the EWRC session ‘Towns in EU and OECD countries’. Giulia Testori (JRC) introduced the Policy Atlas of sustainable urban development for small urban areas, highlighting the significant challenges EU towns face, along with viable policy recommendations.

New case studies available on STRAT-Board (17/11/2023)

A new section is now available on STRAT-Board: Learning from Practices, featuring a collection of case studies on Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) and Territorial Development (non-SUD) strategies in both urban and non-urban areas. Users can filter cases by operational challenge or strategy type. Additionally, the georeferenced cases facilitate map navigation for users to locate the most pertinent examples. This new page aims to enhance users’ experience and active engagement and to strengthen STRAT-Board’s potential as a practical tool for urban and territorial development policy and planning.

CoP Cities Annual Plenary 2023 (11/10/2023)

Dear CoP Cities members,

We invite all of you to join our annual CoP-CITIES plenary meeting taking place Wednesday, October 11 12:00 – 15:00 hours. The event will take place at the JRC CDMA in Brussels, as an official side event of the European Week of Regions and Cities 2023.

Speakers will update you on relevant work on cities, while there will also be time for open discussions and questions from the audience. During the meeting, we will also inform you about some short JRC publications on urban topics that could be relevant for CoP-CITIES members.

You can find more information about the agenda, speakers, and how to register to attend the plenary below. Feel free to forward this invitation to anyone you think might be interested in participating in the plenary.

Interview with Xavier Timbeau (15/09/2023)

Xavier Timbeau is the principal director of L’Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (OFCE) at SciencesPo.

The OFCE is an independent body that produces forecasts, research and evaluations of public policy. It covers most areas of economic analysis, from macroeconomics, growth, social protection systems, taxation and employment policy, to sustainable development, competition, innovation and regulation.

You can read the full interview through the link below.

Foreword (15/09/2023)

Welcome!

CoP Cities Annual Plenary 2023 (11/10/2023)

We invite all of you to join our annual CoP-CITIES plenary meeting taking place Wednesday, October 11 12:00 – 15:00 hours. The event will take place at the JRC CDMA in Brussels, as an official side event of the European Week of Regions and Cities 2023.

Speakers will update you on relevant work on cities, while there will also be time for open discussions and questions from the audience. During the meeting, we will also inform you about some short JRC publications on urban topics that could be relevant for CoP-CITIES members.

Click below to learn more about the agenda, speakers, and how to register to attend the plenary.

EWRC 2023 - A fairer future for European cities: navigating urban inqualities and vulnerabilities (10/10/2023)

How can we foster cities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable? Join our session in which we will tackle urban inequalities and vulnerabilities, focusing on climate change adaptation and pressing issues such as housing and homelessness.

The session will discuss the recent Urban Agenda for the EU partnership on Cities of Equality and feature recent scientific research on several European cities. Our moderator is Orna Rosenfeld, and among our speakers, we have representatives of the City of Rotterdam (NL), the L’Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (OFCE) at SciencesPo, DG REGIO and JRC.

We are looking forward to discussing with you current trends and challenges to be addressed by urban administrators and policymakers, as well as possible policy interventions to promote cities that leave no one behind. You can register for the session using the link below (please do so before September 30th).

EWRC 2023 - Learn more about Towns in the EU and the OECD! (10/10/2023)

Towns play an important role in regional development. They have become the focus of more policy attention in recent years, with several countries investigating how towns are doing and how they can be strengthened.

This session will describe how towns are doing in the EU and show how some play a central role regionally and provide the surrounding rural areas with access to specialised services. In addition, it will describe the challenges facing towns and offer policy recommendations.

Check out the BiodiverCities Atlas! (15/09/2023)

The BiodiverCities Atlas presents case studies from ten European cities selected by the JRC to conduct a co-creation process, locally engaging citizens in support of urban biodiversity. It offers highlights, reflections on institutional and practical challenges, and lessons learnt from the local engagement processes, accompanied by several contributions from social and natural researchers.

You can download the Atlas here.

If interested in this process, you can reach out to the JRC colleagues of the Competence Centre on Participative and Deliberative Democracy.

New JRC report on slums and informal settlements in Europe (17/07/2023)

What are the opportunities offered by geospatial and earth observation techniques to monitor slums and informal settlements in Europe? Why is it necessary to do so? The report titled ‘Monitoring slums and informal settlements in Europe' illustrates the outcomes of a research activity, led by the Territorial Development Unit of the JRC together with Monika Kuffer, Professor at University of Twente, to advance the research on slums and informal settlements in Europe.

While the extent of slums and informal settlements in Europe and their population numbers are smaller than in Africa, Asia, or Latin America, such areas still exist in different forms and concern the most vulnerable individuals. The report provides an overview of geospatial and earth observation (EO) techniques for the development of monitoring systems to track the progress of SDG 11.1.1 “Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing” and the ‘Leave No One Behind’ principle of the 2030 Agenda.

You can download the report here.

Foreword (17/07/2023)

Welcome!

European Urban Initiative (17/07/2023)

Two calls related to peer reviews that will take place in November/December 2023 are closing soon.

1. Call for Peers closing 28 July 12:00 CEST.

Share your knowledge to help cities improve their Sustainable Urban Development strategies. The target groups are urban authorities involved in Article 11 ERDF (or Article 7 ERDF in the 2014-2020 period) that would like to act as peers to support cities being peer-reviewed.

View the call here.

2. Call for City-to-City Exchanges closing 17 November 12:00 CET.

Tackle Sustainable Urban Development implementation challenges through short visits with 1-2 peer cities. The target groups are urban authorities facing a specific implementation challenge related to integrated, place-based approaches to Sustainable Urban Development within Cohesion Policy.

View the call here.

Localising the 2030 Agenda (17/07/2023)

Get to know URBACT's newest knowledge hub addition - the step-by-step learning kit on localising the Sustainable Development Goals in European cities. The learning kit contains modules with city cases, useful tools and resources for the process.

You can access the learning kit here.

JRC at Brussels Urban Summit workshop on Homelessness (17/07/2023)

Last month the Brussels Urban Summit took place, gathering over 400 cities worldwide, and more than 2300 politicians, experts and representatives of civil society to exchange ideas and set the priorities for sustainable, affordable, and liveable cities going forward.

JRC participated in a workshop on homelessness, aimed to explore why some groups are more at risk of homelessness and why it is necessary to tailor our responses to different profiles. JRC discussed their report “Homelessness in EU cities and towns before and during the covid-pandemic”, illustrating that data collection for hard-to-reach populations comes with many challenges. Other speakers included representatives from EUROCITIES, The European Platform on Combatting Homelessness, FEANTSA, the DEVJO foundation, and NESTINVEST.

Have a look back at the programme of the Summit here.

How to help the tourism sector become more sustainable and reduce its impacts on cities? (17/07/2023)

This recent study, by the Department of Architecture of the University of Naples Federico II and the Institute for Research on Innovation and Services for Development of the National Research Council, analyses the contribution of tourism to the Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of the circular economy model in the sector.

A new tourism approach is proposed, called “Human Circular Tourism (HCT)”, based on the circular economy model and enhancing sustainability in the tourism sector. An evaluation framework composed of a set of multidimensional indicators for assessing and monitoring the HCT is proposed, with the aim of supporting local public authorities and other tourism stakeholders in the identification of efficient policies and strategies.

You can read the publication here.

EUKN's contribution to the Nature Restoration Law (17/07/2023)

Martin Grisel, Director of the European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN), has been interviewed by NetworkNature about the role of EU Member States in the context of the new EU Nature Restoration Law, the proposal by the Commission strongly welcomed by NGOs and environmental experts.

To assist Member States in the development of greener and sustainable cities, the EUKN is also contributing to the development of the Greening Cities Partnership, which is part of the Urban Agenda for the EU. The Partnership aims at enhancing the inclusion of nature in cities, by improving knowledge, regulation, and funding. This collaboration will also support the elaboration and implementation of the Nature Restoration Law.

Watch the interview here.

Sustainable urban development for small urban areas. (15/05/2023)

The “Policy Atlas of Sustainable Urban Development for Small Urban Areas” serves as a valuable tool for policymakers, practitioners and academics seeking to gain insight into the unique characteristics of Small Urban Areas (SUAs) in the EU. By offering evidence-based approaches and practical recommendations, the atlas provides a compass for navigating the policy challenges of sustainable urban development in SUAs and facilitates the promotion of strategies tailored to their needs.

Enhancing sustainable and circular tourism in small urban areas. (15/05/2023)

Sustainable and circular tourism can be an important driver to foster the development of European small urban areas, often particularly rich in cultural and natural heritage but less known as tourism destinations. The TRACE Support Programme will provide free, high-level action-learning training and specialised support to 100 ambitious European tourism and culture SMEs in Italy, Cyprus, Romania, Belgium and Spain, as well as a direct Grant of 7,200 Euro, to speed-up their sustainability plans. Click on 'More' to learn all about the programme and how to participate.

Foreword (15/05/2023)

Welcome!

Keeping up with the digital transition! (15/05/2023)

URBACT invites city practitioners and interested stakeholders to take the brand-new online course on the digital transition in cities. This self-paced Moodle course aims to build the capacities of city practitioners and policy-makers to understand the main concepts and challenges associated with digital transitions in a few key policy areas.

The training is broken down into 6 modules: Demystifying Tech, Digital environment, Digital Society, Digital Government, Digital Economy and Agile City Leadership. Join the course here

European Urban Initiative needs you to build Portico, the gateway to urban learning! (15/05/2023)

Portico is the European urban knowledge platform powered by EUI and funded by the European Union, to support better urban policy, strategy design and implementation. This platform will be your entry door to the European urban community and provides you with access to the knowledge and skills needed to design and implement sustainable urban development policies.

Portico is designed for urban practitioners from all over the EU and values their feedback. To contribute to the design of Portico, fill in this survey.

The Future of Cities Webinar Series (15/05/2023)

The JRC is pleased to be working with the Regional Studies Association Europe to deliver a webinar series on three recently published policy briefs developed as part of the updating process of the Future of Cities Report. The future of cities is not set in stone and is not easy to predict, but the choices they make now will shape the lives of generations to come. Thus, the main aim is to raise open questions and steer discussions on what the future of cities can, and should be, both within the scientific and policymaker communities.

Register to join the two webinars held in May:

31st May - Shrinking cities (register here and download the policy brief here)

EUKN Policy Lab Report on Women Navigating the City (15/05/2023)

According to research shared by Plan International during the EUKN Policy Lab for the Belgian Federal Public Planning Service for Social Integration, 91% of young women in Belgium have experienced sexual harassment in public spaces. This violence infringes on their right to the city and limits their ability to move around freely, safely, and comfortably. Raising awareness of these issues is crucial to make cities not only safer but also more equal.

‘Women Navigating the City’ is the new report on this EUKN Policy Lab, published in December 2022. Click below to know more and download the report.

The Brussels Urban Summit (15/05/2023)

Together, the cities of Europe stand strong to face urban inequality, the digital divide, migration and diversity, and climate change. As global leaders, mayors are working in concert to champion the needs of local people to national governments and European institutions.

The Brussels Urban Summit (BUS) will bring together three international city conferences on 12-15 June 2023: the 14th Metropolis World Congress, the Eurocities Annual Conference and the sixth OECD Champion Mayors Summit for Inclusive Growth Initiative. It will gather over 300 cities worldwide and more than 1000 politicians, experts and representatives of civil society. The JRC will take part in the summit and participate in a workshop focusing on homelessness and inequality.

Second call for Innovative Actions: the topics are released. (15/05/2023)

With an indicative budget of EUR 120 million ERDF, the second call for proposals of Innovative Actions is focused on three main topics: Greening Cities experimenting and delivering tangible innovative solutions on green infrastructure across European cities; Sustainable Tourism supporting the long-term green and digital transformation and resilience of the tourism ecosystem will be funded; Harnessing talent in shrinking cities supporting cities in testing new solutions to retain and attract talent.

The call for proposals will open in May 2023. Register for upcoming applicants’ seminars in Brussels (June 11 registration deadline), Warsaw (21 June registration deadline), and Ljubljana (29 June registration deadline) and visit our website.

Foreword (22/02/2023)

Welcome!

CoP Cities presence at the Cities Forum in March (16/03/2023)

Our CoP CITIES will have its own stand at the Cities Forum in Turin. Here we will exhibit recent work on cities, while also welcoming all community members to come by for a chat.

Next to that, the B3 Territorial Development Unit of the JRC will be actively present at the Cities Forum 2023 with a session titled ‘The role and challenges of small- and medium-sized urban areas in bringing Europe closer to citizens and driving the green and just transition’. This will be the occasion to launch the new ‘Policy atlas of sustainable urban development for small urban areas’. We will also contribute to the session ‘How can cities build their capacities on sustainable urban development under the European Urban Initiative?’.

City Interview: Rosemarie van Ham - ICAR, Rotterdam (24/02/2023)

Rosemarie van Ham (she/her), Advisor Inclusive Climate Policy & Founder of Inclusive Climate Action Rotterdam (ICAR) at the municipality of Rotterdam, explains why the climate crisis is also a social crisis and that we cannot solve it without tackling poverty, (gender) inequality, and racism.

The Science for policy report on CityLabs is out! (22/02/2023)

The report, entitled ‘Space matters: How to develop a common methodology for CityLabs', illustrates the outcomes of an Exploratory Research Activity led by the Territorial Development Unit of the Joint Research Centre between 2021 and 2022, with the aim of developing an up-to-date, modular, and flexible methodology that could be applied to future CityLabs on a variety of topics.

New report on sandboxing and data sharing (22/02/2023)

This recent JRC report, from our colleagues in T.1 Unit, aims to be a practical guide to adopting innovative solutions for data sharing at the local level by leveraging the sandboxing approach. It is conceived as a practical orientation for a wide range of public administrators who are eager to develop or improve, data ecosystems in their local contexts. The term 'sandbox' refers to an environment that allows us to safely experiment with innovative solutions that allow for an agile and inclusive approach to foster hands-on experience for testing new applications or new organisational approaches.

You can read all about the report here

Nine cities set standards for the transparent use of Artificial Intelligence (22/02/2023)

Nine cities, cooperating through the Eurocities network, have developed a free-to-use open-source ‘data schema’ for algorithm registers in cities. The data schema, which sets common guidelines on the information to be collected on algorithms and their use by a city, supports the responsible use of AI and puts people at the heart of future developments in digital transformation.

Handbook of Territorial and Local Development Strategies (22/02/2023)

At the end of 2022, the Handbook of Territorial and Local Development Strategies was launched. It provides valuable knowledge on how to design and implement integrated territorial and local development strategies promoted by EU cohesion policy as relevant tools to sustain this process, in areas other than urban. The Handbook aims to serve managing authorities of operational programmes, local strategy owners as well as other stakeholders involved in the process.

The recording of the event’s web-streaming can be found here

The report can be download from here

Just Urban Transitions – Lessons from UIA cities, new report released! (22/02/2023)

The Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) has supported 86 projects by cities across the EU that have tested innovative solutions to address environmental and societal urban challenges in an inclusive way to achieve a resilient economy. Following this, the UIA has launched a study analysing the experiences of the UIA cities.

Next SUD peer-review in Vicenza (18/04/2023)

The city of Vicenza will host the next Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) peer-review, organised by the JRC in collaboration with DG-REGIO. Peer-reviews are an open and trustful learning environment for discussing how to address challenges around the 2021-2027 urban strategies financed by the cohesion policy. The event will host 50 participants from municipalities across the EU, experts in strategic spatial planning and representative of the EC. The other cities under review will be Šibenik (Croatia), Valencia (Spain) and Banská Bystrica (Slovakia).

CSI call for participation (22/02/2023)

How can cities best cooperate with scientific institutions and improve evidence-based city science policy-making? This is one of the main questions upon which the City Science Initiative  is based, a city network supported by the JRC, DG Research and Innovation, and DG REGIO.

Foreword (21/09/2022)

Welcome!

Expression of interest to peer-review workshop for SUD strategies (21/09/2022)

Are you a Local or Managing Authority planning a SUD strategy (art. 11 ERDF/CF) for the 2021-2027 programming period?

DG-REGIO together with JRC are planning a peer review for the beginning of 2023. The peer-review workshop will offer you the opportunity to discuss and learn with peers how to improve SUD strategies.  The activity is part of the European Urban Initiative in 2021-2027 Cohesion policy. To express your interest please fill this survey before 30 September 2022.

New report on homelessness (21/09/2022)

This JRC report, released in July 2022, summarises the findings from a survey conducted among 133 European cities and towns across 16 EU Member States. It discusses homelessness numbers, profiles, trends, and policies, both before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, while taking into account city size.

Please have a look at the report here.

Call for interest - REGIONS2030 (22/09/2022)

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is inviting European regions to express their interest to contribute to the Pilot Project "REGIONS2030: Monitoring the SDGs in the EU regions - Filling the data gaps", supported by the European Parliament.

The deadline is 30th September 2022 and you can find more information here.

Help us develop a new Knowledge Platform under the European Urban Initiative! (21/09/2022)

The EUI will support innovative solutions and build cities’ knowledge and capacities to face urban challenges. One of EUI’s key tool will be a knowledge platform that will ensure access to urban knowledge as well as know-how information by cities of all sizes. EUI needs your help to tailor this platform and knowledge access to your specific needs. Here is how you can get involved: please fill in this questionnaire by 15th October 2022!

NET ZERO CITIES. Call for Pilot Cities (21/09/2022)

NetZeroCities (NZC) is part of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme in support of  the European Union’s Green Deal and will support the EU’s Mission of “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030”.

The Pilot Cities Programme will identify and support European cities to test and implement innovative approaches to rapid decarbonisation over a two-year pilot programme. The selection of pilots will seek to address all urban systems contributing to climate-neutrality, including mobility, energy systems and the built environment, material and resource flows, natural areas, cultural/social/financial/institutional systems, and accessible public spaces. The deadline is 30 September 2022.

Foreword (25/07/2022)

Welcome!

Call for Partners: Urban Agenda for the EU Partnerships on Greening Cities and Sustainable Tourism (28/07/2022)

Call for Cities, Member States, Partner States, Regions, city consortiums, national city umbrella organisations, and other stakeholders to form two new Thematic Partnerships under the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU): Sustainable Tourism and Greening Cities.

The call for selection of partners is open until 16 September 2022 at 18:00 (CET). The application forms as well as more details regarding the eligible applicants, the selection process and criteria can be found online here

UDP dashboards update (25/07/2022)

The Urban Data Platform Plus (UDP) is the de facto standard repository for quantitative knowledge and indicators at all territorial levels in Europe.

The UDP dashboards are undergoing continuous improvements in terms of functionalities, ease of use and available datasets.

Looking for a training on how to localise SDGs? (26/07/2022)

JRC is organising dedicated training for cities willing to produce a Voluntary Local Review (VLR), based on the European Handbook for SDG Voluntary Local Reviews - 2022 Edition. The training will take place in person in Seville on the 18th of October 2022, with the possibility to follow it also remotely.

The JRC will cover the expenses of one person per number of selected cities. Cities representatives willing to participate can express their interest by sending a letter signed by the Mayor with his/her commitment to producing a VLR.

Regions, Cities and Level(s): Powering the green transition in Europe’s buildings (25/07/2022)

The Commission will be running a special webinar at the European Week of Regions and Cities to show how Level(s) can help the buildings sector contribute to EU climate and circularity objectives within cities and regions. Save the date for the 12th of October from 16:00 to 17:00.

5G for Smart Communities – Coordination and Support Action platform (24/06/2022)

The Commission opened a call for tenders (deadline for submission: 24/08/22) for the creation of a 5G for Smart Communities Support Platform under the CEF Digital programme. The platform will be a place where stakeholders working on 5G projects can share their best practices and 5G for Smart Communities use cases, as well as meet potential project partners

Homelessness in EU cities and towns before and during the Covid-19 pandemic (28/06/2022)

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