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 to exchange ideas and set the priorities for sustainable, affordable, and liveable cities going forward.

The Brussels Urban Summit will be a strong platform for cities from across the world to share insights, hold dialogue with other tiers of government, and move forward together. We know that for all our diversity, cities worldwide share common challenges. Through plenary sessions, workshops, side events and site visits, the BUS will be an essential forum for exchange and debate. It will be the moment to engage in a global strategic dialogue to help define our shared urban future.

As part of this conference, on 13 June (14.00-15.30), the JRC will take part in a workshop focusing on ‘Homelessness – Inequalities and risk factors’. The discussion will be centred on how specific situations (such as being part of a minority, leaving state care, experiencing mental health issues, migration etc.) interact with poverty in exacerbating the risk of experiencing homelessness.  The first part would be dedicated to sharing stories and experiences from cities. This would be followed by a panel of key European stakeholders to discuss how this knowledge could be included in policymaking.

Our choices now will determine our future for decades to come – for our cities and beyond.

This unique gathering is an initiative of the Brussels Capital Region, Eurocities, Metropolis and the OECD Champion Mayors for Inclusive Growth Initiative.

You can check further information here, and the programme here.

You can register here.

You can follow the event through #BUS2023 and the Twitter account @BUS_2023.