Dear community members,

We are delighted to be back in touch with you after intense and fruitful exchanges during this year’s European Week of Regions and Cities (EWRC) and our Community’s very own annual plenary meeting.

This issue will be the last of 2023 and focuses on the key takeaways from our CoP-CITIES plenary and from other JRC sessions at the European Week of Regions and Cities. However, do scroll to the very end if you do not want to miss news on Sustainable Urban Development and Territorial Development.

Our heartfelt thanks go to all Community members who made their way to Brussels to attend the plenary. It was a truly special occasion to meet participants in person and to engage in stimulating discussions on urban inequalities. A great deal of knowledge and insight on the topic was shared during the event - yet, we would like to go back to the one message we want to retain and focus on: even though more and more resources have been devoted to research on urban inequalities, large portions of population remain invisible to data. Such significant evidence gaps weaken policy approaches and call for increased efforts. 

We wish you a pleasant read and, as usual, encourage you to get in touch with us to flag any initiatives and activities that can be of interest to our community.

The newsletter editorial board