Urban Agenda

The European Commission was an active partner of the 11th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) that took place in Katowice, Poland between 26 and 30 June 2022. In order to highlight European dimension of the event, there was a series of events under the European Track, with a building block coordinated by the European Commission. Find out more through the article linked below.

12 urban and non-urban functional areas will receive technical support for green transition and sustainable development through a pilot project launched by the European Commission and the World Bank. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of participants to plan and finance investments and services across jurisdictional boundaries for green transition and sustainable development. More information can be found through the below link.

A call for partners has been opened to welcome applications for joining the 2 new partnerships of the Urban Agenda for the EU to be put in place on Greening cities and Sustainable tourism. Applications for being a partner or a coordinator should be submitted via the EU survey available through the below link and will be welcome until 16 September 2022.

The Cities Forum is a biennial major event of the European Commission that brings together key urban stakeholders from European, national regional and local levels. In the result of an open call for host cities, it has been decided that the Cities Forum 2023 will take place on 16-17 March 2023 in Torino, Italy. Stay tuned for more information to come in 2022.

This year’s – eleventh – session of the World Urban Forum will take place in Katowice, Poland. In order to present European perspective, within the WUF11 programme there will be a special group of events called the European Track. As part of a dedicated building block of the European Track, the series of 14 events organised or co-organised by the European Commission aims to highlight the EU approach towards integrated sustainable urban development through various dimensions. Please also take time to visit the European Commission Joint Research Center’s stand if you join the forum. More information can be found below.

Urbact will be present in Poland and organise two events at the WUF 11: a training on gender equality in cities, and a panel session based on the work of the pilot network Global Goals for Cities, supporting the localization of SDGs. Find more information below through the below link. Do not hesitate to also take the opportunity visit their strand.

Dear readers,

Dear readers,

The Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU) represents the first of the EU’s three voluntary commitments to implement the United Nations universal New Urban Agenda (NUA). In this context, the European Commission launched a review of the UAEU contributions to the NUA by exploring the UAEU characteristics, the work of its partnership sand its implementation in the period between 2016 and mid-2021. You can find the report here.

With its 591 partners, 30 stands, 1261 speakers and moderators, 142 video testimonials, this year programme highlighted how cohesion policy and funding has helped communities navigate the COVID-19 crisis in countless ways. More than 4000 messages fed the discussion around the four themes of this edition: cohesion, green, digital and Citizens’ engagement. It was valuable to have the UAEU community participating.

From its inception the Territorial Agenda 2030 website has been temporarily hosted by Spatial Foresight on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (BMI) and the Federal Institute for Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR). During the first half of 2021 the website was redesigned and further developed by the Portuguese EU Presidency and ESPON will organise support on a long-term basis. See new design and functions with news, articles and more here.

Register here to this Urban Development Network webinar, taking place on 25 November from 10.00 to 12.00. The event focuses on the Self-Assessment Tool for Sustainable Urban Development strategies (SAT4SUD), an online tool developed to assess your urban strategy, recognising strengths and identifying opportunities for improvement.

On 22 November 2021, the European Commission will officially launch for the first time the European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Award. This award will recognise the work done by cities, towns, or regions in the EU to promote inclusion and help create discrimination-free societies. The applications will be open from 22 November 2021 until 15 February 2022 and the winners will be announced at an Award Ceremony on 28 April 2022.

Dear readers,

This project seeks to develop urban cooperation and foment city-to-city partnerships between EU and non-EU local authorities in Canada, South Africa, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, by facilitating the sharing of information and transfer of good practices and lessons learned on integrated urban practices. If you are representing a city interested in participating in the project, please fill the online questionnaire and submit your candidature before 15 November.

On 1 December 2020, the Ministers responsible for spatial planning, territorial development and/or territorial cohesion have agreed on the Territorial Agenda 2030 of the EU. The Territorial Agenda 2030 provides an action-oriented framework to promote territorial cohesion in Europe, and can be used at national, regional and local levels, and in cooperation with other countries. A new atlas for the Territorial Agenda 2030 has been launched which you can access through the following link

The series of webinars took place on 20 September, 27 September and 4 October 2021. A big thank you to all of you who participated! The material, including concept notes, recordings and reports can be found here.

Equinet is hosting a conference on the 25-26 October to explore cooperation, in particular with local authorities, to promote equality and tackle discrimination at the local level. Registrations are open until 20 October, 2021. For more information follow the link below.

Dear readers,