Urban Agenda for the EU

On 26 November 2021, EU Ministers responsible for Urban Matters adopted the Ljubljana Agreement and its Multiannual Working Programme that materialise the start of a new phase of the Urban Agenda for the EU.  This document provides for concrete steps to renew the Urban Agenda for the EU with a common goal to make it more impactful and efficient. It is complemented by operational parameters and steps for the implementation of the next phase of the initiative. 

Our eighth article in the series of articles discusses the efforts of the Urban Agenda Partnerships on Circular Economy, on Culture and Cultural Heritage, on Jobs and Skills in the Local Economy, and on Sustainable Land Use and Nature Based Solutions. The article, which is organised under the Just dimension of the New Leipzig Charter, also shows practices that European cities have developed to address these concerns. Have a look at the article and read all about these examples!

This article explores some of the most innovative solutions undertaken by European cities within the context of the Partnerships of the Urban Agenda for the EU on Air Quality and Urban Mobility, focusing on actions and strategies, demonstrating how the integration of many disciplines and tools will be critical for improving the health of urban population. Discover more by downloading the article below!

Our final article reviews various initiatives implemented under the Sustainable Land Use and Nature Based Solutions, Circular Economy, and Culture and Cultural Heritage Partnerships of the Urban Agenda for the EU through the lens of the Green City Dimension of the New Leipzig Charter and the New European Bauhaus. Find out more by downloading the article!

On January 6, 2022 the Urban Agenda Partnership on Innovative and Responsible Public Procurement introduced its Action Plan 2022. You are invited to read it and provide feedback on the Action Plan before 11 February 2022. This link contains the dedicated form for you to contribute.

The Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB) and the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) are organising a two-day online networking event on 16 and 17 February 2022. It will be an opportunity for the working group of European experts to present and reflect on its results, as well as to highlight funding programs for dissonant heritage.

This online event will give the opportunity to prospective applicants to learn more about the EU funding possibilities available to support beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive projects and ideas. Join for practical information on the calls and a Q&A, and follow the link below to access the livestream of the event directly.

The Self-Assessment Tool for Sustainable Urban Development strategies (SAT4SUD) is intended to be used by Local Authorities and Managing Authorities of EU Cohesion Policy. It aims to support them when verifying to what extent the strategy builds on an integrated and participatory approach. The tool focuses on a self-assessment as an important learning practice and it helps to assess the strategy’s completeness and quality, from its design and implementation, to its monitoring and evaluation. Access the tool through the link below.

The Public Procurement partnership developed an Action aimed to support citizen centric planning with a standardised data specification, which would facilitate the exchange and processing of participatory data, thus bringing benefits to all parties involved in a participatory process. This Action has developed several outputs are only the first steps to fully embrace the benefits of digitalisation in urban planning. Consult this material through the link below

The partnership conducted a comprehensive research study to develop a typology, which gives a better understanding of what kind of archetypes of European innovation ecosystems exist. Additionally, the study also developed a set of fixed and flexible criteria for the archetypes, which can be used by cities to classify themselves and develop the best strategies to enhance their innovation ecosystems. Find out more and access the study through this link.

The partnership worked on gathering data and analysing the possibilities and different models that cities are implementing. The initial research of existing regulations and best practices are compiled in two reports to the Partnership from November 2017. Based on these reports and the expertise from the members of the Partnership Action 8 was developed and implemented proposing data standards for participatory urban planning. Access this information below.

DG REGIO will be organising the fifth edition of the Cities Forum in the beginning of 2023. Cities are invited to apply by 31 January 2022 to become host of this event gathering urban stakeholders from European, national regional and local levels. Please follow the below link to learn more and find the application form.

The Commission call for expression of interest addressed to cities to join the European Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities is open until 31 January 2022. The objectives of this mission are to achieve 100 climate-neutral and smart European cities by 2030 and to ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050. Find more information through the link below.

A call was has published as the European Commission is looking for experts to advise the 5 EU Missions as part of the Horizon Europe programme. Applications are open until 2 February 2022. More information is available through this link.

The First edition of the European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Award has been launched. The award recognises local authorities across the EU that actively promote inclusion and diversity, and gives a chance to showcase local authorities’ policies and initiatives covering sex, age, disability, LGBTIQ identity, religion, and racial discrimination. There are two categories: one for local authorities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, and one for those with more than 50,000 inhabitants. There is also a special prize for Roma inclusion. Applications are open until 15 February 2022. Follow the link for more information.

The Commission launched a call to support 5G innovative applications for public services in towns across the EU. The funding, coming from the recently adopted Connecting Europe Facility – Digital Programme, intends to cover the deployment of 5G infrastructure elements required to implement innovations in services that are essential for citizens’ daily lives. These could mean high performance networks for a digital education ecosystem or for a health centre wishing to implement electronic health records, real time medical imaging and patient health monitoring.