Guidance for Member States on Integrated Sustainable Urban Development (Article 7 ERDF Regulation)

In recognition of cities’ importance in the delivery of the Europe 2020 strategy (combined with the increasing recognition of the added-value of the integrated territorial approach), the urban dimension of Cohesion Policy has been significantly strengthened for the 2014-2020 period. This is particularly evident concerning the ERDF, in which Member States are now obliged to earmark at least 5% of their national ERDF allocation (under the Investment for Jobs and Growth goal) to support integrated sustainable urban development strategies where urban authorities shall be responsible for at least tasks relating to the selection of operations. In addition, new tools have been introduced to encourage innovation and experimentation in the field of urban development (Urban Innovative Actions, Article 8 ERDF) and to deepen the discussion on the implementation of the urban dimension (Urban Development Network, Article 9 ERDF).

While the scope of the EU supported investments in urban areas is quite broad (involving for instance at least 50% of the ERDF and other urban focussed initiatives of the Commission), this guide deals specifically with questions from national, regional and local authorities concerning the implementation of integrated sustainable urban development as laid out in Article 7 ERDF. It recalls the key elements to be defined in the programmes, and provides answers to implementation questions linked to delegation to urban authorities, designing integrated strategies and monitoring and evaluating progress.