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Cities Forum 2023: Together for green and just cities

  • 11 Jan 2023
Increasing urbanisation, digitalisation, health, energy and environmental crises are forcing cities to rethink and adapt to how citizens live, work and travel. The Cities Forum 2023, to be held in Torino, Italy on 16-17 March 2023, will allow EU institutions, national, regional and local authorities to discuss how cities can continue to transform while being sustainable and inclusive.
Cities Forum 2023: Together for green and just cities

The Cities Forum is a biennial event organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO). The fifth edition will be held under the theme “Together for green and just cities”. Participants will explore how Cohesion policy , as well as other policies and initiatives can help cities become more smart,digital, circular and climate-neutral.

The event is targeted towards local authorities,  regional, national authorities, as well as other organisations dealing with  urban development and planning. In addition to discussions among senior policymakers, there will be exhibition stands from key European urban stakeholders, workshops, site visits and networking opportunities. The aim is to promote cooperation and dialogue, which are essential to finding solutions to the crises faced by cities.

A new tool to support cities

As the EU is one of the most urbanised areas in the world, focusing more resources on the development of cities is crucial. At least 8 % of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) resources are set aside for sustainable urban development investments in the Cohesion policy programmes for 2021-2027.

One of the highlights of Cities Forum 2023 will be the official launch of the European Urban Initiative (EUI) a new cohesion policy instrument to support cities of all sizes to implement the green and digital transitions and ensure an inclusive Europe. The forum will host the first European wide capacity-building event under the EUI.

The EUI provides up to 80 % direct co-financing and up to EUR 5 million in ERDF funding for supporting Innovative Actions in cities. It builds on experience gained in 2014-20 with the Urban Innovative Actions, the Urban Development Network and the URBACT III programme and intends to go a step further by helping cities develop policies, increase their capacities to design and carry out the delivery of integrated strategies and participatory approaches, and join forces to share knowledge.

A closer look at policies

Discussions will focus on the implementation of policies and initiatives such as the European Green Deal, the renewed Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU), and the New European Bauhaus.

In the context of the EU’s objective of social inclusion, the measures to prevent segregation and ensure the integration of marginalised groups and their access to services at local level will be discussed in two dedicated workshops. 

The sessions

Each session will focus on one of the four headings of the forum: green and just cities, innovation and capacity-building, governance and strategic frameworks, and financing sustainable urban development.

Green and just cities will discuss greening cities by tackling environmental and climate challenges, the New European Bauhaus, systemic change by tackling the twin transition, and the inclusion of migrants, refugees and marginalised groups. A panel of senior European Commission, municipal and national representatives will look at ways to make effective use of EU opportunities and local implementation of the Green Deal, particularly through greater use of renewable energy. The workshop on the New European Bauhaus will highlight projects that successfully incorporate sustainability and inclusiveness goals.

The launch of the European Urban Initiative will take place as part of the block of sessions oninnovation and capacity-building. Participants will also learn more about  upcoming activities to be proposed under the EUI as well as   regarding support for the UAEU. Two workshops will be held  on these themes: how cities can build sustainable urban development capacity under the EUI, and innovation in cities. The latter will allow participants to explore factors that promote creativity and innovation, such as good governance and preventing brain drain.

The Governance and strategic frameworks heading will comprise a session on international cooperation to inspire sustainable urban development, where participants can learn about good practices financed by the International Urban and Regional Cooperation programme. A second session will discuss the next generation of UAEU partnerships. Two additional workshops under this heading will explore functional areas in the EU and the role of small and medium-sized cities.

Lastly, the forum will tackle the subject of financing with a debate between EU mayors about achieving economic, social and territorial cohesion and the COVID-19 recovery, and a workshop on financing sustainable urban development in times of crisis.

Torino: a model of reinvention

Participants will have the opportunity to go on site visits to explore the host city, Torino, a model of how cities can adapt to changes..

Once a centre of the automobile industry which reached its peak in the 1960s, the oil crisis caused the city’s fortunes, and population, to decline in the 1970s and 80s. Since then it has reinvented itself as a centre of culture, business and innovation.

To find out more about the programme, agenda and speakers, do not hesitate to consult the event website! Registration to the Forum will open  mid-January.

 

Find out more

www.citiesforum2023.eu

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