NeT-TOPIC

According to the "State of World Population 2007" of United Nations, 76% of the European population lives in medium and small cities, with less than half million inhabitants. This is a reality that has not been analysed enough, because the large cities have been normally the studies target.

NeT-TOPIC is addressed to medium sized (intermediate) cities located close to a major city within a metropolitan area. As a resut of their location, these cities face today some common challenges, such as territorial fragmentation or the need to adapt to the new demands for uses and activities in the process of post-industrialisation and of new tertiary activities.

NeT-TOPIC Thematic Network is composed of European peripheral cities in transformation, with shared problems including industrial decline, territorial fragmentation and social polarisation. Located near to major cities, they are transforming to more attractive urban areas: focusing on developing their own urban identity, offering a greater quality of life, improving citizen integration and social cohesion to fulfil a new role within their metropolitan areas.

One of the biggest ch ...

Project launch :
21 April 2008
End of the project :
2011

Lead Partner

L'HOSPITALET DE LLOBREGAT redtrace@l-h.cat

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The city of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat is the second largest in Catalonia in population terms (270,000 inhabitants in a surface area of 12.5 km2), and is adjoining to the city of Barcelona. This location has brought it great advantages, but also several challenges, like inheriting industrial land and major road and rail infrastructures that have divided the territory into seven very clearly differentiated areas.

Faced with this situation, the urban policy implemented by the l’Hospitalet de Llobregat City Council since the mid-90s has focused on the transformation of the city model (towards a central city model). The first step was to draw up the so-called Plan L’Hospitalet 2010, which was presented in 1996.

L’Hospitalet would like to look to NeT-TOPIC for new guidelines and mechanisms for managing processes of city change, taking into account more sustainable, participation-based, cohesive criteria. Specifically, new knowledge for the improvement of plans underway (i.e. Plans for Restoration of Industrial and Housing Areas) and the revision of the Plan L’H 2010.

Partners

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Lead Expert

Fernando Barreiro Cavestanyfbarreiro@teonetwork.com

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The Lead-expert of the thematic network NeT TOPIC is also director of the company “Territories and Organizations” based in Barcelona.

Fernando Barreiro has a degree in Engineering and considerable experience in local development planning.  During the past 23 years he has delivered technical assistance in the field of local and urban development at European and international level, working for local,  regional and international governments as the European Commission,  the PNUD, the OECD and others.

He currently works in the assistance to projects focused in urban regeneration, social cohesion and job creation policies in the public sector. He has coordinated different projects in several countries along Europe, Latin America and North of Africa.