From 2007 to 2013, the city of Murcia (ES) has developed an urban project which consists of the regeneration of the Espíritu Santo district using an integrated approach. The approach has been carried out in 3 strategic scopes:
1. Improving the physical space;
2. Improving the social and cultural environment;
3. Improving the economic environment.
The procedures and methods employed involve the need to establish a close inter-correlation between environmental efficiency, technological innovation, knowledge and know-how, and the creation and consolidation of stable mechanisms for social and citizen participation.
By consolidating the equality perspective in all areas during the different phases, the neighbourhood became liveable again, opportunities went up, crime down, and the citizens took an interest in their environment.

In almost all of the actions, there is a special focus on ICT, minorities and improving work-life balance: • Growth and quality in employability by improving professional skills (occupational training) trough integrated itineraries; • Promoting learning, entrepreneurism and diversifying the economy towards emerging activities with a higher technological content; • Helping create and consolidate companies, economic incentives, job insertion: diagnosis, development plan and accompaniment for labour insertion, etc.; • Training and awareness of education, environment, equality and health; • ICT as an element for promotion and innovation, as well as in the family and educational environment, with improvement of equipment and infrastructures; • Increasing environmental performance; • Territorial and environmental sustainability by increasing the collection of waste; • Cohesion and social welfare, improving relations between educational centres and students’ families, reinforcing institutional capacity; • Improving quality and effectiveness in teaching: learning as a factor of enrichment, growth and a key element of integration and reinforcing educational specialisation of teachers; • Specific actions to improve access and enjoyment of culture and leisure, spaces, school reinforcement, free Internet; • Classrooms, information points and municipal WiFi; • Placement of solar panels and thermal installations, low consumption public lighting, etc.; • A local administration closer to the citizens (flexible, effective and efficient), etc.

Regarding the URBACT principles, the project focuses directly on all three items: • Employability, skill training, integration itineraries, ICT capacitation; • Ethnic minorities (immigrant and gipsy population) in risk of exclusion; • Reducing carbon footprint, waste management, tackling water and energy consumption. The intervention demonstrates an integrated approach to sustainable development by road-mapping realistic solutions to complex problems, working shoulder to shoulder with the community of the district. During the project, we strived and succeeded in identifying social, economic and environmental actions engaging the stakeholders to be the ones to identify and propose solutions to the problems they faced in their neighbourhood. Proposals and commitment, which were achieved throughout a participatory process marked by the strong involvement of local stakeholders driving change, collaboration across the local (authority) spectrum and the development and implementation of real solutions.

Coordination with local partners via a citizen and stakeholder engagement programme, centred around involving the district and incentivising residents to take part in the creation of a customised plan to first identify and then address the problems. Stakeholders in the participation process: • The municipality of Murcia (housing, culture, social services, education, health, information society, youth and employment and socio-economic data); • The Local Municipal Board, NGOs, neighbourhood, cultural, youth and parents associations, pastoral council, representatives of minorities and groups at risk of social exclusion (in this case the important gipsy collective of the district), as well as individual citizens; • Municipal and regional business organisations, regional government (especially education and housing), ALEM (Municipal Energy Agency), the two schools in the neighbourhood, and other entities. The latter through consulting and giving advice, managing assigned actions/activities, and participating in the internal monitoring and evaluation during all phases of the project. The citizen participation project was conducted through meetings, direct contact and questionnaires leading to a draft proposal (actions, improvements, activities, etc.), which was presented to all stakeholders, after which feedback was initiated to further improve the project centred on the dialogue with citizens.

The neighbourhood became liveable again: as the crime rate decreased, the citizens took interest in their environment and opportunities for culture, sports and leisure. Furthermore, it fostered an enlargement of public space and the improvement of the environment. We also took the opportunity to remodel squares and streets and introduce urban art. It allowed us to recondition the quality of cultural, sports, educational as well as social facilities to promote community development and transform the area into an attractive part of the city, with a special focus on ICT, performing arts, music and culture. This regeneration project also included the adaptation of classrooms for artistic teaching, a fully equipped training centre for social inclusion as well as a centre for artistic and cultural production. We added underground trash containers and improved the illumination of the neighbourhood. Socially speaking, we created a family support service and self-help groups which self-manage and promote coexistence and environmental education on the recycling and reuse of waste. Awareness training on equal opportunities and non-discrimination has been built up, as well as education and training to access employment in dance, music, theatre and video. We aimed at providing ICT, audio-visual production, soundtracks for video, photography direction, video art, sound and lighting for shows, fashion design, hairdressing, make-up artists and more, for all ages.

The intervention in the “el Barrio del Espírito Santo” was directed at tackling challenges that a lot of European cities are facing every day. Murcia is proud to say that this urban project has been an amazing success. The practice is in every way worthy of being called a good practice, and we would gladly share our experience, which complies with the core values of effectiveness, efficiency and relevance. The project is perfectly sub-dividable (tackling the problems in their totality or tackling any number of problems addressed by the project). Social integration and exclusion, economic and labour insecurity and instability, poverty and conflict in the coexistence of residents, delinquency, and a poorly-educated and low-skilled population are all general problems one expects to find in every city, to some extent, and there is tangible evidence that this project impacts and improves the quality of life in the neighbourhood. The project offers clear and tangible solutions with a high degree of transferability, relatively easy to adapt and implement, making it a sustainable and affordable practice which cities can easily adapt to their local context, as the entire process is documented, including all evaluation and monitoring to understand our success. We consider it to be an integrated approach to urban development leading to direct compliance with the objectives that our project set out to achieve.

Through the introduction of innovative methods, the city of Zagreb (HR) has made the revitalisation of public spaces possible. The project "Zagreb For Me" envisages almost simultaneous interventions in at least 17 locations in the city. The project aims at initiating collaboration between the city, its citizens, institutions and programmes to encourage dialogue and exchange of ideas.
By using innovative methodology, the new added value of the city and citizens has multiple dimensions: social development achieved through participation in decision-making, cohesion, innovation and professional approach.

The project is based on an innovative methodology that involves close collaboration between the city and its citizens, but also professional and academic institutions, to develop ways of revitalising existing places, offer them a new life and give them back to the citizens. New added value benefits for the city and citizens are multiple: social development, achieved through participation in decision-making, cohesion, innovation and a professional approach. Selecting the location and defining the intervention range is carried out with active public participation to ensure acceptance and comprehension of the project, aiming at involving the largest possible number of citizens, professional organisations and administrative bodies in this process. Following the selection of locations and their budget range, preparation studies and overall professional programmes of the interventions for all individual locations are made, then carried out following the confirmation of the available budget. The design solutions for the selected locations derive from architectural contests to ensure top quality and a transparent implementation process. The result is a series of interventions in 17 carefully selected public spaces throughout the city, providing design planning and improvement of public space with reasonable budgets.

The project is based on an innovative methodology involving close collaboration between the city administration and its citizens, as well as professional and academic institutions, to develop ways of revitalising existing places, offer them a new life and return them to the citizens. Selecting the location and range of intervention is carried out with the active participation of the public, to ensure acceptance and wide-spread comprehension of the project, aiming at involving the largest possible number of citizens, professional bodies, organisations and administrative bodies in the process. The advantages of the practice are multiple: social development, achieved through participation in decision-making, innovation and a professional approach, and social cohesion of citizens through recreating public spaces based on their needs.

The selection of locations and range of interventions are carried out with the active participation of the public, thus ensuring the acceptance and feasibility of this widely comprehensive project, with the aim of involving as many citizens, professional organisations and city administrative bodies as possible in this process. The second phase of the project, the study of the locations, considers each location. Once the location is selected, and the scope of interventions and budget are defined, the general expert programme of the interventions is drafted, and urban planning and architectural competition documents are finalised for each individual location. For most of the selected locations, programmes will be developed which are planned to be tested against public opinion, thus looking to ensure citizens' participation in decision-making and the expression of real needs as a contribution to a quality programme. This bottom-up method, viewed from the perspective of citizens and associations, resulted in a better knowledge of needs in the public spaces of the city of Zagreb. A comprehensive study resulted in a quality analysis of the public space of the city.

The project has started in 2015 and is ongoing. Scientific research on urban planning has been conducted since, with a comprehensively technical review, identifying problems and giving suggestions for existing public space improvement and the potential for creating a new, kinder space. Also, an interdisciplinary research (direct public consultations, discussions, data collection) on public areas in the city of Zagreb has been conducted, whose restoration and / or improvement would / could significantly raise the quality of life. The innovative method of combining top-down and bottom-up approaches has been tested, and it was found that one method encourages the other, and that the unification enables verification and validation of the results of both studies. Based on the results of the methodology, 17 sites have been selected, and so far, public urban architectural competition for one intervention has been conducted. Although the results are not yet visible in the real space of the city, interdisciplinary and inter-institutional dialogue, and the unusually strong interest and participation of the public, indicate a successful start of the process. A competition on public space as part of "Think Space" was conducted, where numerous interesting proposals submitted, thus confirming the importance of the topic.

A comprehensive approach to the study, valorisation and organising of public space of the city, as it is used in the project "Zagreb For Me", represents an innovative methodology that may be of interest to other European cities. In contrast to the established practice of planning that relies fundamentally on professional planning attitudes, or those who consider space transformation on the basis of bottom-up initiatives, this method does not give preference to any of the approaches, but prefers an equal decision-making process. In this way, a fair, impartial and multi-founded solution to the problem of development of modern cities can be achieved.

The renewal and revitalisation of Planina neighbourhood in Kranj (SI) implemented a sustainable urban strategy and brought new life to a degraded residential urban neighbourhood, according to the needs and ideas of its residents. The project focuses on integrated solutions to reduce environmental, transport and economic problems, issues of urban poverty, social exclusion and segregation, with the aim of strengthening social cohesion. It enables a comprehensive, participatory and integrated attitude of all stakeholders, bringing together the expertise and experience of the actors involved. It supports the economical use of (public) land and the transition towards rational use of energy while encouraging the cooperation between the city and the state. The project is concrete, transferable and proven in practice.

The project represents an effective tool for the implementation of measures planned by the sustainable urban strategy for Kranj. For this purpose, we have developed various tools for gathering information about the residents’ needs and wishes, as well as various methods of working with the residents through project-based learning. We have given them some space and time for an in-depth consideration of the quality of living conditions in their neighbourhood. They had the chance to get to know the status of ownership for individual areas of the neighbourhood, as well as become familiar with the notion of the general good. They could learn about the competencies and responsibilities of stakeholders and actors in their neighbourhood. A positive effect of this was that the residents know now who they can turn to when they have a certain question or problem.

We have established close cooperation between the residents and the municipal authorities, public services, non-governmental organisations and other important actors in the neighbourhood or in the municipality. We have provided small sums of financial support to carry out a planned project, so that the residents could have an experience of working together in planning and implementing the improvements that they wish to make. This is how they could directly address concrete challenges and contribute to a better quality of life in the neighbourhood.

The project supports the efficiency of urban governance and the implementation of sustainable urban strategies, offering citizens and relevant stakeholders (municipal and government bodies, economy, professional public, civil society, etc.) a comprehensive, integrated, innovative and participatory approach to tackling complex urban problems.

It contains various polycentric development policies of the municipality (social, economic, environmental policies, policies of spatial planning and infrastructure, housing, educational policies, etc.) that are aimed at identifying the challenges with the goal of finding appropriate solutions for the renewal and revitalisation of degraded urban areas, in line with the values and principles of a sustainable urban life: stimulating economic growth and the creation of new jobs, improving the quality of life for citizens/residents while reducing the environmental footprint, and taking effective measures for reducing urban poverty and social exclusion.

Several groups of people were able to benefit from the results of the participatory approach: residents of different age groups participated in planning and assumed active roles and responsibility for the development of their neighbourhood.

The sense of connectedness is increasing and there is less vandalism as public surfaces are becoming more attractive and are used more frequently by the residents. Greater optimism and a positive attitude toward an improved quality of life in the neighbourhood can be noticed in posts on social networks and in conversations with the residents.

There is an increase in the number of various activities and events in the neighbourhood, organised by the residents and different organisations. The neighbourhood is becoming more and more interesting for establishing business initiatives and its public image is improving.

Cooperation among residents, experts and several organisations was established on the national and international levels. We examined the project together with different representatives of the professional public and they confirmed that it is innovative and that it takes into account the principles and the value of sustainable urban development.

We have set an example of good practice that is becoming more and more recognizable on the national level and with which the Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning wishes to encourage the renewal and revitalisation of degraded residential neighbourhoods in other towns.

The most relevant result of the project is the comprehensive plan for community programmes of neighbourhood renewal and regeneration that was made together with the residents, the experts and the stakeholders. It includes a clear timetable and a financing plan for the implementation, as well as a plan for future development.

We have developed various innovative and integrated methods of project work, aimed at the active participation of the residents, introducing them to several municipal offices, to experts in the field of urban renewal and to other stakeholders. We informed other Slovenian municipalities facing similar challenges and the interested public of our project and invited them to work together with us. We established a dialogue with several national ministries aiming at the establishment of guidelines at future tenders for co-financing the renewal and regeneration of degraded urban centres.

Since January 2016, there have been six working groups of residents, fifteen public events on the larger and on the smaller scale, attended by about 1 650 residents and taking place on nine different public surfaces and locations in the neighbourhood. Our partners were five municipal council offices, nine public services on municipal and national levels, four local communities, four kindergartens, three elementary schools, one retirement home and one local secondary school, ten NGOs, five experts in different fields and one local company for the management of apartment buildings and several private companies.

The project provides an answer to the question that planners often ask themselves: how to start and above all, how to include the residents and other stakeholders into the process? It is focused on the interests and needs of the residents, local organisations, the professional and interested public that are active in the neighbourhood and in the wider region. It is interesting because it builds upon a comprehensive, participatory and integrated attitude of all stakeholders and so brings together the expertise and experience of the actors involved.

The project is a complementary combination of two principles of cooperation, the “top-down” approach (from the decision-makers to the residents) and the “bottom-up” approach (from the residents to the decision-makers). Its innovative methods of work make it possible to include residents of different age groups with different needs and wishes. It does not look for solutions only within the neighbourhood or municipality, but it is open to the outside world, to share and test the experience of other comparable good practices. In this sense, the project is capable of self-reflection and open for development. It is also proven in practice, concrete and transferable, considering that it is necessary to adapt it to a wide variety of characteristics of an environment or a specific area in which it will be implemented.

Confronted with social challenges, like increasing number of elderly, disabled people, and children whose parents work abroad, the City of Vaslui (RO) started a comprehensive process of rehabilitation of six of the former power plants that were heating the city neighbourhoods. These were transformed into six day care centres right in the heart of the biggest neighbourhoods of the city, serving directly a total of 300 elderly people, 15 young students and their families, and also offering a properly equipped auditorium open for any of the 14 000 students, NGOs or other cultural associations.

Hidden among city blocks of flats, the former neighbourhood power plants that were heating the communist flats, remained one by one without their main utility, since the centralised heating system has become technically outdated, thus, most users gave up on this service and chose individual heating systems. As a consequence of this phenomenon, at a local level, from a total of 27 heating power plants, only 6 are still working. The other 21 nonfunctional buildings, besides their unaesthetic aspect, were presenting a high risk of danger for health and safety of the citizens. Vaslui Municipality sought for solutions to address the identified problems, and in this regard, in collaboration with Vaslui Local Council, started a comprehensive process of rehabilitation and destination change for these locations.

As poverty increases so does the risk of concentration of urban vulnerable and marginalised groups in deprived areas, which are characterised by social segregation, stigmatisation, reduced mobility, limited access to credit, housing deprivation and not only environmental degradation but reduced public spending on its prevention. Addressing vulnerable and marginalised groups has a direct impact on local municipal budgets, due for example to intense use of enabling support services and local benefits/subsidies allocated to alleviate poverty.

It is therefore no surprise that combating the related social/spatial segregation was identified by stakeholders at the city level as one of the key priorities that the Vaslui Municipality should target. The proposed strategies are contributing to the socio-economic inclusion of particular vulnerable and marginalised groups. The actions done will allow lasting and sustainable solutions for major societal challenges in the city in general through the establishment of innovative policy frameworks, action plans, pilot actions and follow up activities.

The growing social and economic inequalities are reflected in a reduced quality of urban life. To overcome these challenges the Municipality involved the targeted groups in participatory activities to tackle socio-economic exclusion for defining the best actions and plans to be developed. Development of the daycare centres and the activities performed within were a result of the multiple discussions had with the targeted beneficiaries. The scope was to assure a maximum level of satisfaction of the vulnerable/marginalised groups and integrate them into decision-making processes.

These actions are also a result of a broad participatory process undertaken within the development of the critical documents related to sustainable urban development: "Local Development Strategy Vaslui" (2009) and "Pole Metropolitan Development Strategy 2014-2020 Vaslui" (2014).

The process involved local government structures, local council and relevant local community stakeholders (NGOs and associations, businesses, public institutions, experts from various fields, ordinary citizens, vulnerable/marginalised groups).

The objective was to have a participatory approach in governance and planning, as concerns the exclusion of vulnerable/marginalised groups from social life and economic opportunities, and sustainable urban development. In this way, a common participatory methodology was created which can be successfully replicated in other cities and areas.

If we are talking about the Day centre for elderly „Buna Vestire”, the Day centre for elderly „Sfântul Nicolae”, The Club for retired persons, and the „Prietenia” club, almost 300 persons benefit directly from the investments done, the offered services vary from social and leisure activities, individual and group counselling, social counselling, medical and social assistance, moral and emotional support, and catering services. The cultural centre „Alexandra Nechita”, due to its purpose to offer for free an adequate space for cultural activities, we can say that it serves all of our 14 000 school students, NGOs and the local cultural associations. The day centre for schoolchildren „Bucuria” (Happiness) offers guidance for 15 children and their families.

The integration of vulnerable and marginalised groups into social life and economic activities has a huge impact on the Vaslui Municipality. It generates costs in terms of direct loss of productivity and contributions to the public purse or through side effects such as increased social tensions, probability of poor health and socio-spatial segregations.

Vaslui Municipality is in a unique position in Romania to address this challenge with the new governance tools and strategies. It wants to enhance mechanisms to take decisions that are closest to most citizens. As the EU gradually moves out of the economic crisis it should be remembered that almost half of the EU's population lives in cities and that urban agglomerations are the main drivers for innovation, competitiveness and economic development across Europe.

Vaslui therefore has a key role to play in creating and supporting the right conditions for innovative actions in a Romanian context that lead to more and better social and economic integration of communities at risk of exclusion.

The City of Chemnitz has been affected in different ways by demographic and economic change in the past decades. Vacancies can be found to different extents all over the city and amount to more than 22,000 flats (14 % of the housing stock). Among the most severely affected are the tenement buildings from the industrial era which are mostly privately owned.

The Agentur StadtWohnen in Chemnitz (DE) offers solutions to the problem of decaying historic apartment buildings abandoned after the 90s. The Agency is a public project carried out by a private company that offers a flexible and proactive approach. By acting as a networking hub, the Agency connects owners, potential investors or users and public authorities for the revitalisation of the historic housing stock of the city. Positive effects are the activation of owners or the change of ownership and the channelling of public grants to places where they can be used most effectively. So far, more than 140 buildings were monitored, for 50 a change of ownership was organised and 40 are currently available for investment projects. 

To further improve the activities of the Agency a survey has been carried out with previous and present owners who cooperated with the Agency. Further sources of improvement ideas are thematic workshops, peer-review sessions, using the outcomes of the ALT/BAU Transfer Network, especially from Transnational Exchange and Learning Activities.
 

Agentur StadtWohnen Chemnitz fills the gap between the different stakeholders that are relevant for the revitalisation of historic apartment buildings in Chemnitz’ wider inner city area. Being initiated and funded by the city’s public authorities, the project is carried out by a long-standing private partner and has the means to act in the public interest as defined by the public procedures and interests of the city. With the assignment to deal specifically with historic and often listed buildings that have been unused for the past decades and are in different states of disrepair, the project acts where the regular real estate market is limited. It takes on a pro-active approach to activate owners towards a development of their property, often through connecting them with potential investors and users that have the means and the know-how to find sustainable solutions.

The approach can be broken down into six key topics/steps:

1. Setting up a body/institution responsible to support the reactivation of vacant/derelict buildings and flats
2. Inventory and monitoring of vacant/derelict buildings and flats
3. Publication and marketing of vacant/derelict buildings and flats
4. Contacting, activating and supporting owners
5. Identifying, contacting and supporting potential buyers and investors
6. Connecting and coordinating public and private stakeholders.

The project helps to mitigate effects of urban processes that are unsustainable. By strengthening Chemnitz’ inner city through the concentration and support of developments in the existing central neighbourhoods, the urban structures are valorised. This way, the reuse of historic housing stock helps to save resources instead of promoting suburban sprawl. Dense and mixed-use urban structures reduce distances and encourage alternative means of transport. What is more, the successful outcomes of the project help to preserve the intrinsic qualities of those quarters and help to overcome the negative image of neighbourhoods such as the Sonnenberg. The provision with moderately priced and appropriately equipped housing for families, elderly people or marginalised population groups strengthens social coherence and reduces the ground for conflicts of different sorts.

The scope of the project is to activate owners, private and public stakeholders to save, restore and reanimate buildings. It can be described as a networking hub between persons, groups and authorities that have an interest in this goal. Starting and keeping communication going around the objects is the core of the project’s activities. The agency is the only instance that connects the threads from all different sides:

• the relevant departments in the city government (e.g. urban planning, fund management, building control, preservation, finance and tax, public relations),
• the different owner constellations (private owners or ownership groups of different sizes and local/national /international backgrounds, public housing company, unappropriated),
• the potential investors and users (professional real estate developers, grass-roots housing initiatives),
• additional stakeholders in the neighbourhoods and civil society.

The Agentur has become the central collector and distributor of information on the buildings through continuing communication with official partners from different segments of urban government and the informal, pro-active approach to the owners, local initiatives and players in the real estate market. While the city government has been able to achieve many of its goals, there is also room for improvement concerning the objectives, especially in light of a changing real estate market and migration patterns in the city and the dawning of gentrification processes known from other cities in Germany. Although Chemnitz has become interesting to investors and developers from outside the city, investments in the housing market or the field of rehabilitation of historic buildings and flats from local companies and citizens are still rare and the owner-occupier ratio is comparatively low. Thus, there is only limited involvement in the cultural and social aspects of housing and neighbourhood development. On the other hand, the share of local investors and users from Chemnitz is increased. Their investments in the rehabilitation of Chemnitz’s historic building stock has safeguarded important cultural heritage and attractive living space. Their engagement has promoted activities for the benefit of the neighbourhoods in a more sustainable way. From this it follows that the target of the agency should be reconsidered. In the context of a changing real estate market in Chemnitz, the agency should support investors from Chemnitz, self-users and housing projects as future owners and investors. To achieve that, improved public relations are needed to raise awareness and communicate the tasks, strategies and services of the agency to stakeholders (owners, investors, administration) and the public. This should generate a better understanding and cooperation among the stakeholders. In the future efforts will be taken to adapt consulting services to “new” target groups, e.g. collaborative forms of housing and sheltered/inclusive housing forms through social institutions. The activities of the consulting service will be extended by relevant basic information about available subsidy consultancy and administration. The targets of the future work of the agency (e.g. housing projects, empty plots, single flats etc.) will depend on the allocation financial resources, with reference to the corona-related austerity. More use of GIS use could improve the services of the agency and the management of buildings, plots and related services in the administration.

A strong demographic decline and thus numerous vacancies in the old neighbourhoods are typical for former industrial hubs and towns distant from the economic centres in their countries. The lack of communication between the public authorities, often unavailable or unable owners, and the very diverse group of potential investors and users, is a problem that is visible to different extents in almost any city. The ALT/BAU Transfer Network focused on alternative strategies in central and historic districts of European cities to activate unused and decaying housing stock resulting from demographic, economic and social change. Based on the experiences from Chemnitz’ URBACT Good Practice “Housing Agency for Shrinking Cities” (Agentur StadtWohnen Chemnitz), the network transferred experiences that proved successful to proactively connect administrations, owners, investors and users to initiate sustainable and resource saving development. Under the leadership of Chemnitz the following partner cities were involved in the ALT/BAU Transfer Network: Riga (Latvia), Constanta (Romania), Vilafranca del Penedes (Spain), Turin (Italy), Seraing (Belgium), Rybnik (Poland).

The City of Rome developed a participatory urban gardening project. The aim of the project is two-fold: it fights social exclusion and poverty and allows brownfield recovery.
Working with NGOs, citizens, disadvantaged people and minorities, the city uses the urban and suburban agriculture as a means to improve governance processes. Alongside employment policy, social and intercultural dialogue has a pre-eminent role to play. The importance of other factors such as housing, health, culture and communication should also be acknowledged.

The good practice contributes to the improvement of the governance processes by connecting different competencies and municipal offices such as social, environment, urban planning and innovation departments. UPA is an innovative practice that could provide a governance model for sustainable development, environmental protection, brownfield recovery and reuse, social cohesion and poverty fighting (i.e. immigrants, elderly, disabled people, AIDS and Alzheimer’s patients, prisoners, etc.).

Rome (IT) has the widest urban agriculture area in Europe. Its agricultural landscape is immersed in a network of archaeological sites, monuments, villas and farmhouses. Green areas are about 86,000 hectares, 67% of its entire territory. While most green areas are located outside the urban perimeter, several agricultural corridors connect the periphery with the city centre of Rome. This unique feature distinguishes Rome from other European cities that are characterised by a division between urban and rural areas. Rome thus offers a unique potential for further development: citizens are now developing permaculture systems and producing healthier organic food for self-consumption. The aforementioned projects' approach to tackling urban challenges is the result of a territorial cooperation process, involving different partners of the Mediterranean Basin under ENPI CBC MED Programme: the Royal Botanic Garden and the National Department for Forests and Agriculture (Jordan), the city of Mahdia (Tunisia), the metropolitan area of Barcelona and the City of Rome.

Participatory mechanisms for communities and citizens in the new UPA policies/actions allow the former groups a greater capacity for action and decision making on Urban Governance: Urban Agriculture management strategies herein are oriented towards participatory citizenship. Stakeholder like local NGOs and horticulture associations did contribute to the set-up of the Regulation of urban gardens (City Council Resolution, July 2015) activating local representatives of such communities in a process of social and intercultural integration. Socialisation among different communities is the core of this activity.

The previous experience allowed the City of Rome to experiment the application of the Regulations of urban gardens of Rome approved in 2015, through 3 pilot projects assigned to different non-profit, multipurpose associations in charge of needy and disadvantaged people. At present, approx. 300 people are direct beneficiaries of the parcels. Dozens of associations and thousands of citizens are involved in the pilot projects, and awareness was raised among municipal officers and citizens. The Regulation of the Urban gardens of Rome (City Resolution of July 2015 or “Regolamento degli orti urbani”) is to be considered an extremely important outcome as a governance tool. According to the “Regolamento”, the use of pesticides, chemical fertilisers and GMO seeds are prohibited. The sustainability of the UPA pilot project is ensured by the commitment of the City of Rome (i.e. the “Regolamento”), the Districts, the associations as "managers" of the pilots, the thousands of citizens involved, and by the coordination with a network of urban gardens and other local and national organisations.

Rome led the RU:RBAN Network over 2.5 years, transferring its practices to 6 other cities: Vilnius (Lithuania), Caen (France), Krakow (Poland), Thessaloniki (Greece), Loures (Portugal), and Coruna (Spain). You can, in particular, check Vilnius’s Good practice here. The approach was based on the three components/elements of the Good practice: capacity building in organizing urban gardens, Inspiring and training people to manage urban gardens (Gardeners) and Urban gardens governance & regulations. The network’s outputs can be found on the URBACT website. RUR:BAN was also reloaded with a new Transfer Network in 2021-2022.

Limassol (CY) has had new life breathed into it as a result of several major urban regeneration projects to improve the city's historic centre, seafront, and other areas. Over 15 years, the environment and quality of life have been improved and the city's marketability and competitiveness boosted. As a result, new businesses have opened and new jobs created. The regeneration projects have improved the attractiveness and air quality of commercial and residential areas. The local economy has been boosted as the city's new look attracts more visitors. Residents of the city - and the wider metropolitan area - have also benefited. As the city became more attractive, its public places increasingly became meeting places for social activities. The projects have helped preserve the cultural identity of Limassol's historic centre by highlighting its traditional architecture: old buildings have been restored and are now used for cultural, educational and residential purposes.

Τoday’s European approach towards cities’ design supports the principle of utilising the existing building and environmental inventory and returning to the centres to deal with the crisis and urban development problems. Initiatives and actions are not confined to the narrow context of physical development and the urban environment but extend to economic and social issues. A sustainable city is characterised by a robust environment, economy and social welfare system.

Based on the above, the Area Plan for Limassol City Centre determined the functional structures, permitted land use and pedestrian modules and creation of open spaces, all within an existing and structurally defined area, and all were converted to opportunities for successful sustainable urban development. Among the objectives leading to the exploitation of opportunities were the following:

• The completion and modernisation of the basic infrastructure to respond to the enhanced requirements for the safety, health and comfort of citizens;
• The creation of areas of special interest characterizing the city;
• The implementation of traffic management measures with an emphasis on pedestrian, bicycle and bus transport and the simultaneous discouraging of vehicular traffic;
• Exploitation of the urban free spaces/squares and their contribution to the city’s social life by using them as gathering places for events, activities and rest and relaxation;
• The identification and promotion of monuments;
• A combination of old and new.

Limassol’s practice contributes to the sustainable and integrated approach as it applies horizontal integration for interventions that combine physical, economic, social and environmental dimensions and vertical integration in terms of cooperation among all levels of government and local and EU actors. An initial stage of the preparation and adoption of the Strategic Plan for an Integrated Sustainable Urban Development to solve problems like abandoned spaces, city planning, disadvantaged neighbourhoods, urban mobility, culture and heritage, strategic planning and urban renewal was crucial, because it led to a strategic and also to a cooperative and participatory approach. Based on the above, the practice implemented in Limassol changed the city into a more sustainable urban living space as the development was accompanied by measures designed to reduce poverty, social exclusion and environmental problems. This integrated approach brought together social and economic actors to implement physical, economic, social and environmental actions, and the integrated development thus promoted a genuine solution to complex urban problems. The overall city planning strategy was followed and the objectives of the Plan were achieved: the redevelopment, upgrading and sustainable evolution of the centre of Limassol by maintaining its own symbolism and character. The implementation of the Plan contributed to the urban make-up and revival of the city centre.

The Local Authority was financially unable to undertake this huge restructuring intervention consisting of large infrastructure projects, due to its limited budget. State involvement, semi-government organisations and private sector initiatives were essential. Methods such as ΒΟΤ, ΡΡΡ and others proved to be particularly efficient.

Additionally, co-financing from the European Union was also crucial, wherever feasible. Specifically, in the projects development and implementation, there was a significant and undisputed participation on the part of:

• The Town Planning and Housing Department, for the preparation of the Area Plan for Limassol Centre;
• Limassol Municipality, which undertook the responsibility of building the main infrastructure projects in the city centre and on the seafront;
• The private sector, which promoted Limassol Marina;
• The Cyprus Ports Authority, which was responsible for the regeneration of the old port;
• The state, which contributed to the financing of some of the projects;
• Building owners, for the restoration of their buildings;
• The Archaeological Department, which contributed to the restoration of archaeological buildings and sites;
• The Cyprus University of Technology, which undertook the restoration of buildings to accommodate the university faculties;
• The bus company, which renewed its fleet;
• The Chamber of Commerce and the public, who expressed their opinions on the plans and designs during public presentations.

A New Era: Limassol flourishes again as a coastal city.

The positive results have already materialised as, despite the economic crisis plaguing the country, the centre of the city is one of the very few areas in Cyprus exhibiting growth and development. The reason is that, in addition to the areas of recreation and entertainment that were created for a young population, a large number of residential units have also been developed, attracting many residents to the centre of Limassol – a trend that would have seemed far removed 10 years ago. The active city planning aim of qualitative social improvement and round-the-clock activity in the centre of the city – in essence revitalising it both socially and economically – has been achieved.

A number of quality comforts, facilities and installations for public recreation and relaxation included in the projects have made the centre a unique area whose reputation has spread across Cyprus. The local character and colour of Limassol was also conserved and promoted. The city now offers greater hospitality, freshness and an open-hearted atmosphere, which is mainly felt during the warm Mediterranean summer and autumn days and nights. It is relaxing and offers peace of mind. Beyond the social parameters, the city centre has been enhanced through the restoration of old and abandoned buildings, providing a higher standard of built environment.

We strongly believe that Limassol’s good practice is interesting for other European cities as many of them face similar problems. Limassol’s good practice has achieved the desired results and can be recommended as a model. With the reuse of good practice, other cities will improve their own integrated urban policies and the delivery of these policies on the ground. Limassol’s good practice addresses issues widely faced by cities, offers practical and result-oriented solutions and applies a sustainable and integrated approach to tackling urban challenges. It is a participatory approach in both project development and implementation, involving all relevant stakeholders, is well-documented and has made a visible and measurable difference to the city and in the wider metropolitan area. The practice can easily be adopted and amended by any other European city. Details for comparison and adoption are available concerning the cost and the financing methods. It is a long-term practice that is still operating in Limassol. Our experience is conditional upon certain prerequisites that are valid not only for European coastal cities that are experiencing similar fiscal and climatic conditions to Cyprus but for every European city with a significant cultural background.