About the URBACT Programme

 

URBACT aims to foster integrated urban development in Europe by supporting networks of cities and towns to exchange good practices and ideas. This webpage aims to share information, news and articles about URBACT, especially to its Irish audience.

Following the URBACT call for Good Practices in quarter 2, 2024, three Irish local authorities were awarded the Good Practice Label: Cork City Council, Dublin City Council and Limerick City and County Council. Each of these will participate in the upcoming URBACT City Festival in Wroclaw, Poland between the 8th and 10th of April 2025. See the gif to the right! You can read more about what a City Festival entails. 

The first URBACT IV call for Action Planning Networks (APNs) closed on the 31st of March 2023 with 30 new APNs confirmed by the Programme Monitoring Committee (PMC) at the end of May. Irish local authorities were announced as being party to seven of these 30, officially beginning their URBACT Action Planning journey on June 1st 2023. On the 28th of June, the PMC announced 10 new Innovation Transfer Networks. Irish partners are party to two of these, meaning nine active URBACT projects are in operation in Ireland. The partners include Clare County Council, Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, Limerick City and County Council, Longford County Council, Meath County Council, Sligo County Council, Sandyford Business Improvement District, and Sligo Business Improvement District.

There are other calls envisaged during 2025 and 2026, including one on URBACT Transfer Networks in 2025, and a further URBACT APN call is envisaged in 2026. See the Operational Programme for information on the URBACT IV programming period!

The URBACT website more generally offers a plethora of interesting supports to help you explore the potential for integrated and participatory actions in your town or city, none more so than the URBACT Toolbox. Lots of valuable gadgets and tricks are also available there to assist you in tackling urban challenges in your locality, including guidance, tools, templates, prompts, explainers and much much more! 

 

Festival Teaser
  • News
    City Festival

    The URBACT City Festival 2025-a showcase of 116 Good Practices from around Europe!

    Between the 8th and 10th of April 2025, the URBACT Secretariat will host an exciting City Festival in the beautiful city of Wroclaw in Poland. The

    Karl Murphy

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  • News
    Campus preview

    The URBACT National Campus comes to Balbriggan!

    Recently our seven URBACT Action Planning Network (APN) partners in Ireland visited Balbriggan (November 5 and 6) to participate in the URBACT

    Karl Murphy

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  • News
    EU City Lab on Energy Transition in Viladecans

    Upcoming EU City Lab on Energy Transition!

    Karl Murphy

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  • Event

    Joint URBACT-EUI information session in Dublin (1st of May, 2025)

    The information session will provide a great opportunity to learn about both programmes’ offers to Irish towns and cities.

     

    Information on the URBACT call for Transfer Networks will be a key feature on the day, as well as learning about the EUI’s Capacity Building offer and the upcoming call from the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU) for a Thematic Partnership on Compact Cities. 

     

    Participants will hear testimonials from those that have benefitted from URBACT and EUI opportunities to date. 

     

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    Karl Murphy
    Ireland
  • Tras el comité de seguimiento de URBACT IV del 31 de mayo, se aprobaron las nuevas redes APN.

    Ireland's 6 new Action Planning Networks 2023

     
    30 new Action Planning Networks announced with Irish local authorities as partners in six!

    Karl Murphy

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  • URBACT banner "Drive Change for Better Cities"

    The URBACT Summer University-lots of learning and new insights!

    Karl Murphy

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Good Practices and Networks

  • REinventing Culture in Urban Places

    Funded by URBACT, REinventing Culture in Urban Places (RECUP) harnesses culture and creativity to strengthen urban and peri-urban communities. Inspired by

  • WISH CITIES

    WISH CITIES network aims to create a strategic framework for the well-being of adolescents, structured around three key pillars: the development of youth

  • Minority language renewal through innovation

    Setting new standards for urban language revitalisation 

  • Sustainable community (sub)urban greenspaces

    Boosting urban residents' well-being through nature connection 

  • PlaysMaking

    A placemaking approach to developing the city as a playground 

  • In4Green

    In4Green is a collaborative network of industrial cities from across Europe with a shared commitment: to lead transformative change within European industry and

  • ECONNECTING

    ECONNECTING focuses on sustainable urban-rural mobility solutions within the 30-minute territory. Our mission is to advocate inclusive, digital, and ecological

  • U.R. Impact

    U.R. Impact focuses on addressing a key policy challenge: to develop effective strategies for empowering local communities during processes of urban

  • BiodiverCity

    In ten European cities URBACT Local Groups will work out community-based approaches to valorise, measure and account biodiversity and related ecosystem services

  • EcoCore

    EcoCore focuses on accelerating the green transition in the industrial areas of partner cities. It aims to build the capacity of small cities in addressing

  • Cities@Heart

    Cities@Heart brings together ten European urban areas with diverse profiles but with one common goal: achieving a balanced and inclusive city centre for all

  • CREATIVE SPIRITS

    The partner cities from this Implementation network have a common need to improve the implementation of their existing integrated urban strategies and action

  • INT-HERIT

    The INT-HERIT implementation network brings together 9 European cities facing challenges related to the revitalisation of their cultural heritage. These cities

  • MAPS – Military Assets as Public Spaces

    The Action Planning network MAPS (Military Assets as Public Spaces) was focused on enhancing former military heritage as key elements for sustainable urban

  • TechTown

    By exploring how small and medium sized cities can maximise the job creation potential of the digital economy, this Action Planning network examined whether

  • CityCentreDoctor

    The cities of this Action Planning network were challenged to identify the urban issues relate to their city centre, analyse perceptions and reality of those

  • CHANGE!

    In times when personal sacrifices are much needed to tackle burning societal issues, fostering and enabling collaboration at local level of public

  • Playful Paradigm

    Cities offer unique opportunities for addressing the challenges of urbanization, ageing, climate change, social exclusion, only if enabling, enjoyable places

  • UrbSecurity

    This Action Planning Network analyses strategies and projective concepts of cities’ design that could contribute to prevent segregation and anti-social behavior

  • Tourism Friendly Cities

    TOURISM-FRIENDLY CITIES is an Action Planning Network aimed at exploring how tourism can be made sustainable in medium-sized cities, reducing the negative

  • RU:RBAN Second Wave

    RU:RBAN's Good Practice is the Management model of Urban gardens in Rome to be transferred to newcomer cities that are geographically, historically and socio

  • Let’s Play Cork

    Experimenting, improvising and evolving playful strategies to improve the lives of our citizens

  • Global Goals for Cities

    The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call of

  • Health&Greenspace

    How can we improve urban green spaces in order to promote mental and physical health for our communities? Health&Greenspace Action Planning Network links green

  • iPlace

    iPlace is a journey where the partner cities are fellow travellers who are always seeking to find niches appropriate for their cities, while deepening their

  • ACCESS

    The ACCESS Action Planning Network believes that a more inclusive culture has the ability to facilitate greater understanding of individuals and their lives

  • McAuley Place for older people

    The game changer in city centre revitalisation

  • The town team

    A partnership approach for reinvigorating town centres

  • From exorcising ghost estates to creating spirited communities

    Resolving unfinished housing developments in a collaborative manner creating sustainable communities delivered by a targeted team

  • CTUR

    Cruise activity and the recovery of urban and harbour building heritage: Strong elements of the common interest of sea towns to develop and strengthen the urban

  • SURE

    Implementation of integrated socio-economic regeneration strategies which build on local strengths and opportunities. This will be achieved by developing an