Networks and cities' news

PODCAST: Iisalmi (Finland): "It's about building your city's brand on its strengths."

In this episode of the URBACT podcast Residents of the Future, lead expert Tiago Ferreira speaks with Terho Savolainen, Economic Development Director, and Mari Kuronen, Marketing Assistant from the City of Iisalmi, Finland. Together, they explore how a small city in the north is rethinking how it presents itself to the world in response to demographic change.

Young Romans discover Rome’s hidden hydro-heritage gems

…and learn about environmental sustainability and water sensitive design today. 

A look at Rome's testing action with school-students engagement.  

PODCAST: Alba Iulia (Romania): "It's about investing in young people."

In the latest episode of the Residents of the Future podcast, part of the URBACT Action Planning Network exploring urban shrinkage across Europe, host Tiago Ferreira speaks with Tudor Drămbărean from the municipality of Alba Iulia, Romania. Their conversation highlights how a city with deep historical roots is using European funding and youth-focused initiatives to build a sustainable future.

Layers of the old Piraeus station: connecting stories, place and data in Daring Cities

We can hardly hear each others’ voice as we head West in the Piraeus port. On our right, tall buildings loom over us, echoing the noise of the traffic on the left. Trapped between the infinite flow of cars and the towers overlooking the port, it feels as if we walked the tightrope in the surrealistically narrow strip of public space towards a couple of trees that forced their way through the concrete pavement. Behind the trees, the station building. 

The architects accompanying our group open the gate and suddenly an oasis opens up before us. Behind the gates, a long wall and the station building, that has been abandoned for over a decade, a stretch of grass, weeds and trees spontaneously growing out of the contaminated soil in every possible direction cover the rails that no longer lead anywhere.

As our group traverses the field behind the station, slowly balancing our steps around the abandoned railway tracks, we all think about the future of this area. Public servants from Altea, Den Helder, Dunaújváros, Kragujevac, Olomouc and Ravenna all recognize the sense of freedom and indetermination that this terrain vague evokes. They simultaneously think of the railway stations turned into bars, recycling centres, community gardens and linear parks that we visited together in Paris and areas in their hometowns waiting for new uses and new stories.

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PODCAST | Plasencia (Spain): "It's about being close to each other"

How can a historic city facing population decline reinvent itself for the future? In this episode of Residents of the Future, URBACT Lead Expert Tiago Ferreira travels to Plasencia, Spain, a city known for its cathedral, medieval old town and natural surroundings, to explore how it is responding to urban shrinkage.