Networks and cities' news

Citizen Engagement in Saint-Quentin's Green Transition

Saint-Quentin is reshaping its neighborhoods to face the realities of climate change with ambition and community spirit. Through the URBACT COPE programme, residents, institutions, and local partners co-create greener, cooler, and more resilient urban spaces. From schoolyard renaturing to urban gardens and soft-mobility initiatives, the city is turning transition into a local, collective success. This work brings together strategic goals, concrete actions, and citizen engagement for a fair and sustainable future. Saint-Quentin is proving that climate adaptation begins at neighborhood level, by and for its people.

Citizen Engagement in Pombal's Green Transition

Pombal is turning its Historic Centre into a living laboratory for sustainability — and citizens are at the heart of this transformation. Through the URBACT COPE network, residents, shop owners, local associations, and municipal teams have co-created solutions for greener public spaces, energy-efficient homes, and sustainable mobility. From planting trees and installing shading structures to testing pedestrian-friendly streets and creating reward systems for eco-friendly behaviors, every action reflects a shared vision: a vibrant, inclusive, and climate-resilient city. By combining open governance, adaptive leadership, and community-driven innovation, Pombal proves that the green transition starts locally — with people shaping the future of their own streets.

EcoCore: Nine Small Cities, One Shared Journey — How a Network Became a Community

When the EcoCore partners first gathered at the Malmö Arena in autumn 2023 for the URBACT University, they came as nine distinct cities, each facing its own challenges, hopes, and quiet uncertainties: 

Could a small city truly lead the green transition? 

The early conversations in the room were tentative but familiar. Issues included crowded roads, old industrial areas, limited space for growth, skill shortages, brownfields needing new purposes, and citizens unsure about change. Politics struggled between old habits and new ambitions. 

However, even on that first day, something subtle began to shift. People leaned in. Ideas circulated across tables. Smiles turned into laughter, and strangers formed teams. 

Weeks later, the cities met in Balbriggan, Ireland. They encountered sideways rain, Atlantic winds, and the first real challenge of starting their journey together. In a room filled with large maps, markers, sticky notes, and wet coats drying by radiators, each city created its first City Canvas - a rough sketch of what they aimed to achieve. 

Looking back now, those canvases feel like early drafts of stories yet to be written. What no one realized then was how deeply those stories would be shaped—not just by local plans but by what the partners would observe in each other’s cities. 

Over the next two and a half years, something remarkable unfolded. A network transformed into a partnership. That partnership evolved into a community. Nine small cities found that the green transition advances more swiftly when nurtured in shared soil. 

Biodivercity IAP interview #5 Limerick

Biodivercity IAP interview #4 Poljčane

Five Things I Learned from the U.R. Impact Cities about Social Impact