Networks and cities' news

SCHOOLHOOD’s fourth stop on its journey to safe, green and happy ways to school

Accessible and Inclusive Public Spaces: Foundations for Thriving Communities

Public spaces are the core of urban community life, offering people a place to observe each other, connect, and share goals, needs, and stories. When designed with human diversity in mind, these spaces have the transformative potential to foster social cohesion, enhance quality of life, and support sustainable urban living. They serve as platforms for community interaction, cultural exchange, and recreation, contributing in the long term to healthier, more equitable cities. Public spaces should be accessible to all citizens and not create discrimination caused by the built environment. However, although accessibility and inclusion are recurring topics in numerous EU documents and reports, they are still too often treated as add-ons rather than integral components of urban planning. This leaves many spaces inaccessible or unfriendly to diverse user groups and leads to missed opportunities for building an equitable society.

To build on this, GreenPlace, one of Urbact’s networks that aims to develop a set of activities for "recycling" unused urban areas using social participation tools having a strong focus on diversity and inclusion, recently held a workshop titled “Equitable Cities—An Inclusive Approach” in Nitra, Slovakia. The participants examined how the built environment can contribute to social segregation and generate disabilities even where there are no permanent ones. They discussed the importance of shifting accessibility from being viewed as a "special case" ¹ to becoming a core priority in public space development. 

SCHOOLHOOD’s third stop on its journey to safe, green and happy ways to school

Unlocking the potential of remote work: insights from the Remote-IT network

The global workforce is undergoing a profound transformation, with remote work and digital nomadism reshaping economies, urban planning, and governance. For cities, this shift presents both opportunities and challenges: How can urban areas attract and retain skilled remote workers? How can public administrations integrate remote and hybrid work models while maintaining efficiency?

The Remote-IT Network, composed of eight European cities—Dubrovnik, Brindisi, Tartu, Murcia, Heraklion, Bucharest District 6, Câmara de Lobos, and Tirana—explores strategies to make cities more adaptable to remote work. Through transnational meetings, testing action initiatives, and discussions in forums and podcasts, the network has identified key insights and recommendations for cities aiming to become leaders in the future of work.

URBACT – Landesgartenschau Löbau 2012

When we decided to apply for the Greenplace project, we already knew what we wanted to share with the other project participants – our experience from the 2012 Saxon State Horticultural Exhibition (6. Sächsische Landesgartenschau Löbau 2012). For this exhibition, a 20-hectare industrial wasteland in Löbau was completely transformed. The site had previously housed several textile factories and various buildings of the Löbau sugar factory. Following the decline of these industries, the sugar factory—the last operating facility in this area near the city center—closed in 2002.

Would a strategic approach towards Local Economic Development make small cities more resilient?

Small cities are often at a higher risk for the negative impacts of global trends that lead to economic downturns. At the same time, they are the places where a significant percentage of the population of the European Union live and work. So how can we address development problems and opportunities at the local level through contextualization of global consequences and locally available resources? How can we develop resilient local governments in an age when the world is faced with a global pandemic and some cities are facing economic crisis? According to the principles of Local Economic Development (LED), local development should be approached strategically and inclusively, and challenging decisions should be guided by sustainability goals. 

This article is a follow-up to a Masterclass in Local economic development organised by the iPlace Project, a network of 10 small cities who examine opportunities for new local development and aim to find niches which will create potential for future economic growth.