Global Goals for Cities

How EU cities can localise SDGs through integrated action planning

Global Goals For Cities Lead Expert Stina Heikkila shows URBACT cities taking steps to link local and global sustainability goals.

Senioral policy in Dzierżoniów and the goals of sustainable development

The Sustainable Development Goals have been defined by the United Nations (UN) in the document Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This document lists 17 Sustainable Development Goals and related activities that are planned to be achieved by UN member states. The goals are achieved not only at the government level - the sectors of science, business, non-governmental organizations and ordinary citizens also have a great influence.

From Vision to Transformative Actions for the SDGs: co-creation of integrated actions in Manresa

Around one hour and a half from Barcelona by train, in a hilly area of the Bages county, is Manresa - a small-sized city with around 78 000 inhabitants - one of several partners of similar size in the Global Goals for Cities network. On 21 April, I had the chance to stop by and attend one of Manresa’s URBACT Local Group (ULG) meetings organised by the local coordination team. Here, I share a few highlights of how the ULG and the participatory process is helping to shape the priorities of the Manresa 2030 Agenda and the integrated action plan that is currently in the making.  

Gävle's insight from latest transnational meeting

Video from the transnational meeting in Gävle

A very nice and colorful short movie showcasing our three full workdays in Gävle.
#TransnationalMeeting7
Authors: partners from Mouscron, Christophe Deneve.

Insights from REGGIO EMILIA

The city of Reggio Emilia (Italy) was the co-host of the 7th Transnational Meeting, which was held between 23-25 May 2022 in Sweden, along with the cities of Gävle (Sweden) and Dzierżoniów (Poland).

Video from transnational meeting in Solingen

A short video of our first physical meeting in Solingen, Germany.
The meeting was dedicated to the next phase of action planning and implementation on governance, partnerships, and policy coherence levels.

First face-to-face meeting in Solingen

Together with the cities of Tallinn and Heraklion the TM#6 was hosted by Solingen and was held from April, 6 to April, 8 in the Theater and Concert Hall in Solingen. After one year of work in
the GG4C project participants from 14 different countries took the chance to meet in person.

Insights from Heraklion, the co-host of TM6

The city of Heraklion was the co-host of the 6th Transnational Meeting which was held between 5-8 April 2022 in Solingen, Germany along with Solingen and Tallinn.

SDG Story: Gävle

Gävle and the other 18 cities (from 19 countries) of the EU URBACT pilot network ”Global Goals in Cities” (GG4C) are already one year into the 20 months project on localising the SDGs.
 

SDG Story: Mouscron

Just halfway towards our goals following the marked route, the AGRI-URBAN Network (URBACT III Programme) held a transnational meeting in the Swedish city of Södertälje from 21 to 24 May 2017. A turning point in the agenda of this project, the meeting focused on the AGRI-URBAN topics linked to the experience of this city and also put the emphasis on shaping the Integrated Action Plans of all partners of the project with the participation of their respective URBACT Local Groups. Watching this video, produced after the visit, you can discover how inspirational was this Swedish city in the project design and later, fostering innovative actions in other partner cities involved in the development of local food systems.

SDG Story: Solingen

Shaping the future. Vision Agenda 2030 in Solingen.

SDG Story: Manresa

Do we all really share a common positive vision of the future of our city?

SDG Story: Veszprém

Short news of 2030 Veszprém.

SDG Story: Dzierżoniów

Vision and mission for Dzierżoniów, Poland.

SDG Story: Trim

Pécs' Site Visit proposed 3 different routes

SDG Story: La Rochelle

La Rochelle, a Zero Carbon Territory on its way to SDGs!

SDG Story: Tallinn

Guidelines for the implementation and monitoring of the sustainable development goals in the framework of Tallinn 2035 Development Strategy.

SDG Story: Ozalj

Vision for 2030.

SDG Story: Glasgow

Glasgow’s Vision for 2030

SDG Story: Schiedam

Safe, Connected and Resilient.

SDG Story: Jihlava

Jihlava vision concept: aim is to be safe, socially cohesive, green and accessible city.

SDG Story: Bratislava

Where are we coming from?

Even though the first mention of Bratislava appears in 907, Bratislava is one of the youngest capitals in Europe (1993).

SDG Story: Reggio Emilia

Where are we coming from? The city profile.

Reggio Emilia is renowned in educational circles, with the philosophy known as the “Reggio Emilia Approach”; for pre-school and primary school children developed in the city shortly after World War II. At the same time, contemporary art, ancient monuments, and exhibitions such as Fotografia Europea have made the city rich in culture and social change —supported by the business community, services and the university. The city is connected by high-speed train to Milan, Bologna and Florence, and is within 45 minutes’ reach to all those cities. Reggio is the city of relations with Africa, the city of cycle paths and of Parmigiano Reggiano.

SDG Story: Veliki Preslav

The third newspaper of tomorrow is here and it's from Veliki Presav, Bulgaria.
Very inspirational article of how the city looks like beyond 2030, and as they declare - Veliki Preslav will be the most sustainable small city in their land.

SDG Story: Klaipėda

In the visioning phase of our network, partners worked hard to co-create their visions for localizing the SDGs in their cities. The stories tell their vision for how to localise the SDGs in their cities.
Here you can get a glimpse of Klaipėda - vibrant, smart, inclusive.

SDG Story: Heraklion

In the Visioning phase of our URBACT Global Goals for Cities network in the second half of 2021, partners worked hard to co-create their visions for localizing the sustainable development goals in their cities.
We’re happy to launch our ,campaign showing the diversity and creativity of the 19 stories.
First up: Newspaper of future Heraklion -smart, resilient and livable city.

The RFSC a relevant tool for the city partners of the GG4C network

In the course of the life of the Global Goals for Cities (GG4C) network, the 19 city partners used an existing self-assessment tool: the RFSC, or Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities. Based on European principles for sustainable and integrated urban development, the tool available online was used during the diagnosis and visioning phase of the network (as an analytical tool), and partners will use it again in the planning phase (as a planning tool). What is the RFSC? And what did it bring to the network?

The Citizen Committee of the La Rochelle Territory Zero Carbon project: How to build trust?

On January 25, La Rochelle Urban Community presented to the Global Goals for Cities partners its ‘La Rochelle Territory Zero Carbon’ (LRTZC) project towards 2040, highlighting the following main characteristics and innovations : a shared and multilevel governance, an evaluation and financing tool 'the Carbon Cooperative', and a citizen co-construction approach through the establishment of a Citizen Committee.

Debating the future of Schiedam

The future of the city of Schiedam is a recurring topic in the city council and the executive board and, of course, also in the city. These views and discussions have been reflected in the city vision for some time now.

Jihlava's successful collaboration with developers

Every new construction in the city burdens the surrounding area with growing demands on transportation, social and health infrastructure, and other needs for a functioning urban society. Such externalities can be relatively reliably quantified, predicted or simulated. However, cities often must develop and maintain the infrastructure themselves. Is there a method to share costs with private developers and collaborate to build more sustainably with the needs of the citizens in mind?

Glasgow’s Journey towards the 2030 Agenda

Race to net zero and climate resilience: localising the SDGs through meaningful participation and co-creation.

Manresa 2030 Agenda: localising the SDGs through meaningful participation

Since the end of 2018, Manresa is working on its local 2030 Agenda: an integrated sustainability strategy to respond to the environmental, social, and economic challenges of the current decade. A strategy whose design, implementation and monitoring must be shared with all the local stakeholders and citizens.

Awareness-raising around the SDGs – a practical example from La Rochelle Urban Community

On 25 November, Stina Heikkilä had the opportunity to participate in an exciting event organised by our Global Goals for Cities partner La Rochelle Urban Community: the bi-annual Participatory Forum for Actors for Transition (Forum Participatif des Acteurs de la Transition). For this Forum, the team from La Rochelle Urban Community had planned an “SDG edition” with the aim of raising awareness about the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs among local stakeholders.

Ozalj best practices on meaningful participation

The city of Ozalj was the co-host of the 4th Transnational Meeting which was held virtually between 24-26 November 2021 along with Manresa and Glasgow. Our main theme was Meaningful participation and co-creation and each co-host city shared best practices and introduced other cities to local customs.

Trim: Raising awareness of the SDGs

The courthouse in Trim stands in the centre of the town, with the castle in the background, it is a reminder of the history and heritage of Trim. Both grey stone buildings have been here longer than us and could tell a story or two.

In Swedish: Gävle is developing urban sustainability

Nätverket Global Goals for Cities arbetar med Agenda 2030 och de globala målen. Gävle kommun ska tillsammans med 18 andra städer i nätverket under kommande två år skapa och dela kunskap för att utveckla den urbana hållbarheten.

Klaipeda Case Study: Virtual hackathon “Unlock SDGs”

To achieve Agenda 2030 and make sure that we leave no one behind, everyone needs to get involved in the work towards a more sustainable world. Youth continuously are an important factor in this work. The Klaipeda city has Forum of Youth Ambassadors, which is a new body put in place with the hope of creating lasting and strong youth engagement. The forum is designed to generate ideas for the Youth Affairs Council of Klaipėda, which consists of 7 youth representatives and 7 municipal representatives.  This process is in progress according to national law.

Mouscron: Story of Transnational Meeting

On September 28th, the transnational meeting with the co-host cities of Trim, Mouscron and Klaipeda was held by videoconference (thanks to covid…). Nevertheless, it was an opportunity for us to practice our English. 
Through this activity, we were able to learn more and discover local traditions. We were therefore able to introduce other cities to our customs and to share with them our culture. 

URBACT cities join forces in a quest for global sustainability

A new URBACT network aims to lead the way in delivering on the UN SDGs in cities. Find out why this matters.