The activities of Pop-up-to-Date pivot around the conversion of vacant commercial properties into springboards for creative entrepreneurship. Supporting pop-up shops is not an innovative solution for transforming run-down neighbourhoods into vibrant city districts. Many local authorities experiment with pop-up policies. Very few, however, have an encompassing approach such as Antwerp (BE), for linking creative entrepreneurs to vacant retail units, which has been proven to work and produces lasting effects on both district and city level. The integrated multi-stakeholder approach displayed in Antwerp's Oud Berchem neighbourhood has proven to be an effective as well as inspiring methodology to transform a depreciated shopping area into a lively axis of creativity. The success ratio for the conversion of vacant retail units stands at 70%, with 60% of the units being long-term rented, and 10% being sold to entrepreneurs.

The activities of Pop-up-to-Date pivot around the conversion of vacant commercial properties into springboards for creative entrepreneurship. However, what’s most essential is the radical choice for a collaborative multi-stakeholder approach, which brings together different government levels, entrepreneurs, non-profit actors and local inhabitants.

In this project, the local government takes up a role as enabler and funder. Non-profit organisations build on their close links with local communities and property owners to match vacant properties with creative entrepreneurial spirits. The approach starts with identifying the owners of vacant retail units on the one hand, and creative entrepreneurs on the other hand. The vacant retail unit is rented by a non-profit organisation on behalf of the local authority. Because the focus lies on decayed properties, it is lightly refurbished by means of local government funding prior to the rental period. During a fixed time frame of two months, it is then provided at a reduced tariff to starting creative entrepreneurs to try out their business in a real-life environment. After the project period, the profitability of the business and further ambitions of the starting entrepreneurs are evaluated, and customised coaching and counselling are made available.

Supporting pop-up shops is far from being an innovative solution for transforming run-down neighbourhoods into vibrant city districts. Many local authorities experiment with pop-up policies. Very few, however, have an encompassing approach in linking creative entrepreneurs to vacant retail units, which has been proven to work and produces lasting effects on both district and city level.

The integrated approach of the project in Oud Berchem is exemplary for the horizontal and vertical integrated approach championed by URBACT. Horizontal integration results from multiple stakeholders joining forces to provide a mix of policy measures, ranging from financial stimuli, direct support by refurbishing retail units, coaching and matchmaking activities, aftercare through mediation between entrepreneurs and property owners to local community building activities (e.g. a quarterly neighbourhood newspapers, workshops etc.) and neighbourhood marketing. The soft measures in this project fit into a broader neighbourhood oriented strategy, involving ‘hard’ ERDF investments to increase the attractiveness of the shopping area in Oud Berchem and stimulate owners to renovate their commercial properties.

Vertical integration is found in the expanding cooperation between the local authority, intermediary non-profit organisations, the Regional Government Agency for Entrepreneurial Education and different local stakeholders at the neighbourhood level.

In the original set-up, the local government worked in collaboration with and funded, LCB vzw (a local government non-profit organisation for local cultural policy) to match entrepreneurs and owners. The original funding scheme was elaborated in close cooperation with the local shopkeeper association. At any stage of the process, very close relationships were established with the involved creatives.

Inspired by the results during the first editions of the biennial project, a new non-profit organisation, Creative Cities vzw, was created by local entrepreneurs. Creative Cities vzw has gradually developed complementary activities by providing starter coaching and mediation between owners and creatives following the two-month rental period. Due to their involvement, the impact of the project in terms of the number of retail units and entrepreneurs involved has increased. LCB vzw and Creative Cities vzw have concluded a cooperation agreement to further fine-tune their partnership and maximise their collaborative impact towards Oud Berchem. Also, the involvement of Creative Cities vzw has taken the project to a new level by creating structural partnerships with SYNTRA (the regional Flemish Government Agency for Entrepreneurial Training) and UNIZO (Organisation for the Self-Employed and SMEs). A next step is the approved ESF Transnational funded project “The Suburb Start-up Guide”, in which a higher education institute is involved by analysing the policy measures.

After three successful editions, the results are remarkable:

• The success ratio for the conversion of vacant retail units stands at 70%, with 60% long-term rented units and 10% of units sold to entrepreneurs. 
• The streetscape has visually improved due to the refurbishment of the commercial properties, which has raised the districts' appeal.
• A majority of the entrepreneurs involved (18 so far, and 10 newcomers in 2017) have reported having either started a permanent shop in the city or are continuing their activities on a freelance basis or through web shops. Networks among the entrepreneurs involved outlive the project periods.
• New qualitative retailers are opting for long-time residence in the refurbished units.
• Native middle-class consumers are starting to visit traditional migrant shops, while local migrant property owners are renting out their properties to young creative multicultural entrepreneurs.
• The commercial success of flourishing pop-ups has also inspired owners not involved in the project, to refurbish their own retail units and/or try out new innovative business concepts.
• Other city districts and cities in Flanders are interested in or have already adopted, the project’s ideas.
• The project has been displayed by the local and supralocal press, thus contributing to a positive image of the neighbourhood.
• The neighbourhood now functions as an incubator for spilling over new retail entrepreneurs to other city districts.

Creative placemaking is applied by many European cities as a method to both tackle building vacancy and foster entrepreneurship. Similar suburbs often harbour an equivalent of the creativity and diversity found in Oud Berchem. The power of the approach presented here lies in the win-win situation in which owners, creative entrepreneurs, local residents and local traders all benefit from the pop-up activities. This coalition of the winning provides a fertile ground on which the involved creative entrepreneurs can flourish. An important success factor is the involvement of a local cultural stakeholder like an arts centre, a community centre or local cultural or arts organisations. Its role is to monitor the artistic quality of the project, which largely determines its attractiveness for potential creatives. The project will work particularly well in urban or suburban areas with a pronounced neighbourhood character and easy access to public transport. The local authority needs to ensure local anchorage through close cooperation with all involved stakeholders. Likewise, it needs to develop a ‘feeling’ of how the area functions. To succeed, the organising city needs to build on its knowledge of the creative economy to generate qualitative commercial concepts that are able to attract visitors across neighbourhood/district boundaries.

Targets to reach energy and climate standards are set at EU and national level, but it is cities who are on the front line, ensuring that these targets are met. Since 2015, the City of Tampere (FI) focuses on promoting low-carbon solutions in residential housing and urban dwellings through its TARMO+ project. It offers information about renewable energy, ways of monitoring energy consumption and other energy services for housing companies. It runs campaigns and competitions and participates in various events, in order to reach and inspire the relevant stakeholders. One particularly successful element is the Energy Expert, a resident in the building who is trained on energy efficiency and shares it with all other residents. There are now around 200 energy experts in the Tampere area. TARMO+ plays an essential role as a platform where all interested parties can operate, communicate and exchange information transparently, in order to reach the best renovation and complementary building results.

TARMO+ benefits from two earlier projects named TARMO and Ekokoti. Running in 2013-2014, TARMO was funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Its aim was to encourage residents from housing companies to participate in the energy control of the buildings. The Ekokoti project was funded by the Ministry of Environment, aiming at developing energy expert education. These previous projects gave knowledge about complementary building, and their networks are now utilised in the TARMO+ project.

Goal no. 1 is to encourage residents to make climate-friendly decisions in housing, renovating and constructing, and to improve their attitudes towards complementary construction. Goal no. 2 is to promote the energy service supply by bringing together companies, clients, investors and researchers who can work together on more sustainable housing.

One important element is the Energy Expert action. The TARMO+ project is developing tools that can be used in the Energy Experts' activity. The Energy Expert is a resident from the housing company who wants to learn more about energy-efficient housing, and then shares this knowledge with everyone in the same building. The Energy Expert action is not only connected to the TARMO+ project, it is currently also operating as an individual action, thus helping more and more housing companies to host an energy expert.

URBACT principles are about making life in cities more sustainable and taking care of social, economic and environmental problems. TARMO+ and the Energy Expert action are dealing with these problems: making Tampere and its residential buildings more energy-efficient, and educating people on energy consumption.

Citizens are involved and can be part of the solution. A well-timed renovation reduces energy loss. The TARMO+ horizontal integration is shown in the information offered to housing companies on renewable energy and other energy services, on ways of monitoring and reducing energy consumption, on running campaigns and competitions as well as participating in various events in order to reach and inspire the relevant stakeholders.

Proof of the vertical integration is how this project works with businesses, housing companies, educational institutions and municipalities. Both make it easier to pursue infill-construction and development projects and to facilitate the formulation of a robust operating model, these being achieved through workshops, seminars and collaboration with educational institutions.

TARMO+ also brings together energy service companies and their users, which helps to develop the demand and supply for the latter. The cooperation gives rise to new examples, operating models and innovative projects. The TARMO+ project yields concrete examples of how housing companies’ building processes can be made easier.

There have been around 250 housing companies attending TARMO+ actions, and many of them have a trained Energy Expert. There are around 200 Energy Experts in the Tampere area that have participated in energy expert courses.

They have been involved in more than 50 different companies that offer energy services, and other services related to housing and constructing that promote the low carbon society. TARMO+ has offered several events where companies had the opportunity of straight contact with housing companies, energy experts and city officials. TARMO+ events have been designed to encourage open discussions between all stakeholders. According to surveys concerning participant satisfaction, all stakeholders declared that TARMO+ actions have been beneficial to them. The TARMO+ project established an interactive map on the projects' homepage. At any time, housing companies can add their building, but also information about future refurbishment necessities. The map can also contain the housing company's plans to acquire renewable energy systems, or complementary construction projects in the nearby future. There are over 200 housing company targets on the map that has been used to encourage housing companies to engage in renovation projects with other local housing companies, and obtain financial and quality benefits from bigger collaborative refurbishment projects.

TARMO+ has made a difference in addressing complex challenges in urban environments, by using the integrated and participative approach. TARMO+ offers an open, communicative and interactive platform for housing companies and service providers where information, thoughts and good practices can be shared. The project has gathered case examples encouraging housing companies and building residents to make more sustainable choices such as energy and material efficiency operations and using renewable energy sources, but also complementary building (some of these cases are presented in a support package).

The project has opened the discussion about housing cooperatives responsibility, and on advancing and taking actions towards sustainable living. This has been the first step to change attitudes towards this matter. In order to improve some residential areas, a sense of community is needed. TARMO+ has made an impact by hosting multiple events, training and competitions. One of them is the Energy Expert training that educates a member of a household cooperative to find a way to reduce energy and water consumption. Expert activity creates a sense of community and social interaction between participants, which has been a well-being factor in their everyday life.

Training and competitions had an essential impact on a sustainable way of living, and also on emission reduction in house cooperatives in a participatory way.

Our project is gathering different stakeholders - the city, enterprises, housing companies, citizens, etc., in order to work together towards the low carbon city. TARMO+ is a project - a good practice - that no doubt is interesting for other European cities: it is adaptable, relevant and helps promote the EU 20-20-20 targets.

The rapid growth of the urban population, both natural and through migration, creates overcrowding in the cities and their suburbs. This issue must be addressed in a sustainable way, so that cities embrace improved environmental conditions and safe habitats for all urban populations.

This platform creates synergy between participants, but also generates a better sense of community in the area; it develops a foundation where sustainable operations are more easily conducted. With TARMO+ good practices, a consensus towards the sustainable operations in the area can be reached, which facilitates the planning and execution of energy efficient actions.

The share of the building stock comes to almost 40% of energy end-use consumption in Finland. Buildings are responsible for 40% of the energy consumption, and 36% of the CO2 emissions in the EU (Energy Efficiency in Buildings - European Commission). Therefore, addressing complex challenges in urban environments, such as the energy end-use consumption in buildings, is a major factor. This is a sector where successful actions will help us achieve more sustainable urban living and meet the 20-20-20 targets.

Forlì (IT) and the Union of surrounding towns were faced with the challenge of managing a high number of asylum seekers in a centralised way. Confronted with the burden of social services, plus the negative reactions of the press and the inhabitants, the Union put in place a territory-wide approach to welcoming them. Their aim: integrate the asylum seekers in local communities based on the availability and resources in each town of the Union.
By sharing information, mutualising knowledge and a joint management system, the Union succeeded in building a widespread welcoming system for asylum seekers over its entire territory. Spillover effects: it avoided ghettoisation and speculation on the migration phenomenon.

The Municipality of Forlì and the “Unione dei comuni della Romagna forlivese“ (hereinafter “Union”) good practice adopt a sustainable approach in the Union to deal with the asylum seekers problem, promoting an integration of asylum seekers in local communities of the Union and organising them in "small groups". This allows a proper and regulated welcome and avoid negative social impacts. The Municipalities, through ASP - Azienda Pubblica dei Servizi alla Persona - (the public company for individual services), will welcome and support asylum seekers, according to its own available resources and funds, by integrating its services with services dedicated to an efficient hospitality. They will share information on how to offer hospitality to asylum seekers and how to manage it in their local context. They encourage and increase integration. For instance, a neighbourhood committee is working alongside with asylum seekers to take care of the common areas. They seek and promote the involvement of citizens in order to ensure social cohesion and territorial development. The ASP coordinates the widespread welcome system in close collaboration with the municipalities, with the national government through the prefecture and with third sector organisations, who run the shelters.

In 2014, the “Unione dei comuni della Romagna forlivese“ (the Union) was founded. Fifteen Municipalities of the Forlì-Cesena Province, which includes Forlì itself, are part of this Union.

The aim of the Union is: to improve services, to guarantee equal access to services for the residents of the Union and to promote and coordinate the well balanced development of the territory for the benefit of future generations. Thus, the Union has a sustainable and integrated approach to solving problems in its own territory.

The good practice tackles the urban challenge of asylum seekers through:

• The coordination and management of hospitality in the Union;
• The adoption of an operators network - with different skills - by giving them a share of resources for cross-cutting projects (emergency, job placement, sports...).

The good practice is built on the sustainable and integrated approach to tackle the urban problem and management of asylum seekers, in line with URBACT's principles of sustainable urban living. The good practice is based on measures designed for the social inclusion of asylum seekers.

Municipalities of the Union are all involved in the Widespread Hospitality project. The Union held a jointly weekly meeting with the aim to share information, to oversee the situation, to discuss on how to manage problems, to find solutions to offer hospitality to asylum seekers and to manage it in their local context. A framework agreement between among parties (public, private and social areas) has been established. The agreement provides socially useful activities for involving asylum seekers. Those activities are accompanied by citizens. Thus, several neighbourhood committees are part of the project and they work alongside with the asylum seekers to organise the joint care of the common areas, in order to encourage and increase integration. Eventually, the local police are constantly involved.

We have a model of welcome and hospitality which works with integration, in order to avoid ghettoisation and speculation on the migration phenomenon. The effectiveness of our good practice is that we do not concentrate asylum seekers in one place, but we address them in several different places located in the Union area. This kind of organisation facilitates inclusion and integration, avoiding the arising of fear and tensions in the local population. In this way, the professionals involved are able to work professionally, trying to achieve full inclusion.

Moreover, the placement of asylum seekers in the Union area is also possible thanks to a detailed mapping of all the structures which accept to host migrants. The opening of the centres is shared with ASP, which is the official coordinator, and then the prefecture is alerted. The least densely populated areas are preferred, in order to avoid concentration in the common centres.

Before this project, asylum seekers were seen as invaders of public spaces, creating unease among citizens of the territories and negative reactions, with consequences towards refugees.

The "migrants" theme is an issue that concerns all Europe. Data show that, in recent years, a growing number of asylum seekers and migrants began to turn to the European Union to apply for asylum, travelling across the Mediterranean Sea, or through Turkey and south-eastern Europe. The EU provides fundings for border patrol operations in the Mediterranean. How to manage migrants is a common problem to deal in each country. Our good practice promotes an integration of migrants in local communities of our area. Migrants are organised in "small groups" and their integration is facilitated with shared projects with local stakeholders. With this system, asylum seekers may become tomorrow a rich resource of experience. It takes into account the human capital.

The City of Aarhus (DK) has been testing the method of including young people in the redevelopment of empty buildings since 2013. By working with physical temporary use, for instance an empty municipal building the future use of which has yet to be determined, the city is forced to continually rethink the involvement of citizens, format and content in relation to its development. The method has been applied successfully to a youth community centre. A place has been created for people aged 15-25, who organise themselves through a management group and monthly public youth council meetings. The method can be applied to other areas, where citizen and civil society involvement in the solution of social challenges is desired.

One solution is to turn young people into citizens who contribute to society, instead of working against it. Our method is to include citizens in cultural productions and activities to create a community aimed at solving issues such as the inclusion of vulnerable young people and youth unemployment. We have temporarily reactivated an empty building as a youth community centre, where young people are invited to come in and have their say about the physical settings and content. It gives them a sense of ownership, because the place is created on their terms. The deal is that the centre must be developed in close collaboration between the young people and the municipality staff working at the centre. By being close to the young people, we can nudge them towards an education or a job and avoid total anarchy, as has been seen at other self-proclaimed youth centres. Another solution is that young people become active citizens. They are better prepared to take responsibility for their own lives and to participate in society on an equal footing with others. We work with values such as appreciation, trust and responsibility to make the young people recognise and develop their own strengths, which help them believe that they can make a difference.

A third solution is that by re-activating empty buildings, we prevent them from being occupied illegally, or left to fall into disrepair, while indicating new possible functions and, alternatively, contributing to gathering knowledge that can be used in other places.

Horizontal integration: a physical element, e.g. an empty building, is used to prevent it from falling into disrepair. It is then linked to an issue, for instance within the social area, as in the case of the youth community centre. Cultural activity is added to attract citizens, and make them join a process of co-creation with the municipality. Vertical integration: various municipal services collaborate closely with the civil society. In the case of the youth community centre, participants include young citizens, educational institutions and youth organisations. The method is based on participation as an integrated and leading strategy. Through co-creation, mutual trust based on community as a sense of 'we' is built between the young people and the municipality. The foundation builds core values like trust and respect that help create sustainable social development in the city. Territorial integration: what works is flexibility, trying out things in practice and in a temporary context, rather than working with permanent solutions. A better knowledge of the city's physical spaces and their future possible uses allows finding better solutions to needs and challenges that are also more adjustable than permanent choices. We achieve sustainable development by using unexploited resources such as empty buildings and areas, which we temporarily reactivate.

The following elements are clear evidence of a participatory approach in the Youth Community Centre project:

• Young people have been involved from the very beginning in steering groups, and in the practical organisation of activities;
• From the outset, young people were involved in workshops with administrative staff and educational institutions, in order to make them participate in the project and define its aim;
• The Youth Community Centre was managed from the start by representatives from various local government areas, and from youth environments of Aarhus. Today, the centre has former participants as representatives in the steering group;
• So far, the centre has had three temporary locations. The buildings were furnished by young people, who also proposed activities, and therefore reflected the young people who were using the centre at any given time. In the beginning, several young people with an interest in construction were involved in the physical transformation of the building. When young musicians discovered the centre, they set up a music studio. A group of punk rockers have joined in, and punk rock concerts are now held frequently. The municipality staff on site assists the young people's entrepreneurial efforts and activities, and promotes the place to other young people, educational institutions and those who work with young people.

The method has been applied successfully in building a Youth Centre that houses several collaborating interest and identity communities. There, young people aged 15-25 have put together a management group and monthly public youth council meetings.

Political awareness is now raised to the need for a new temporary location for the Centre, resulting from demonstrating that it is possible to run a youth community centre as a collaborative effort, involving both young people and local governments. Without an available temporary building, this new experience would not have been possible, nor attracted any political attention.

The City of Aarhus' Children's and Youth City Council actively supports the Youth Community Centre and is working to find a solution to the need for a location and municipal part-financing for the centre. The area of the actual building used to be deserted in the evening, used mainly for cannabis smoking and as a place for homeless people to spend the night. Today, the area is welcoming and open for cultural activities such as graffiti, volleyball and urban gardening.

The method is also being tested for the development of a new urban area in temporary buildings around the old Freight Yard, where some 100 businesses have emerged, many of which focus on culture and environmental sustainability.

Our method might interest other cities in Europe since it is based on a different approach to finding common solutions to social issues by a close collaboration between local authorities and civil society. In addition, we solve the problem of empty buildings falling into disrepair, by re-activating them temporarily for new purposes. The core asset is culture, which is strategically used to build bridges between the municipality and citizens, thus facilitating dialogue.

Most major cities have empty buildings that can be re-activated if there is a political will to do so. Considering their large populations, issues could be examined in different ways, and better solutions be found. Many challenges and issues can be addressed in a different, inclusive way if empty buildings are reemployed. For instance, Europe is facing great challenges in terms of refugee integration. The Youth Community Centre has been particularly successful in this respect, as it has been able to invite young refugees to become a part of the Centre, on equal terms with other young people.

Cities develop in a positive way when citizens create communities in new physical settings where cultural activities can be developed. Unexploited spaces become a shared responsibility to a greater extent.

In the context of high poverty, exclusion and the increasing number of empty housing units, accentuated by the crisis, the Vilafranca (ES) Inclusion programme deals with the renovation and rehabilitation of vacant housing while reusing them for social purposes. 
Bringing together the municipality, social actors, NGOs and house owners, the programme is built on a multiannual approach. It uses the renovation process for occupational training and boosting employment among the people risking social exclusion or long-time poverty. 
So far, more than 250 houses have been renovated and offered on preferential lease to poor or homeless families, and 500 persons have gained professional skills through the training programmes. The Vilafranca Inclusion practice has already been recognised by Un Habitat Europe and the Pi i Sunyer Foundation. 

Rehabilitate vacant homes and reuse them with a social purpose

• Use the process of rehabilitation for occupational training and boosting employment of unemployed.
• Provide homes to families and / or people with a low income and on a situation of emergency residential risk.
• Improve housing park standards: prevent the progressive deterioration of buildings and parts of the city.
• Reduction of empty housing.
• Using housing as a tool for socio-educational work.
• Promote employability.

Vilafranca Inclusion exemplifies the three pillars of the URBACT principles:

Horizontal integration: incorporates the cross-work of various municipal services for the analysis and implementation in different phases. Carried out in the period 2013/2015, it has a direct relation to the tasks performed at the C.R.I.T. (Resource Centre for Inclusion and Employment) aimed at people at risk of exclusion. It deals with the subjects of: urban planning, improving degraded areas of the city; environmental, upgrading homes to optimal levels of energy efficiency; new economies creation, area of housing rehabilitation, specialized training; promotion of cooperative economics, etc.

Vertical integration: its development involves promoters and beneficiaries. There are three lines of work in parallel:

A) Urban Planning: properties to be rehabilitated are evaluated, designed and valued. Also, private foundations, the Town Hall itself and financial institutions can provide housing to be included in the rehabilitation programme.

B) Social Services: selection of participants and the design of the employment plans.

C) Training and Employment: training options. From there begins the execution phase of the work, and training of participants is done through a company (cooperative) of social integration. Territorial integration: rehabilitating housing in degraded areas helps the greater integration of the whole town, reducing the risk of having marginal areas.

Among those involved has woven a network of co-operation. Whilst Caritas supports the training of the participants in the project, the insertion cooperative insert Nou Set does the contracts. Moreover, the Town Hall, through C.R.I.T. manages the program, partly funded by the Diputació de Barcelona. The partnership also extends to the active participation of property owners and end users. Apart from the three lines of action involved in the project (Social Services, Town Planning, and Training and Employment) parallel tasks of development are established.

The impact of Vilafranca Inclusion is multiple and has benefited its citizenship as a result of the change that occurred in the mechanics of the programme from 2012, when - as a result of the economic crisis - rehabilitation and social integration were put at the same level as axes. Since its implementation in 1992, it has allowed the family core to have a regular income, it has standardised the employment status of participating workers, has allowed us to train them in professional skills, and also, significantly, it has equipped them with the capacity to be able to find a job in the present circumstances of the labour market. Otherwise, participation has been opened to members of the family who are unemployed. The profile of participants and attended has changed in line with social changes experienced in the types of families: for example, in 2015, 84 families were assisted (a total of 243 people), of which 49% were single-parent families and 42% of users were under 16 years of age. 250 dwellings have been rehabilitated, of which the Town Hall still manages 90 through Social Housing. The rest - leased to the town council - have already been returned to their owners.

• People trained: approximately 500 (data from 1992)
• Families inserted: 50 since 2013.

From its beginnings in 1992, the practice has been adapted to the current social context, characterised by the strong economic crisis that has forced many municipalities to adapt expenditures allocated to social issues. Vilafranca implemented "Vilafranca Inclusion" aiming to rehabilitate and reuse dwellings for social purposes. The 2012 programme is reoriented and focused on the social and labour inclusion of unemployed people and families at risk of exclusion. The impact of the practice is satisfactory and strengthens their impact on policy and management of the municipality. We believe that this course of action can be useful and interesting for any European city facing these issues.

Within the framework of the EU Life+ Project BLUEAP (Bologna Local Urban Adaptation Plan for a resilient city), the City of Bologna (IT) identified and analysed risks, hazards and main vulnerabilities related to climate change, water scarcity, heat waves, extreme weather events. Drawing on its local vulnerabilities, Bologna's Adaptation Plan in 2015 outlined the strategy and actions in the management of green space and water by the different levels of government in the territory. The Plan consists of a local strategy and an Action Plan that translates these strategies into measures. Strategy and Plan make reference to a medium-term time frame until 2025. In the light of the plan a package of integrated pilot actions has been launched: drinking water saving and water treatment, collection and storage of rainwater, targeted use of plant species to improve the microclimate and reduce air pollution, pre-emptive insurance against risks. The plan was the final step of a participatory process which started with a study of the urban area in terms of ecosystems, population, population distribution and census, production activities, natural resources and of its main vulnerabilities related to climate change. The process continued with the ranking of potential risks and with stakeholder engagement to define actions for the Climate Adaptation Plan.

The Bologna Adaptation Plan can be considered a good practice for results achieved not only as a planning instrument, but also as a concrete collaborative action plan of the City which represents an example for cities that share Bologna’s climate conditions and urban and social environment.

The structure of the Plan can be replicated in other medium-size cities, as well as some actions which are more suitable to their uses and needs.

As the Plan is the final step of a participatory process which led to its editing, the whole process can be considered a good practice. The process starts with a downscaled climate analysis, a study of the area in terms of ecosystems, population, population distribution and census, production activities, natural resources and its main vulnerabilities related to climate change. Ranking of potential risks are derived from such vulnerabilities.

Afterwards the stakeholder engagement process led to the identification of actions for the bottom-up editing of the Plan, together with a top-down engagement leading to more effective governance through collaborative problem solving, also with public-private partnerships.

Adaptation to climate change needs a cross-cutting approach for successful implementation, as many issues and actors are involved. Adaptation is also strongly linked to sustainability in a broad sense, as every action has to be considered in terms of its economic, human and social costs and benefits.

From this perspective, the Bologna Adaptation Plan is committed to the values of a more sustainable environment for urban living and health. The decrease of vulnerable populations exposed to the effects of climate change is one of the key pillars of the Plan. All the actions aiming to increase resilience to heat waves, for example, also have an important impact on social cohesion.

As already pointed out, Bologna’s practice takes a holistic approach to improving resilience actions, whose effectiveness is considered in relationship with the environmental compartments and the social and environmental tissue. For example, all the actions to strengthen resilience to drought take into account the interaction with bodies of water and are strongly related to measures to increase soil permeability in more vulnerable areas.

The integration of actions and measures from a local to a metropolitan scale was possible only through a strong stakeholder involvement of decision-makers, public bodies, companies, citizens and research institutes. They all were involved in different roundtables with specific themes, in restricted sessions and workshops.

Bologna enjoys a tradition of environmental protection and the creation of participation pathways aimed at developing action plans, the sharing of objectives and the definition of steps. The Adaptation Plan has been built with a participatory course of collaboration, in which individuals are also actors of the plan’s steps.

Starting with documents prepared within the project, a map of stakeholders in the territory was created. The individuals involved in the plan belong to Public Authorities, public and listed companies, the world of training, universities and schools, specialist agencies, service managers, multi-utilities, consortia, trade associations, consumer associations, environmental and territorial protection associations, businesses and foundations.

From the intersection of vulnerabilities and individuals involved, a course of involvement was developed. The course included various meetings according to the categories to which the stakeholders belong (politicians, citizens, representatives of the production sector) and the phases of implementation of the steps outlined in the Plan.

The political commitment was essential for the implementation of the actions, first of all because it involved directly many decision-makers and the city council as a whole, which officially approved the Plan. Moreover, an active political involvement strengthened the efforts made with all the stakeholders, as it gave full legitimacy to the process leading to the Adaptation Plan itself.

The Bologna practice achieved some results, as 10 pilot actions carried out successfully. Some of them are described below and concerned the Municipality Regulations, with the insertion of “New targets for water saving in the Building Code”, the “New arboreal varieties more adaptive to climate change in the Municipality Green Code”, and the “New guidelines for sustainable drainage” aimed at integrating the municipality guidelines for public works with SUDS technologies applicable to the local context of Bologna.

A promotional campaign (“Green-up Bologna”) focused on the promotion of planting and terrace horticulture.

The “Sustainable management of rain water in a new commercial building (Via Larga)” was planned within the Urban Building Plan (PUA).

An agreement with an important insurance company increased information and knowledge transfer in the reduction of damages and losses in the Bologna area.

A very important goal, even if not directly measurable, is the impact of the Adaptation Plan on the planning activity of the local authorities. Resilience is starting to become a point of discussion in decision-making and technical planning on the ground.

Furthermore, thanks to the BLUEAP project, a new project called “RAINBO” started in 2016 and some actions of the Plan are now under evaluation for financing by the EIB (European Investment Bank).

Our practice would be interesting for other European cities committed to climate change adaptation. Even if adaptation topics need to be assessed locally, the methodology used for vulnerability and adaptation strategy assessment and implementation can be shared and discussed with other cities.

The city of Bologna successfully experienced an exchange of good practices related to adaptation to climate change within the “City Twinning” programme promoted by the Mayors Adapt initiative. The two visiting cities (City of Lleida, Spain, and the Union of Terra di Leuca, Italy) came for a two-day visit to learn from Bologna’s experience with urban adaptation to climate change and to share common challenges as a result of climate change: water management (water scarcity, storm water, waste water, water supply, flooding); heat waves and urban heat islands, extreme water events that affect urban agriculture and biodiversity as well as posing hurdles to public health. The twinning visit was very fruitful for all the partners, and highlighted the need to build closer contacts between cities engaged in climate change adaptation topics.

Knowledge transfer and peer-to-peer networks represent an important step to spread the good practice and to learn from other city experiences, with a special regard of methodologies used and problems encountered.

What would happen if the long-term unemployed were allowed to decide for themselves how the money that is spent every year to prepare them for the labour market - at least some of it - should be used? The municipality of Aarhus (DK) decided to find out and, in collaboration with the University of Aarhus, The Social Development Centre and the Velux Foundation, it has initiated a two-year pilot project which has made it financially possible to give a cash grant of up to DKK 50,000 (approx. €6,700) to 100 long-term unemployed citizens to help them in their efforts in finding or creating a job. The beneficiary is therefore responsible for how the money is used and what it is spent on. 
In 2017, the results have been very promising, with 14 of the 27 participants being no longer on unemployment benefits. The participants themselves expressed that they feel a larger amount of responsibility and control over their own lives since they are treated with trust and confidence by the job counsellors. At the same time, they experience the new initiative as something “fresh” and tailored to their situation, and so they avoid the typical “one size fits all” courses. 

The City of Aarhus is experimenting with models for self-budgeting in employment activities. The plan is to allow 100 unemployed citizens to receive up to 50,000 kroner (6,700 euros) that he or she decides how to spend in order to get a job. The Aarhus 2017 European Capital of Culture theme is “RETHINK”, and our project rethinks the relations between citizens and authorities.

The project is run from the perspective that the citizens are experts in their own lives. Therefore, it makes sense that they have a greater influence on what should be done in order to find a job. The vision is that the individual becomes the driving force in his or her own job performance and that this will increase the chances of getting a job.

The project is organised in three parts:

• Testing and developing a model for self-budgeting in employment activities;
• Developing tools for the case managers and supporting them in this new way of working with the citizens;
• Validation and analysis of the data that is produced in the project by Aarhus University.

The first results are promising. At the time of this writing, 9 of the 16 participants who wanted to become self-employed have succeeded in doing so.

“Long-term unemployed take the lead” is based on at least two of the URBACT approaches.

In relation to horizontal integration, the project combines both the social perspective and the perspective of economic thinking, in the sense that it aims at helping long-term unemployed people out of their unemployment - which is an economic benefit to society, but also a social, emotional and economic benefit for the individual citizens.

Regarding Vertical integration, the project builds on both a local strategy for strong cooperation between the municipality and businesses (the business strategy) and the local policy of active citizenship.

The background of the business strategy is a vision of establishing Denmark's strongest partnerships with local companies - partnerships for jobs, social responsibility and growth. The municipality is working to become the local companies' preferred partner in finding and hiring new employees and finding solutions for employees on sick leave. Businesses are our number one customers, and the strategy for cooperation with more companies focuses on a more service-oriented approach, benefiting both companies and unemployed citizens.

This good practice in many ways also taps into the City of Aarhus Citizenship Policy with its focus on active citizenship, new solutions, inclusion, and diversity. Based on the first results (of 27 participants, 14 are no longer in the system), the project contributes to a more sustainable welfare service.

The city council of Aarhus decided on 6 November 2013 to set up a Citizenship Committee with citizens and politicians. The job of the Citizenship Committee was to challenge the municipal practice of public involvement and inspire a new practice for citizen participation, collaboration, and co-creation. The result of this work is a new Active Citizenship Policy (the policy is part of the Support Package).

The Committee has on several occasions helped to inspire the work in the project. Both individually and in groups, they facilitated citizen perspectives and have made a number of concrete proposals which have been put into the project.

As stated in the Citizen Policy, managers and employees in the municipality demonstrate openness to new initiatives, help citizens help one another, and are prepared to accept the consequences of the new expectations regarding our cooperation with citizens.

From the start of the project, the employees have been closely involved in the development of a methodology to ensure:

• Ownership;
• Safety and making it possible to apply the method in practice;
• The opportunity to contribute with social expertise and knowledge of the local context.

So, both during the planning of the project and afterward there has been a high degree of co-creation and participatory activities.

It is not yet possible to say anything conclusive about the programme, but the first results are so comprehensive that It makes sense to launch a good practice call. As of January 2017, 14 of the 27 participants had found a job, and reported other benefits:

• A boost in confidence;
• That the job consultants can finally give them an offer that is usable;
• That they get a customised offer;
• That the offer is based on trust rather than control;
• That they have great personal ownership in the process to find jobs.

Phases 2 and 3 are no longer on unemployment benefits, while the participants in phase 4 began their activities in February 2017. As already mentioned, 9 of the 16 participants that wanted to become self-employed succeeded in doing so, and as such, the experiment has shown that there is a considerable amount of unemployed that wish to take a step into the world of entrepreneurship, which may be worth paying attention to. There has been a great desire among the participants in the project to start their own business. It is remarkable because within the current legislation is not possible to help unemployed citizens who want to start their own business.

Another important result is that the citizens feel that they are consulted and involved to a much greater extent than in the usual employment process. Through qualitative interviews, we have documented what the citizens experience: they are met with trust.

The 2008 -2009 global recession and the Eurozone debt crisis significantly affected European economies, decreasing growth and increasing unemployment in many EU countries. Despite some signs of recovery, many EU countries continue to struggle with sluggish growth, high unemployment (especially among young people) and dissatisfied publics.

Across Europe, we are in the middle of a fundamental transformation of the welfare state. We are breaking with the traditional conception of welfare as a standard benefit or service, and challenging the time when a case manager could offer a standard product to all of our citizens. Instead, welfare should be created in the space between citizen, companies, businesses, the case manager and civil society.

What we see in these years is that the municipalities are making experiments with new forms of welfare – co-created with citizens and businesses. We go from system to person – from expert to “sparring partner” and from giving answers to asking questions.

However, one thing is to realise the challenges and put up new visions. Another thing is how it is done in the daily work in the employment department. “Long-term unemployed take the lead” is an example of how we try to make the vision concrete.

The Alba Iulia (RO) practice gives voice to a challenge faced by many small or medium-sized cities from Europe: how to gain visibility in a changing economic context while promoting its cultural heritage? Strong with a rich history and a complex inheritance (a citadel, historic sites and medieval library) that were left to ruins, Alba Iulia built an integrated branding approach, directly linked with the city’s strategic planning process. By strategic positioning and valorization of its assets and strengthening its local identity, the city (73 000 inhabitants) managed to position itself as a reference for investors, tourists and citizens alike. It thus managed to attract important funding for the renovation of the citadel (60 million €), increases its population by 10 000 inhabitants in five years, due to working opportunities, and the number of tourists by 65% during the same period.   

Building the identity goes back to seven years ago, when a local strategic planner to one of the largest advertising companies in the world created pro bono the visual expression of the city’s identity and slogan. Next was the launch of a branding manual with a set of rules for using the city brand, aiming to maintain a strategic brand consistency and addressed to the local economic actors beyond the touristic purpose of a branding manual.

Alba Iulia became the first Romanian city to have a professional city branding&brand manual and a pro-made marketing strategy. Alba Iulia is also the first city in Romania to launch a complete touristic tool: a touristic guide, a mobile app, an official blog, an Instagram and Twitter page, targeting different types of audiences.

After gaining visibility at national level we decided not to remain Romania`s best kept secret destination and we went across borders, being awarded the title of European Destination of Excellence. The city has managed to stay in the middle of events and be different, which explains our brand positioning: The Other Capital.

Alba Iulia tells a story about city branding, the story of an old city, having a multicultural past, becoming the symbol of unification, the fall into disgrace, irrelevance and decay, and the city’s impressive return right after the country joined the EU, building on European support and solidarity to build a new future, starting with the city's cultural heritage. Alba Iulia is now one of Eastern Europe's most impressive success stories.

Positioning the city as a place for investors, tourists and citizens reflects an integrated approach between these target groups. A place for investments is attractive for investors, creating jobs and reducing poverty; a place for tourists and citizens includes green spaces, the protection of environment, an attractive place to visit and to live in, efficient public services. An efficient communication on the tourism potential of the city, both on the historical and the contemporary side, reveals the potential that the city has for development.

The branding strategy of Alba Iulia is integrated in the national context, as the spiritual capital of Romania, and into the regional context, with a bottom-up approach at city level. To some extent, Europe validated Alba Iulia’s efforts when it won the title of European Destination of Excellence and was awarded by Europa Nostra mention of the jury. Alba Iulia started to strengthen its local, national and international pride.

In this equation, several stakeholders were involved, from the executive public servants, elected representatives and local artists, as well as civil society and the community who had the chance to vote themselves on the local identity.

Given the above-mentioned points, the approach is in line with the URBACT principles. From the very beginning of designing the brand strategy to the implementation phase, all the relevant stakeholders were and continue to be involved, ensuring integration at the local, regional, national and international level.

The logo was launched shortly after the citizens of the city became the “owners’’ of the citadel, a forbidden place which was in the custody of the army and closed to the public until then. The logo in the shape of the citadel represented, for the citizens, a first door to understanding and feeling the largest fortress in Romania.

The participation of locals in city branding is reflected by two interesting successful initiatives. In 2009, The Big Hug from Alba Iulia gathered 100,000 people to set the world record for the biggest human hug around the citadel. “The Great Appearance” is an innovative type of marketing event, which was planned by a local photographer and Alba Iulia Municipality. It consisted of the largest photo-image ever realised for the promotion of a city in Romania formed by 1,000 photo-portraits of the inhabitants of Alba Iulia. The giant poster was and is still used in the campaigns organised by the local administration.

An important number of citizens living in Alba Iulia Municipality had the chance to take part in the creation of the logo of the city. Other participatory examples came from local economic actors who decided to link their traditional products with the logo of the city. Both The Citadel Wine as well as The Starshaped Bread of the Citadel are using the branding identity regulated by the branding manual. Alba Iulia transforms dreams into plans, plans into actions, actions into results, together with stakeholders.

The city where the future was born is engaging its visitors in this process of the redefinition of the city, changing them from passive tourists into key stakeholders of the reconstruction. Visitors become living witnesses of this change, a dynamic process to which they belong. They don’t receive something "ready-made", but they become part of the transformation, having the feeling of explorers in a new space that redefines itself from its internal resources brought to the surface, as well as from its otherness, mirroring in the eyes of Europe.

Arriving in Alba Iulia, tourists have a list of actions and events they can attend and where they can be involved, depending on their profile. Moreover, in recent years Alba Iulia has experienced an unprecedented increase in the number of tourists. The growth was organic and constant. The investments in the last few years in tourism and professional marketing strategy had a real impact on the social, cultural and economic level. A set of indicators reflects the change:

• Visitors at the museum: 91,608 in 2013, 128,958 in 2014, 154,700 in 2015, 167,200 in 2016;
• Overnights: 59,210 in 2011, 78,336 in 2014, 114,446 in 2015;
• Accommodation capacity: 612 in 2009, 941 in 2014, 1,186 in 2009. Another indicator is the increased number of residents: 63,536 in 2011 and 73,937 in 2015. The events organised each year are attracting more and more audience, making Alba Iulia one of the top five Romanian cities for cultural vitality.

Public sector representatives have a narrow view of branding (perceived as logo planning) or do not understand the purpose and process of branding at all. It is difficult to make all relevant stakeholders understand that they do have a role in the development of the city brand. This has led to conceptual ambiguity and varying understandings of the objectives and the potential means to achieve them.

In this regard, the results achieved by Alba Iulia as well as the tools developed could be transferred to other cities around Europe. The example is easy to transfer to other small and mid-sized cities in Europe.

It is now time for Alba Iulia, “The Capital of Unification", to say “Thank you Europe” for providing the chance to restore the largest citadel in Romania and to transform it into our brand new city identity. Now is the time to give Europe something back: a symbol of togetherness. We will tell Europe the story of “The Citadel of Unification”, saved and reborn through European unity, made visible through an integrated approach, in an URBACT style. It is easy to adapt and to transfer.

If Alba Iulia Municipality’s strength was its cultural heritage and historic value, for other cities the branding element could be focused on youth, on investors, on technology. The principles to follow are the same.

In 2003, the City of Ljubljana created a Citizens’ Initiatives Service (CIS) allowing citizens to actively participate in decisions that affect their lives, and to quickly resolve their complaints or problems. The Citizens’ Initiatives Service promotes direct communication between the mayor, the city administration, public institutions and public enterprises on one side and citizens on the other. Citizens can contact them in person, via telephone, fax, e-mail, regular mail, and a web service.
In 2006, CIS introduced the Mayor’s Open Days, where the mayor meets with citizens at least twice a month at the Town Hall. As a result of this direct communication with the population, the Information Office Info65 + was established for the elderly and people with disabilities. Thanks to this service, certain regulations have already been adopted or amended mostly in the field of traffic regulations; a part of a street was converted into a “shared space”; a free public transport service has been introduced; four electric vehicles, which run within the city centre pedestrian zone, have been facilitating elderly and mobility-impaired people since 2009.

The web service and the Mayor’s Open Days enable the citizens to actively participate in the policy-making process and gain a sense of belonging. They can also make a complaint or a request on local issues, while receiving a reply from the local authority no later than within eight days, while, in practice, three days on average is needed to prepare the answers as they are the priority in our municipality. The citizens’ initiatives are also welcome and very effective feedback for our professional services with regard to our work and planned or already taken decisions. A web service Citizens’ Initiatives enables an insight into the opinion and views of the residents of Ljubljana. It is often the first address they turn to and all the initiatives can be seen on the web portal. Our data shows that the use of the web service is increasing and so is its popularity among the residents of Ljubljana. Therefore we assume that promptness and quality of responses is very good. In recent years, the citizens have also used the social network Facebook for posting their initiatives and resolving process.

Citizens’ proposals and an open, professional and prompt communication between the city and its residents significantly influence the quality of life in Ljubljana. The Office for Citizens’ Initiative obtains the answers from the different departments and/or public companies, which are managing water, waste water, public transport, waste, etc. In this way, the issues addressed by the citizens are dealt with comprehensively and integrated.

In recent years, the popularity of the Mayor’s Open Days has risen so much that it takes place at least twice a month in the Town Hall, which is also accessible to people with disabilities.

All questions and suggestions of announced citizens are forwarded to the competent expert service before the Open Day, so the expert opinion is already available to the mayor during a conversation with a citizen. After discussion, the mayor’s opinion is sent back to the competent department for the final assessment.

Due to its limited jurisdiction, the municipality can’t help directly in all cases, but many people find hope and see new opportunities just speaking with the mayor. Our approach to the issues is therefore integrated due to cooperation between all levels of local government with appropriate social, economic and environmental actions, as well as being sustainable. Social inclusion, as one of the sustainable goals, is an important aspect in this practice because the communication is open to everybody and on different topics, such as personal and social distress.

As already mentioned in the process of obtaining answers for the citizens, NGOs, institutions or associations, all levels of local government and/or public companies are working closely together. We encourage citizens and other stakeholders to use portal service, which is user friendly, because the application does not require a registration. Also the profile of participants is general. Anyone can participate, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, religion, skin colour, any degree of disability, level of education, etc. The possibility of co-decision is given to all. It’s also important that the citizen can make an appointment with the Mayor easily only with the assistance of the Office for Citizens Initiative. The Mayor doesn’t have the maximum time provided for each interview, he meets all the citizens who have made an appointment, regardless of time or of the time required for the conversation. Some questions can be answered quickly, other issues may require more mayor’s time. Also, in 2006 the Information Point Info65+ has been established as a direct result of citizen’s initiatives. The point is primarily intended for the senior citizens and persons with disabilities. They can meet there, obtain basic information on services and activities available to them in the municipality and also hand over their suggestions or requests.

Based on numerous initiatives, certain regulations have already been adopted or amended, after the professional examination, mostly in the field of traffic regulations. Due to citizen’s propositions, slow traffic zones have been introduced, parking barriers set up and a part of Slovenska Street was converted into a “shared space”.

On citizens’ initiatives, a free public transport service, Kavalir, has been introduced. Four electric vehicles, which run within the city centre pedestrian zone, have been facilitating errands for the elderly and mobility-impaired people since 2009. The service operates on call, but due to their slow speed, they can be hailed anywhere on the street. The ride is free of charge. The participation of the citizens also had an impact on housing policy. The rules for the allocation of the assigned rental housing for young people were partly based on a great number of citizens’ initiatives.

Based on the initiatives concerning the inclusion of the elderly and persons with disabilities, InfoPoint 65+was established in 2016. In response to various citizens’ initiatives, MOL has also introduced fieldwork with the homeless. Of course, all wishes and proposals can’t be accepted, due to technical, financial or legal reasons, but the common goal of all the services is to maximise the satisfaction of Ljubljana’s residents and improve the quality of life.

The citizens’ initiatives are welcome and are very effective feedback for our services with regard to the work and planned or already taken decisions. As such, our good practice would undoubtedly be interesting for other European cities, because it encourages participation and also emphasises inclusion at its best.

CIS can be, from a technical and organisational point of view, used in any city, but the successful operation of the web application requires highly motivated employees in all competent services. We believe that the citizen’s voice being heard is an issue in all European cities (and beyond), so the citizens’ initiatives would most likely be an interesting and valuable practice for them as well. Our model presents an attempt at cooperation between the citizens’ involvement in policy-making and the internal workings of all levels of city administration and public companies, which we think would also be beneficial to other cities throughout Europe.

It must also be stated that the initiatives are commonly very constructive and well thought out, so people are not using this channel to merely criticise or vent but mostly to give rational, elaborated proposals. We believe that Mayor’s Open Days can also be organised in other cities, but the attendance and popularity of the Mayor’s Open Days in Ljubljana are strongly associated with the mayor’s personality and reputation.

Confronted with social challenges, like increasing number of elderly, disabled people, and children whose parents work abroad, the City of Vaslui (RO) started a comprehensive process of rehabilitation of six of the former power plants that were heating the city neighbourhoods. These were transformed into six day care centres right in the heart of the biggest neighbourhoods of the city, serving directly a total of 300 elderly people, 15 young students and their families, and also offering a properly equipped auditorium open for any of the 14 000 students, NGOs or other cultural associations.

Hidden among city blocks of flats, the former neighbourhood power plants that were heating the communist flats, remained one by one without their main utility, since the centralised heating system has become technically outdated, thus, most users gave up on this service and chose individual heating systems. As a consequence of this phenomenon, at a local level, from a total of 27 heating power plants, only 6 are still working. The other 21 nonfunctional buildings, besides their unaesthetic aspect, were presenting a high risk of danger for health and safety of the citizens. Vaslui Municipality sought for solutions to address the identified problems, and in this regard, in collaboration with Vaslui Local Council, started a comprehensive process of rehabilitation and destination change for these locations.

As poverty increases so does the risk of concentration of urban vulnerable and marginalised groups in deprived areas, which are characterised by social segregation, stigmatisation, reduced mobility, limited access to credit, housing deprivation and not only environmental degradation but reduced public spending on its prevention. Addressing vulnerable and marginalised groups has a direct impact on local municipal budgets, due for example to intense use of enabling support services and local benefits/subsidies allocated to alleviate poverty.

It is therefore no surprise that combating the related social/spatial segregation was identified by stakeholders at the city level as one of the key priorities that the Vaslui Municipality should target. The proposed strategies are contributing to the socio-economic inclusion of particular vulnerable and marginalised groups. The actions done will allow lasting and sustainable solutions for major societal challenges in the city in general through the establishment of innovative policy frameworks, action plans, pilot actions and follow up activities.

The growing social and economic inequalities are reflected in a reduced quality of urban life. To overcome these challenges the Municipality involved the targeted groups in participatory activities to tackle socio-economic exclusion for defining the best actions and plans to be developed. Development of the daycare centres and the activities performed within were a result of the multiple discussions had with the targeted beneficiaries. The scope was to assure a maximum level of satisfaction of the vulnerable/marginalised groups and integrate them into decision-making processes.

These actions are also a result of a broad participatory process undertaken within the development of the critical documents related to sustainable urban development: "Local Development Strategy Vaslui" (2009) and "Pole Metropolitan Development Strategy 2014-2020 Vaslui" (2014).

The process involved local government structures, local council and relevant local community stakeholders (NGOs and associations, businesses, public institutions, experts from various fields, ordinary citizens, vulnerable/marginalised groups).

The objective was to have a participatory approach in governance and planning, as concerns the exclusion of vulnerable/marginalised groups from social life and economic opportunities, and sustainable urban development. In this way, a common participatory methodology was created which can be successfully replicated in other cities and areas.

If we are talking about the Day centre for elderly „Buna Vestire”, the Day centre for elderly „Sfântul Nicolae”, The Club for retired persons, and the „Prietenia” club, almost 300 persons benefit directly from the investments done, the offered services vary from social and leisure activities, individual and group counselling, social counselling, medical and social assistance, moral and emotional support, and catering services. The cultural centre „Alexandra Nechita”, due to its purpose to offer for free an adequate space for cultural activities, we can say that it serves all of our 14 000 school students, NGOs and the local cultural associations. The day centre for schoolchildren „Bucuria” (Happiness) offers guidance for 15 children and their families.

The integration of vulnerable and marginalised groups into social life and economic activities has a huge impact on the Vaslui Municipality. It generates costs in terms of direct loss of productivity and contributions to the public purse or through side effects such as increased social tensions, probability of poor health and socio-spatial segregations.

Vaslui Municipality is in a unique position in Romania to address this challenge with the new governance tools and strategies. It wants to enhance mechanisms to take decisions that are closest to most citizens. As the EU gradually moves out of the economic crisis it should be remembered that almost half of the EU's population lives in cities and that urban agglomerations are the main drivers for innovation, competitiveness and economic development across Europe.

Vaslui therefore has a key role to play in creating and supporting the right conditions for innovative actions in a Romanian context that lead to more and better social and economic integration of communities at risk of exclusion.