SMÅSTAD 2.0 – Climate Smart, Culture Driven & Youth Powered Small Towns

Small European towns face similar struggles: achieving climate goals with limited resources, strengthening local identity through culture, and creating attractive, safe and meaningful places for young people. Åmål seeks partners to co develop a new integrated model for small town sustainability that connects climate, culture, and youth friendly urban development.

What we want to achieve

Together we will develop integrated action plans that:

• • reduce emissions through small scale, climate smart urban interventions
• • use culture and creativity to activate public spaces
• • involve young people as genuine co creators of the town’s future
• • strengthen small town attractiveness and liveability
• • build practical governance models that fit small municipalities

Our proposed focus areas

1. Climate Smart Micro Places: energy efficient public spaces, safe walking/cycling routes, nature based solutions.
2. Culture as a Driver: creative placemaking, cultural events, local identity building.
3. Youth Co Creation: structured youth participation, school collaborations, prototyping public spaces.
4. Small Town Governance: low cost, high impact solutions for towns with limited capacity.

What kind of partners we are looking for

Small and medium sized towns that want to:

• • boost their attractiveness and retain young residents
• • link climate action with public space development
• • use culture as a development tool
• • experiment with participatory methods
• • exchange knowledge on small town transformation

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• Why partner with us?

• Åmål brings strong experience in climate strategy, culture planning, and youth focused development. We are ready to coordinate a motivated network, test concrete interventions and co create a shared European model for future ready small towns.