Urban Threads - Heritage, Public Space and Community as Drivers of Urban Connectivity

The Municipality of Scandiano (Italy) is looking for one final project partner from Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands or France to join the URBACT consortium of Urban Threads, currently bringing together six cities from Italy (Scandiano), Poland (Krakow), Portugal (Pombal), Sweden (Varberg), Hungary (Veszprem) and Ukraine (Slavutych).

Urban Threads explores how the adaptive reuse of existing buildings and urban sites can become a catalyst for urban regeneration, community engagement and stronger urban connectivity. The network brings together cities that are transforming underused, vacant or strategically important sites - including historic buildings, former industrial complexes and other urban assets - into cultural, creative and community-oriented spaces. The focus is not on the physical renovation of buildings itself, but on how new uses, activities and governance models can turn these places into engines of urban vitality and social interaction.

The common challenge shared by partner cities is how to create attractive and inclusive urban ecosystems through culture, creativity and civic participation. By activating existing sites with new functions, cities can strengthen connections between neighbourhoods, improve the quality and attractiveness of public spaces, foster a stronger sense of belonging and generate new opportunities for social and cultural exchange.

Each partner city will work on a specific site, using it as a laboratory for local experimentation and integrated urban development. These sites are intended to become anchor places within the urban fabric: destinations that attract people and activities while creating stronger social, cultural and spatial connections across the city.

Key themes of the network include:

1. Adaptive reuse of existing buildings and urban sites;
2. Development of cultural, creative and community-based functions;
3. Creation of attractive and vibrant public spaces around key urban assets;
4. Community engagement, co-creation and participatory governance;
5. New models of civic and cultural activation;
6. Strengthening urban connectivity through integrated social, cultural and spatial strategies;
7. Building more attractive, inclusive and interconnected urban systems.

Who we are looking for
We are seeking one final city to join our consortium, preferably from Western European countries. The candidate city should have a strategy or policy in place to transform a building, complex or urban site into a new cultural, creative or community-oriented hub, focusing not only on the regeneration of the site itself, but on its capacity to act as a catalyst for wider urban transformation by strengthening social, cultural and spatial connections between neighbourhoods, activating surrounding public spaces and contributing to the development of a more integrated, attractive and connected urban system.
The selected partner should be interested in exploring how culture, creativity and community-led initiatives can activate places, strengthen connections between different parts of the city and contribute to the development of more attractive, inclusive and resilient urban environments. Through local experimentation and temporary actions, partners will test and co-create new uses, activities and governance models, using culture and community engagement as tools for broader urban regeneration and connectivity.