City of Casoria (Naples Metropolitan area)

The city of Casoria is a medium size Italian municipality - 77.000 inhabitants in 12kmq – placed closely the city of Naples suburban.

After the second world war, the city developed rapidly, thanks to the joint effect of public aid as “Mashall Plan” and the proximity to Naples and its mobility infrastructures (port, railway, airport, motorways).

Between the 1950s and 1960s, the rural centre of Casoria was transformed into an industrial hub, and the population increased from 20.000 inhabitants in 1951 to over 80.000 in 2001.

The urban growth has not been supported by adequate public policies, as consequence both manufacturing and residential districts have disorderly developed outside a general framework, in absence of urban planning rules.

In the long run this uncontrolled increase was not helpful for the economic development and since the early 1980s industrial activities start to dismitted.

Today Casoria is characterised by low quality of life, and congested public space, and the large private industrial areas contiguous to the city centre, are abandoned and colonised by a sort of natural “third landscape”.

Additionally, tertiary sector as office complexes and shopping centers located along major mobility infrastructures, have gone bankrupt because of the last financial crises.

As social consequences the unemployment rates around 30% (65% youth unemployment), crime is on the rise, and the most educated and whealthy young people migrate elsewhere.

 

 

Main areas of interest

The city of Casoria is engaged in the implementation of and articulated urban regeneration programme aimed at improving urban liveability and overcoming these problems.

The integrated urban regeneration programme is based on the Local Action Plan elaborated during the involvement in URBACT III network “Sub>urban. Reinventing the fringe” (2015-2018) with city of Antwerp (Belgium), Baia Mare (Romania), Barcelona (Spain), Brno (Czech Republic), Wien (Austria), Dusseldorf (Germany), Oslo (Norway), Solìn (Croatia).

Recently (dicember 2022), the city approved the Municipal Urban Plan, which provides a general urban planning framework for the ongoing projects.

In the last years in order to increasing citizens’ trust in public actions and test from experience, some interventions have been carried out as preview of the urban municipality plan strategies.

Respecting the principles of environmental sustainability and social inclusion, the objectives pursued by the ongoing interventions are:

• Increase natural areas ;

• Increase public spaces ;

• Create new job opportunities ;

• Regenerate brownfields ;

• Regenerate existing settlements ;

• Enhance the historic centre;

• Reconnect the urban region ;

• Draw up co-management and civic use regulations.

An important focus of the plan is on environmental sustainability especially on the circularity of resources in the peri-urban sphere (water, energy, waste), and on the relationship between periphery and city centre to promote a trigger transformation effect between the two.  At least the city is debate on different forms of co-management of public facilities undergoing transformation as

• Consolidation and restoration of the complex of Carmine’ Church in Piazza Cirillo for the creation of the Religious Tourism Centre;

• Construction of a socio-educational structure for children in the confiscated building in the neighbourhood of Stella;

• Redevelopment of the former court building to house social and health services;

• Redevelopment and energy efficiency of the former municipal building in Piazza Cirillo to create a centre for youth creativity;

• Centre for biodiversity in the building of the Former Air Force Park in Via Michelangelo;

• Art and theatre workshops to support youth creativity - adaptation of existing facilities - M.L. King Contemporary Art Museum CAM Theatre.

 

Casoria sbs_lab

The transformation of the streams, the promotion of activities for urban and fluvial renaturalisation and mitigating flood risks, increasing the green structure and the connectivity of green and blue spaces.

The aim of our project is transform the streams into a large linear green corridor that crosses the city from North to South. The objectives are to restore the riverbed, taking into account the risks of flooding and increasing biodiversity; connect streams with peri-urban environments; reduce waterproofing in canalized sections of the stream; implant native species to improve air quality; reduce the barrier effect between neighborhoods; and encourage the participatory process in residential and productive areas adjacent to the riverbed.

Anna Farràs Sanz

The town of Jeseník https://www.nasjesenik.cz/ or https://jesenik.cz/cz/ is located in the heart of the Jeseník Mountains in the northeast of the Czech Republic, in a landscape full of natural wealth, greenery and silence, in a landscape of healing water springs and clean air. Jeseník became famous for its spas, named after the famous native and founder of modern hydrotherapy Vincenz Priessnitz. Our city has a long, rich and interesting history of more than 750 years. At the same time, we are a modern city that supports a system of clean and sustainable mobility, uses innovative and SMART solutions, and protecting the environment and promoting a healthy lifestyle is a high priority for us. When planning projects, we involve citizens in the discussion. We continue to expand the opportunities for our citizens to participate in the development of the city and participate in international projects with this theme, where we can learn something. Our big issue is stopping the outflow (especially of young residents) from our city. We are looking for ways to increase the city's attractiveness and promote the values we can offer.

 

Our topics:

1. Clean and Sustainable Mobility System

We are currently developing a SUMP https://www.nasjesenik.cz/stranky/mobilita and are looking for answers to the questions of reducing the use of cars, building a smart parking system, calming the city centre, etc. The basic task is to change the mindset of our residents, focusing on a quality environment and the possibility of creating public spaces for people to meet. A city for people, not for cars.

 

2.   Participation of our citizens in the development of the city

Our priority is to increase the level of citizen involvement in the city's decision-making processes. We are currently using participatory budgeting, regular meetings of the Student Council, Senior Council, meetings with citizens, social networks, etc. We are also happy to learn to use new tools to help us involve the still silent part of our citizens. We are interested in introducing a local currency system to increase the level of participation of citizens in the development of the city and to deepen regional patriotism (the relationship of citizens to the place).

 

3.   Stopping the outflow (especially of young people) from our city

Like many other cities, we are facing an outflow of young people in particular. We therefore place emphasis on local patriotism and deepening the ties of the existing inhabitants of Jeseník to the region in which they live. We also want to capitalise on the outcomes of the covid period and promote the benefits of living in a city of our type to those who would like to move here. That is, a quiet, healthy and safe life with the opportunity to work and communicate in a modern way ("remotely" with a good data connection) with all the necessary infrastructure in place or within easy reach.

 

4.  Digitalization of processes in the city

Our benefits for joining the partner network are:

• Willingness to explore new paths
• Long experience in preparing and implementing EU projects in accordance with EU rules.
• Respect for the principles of partnership;

We look forward to working with future partners!

Martina Pavlátková

The municipality of Srbac, according to the last census, has 6,157 households and 16,993 inhabitants, and there is a need for further development of the water supply infrastructure - reconstruction of the old and expansion of the existing water supply network in the territory of the municipality. The realization of this project will increase the existing capacities of the communal infrastructure related to the systemic water supply of the settlement and solving the issue of used water. In this way, not only will the quality of life of the residents be improved and the demographic structure improved, but the project will also contribute to the preservation of the environment.

Better access to clean, safe water will be provided, which is very important for rural areas where people may be limited to only one source of water, such as wells. In this way, hygienic conditions are also improved. Businessmen realize the possibility of improved crop irrigation, which will contribute to greater production. The economic development of the municipality itself will be improved through the development of new jobs and the development of infrastructure.

The expansion of water supply reduces the use of other water sources, such as groundwater and rivers, thereby reducing the negative impact on the environment.

Better access to clean, safe water will be provided, which is very important for rural areas where people may be limited to only one source of water, such as wells. In this way, hygienic conditions are also improved. A greater number of farmers will have the possibility of improved crop irrigation, which will contribute to greater production. The economic development of the municipality itself will improve through the development of new jobs and the development of infrastructure.

The expansion of water supply reduces the use of other water sources, such as groundwater and rivers, thereby reducing the negative impact on the environment.

Milorad Lepir

Based on the concept of "Landscape", interpreted in the European Landscape Convention (CEP), it is intended to know, deepen and share, with other realities and geographies, the different practices of understanding the continuous process of landscape transformation capable of contributing to the safeguarding of the identity values of "ours landscapes" and, at the same time, contributing to the formulation of more effective territorial management instruments,  at a local scale.

• focus on the apprehension and recognition of ecological/IEE's (hedges) and cultural (walls) infrastructures that form the agrarian mosaic of the landscape of Vila do Conde, which give it a unique and identity character;
• understand the spatialization processes and reflect on the role of ecological and cultural memory of the landscape for the modeling of public policies with territorial expression; 

• reflect on the scope of the legislative building that frames and regulates public policies of Spatial Planning and Landscape.

Janine Lopes

Tetovo-smart city
Municipality of Tetovo is located in the Northwestern part of the Republic of North Macedonia, on the
slopes of Shar Mountain as well as in the lower parts of the Polog valley.
The municipality covers an area of 261.89 km 2  and has a total of: 84.770 inhabitants according to the
2021 census. The municipality consists of 20 settlements: 10 lowlands, 6 hillside and 4 mountainous.
The municipality of Tetovo has a total of 15 schools of which 12 are primary and 5 are secondary
schools. Aside from primary and secondary education, in Tetovo there are two universities located: The
State University of Tetova and the South East European University.
Using the URBACT approach, we want to adopt a Startegy Tetovo smart-city based on the best
practices of other countries in order to achieve the following objectives:
 smart energy/resource management and environmental protection,
 sustainable urban mobility,
 efficient and transparent management of the city-smart services
 digital infrastructure development,
 smart living and social services.

Zana Ademi

Municipality of Tetovo is located in the Northwestern part of the Republic of North Macedonia, on the
slopes of Shar Mountain as well as in the lower parts of the Polog valley. The municipality extends from
the northwest to the south-east. To the north, north-west and west it borders the municipalities of
Dragash and Prizren in the Republic of Kosovo; to the east and south-east with the municipalities of
Tearce, Jegunovce and Zhelino and to the south with the municipalities of Bogovinje and Brvenica.
The municipality covers an area of 261.89 km 2  and has a total of: 84.770 inhabitants according to the
2021 census. The municipality consists of 20 settlements: 10 lowlands, 6 hillside and 4 mountainous.
The municipality of Tetovo has a total of 15 schools of which 12 are primary and 5 are secondary
schools. Aside from primary and secondary education, in Tetovo there are two universities located: The
State University of Tetova and the South East European University.
Using the URBACT approach, we want to achieve these short-term objectives:
In order to make cities more appealing to young people, while using the URBACT approach we plan: to
adopt an action plan with specific implementation strategies and a realistic timetable, youth strategy
and encourage cooperation between cities to give young people more opportunities for transnational
experience and learning.
The youth in Tetovo as in many cities have been strongly challenged these last years, as regards to social
inclusion, mental health, gender equality, human behaviour, etc. The youth as impacted by the social
media, has been seen to have spent less time in outdoor activities and in physical centres.
Some of the areas to be tackled for the youth are: community engagement and citizen participation,
financial education, mental health, combating bullying and cyberbullying.

Ιn most rural areas of Europe, more and more young people nowadays find themselves in a situation of social marginalization, for many reasons: geographical isolation, difficulty of access to work, lack of infrastructure for taking initiatives, reduced interest in the resources and peculiarities of their region, etc.

Older people also face multiple risks of social isolation and loneliness, due to many factors: retirement, loss of spouses/partners and loved ones, changes in their state of health and functionality, etc. Furthermore, older people are the age group most likely to be at risk of living alone, with rates particularly high among older women. Although living alone is not deterministic for loneliness, it still remains a risk factor.

In particular, rural residents face multiple barriers to connecting with each other, including transportation challenges, a specific built environment that is not always walkable or conducive to social interaction, limited financial resources, limited access to broadband internet and mobile connectivity, limited access to health care, including mental health care, etc.

 

Each of above is further amplified when it comes to older people in rural areas, who tend to be less mobile than their younger counterparts and more dependent on community-based resources. Despite the fact that older people in rural areas report having more extensive social networks than those living in urban areas, they also report higher levels of loneliness, highlighting the existence of structural barriers to connectedness.

 

Interventions to deal with the phenomenon can be both personal and interpersonal:

 

Personal interventions can involve, for example:

              - Support lonely people through social structures,

              - Use of modern technology for remote monitoring of vital parameters

              - Accessing telemedicine, etc.

 

Interpersonal interventions can include:

              - improving access to transportation,

              - building social networks,

              - enhancing participation in group activities, etc.

 

Moreover, leveraging technology to provide immediate access to all kinds of digital conveniences can benefit both young and old residents.

In relation to all of the above, the use of the tools offered by the Urbact Network will lead to the creation of a strategic plan with actions that will aim to remove social isolation and will propose viable and sustainable solutions to improve the daily life of citizens.

 

More specifically, the research and recording of the reasons that cause social isolation, the recording of similarities and differences between partners, the exchange of good practices developed by other cities, reporting on the problems that may have arisen for some partners and the way they dealt with, can lead to the creation of a comprehensive action plan to address the problem.

 

Our Network can include Actions as:

            - Evaluation in conjunction with local stakeholders, of the problems involved, the actions that address to every problem, and how to further engage citizens to take full profit of them

            - Considering and benchmarking existent solutions, as a first step towards addressing the problem

            - Develop Integrated Action Plans in order to improve scocial interraction, healthcare using modern technology, scocial inclusion through digitalisation  

 

Potential partners

            - City Authorities with a strong interest in addressing the problem of scocial isolation in Rural areas

            - Possibly one academic partner with interest for recearch for the subject of social marginalization and geographical isolation and in close association with a City Authority

Mparka Maria

Get to know us

The City of Hoče - Slivnica is a small municipality in the northeast part of Slovenia (less developed region). With around 12.000 inhabitants it still offers a diversity of interweaving activities.  Important it’s also its connection to the nearby city of Maribor (around 100.000 inhabitants). The City of Hoče – Slivnica have well developed economy (expanding business and industrial zone), some good practices of intergenerational family enterprises and a lot of green areas (among others a well-known botanical garden).

In the field of social inclusion, we recently build a modern home for our elderly citizens. There is also a lot of different social activities for elderly and other vulnerable groups. We have quite a few active associations in this field that are also strongly connected to similar associations in Maribor, who we would like to work with more closely, creating synergies and new cooperations between the city and them and among them.

 

How to guarantee social inclusion and community development

The specific challenges we wish to address are social inclusion, health and economy, emphasizing intergenerational connections, involvement of vulnerable groups (elderly, people with disabilities, migrants, etc.) and how they can impact urban regeneration.

Among others we are interested in the following topics:

• Involving the elderly in the local economy (retention in the labour market, access to the labour market, quality of employment services and enterprise development).
• Social and health care services and self-help and other intergenerational networks- anything from new demands for home-based car services, new ways of providing independent living, promotion of healthy habits for elderly, sports activities for different age groups, urban/organic gardening,
• Citizen involvement and promotion of social diversity and intergenerational links.
• Ageing impact assessment: How to integrate tools and methodologies for assessing the impact of demographic ageing in integrated urban development.
• Sustainable mobility for vulnerable groups in the city and between cities (specially connections with Maribor).

 

We would like to join an ambitious partnership and contribute with our knowledge and ideas as well as learn from others. And we are open to exploring all possibilities of mutual collaboration as partners under this call. This would be our first time participating in URBACT, so we would like to join a network as project partners.

 

URBACT experience

Our neighbouring city, Maribor, was involved in many URBACT I, II and III networks and now we would like to spread URBACT activities to our municipality. The City of Hoče-Slivnica has no prior URBACT experience, but our local group coordinator will bring in these experience as she was involved in the URBACT projects.

 

Contacts

Andreja Budar - abudar@gmail.com

Patricija Klinc Rebernak - patricija.klinc.rebernak@hoce-slivnica.si

Andreja Budar

Food connects people, it can nourish connections between citizens. Many small- and medium sized cities face challenges of people feeling less connected to the city they live in then before. Connecting citizens, business, education and visitors through a common love for food allows to address many challenges that these cities face.

The partners approach socio-environmental challenges through a ESG (environmental, social, governance) framework focused on food. The ESG framework allows to bring a private sector concept and its principles into  the public sector, strengthening the impact through using municipal government roles.[1]

Environmental

• A municipal role can be to adopt supply chain management policies - local consumption and sustainable production choices: farm to fork. (GREEN)
• Circular approaches to food waste and production/packaging & transport.

Social

• The partners aim for healthy affordable and accessible food for all citizens (inclusivity of vulnerable groups).
• The partners aim to develop an action plan where the policy topic food allows to connect people. The action plans that will be developed are food strategies as a basis for social and economic cohesion.
• Food education allows to connect young students with job perspectives in the sector, ensuring future skilled labour and quality jobs in the city/area. Specific focus will be set on encouraging girls to take up an education in the food processing and agricultural sector. (GENDER)

 

Governance

• An important role of city governments is facilitating partnerships between the actors within the city. This role can be described as ecosystem governance.
• This includes economic connections and the stimulation of development and innovation through connecting stakeholders of the quadruple helix. The economic component includes the stimulation of smart and digital solutions in the food production and processing sector (integration of AI/robotics/...) and the translation of these new techniques into the educational system. (DIGITAL)

Bo Vanbesien