Networks and cities' news

Can you transfer trust?

For more than ten years, Com'ON, a youth participatory budgeting programme from Cluj-Napoca (Romania), has trusted young people with public resources, inviting them to propose ideas, vote for the projects they believe in and turn them into reality. Hundreds of community initiatives later, this principle, tested in Cluj-Napoca, is being taken further through Com’ON City.

RECUP MASTERCLASS on Monitoring & Impact Evaluation: Measuring the Value of Culture

In April 2026, partners of the URBACT RECUP Network gathered online for a dedicated Masterclass on monitoring, evaluation and the communication of cultural impact. The session focused on helping cities better understand, measure and demonstrate the contribution of culture and creativity to urban development. 

Implementation, challenges and good practices for culture regeneration projects at the Urban Level

The following article was written by Dina Ntziora, Lead Expert of the ImperfectCity project at the Municipality of Aarhus and an Ad-hoc Expert within the URBACT programme. Drawing on her extensive experience in culture-led urban development, the text provides valuable insights into the implementation, challenges, and good practices of cultural regeneration at the urban level.
We are pleased to share and republish Dina Ntziora’s article as part of our ongoing knowledge exchange within the RECUP – REinventing Culture in Urban Places project. By presenting her work, we aim to highlight key lessons and practical approaches that can inspire cities and stakeholders engaged in culture-driven urban transformation.
 

Final Hydro-Heritage Cities meeting: Getting ready to kick off

The Network met for last time in Rome concluding its transfer journey and investment plans, while presented in public the future of Hydro-Heritage management. 

SPARK: Rethinking public procurement as engine for local resilience

AUTHOR: Sabina Reichert, LEAD EXPERT FOR URBACT TN SPARK

On paper, the municipality of Kavala (Greece) looks like many other medium-sized European cities. Back in 2018, it had a relatively solid budget, a tourism-driven economy, and a long list of goods and services to buy every year to keep the city running. Yet officials noticed a worrying pattern: local companies were losing public contracts, larger firms from outside the city were winning more tenders, and no one could clearly say how much of the city’s spending was actually supporting the local economy. 

Article #1: Spaces for youth to grow as active citizen

First article by the Lead Expert of the YOUth Space Link on the topic "Spaces for youth to grow as active citizen"