Networks and cities' news

Accessible and Inclusive Public Spaces: Foundations for Thriving Communities

Public spaces are the core of urban community life, offering people a place to observe each other, connect, and share goals, needs, and stories. When designed with human diversity in mind, these spaces have the transformative potential to foster social cohesion, enhance quality of life, and support sustainable urban living. They serve as platforms for community interaction, cultural exchange, and recreation, contributing in the long term to healthier, more equitable cities. Public spaces should be accessible to all citizens and not create discrimination caused by the built environment. However, although accessibility and inclusion are recurring topics in numerous EU documents and reports, they are still too often treated as add-ons rather than integral components of urban planning. This leaves many spaces inaccessible or unfriendly to diverse user groups and leads to missed opportunities for building an equitable society.

To build on this, GreenPlace, one of Urbact’s networks that aims to develop a set of activities for "recycling" unused urban areas using social participation tools having a strong focus on diversity and inclusion, recently held a workshop titled “Equitable Cities—An Inclusive Approach” in Nitra, Slovakia. The participants examined how the built environment can contribute to social segregation and generate disabilities even where there are no permanent ones. They discussed the importance of shifting accessibility from being viewed as a "special case" to becoming a core priority in public space development. 

Schoolhoods’ Mid-Term Reflection Meeting: Advancing Safe, Green, and Happy Ways to School!

Parma, Italy | November 13-14, 2024

Climate-adaptive grassland management in urban environments

Veszprém (HU), the “City of Queens” (ca. 56.000 inhabitants), as it is often called due to its role in Hungarian history, is located between the famous Lake Balaton and the karst area of Bakony Hills, its territory is both part of the Bakony-Balaton UNESCO Geopark and the Balaton-upland National Park. Veszprém was the European Capital of Culture in 2023 together with its hinterland (Veszprém-Balaton-Bakony region), highlighting the city’s integral connection to surrounding landscapes.

#RzeClimat(On) behind us

Fresh Ideas for a Greener Rzeszów.

A unique milestone at the midpoint of the Urbact program with a distinctly European dimension ! The 6th TNM took place in Brussels in October 2024. 

First Steps in Selecting Experiments Following the Ideation Phase  The 5th Transnational Meeting (TNM) was held in Isernia, Italy, on June 18-19, 2024. 

A unique milestone at the midpoint of the Urbact program with a distinctly European dimension ! The 6th TNM took place in Brussels in October 2024. 

Advancing Green and Smart Urban Development in Villena

From November 18th -21st, 2024, Villena, Spain, hosted a pivotal meeting of the EcoCore Network, which included the mid-term review of the project and a masterclass on Smart and Green Industrial Zones. The event, enriched by expert contributions, site visits, and workshops, provided a comprehensive platform for exploring strategies that align industrial development with sustainability and innovation.