Networks and cities' news

How four URBACT networks are transforming social data into action

Can data drive positive social impact? Discover how European cities are putting it to use.

Cities@Heart: What Happens When Ten Cities Decide to Fall Back in Love with Their Downtowns

The network started with a simple yet radical idea: city centres are worth fighting for. Two and a half years later, ten European cities have shown how true that is.

Picture this. A city manager from Slovenia sharing how financial incentives brought new businesses back to a street full of empty shopfronts. An urban planner from Ireland explaining how activating a single public square transformed the economic pulse of an entire downtown. A policy officer from Spain walking the group through years of hard-won regulatory tools to push back against touristification. A team from Greece describing how a participatory process with residents reshaped the future of their central square. 

Different cities, different challenges, different solutions but the same willingness to learn from each other. This is Cities@Heart.

The European Forum on City Centres November 6th - 7th : this year’s flagship event for city centers in Europe

Following two successful editions, including the most recent held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the Greater Paris Metropolis and the association Centre-ville en mouvement  are proud to announce the Third European Forum on City Centres. This landmark event will take place on November 6–7, 2025, at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris.

Pre-register here.

Finalising our City Centre Playbook and finding inspiration in Celje: takeaways from our Fifth Quarterly Network Report

Throughout this first quarter of the year, the URBACT Local Groups (ULGs) in each city have been deeply involved in a series of collaborative meetings. These sessions have served as a valuable forum for co-creating IAP (Integrated Action Plans) visions and objectives and defining the Action Tables together with the local stakeholders. ULGs seek to drive meaningful progress that aligns with the overarching objectives of the network while addressing the unique challenges and opportunities within their respective cities.

Meeting of the Greater Paris Metropolis ULG in Charenton-le-Pont

Cities@Heart organised the fifth URBACT transnational network meeting in Celje, Slovenia, exploring the city's initiatives aimed at revitalising its urban spaces and strengthening local communities. Find Celje’s list of 14 actions to create a vibrant city centre on the URBACT website.

A well-rounded approach: highlights from the Fourth Quarterly Network Report

After more than one year of network activity, through meetings and dedicated workshops, the Network has explored all topics included in the Cities@Heart methodology. This quarter, we have developed topics 6 and 7, focusing on Public Space and Managing Mixed Uses. Governance, integration, decision-making tools, sustainability, and inclusion have been transversal drivers of our learning pathway.

Sipping coffee in Sligo: How a commitment to community and attention to detail turned things around for downtown—one cup at a time

The year is 2013 and few residents of Sligo, Ireland have heard of a BID, or Business Improvement District. Stakeholders in the local commerce sector operated independently and seldomly in cooperation with the County Council. Fast forward to December 6, 2023 when a group of 26 individuals from ten different countries all over Europe touched down in Sligo to glean best practices for city centre management. Sligo’s remarkable success story provided a fitting backdrop for the first transnational meeting of the Cities@Heart URBACT Action Planning Network.