Networks and cities' news

How can cities activate unused green spaces and buildings?

Picture yourself in that dark grey building or street, which does not smell nice, feels unsafe and makes you wonder only about one thing: I feel so bad, why did I come here? Now, picture yourself in that same building or street wondering only about one thing: OMG, it’s an amazing place, why didn’t I come here earlier?! 

So… what’s happened? What’s changed to this area that you have to twist your daily itinerary to come and enjoy this area? And what is there actually to do?

The 9 Project Partners of the GreenPlace network – Boulogne-sur-mer, Bucharest-Ilfov, Limerick, Löbau, Nitra, Onda, Quarto d’Altino, Vila Nova de Poiares, and Wroclaw- have experimented this journey, using the knowledge and methodology gathered over the first year and a half of the network. Their stories tell us more about actions to make abandoned buildings, forgotten tram depots, unused green areas, or unused yet to be renovated built areas – attractive and worth coming to. 

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" ¹ to becoming a core priority in public space development. 

Nature-Based Solutions, Equal Cities & Inclusive Design

The 5th Core Network Meeting of partners within the Green Place network took place in Nitra on October 15-16, 2024. The meeting focused on the topics of Nature-Based Solutions, Equal Cities & Inclusive Design. It was also aimed at feedback on the addressed area of ​​abandoned brownfield of former military barracks and drawing on relevant experiences with partners on this topic. The meeting continued with some partners on October 17 as  a site visit, showcasing successful examples of good practices in green infrastructure, work with minority groups, improving the health of residents, and the reconstruction of historic buildings.

Planning for Green: The Future of Wrocław’s Popowice Depot

The old Sachsenhausen and Bornheimer depots in Frankfurt am Main and  Czasoprzestrzeń at Biskupin in Wrocław are just a few of the places that gained a second life after the line buses and trams "moved out". Now, another depot in Wrocław has a chance to join them in a green ecological style - Popowice at 65 Legnicka Street, being a case study in the "GreenPlace, Let's do it together!" project.  This is all due to the "testing actions" taking into account the pro-ecological projects planned to be implemented within the complex.

Quarto d'Altino: A Sustainable Future through Culture and Cohesion

In recent years, the Municipality of Quarto d'Altino, through the actions of its local government, has embarked on an ambitious path to address the environmental and social challenges of its territory. A key part of this effort is the URBACT GreenPlace initiative, a European program promoting sustainable urban development through collaboration and the exchange of best practices among cities.

How to involve your ULG members using a card game?

Boulogne-sur-Mer, a historic coastal city in northern France, is blending community engagement with urban revitalization through a unique card game designed for collaborative planning. Facing challenges like economic shifts, population decline, and coastal erosion, the city is rallying local stakeholders to reimagine and activate underutilized spaces. This approach has inspired new ideas for future projects, fostering deeper community involvement and turning citizen input into actionable plans for a thriving local future.