Networks and cities' news

Are we ready to welcome the residents of the future?

By Tiago Ferreira

How can smaller cities compete in an era of global people’s mobility? What makes a place not only livable but appealing enough for someone to choose it again, or for the first time as home?

These are the kinds of questions that Residents of the Future set out to explore. Now, passing midway through our journey, we find ourselves surrounded not by answers, but by possibilities, each one shaped by the local character and aspirations of the nine cities that form this network.

From paper to people: How your IAP can inspire the citizens it’s made for

What Cities Can Learn from the URBACT IAP Review – Part Two

In Part One, we reflected on how URBACT Integrated Action Plans (IAPs) are not just a bureaucratic deliverable, but a reflection of each city's capacity to think, collaborate, and act strategically. In Part Two, we focus on a crucial question: Can these plans truly inspire people?
Can they move beyond PDF files and meeting rooms to become living visions that resonate with communities, guide decisions, and actually lead to change?

According to José Costero, the Ad Hoc Expert who reviewed all nine plans within the Residents of the Future network:

“The real challenge now is to ensure that each plan becomes more than a static product—it must be a shared narrative people recognise and believe in.”

The plans that speak: What cities can learn from the URBACT IAP review - PART ONE

At the last international Residents of the Future meeting in Iisalmi (Finland), project coordinator Nikolina Gracin shared many "green dots" and check marks, confirming the project is on track. As we enter the final phase, it’s time to present your IAPs.

So, you’ve spent last two years gathering voices, testing new ideas, revisiting old truths, and dreaming about what your city could become. You’ve sat in rooms, real and virtual, with neighbours, officials, partners, and skeptics. You’ve zoomed in on population loss, zoomed out on wider trends, and tried to hold it all in one coherent picture. Your Integrated Action Plan is more than a document — it’s the voice of your city’s future. It’s the result of months, even years, of listening, learning, testing, failing, and trying again. It carries the vision of your residents, the priorities you’ve fought to define, and the first real steps toward reversing decline and building belonging.

Quality of Life in shrinking cities, part two - Measuring and Monitoring

This article is based on the workshop “Quality of Life: what is it and how to promote and measure it” delivered by URBACT Expert José Costero for the URBACT network Residents of the Future in Alba Iulia (Romania) on 25 March 2025. The session gathered about 25 participants from the nine cities involved in the network, fostering discussions on how to integrate quality of life principles into urban planning and policymaking.

Quality of Life in Shrinking Cities. Part one - Challenges.

Quality of life is a broad concept that encompasses various dimensions influencing people's well-being in a given place. It goes beyond economic prosperity, including access to public services, environmental quality, cultural life, safety, and social cohesion. However, the meaning of quality of life varies depending on individual preferences, cultural background, and socio-economic context. What may be essential for one person, such as a vibrant nightlife, might not be as relevant to someone else, who might prioritise affordable housing and green spaces. 

Friends Reunited: Residents of the Future @ URBACT City Festival in Wrocław

With over 600 participants from all over Europe, including mayors, city officers, EU policymakers, urban planners, and changemakers, the festival was a three-day celebration of ideas, good practices, and the future of European cities. Organised under the high patronage of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU, the festival offered talks, workshops, exhibitions, and the grand unveiling of the URBACT-labelled Good Practices 2024–2027.