Networks and cities' news

Pärnu, an integrated health approach: from the planning to sustainable management of green areas

By becoming a healthy city, Pärnu envisions improving access to green areas and increase the everyday use of public green spaces. The city wishes to develop a better network of roads so citizens can use them in their daily commute to work or school. Since Pärnu also struggles with seasonality, the city will need to be better adapted to this new context.

As part of the project, we have focused on the riverside area. Our desire is to find a solution together with the stakeholders on how to make the existing Jaanson health trail even more attractive, while maintaining the green areas next to it. Jaanson Trail, winding path along the left bank of the Pärnu River forms a single circle with the path on the opposite bank. Both are 4 km long, but still different in appearance.

Although this area is currently in use, we hope to find the best solutions to make this area better during the project. The final goal could be said that the wish would be to make the riverside area as attractive as we have been able to make the beach area in Pärnu. We have had some good project in the beach area and we would like to continue with the riverside.

City plans to create visitor infrastructure also on beach meadow area next to river to continue beach promenade, to introduce Pärnu city’s unique and variable landscape and nature values and also create more opportunities to visit beach side and spend time in open air.

It would certainly be mentioned that in the course of the project we hope to find more solutions on how to combine urban planning and health.

A good example of integrated and sustainable management of the protected green area of the beach can be found in our project for the introduction of urban cows.

This project is linked to the city's desire to generate a healthier environment through the protection of green areas, the promotion of active mobility and also the respect for biodiversity.

Cities in international perspective: Debrecen

In the Welcoming International Talent project, seven cities aim at sharing knowledge, improving policies and implementing best practice projects in their international student cities. But why are these specific cities participating in the WIT project? Each city will explain what they can contribute and what they would like to learn from this knowledge exchange. This time: Debrecen, Hungary!

RU:RBAN PARTICIPATES IN THE WEBINAR DEDICATED TO AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE CANTEENS

The Sustainable Development Festival, promoted by ASVIS (Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development, https://asvis.it/ ), took place throughout Italy from 22 September to 8 October 2020. The webinar “Integrated educational approach to the sustainable canteen: a pilot project of the Lazio Mare Centro FLAG in collaboration with Albert Sas”, held on 7 October, was part of the Festival. The event focused on some good practices for introducing fresh local fish to school canteens.

Commons towards New Participatory Institutions: The Neapolitan Experience

Law scholar and activist Maria Francesca De Tullio describes the genesis of Urban Commons in Naples from 2012 on, with an in-depht examination of the legal innovation that this has entailed.

Opening photo by Sabrina Cirillo

The European SDG Summit: Impactful partnerships to build back better and relevant themes for CITIES4CSR

The European SDG Summit is the annual meeting organized by CSR Europe between business leaders, business associations and representatives of the European Union. This 2020 edition has been dedicated to how to build impactful partnerships to address the crisis triggered by Covid-19 and generate a sustainable recovery by fully implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

#CRESCOaward contest: CITIES4CSR HAS RECEIVED the Lexmark "Circular Economy"AWARD.

CITIES4CSR project has just received the Lexmark "Circular Economy" award as part of the 5th edition of the #CRESCOaward contest. Lexmark is a provider of printing and imaging products, software, solutions and services that help customers save time and money. According to its particular commitment to sustainability and circular economy, Lexmark found in CITIES4CSR the values and opportunities the company shares and applies in the entire print lifecycle.