Networks and cities' news

"Best practice in Industry 4.0: Learnings from LCR4.0. Interview with Simon Reid"

Best practice in Industry 4.0: Learnings from LCR4.0. Interview with Simon Reid by Ceri Batchelder, Ad Hoc URBACT expert

Back in 2018, I was working on a project to try and bring together the digital and manufacturing communities in my region to collaborate. I’d heard that the city of Liverpool in the North West of the UK was making big strides in the area of Industry 4.0 and wanted to find out more. Along with a colleague, I was introduced to Simon Reid, then Head of Advanced Manufacturing, who was leading on an ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) funded project called LCR4.0 (Liverpool City Region 4.0).

Trees for the future - small-scale action of Messina

Small scale action in Messina: planting cypress, oak and myrtle trees

Visions from the City Representatives - Enzo Lattuca, Mayor of Cesena by lead expert Miguel Rivas

Heritage-led urban regeneration involves major urban projects, requiring significant investment and stakeholder mobilisation. In this endeavour, political backing and direction are key. The KAIRÓS interview series, conducted by the network lead expert Miguel Rivas, targets Mayors and Elected Representatives from the KAIRÓS partner cities.

The Neighbourhood Councils of Agen : a Citizen public service delegation

In 2008, in order to provide answers in terms of participatory democracy and to improve on all questions of local works, the City of Agen decided to create Neighborhood Councils, even though there is no legal framework for it compelled to do so.

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« Finally, those who know their neighborhoods best are the people who live there. »

Jean DIONIS DU SEJOUR
Mayor of Agen

Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area

Our partner Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area (OMG-G-S) fosters the cooperation between the tri-city and its surrounding municipalities. Home to the main port in Poland and a vibrant economy, it is the fastest growing area of the country, posing new challenges for mobility and urban development.

BEING PART OF THE ULG: A REAL EXPERIENCE OF PARTICIPATION

The "Active Citizens -citizens participation in small and medium EU cities" project in which the Municipality of Cento is taking part, aims at giving voice to citizens and possibility for intervention in decision-making processes concerning their own city, through the use of new methodologies and new digital tools. Never before in this URBACT project has it been important to set up the Urbact Local Group (ULG), a group of stakeholders that, from the very beginning supports the Municipal Administration in the project’s operative steps, offering their own contribution and point of view in a continuous exchange with the representatives of the Municipality.

Through meetings and workshop activities, sometimes with a somewhat "alternative" approach, the members of the group tackle together the issues at the center of the project, each bringing the added value of their own background. If there is no doubt that in a path lasting over two years it is a hard challenge to keep the attention and motivation of the group members alive, it is equally true that being part of the group is a demanding choice requiring time, effort and ability to get involved. Nevertheless, actively participating in the ULG, however demanding it may be, can also represent an enriching opportunity at a civic and above all personal level.

This is what Michele Novi, one of the "historical" members of the ULG, tells us in this interview. He has enthusiastically joined since the beginning of the project and here he reports his personal experience.