Networks and cities' news

"The Urban Industry 4.0 Talent Ecosystem: 7 Challenges"

"The Urban Industry 4.0 Talent Ecosystem: 7 Challenges" by Willem van Winden, URBACT Lead Expert

In many European cities, manufacturing industries are still important drivers of their economy. But the sector is in a process of transformation, under the influence of new technologies (robotisation, digitalization, new materials) and the urge to produce in a sustainable way. This transformation puts new demands on the skills and competences of people that work in the industry, but also on educational institutes in the city that educate the new talent flowing into the sector. How to create a local/urban talent ecosystem that is future proof? This article identifies seven key challenges that industrial cities face in this respect. It is based on in-depth interviews with companies, educational institutes, policymakers and experts in four industrial cities united in the AS-Transfer project: Bilbao, Bielsko-Biala, Tartu, and Timisoara.

Why should we all eat organic?

Why should we all consume more organic products? Together with the French researcher and expert Denis Lairon, we have discussed the main benefits of organic on human health as well as its impact on climate and environment 

When is a Wasteland? A Critical Understanding of Infrastructure and Residual Spaces - by Brian Rosa

Urban peripheries in Europe tend to be disorderly landscapes, and the overlay of infrastructures often create areas depicted as ‘wastelands’. In this article, Brian Rosa reflects on the definition of such spaces and the uses they host. He also looks at transformation processes that aim to repurpose these residual spaces.

Hacking our cities and testing our ideas – reflecting on 2021 in the iPlace Project

Sometimes the restrictions that limit our way of working can be turned into a positive. The ten cities who are partners in URBACT’s iPlace Project set themselves the task of giving their citizens the opportunity to ‘hack their city’ in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic with severe restrictions on physical interaction in the countries of all the partners.

Vilawatt UTM Learning Webinars - How to convince citizens and companies in the city to be more efficient in their energy use

In the last Vilawatt UTM webinar, the partner cities had the opportunity to discuss another of the fundamental issues for the transfer process of the Vilawatt Innovative Practice in depth: How to convince citizens and companies in the city to be more efficient in their energy use. 

CO4CITIES - 2nd Transnational Meeting, Gdańsk, September 16-17, 2021

The 2nd Transnational Meeting took place in Gdańsk with a mixed-mode: some sessions were carried out “in presence”, with the participation of representatives of Budapest, Cluj-Napoca, and Turin, and others online.