Networks and cities' news

A Dynamic Exchange of Ideas in Roeselare

Strengthening Action Plans, Exploring Innovation, and Learning from Experts.

« Advancing the rights of some has never led to a decline in the rights of others, on the contrary » - Interview with Cyril Cineux

17th March 2025 - Interview by Véronique Jal

published with the kind permission of Le Connecteur, Clermont-Ferrand

https://leconnecteur.org/

From strategy to tactic: transferring the collaborative framework of Daring Cities

It is a cold November morning in Ravenna, a mid-size city in the Northern Italian Emilia-Romagna region. Thick fog covers the streets as the humidity of the nearby Adriatic Sea infiltrates the city, making it impossible to forget the vicinity of the sea in this seemingly landlocked city that originally gained its reputation as an impenetrable fortress protected by the coast, a lagoon system and numerous rivers. Life in Ravenna is connected to its waters in many ways: while the city’s proximity to the sea defined its destiny as a port city, the waterways covered or channeled into artificial beds occasionally resurface in the form of floods, signaling climate change that disproportionately affects the region. 

Insights and Future Pathways: The One Health 4 Cities Network

The One Health 4 Cities Network, a URBACT IV Action Planning Network, unites nine cities to integrate the One Health approach—connecting human, animal, and environmental health—into urban strategies and projects. Guided by the City of Lyon, the network fosters collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovative urban practices to enhance the well-being of all.

One Health 4 Cities has successfully completed its planning phase. The year 2024 marked a transformative period for the nine-partner network, bringing a wealth of learnings and exchanges on diverse topics surrounding the One Health approach. This article provides an overview of the key activities performed, insights gained and outlines the future directions for the network.

Planning Industrial Corridors with a User-Centered Approach

When designing new developments, it’s essential to consider the diverse needs of different user groups. In the URBACT EcoCore Action Planning Network, this means creating green industrial corridors that are welcoming, safe, and sustainable—encouraging low-carbon transport options while ensuring accessibility for all.

A user-centered approach that prioritizes inclusion and diversity doesn’t just improve functionality—it drives innovation and sustainability. So, how can we design industrial spaces that close skills gaps, foster collaboration, and attract a diverse workforce?

A sense of place: positioning identity in northern Portugal

If you can't beat them, work together.

Age-old rivalry often makes for the best stories. But in modern times, instead of driving apart, distinct characteristics providing fodder for timeless feuds between cities can be parlayed into collective assets. In northwest Portugal, four cities with four different urban contexts have come together to create Quadrilátero Urbano, a policy tool to combine the strengths of its members: Barcelos, Braga, Vila Nova de Famalicão and Guimarães. Separated by an average of 20 kilometers, the four cities all have their distinct identity. Rather than vying for prominence as the historical context might encourage, each city is improving their public policy by leaning into specific attributes in a uniquely modern way.

Guimarães holds the lofty title as the “Birthplace of Portugal”. A plaque on the ancient city fortifications proclaims the phrase “Aqui nasceu Portugal” (Portugal was born here). A short drive away lies the city of Vila Nova de Famalicão, the New City of Famalicao. One city boasts history while another conjures youth in its name. Braga is known as the city of churches but in the 21th Century, the city is an ardent believer in culture, of its youth and the diversity of recently arrived inhabitants. Rising above the Cávado River rich in a clay perfectly suited to crafting spellbinding ceramics, notably the emblematic Portuguese rooster figurine, Barcelos is a capital for artisans and handicrafts. 

City branding: more than a slogan

With such proximity, identity and local traditions are the key to economic and social vitality for all four cities, instilling a sense of pride in the overall region. City branding is a relatively new phenomenon but has always existed in the cultural consciousness. New York is the city that never sleeps. Paris is the city of lights. In an era of intense globalisation and big-city fatigue, smaller cities are looking to stake their claim as an alternative to aggressively dense megalopolises. Place branding plays a key role in forging a new identity for lesser-known urban areas, allowing smaller cities to compete with global capitals.

Much more than a logo or slogan, a successful city brand is backed by good policy and defines the essence of a place, proclaiming what exactly that city has to offer. All too often, a place brand fails to dive deep, opting for a catch phrase and a cryptic visual meant to distill centuries of history and context in a few hundred pixels. Seen through the Cities@Heart lens, city centres serve as a showroom for cities on the rise and the identity they choose for their future. A famous example of revolutionary city branding is the “Bilbao Effect”. Once a hub of industry, the city invited the Guggenheim museum to set up a satellite museum in its declining downtown area, an architectural landmark successfully repositioning the Basque city as a cultural capital on the world stage at the dawn of the new millennium. With a finite number of international museum outposts, it’s not every city that can rely on the media power of “starchitects”. Whether a city embraces its history or decides to take on a rebranding project, authenticity remains at the core of any successful place promotion initiative.