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Gender equality in cities

On March 8 we celebrate UN International Women’s Day- a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.

URBACT is taking part in these celebrations by featuring a series of articles about women’s leadership in European cities on the governance webpage this month.

In upcoming items we will explore initiatives in women’s equality in cities and hear the views of some current urban leaders. The results of a panel debate on the impact of female leadership in cities at the Women of the World Festival in London will also be published.

We start with a review of data on the levels of female political representation at city level in in Europe.

Smart specialisation, triple helix, open innovation and smart cities. Going beyond the jargon

There are a bewildering array of terms in economic development discussions about cities. Below we unpack them from a city perspective. 

Planning and urban sprawl

Most planners and city politicians agree that urban sprawl endangers the sustainability of urban development. There is a clear conflict between the benefits of the few who get better life conditions in the suburbs and the problems of the many whose quality of life is negatively affected by the externalities (environmental consequences of land take and growing traffic) of sprawl. 

Combining horizontal and vertical integration

There are many different interpretations and meanings attached to the integrated approach. These include balancing environmental quality, social cohesion and economic compeitiveness, bringing together all relevant departments to address a challenge, complementing ‘hard’ investments with ‘soft’ investments, and combining European Social Fund with European Regional Development Fund. URBACT II has pioneered integrated approaches to policy challenges as diverse as Roma inclusion and the regeneration of historic city centres. Maybe it is better to acknowledge that there are many integrated approaches, each adapted to specific policy aims. To compound the confusion, the word integration is often used in policy debates alongside holistic approaches and joined-up government to describe a process in which people with different professional backgrounds from different parts of government at all levels are engaged together in a common task. Not to mention the specific use of the term integration in relation to migrants.

Data Driven Cities

Big data and open data are buzz concepts in urban governance. But what do they mean? Where is the current good practice? And how can cities get smarter in using both their own data and data sourced elsewhere? This issue is a regular feature for debate on new forms of public sector governance. By Sally Kneeshaw, URBACT Thematic Expert

The case of Urban Food Systems

Against the backdrop of climate change, cities are facing increasing environmental challenges that threaten the quality of life and opportunities that urban environments can offer to their residents. Urban food systems can provide methods to help cities to tackle low carbon and resource efficiency through integrated sustainable urban regeneration.