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    Circular economy: another buzzword or your city’s future?

    In times of decreasing resources and growing responsibilities, many cities and regions are understandably skeptical towards what seems to be yet another buzzword. However, a transition to a circular economy is both a necessity and an opportunity, with the potential to offer long-lasting economic, environmental and social benefits. 

    What is circular economy? How can cities and regions support this transition? And, perhaps most importantly, where to start? Read on to find answers that are based on the experience of the European Territorial Cooperation programmes and the projects they support. 
     
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    Workshop “Pathways to a circular economy in European cities and regions”, The European Week of Cities and Regions 2016 (source: EWRC/flickr.com, CC BY-NC-SA)
     
    The article below is based on a joint policy brief „Pathways to a circular economy in cities and regions” produced by ESPON, Interact, Interreg Europe and URBACT and launched during the 2016 European Week of Cities and Regions. Full version of the brief is available here.
     
     

     

    Ania Rok

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  • Open for business? Europe’s cities and the skills challenge of the Next Economy

    Eight years after the advent of the Global Financial Crisis, much of Europe's economy continues to be sluggish, with uneven rates of jobs and business growth across the EU. There are, of course, bright spots on the map, but overall the picture remains disappointing.  

    As ever, the coming battle focuses on cities, where most businesses and jobs are concentrated. In those economies that remain weak, it is our cities which display the highest rates of joblessness. Equally, it is in our dynamic urban areas where hopes for business and jobs growth are highest. 
     
    The EU has consistently identified the key role cities occupy in relation to the skills and jobs agenda. A long history of macro policy statements and policy directives confirms this. The most recent of these is the launch of the Jobs and Skills Partnership within the Urban Agenda for the European Union. Another is the New Skills Agenda for Europe, which proposes a 10 point plan to boost EU citizens’ skills, particularly at the basic level. 
     
    But what does this mean in practice? This article will explore the challenges and opportunities facing cities in relation to the jobs and skills agenda. It will pay particular attention to assumptions about future growth – itself increasingly challenged as a beneficial concept. In doing so the article will touch upon the concept of the Next Economy, and what Jeremy Rifkin has described as the Third Industrial Revolution (TIR). Under this scenario, we will need a radical rethink of the way we prepare citizens for what is ahead. 
     
    We will explore what the Jobs and Skills Partnership can do to support cities' adjustment to this anticipated step change in the economy. Finally, the article will reflect on the leading work of cities in this area, as well as considering the contribution that the URBACT Programme can make. 

     

    Eddy Adams

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  • Ready for the future? Urban resilience in practice

    Blog OP URBACT je otevřený příspěvkům od představitelů měst, akademiků, aktivistů na místní úrovni ze všech koutů Evropy (a světa), kteří by rádi sdíleli své praktiky, výzkumy a nadšení týkající se záležitostí souvisejících s integrovaným městským rozvojem.

    Ania Rok

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  • Undertaking spend analysis and developing procurement strategy

    If cities are to progress the way in which they undertake procurement so that it brings more local economic, social and environmental benefits, they need to go through a number of steps. As part of the Procure network, we have already completed two of those steps. The baseline study enabled our partner cities to identify the activities they were already doing around procurement and importantly to identify key challenges they faced. Our first transnational meeting in Lublin, Poland effectively set the legal context for more progressive procurement through exploring European and National Level law.

     

    sbamber

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  • A short discussion note on Community Cohesion

    The theme of the First Workshop in Dresden 21-23 September 2016

    The issue of community cohesion has becoming increasing more pressing and as such has pushed the issue higher up the political agenda following the tragic events in Paris and Brussels. The  ongoing state of emergency in Paris and  Brussels, the ongoing arrival of migrants fleeing war and poverty and the recent  attacks  in Nice, Normandy and  in several German  cities have brought to the fore the ongoing challenges facing cities in respect of managing the new flows as well as addressing the issue of community cohesion.

    cvestrini

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  • Roadmap to a better Social Media Governance

    How Social Media can help the collaboration between Public Administration and Citizens

    "There is a lot of power in people to self-organise around a specific issue and if they'd like to use technology to mobilise themselves, they should have the capability and the choice to do that.”
    Juliana Rotich, founder of Ushahidi, 2011
    Interactive Cities explores how digital, social media and user-generated content can improve today’s urban management in European cities of various sizes.

    fvirgilio

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