can european cities grow smarter, sustainable and inclusive?...go green, new social deal, securing...

Can European cities grow smarter, sustainable and inclusive?

TRIBUNE (16-11)bat:Mise en page 1 19/11/10 15:23

Publication Manager: Jean-Loup Drubigny

Editorial Advisory Group: Melody Houk Jenny Koutsomarkou Peter RamsdenPaul Soto Philip Stein

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Editing: Anna Collins

Graphic Design and Artwork: La belle équipe

Cover illustration: Nicolas de Crecy, young French art cartoonistand comic strips writer who has receivedmany awards. The front page illustration wasused for the poster of the "Architecture andComics" exhibition held until late 2010 at theCité de l'Architecture in Paris. This exhibitionis a dialogue between architecture and comics. The different visions of the city reveala tendency to imagine the future and a desireto explore new ways of life. It is an invitationto travel through the most amazing urbanscenario.

This document has been printed by Bialec,Nancy, France on Cyclus, 100% recycled paper.

Can European cities grow smarter, sustainable and inclusive?

CONTENTS

CAN EUROPEAN CITIES ADAPT TO THE EUROPE 2020 CHALLENGES ?by Eurico Neves/UNIC

STEPS TOWARDS INCLUSIVE GROWTH by Gill Scott/WEED

URBAN HOTSPOT 2.0 by Willem van Winden/REDIS

A FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE FOR LOCAL ECONOMIC RESILIENCE by Alison Partridge/Esimec

ROMA INCLUSION - CAN CITIES BE THE DRIVER OF CHANGE? by Ann Morton Hyde/ROMANET

LONG-TERM CARE by Annamaria Simmonazzi and Fiorenza Deriu/ACTIVE AGE

PLUGGING IN TO GO GREEN by Sally Kneeshaw/EVUE

READY-TO-LIVEMULTIFUNCTIONAL HISTORIC CENTRESby Nils Scheffler/HERO, and Frédérique Calvanus/LINKS

A “NEW SOCIAL DEAL” FOR STABLE LIVING? by Heidrun Feigelfeld/SUITE

MORE PEOPLE IN PRISONSby Paulius Kulikauskas/REPAIR

LINKING CRUISE TOURISM TO URBAN REGENERATIONby Vittorio Alberto Torbianelli/CTUR

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EDITORIAL

FULL SPEED TOWARDS NEW GROWTH

The territorial cooperation programme URBACT is running at full speed. Over the past year, thirty-five

URBACT Thematic networks and Working Groups, involving over 280 partners, have been up and

running, some starting their transnational exchange activities, others completing their projects and

delivering conclusions and Local Action Plans.

The life of the URBACT community is rich and diverse just like life in the cities. Dozens of meetings of the Local

Support Groups have enabled the cities to go further in their search for innovative solutions.

At programme level, URBACT is pooling and consolidating ideas and results coming from the different networks

and working groups. This capitalisation process is carried out mainly with the Lead partners and Lead experts

who support URBACT partners in implementing the projects’ work programmes and achieving expected

outputs.

This year again, we have asked the Lead Experts to write articles describing the work achieved by the Networks

and the partners' approches to a wide range of challenges that the cities face today. They have the experience

and the necessary perspective to offer the decision-makers and practitioners concrete markers.

The eleven articles selected for this Tribune reflect the divesity of the subjects tackled by the cities with the

URBACT context: knowledge hotspots, inclusive growth, demand-led workforce, long-term care, plugging in to

go green, new social deal, securing housing, cities of tomorrow, multifunctional regeneration…

These articles are part of the search for a new inclusive growth that is smart and sustainable, the same terms

as those used in the 2020 Strategy. It is obviously not by chance but the strength of the evidence, the pressure

of local needs and the result of constant action by the URBACT programme in promoting integrated and

sustainable urban development.

Mrs Mercedes Fernandez CaballeroDirector General for European Funds

Ministry of Economy and FinancesChair of the URBACT Monitoring Committee

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© Nicolas de Crecy© Henrik Sorensen/GettyImages


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CAN EUROPEAN CITIES ADAPT TO THE EUROPE 2020CHALLENGES ?IT WILL BE HARD WORK, BUT YES, THEY CAN !

BY EURICO NEVES LEAD EXPERT OF THE UNIC THEMATIC NETWORK

a permanent fight against social inclusion.When the URBACT programme was born in2002 (programme of the European Union forsustainable urban development), it immedia-tely focused on the sustainable and social dimensions, as well and on the economic dimension of urban development. When the renewed URBACT II programme was launchedin 2007, three thematic poles were created,mapping exactly the the growth priorities ofthe 2020 strategy: Cities, Engines of Econo-mic Development and Job Creation (thesmart dimension); Cities, Social Inclusion andGovernance; and Cities and Integrated urbanDevelopment.

URBACT-supported projects are grouped under the Thematic Poles in accordance withtheir focus, but most projects have a transver-sal nature since – as now it has been “mains-treamed” into EU policies – it is nearly impos-sible to tackle urban development, or any formof development, from only one dimension.

A good example of this approach is the UNIC project (http://urbact.eu/en/projects/innovation-creativity/unic/homepage/) which, due to the

(or even 30%) compared to 1990 levels, andreduction of poverty, by aiming to lift at least20 million people out of the risk of poverty andexclusion?If they can – and for all who believe in the European project the only possible answermust be, “yes, we can!”, albeit with differen-tiated sectors of conviction - for sure a lot of innovations and changes, in many differentaspects, will be required. As Gary Hamel, awell known European, once said: “Don’t tellme that change will come from the top – I have never seen the monarchs setting up arepublic”. And at the basis of Europe’s gover-nance structure, directly influencing all as-pects of the lives of over 60% of its populationthat lives on them, we find the traditional en-gines of innovation, change and growth inour continent – but also the spreaders of pol-lution and magnets for all the poor and exclu-ded – now, once again, called into battle: theEuropean cities. Can cities – and thereforeEurope – grow smarter, sustainable and inclu-sive all at once? Yes, they can – and some cities are proving that already – but, oh my, it’sa tough challenge, indeed.

The URBACT cities are already fighting the Europe 2020 warThe Europe 2020 strategy may have seen itsbirth this year, but European cities have beenfor long trying to conciliate the need for localinnovation, that creates jobs and economicgrowth, with sustainable development that isfelt on the quality of life of its inhabitants and

While the designation chosen forthe new strategy, Europe 2020,still rings kind of science fictionto most (in the line of titles such

as 2001 Space Odyssey or Space 1999) thegoals it sets are expected to be feasible in reallife. However something has not somethingthat however has not been achieved with itspredecessor, the Lisbon Strategy, with itsmost popular target – a 3% of GDP invest-ment in Science and Research – still far in thehorizon for most Member States. Can suchgoals, such as a 75% employment rate, thereduction of school drop-out rates to less than10% and the same 3% of GDP investment inscience and research, be reached this time?Are they compatible with additional goals ofreducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20%

In the same year as Europeslowly starts to awake from the nightmare of the worsteconomic recession since WWII,the sovereign debt crisis and a troubled process of reformu -lation of institutions, Europekisses goodbye to the missedLisbon Strategy that intended tomake it “the most competitiveeconomy in the world” and setsnew hopeful goals for the presentdecade that should guide ittowards a smart, sustainableand inclusive growth until 2020.


relevance of its approach has been conside-red as a FAST TRACK project by the EuropeanCommission. This means that the initiativesstemming out of the project are given particu-lar priority by the Commission.

The UNIC project aims to enable all Europeancities and regions impacted by the economictransition – from a traditional economy withstrong “heritage” value conveying culturalidentity, to a sustainable innovation economy– to anticipate, prevent and address the eco-nomic, cultural and social consequences ofthese changes. It should also enable them tobegin moving effectively towards a sustaina-ble innovation economy linking research andeducation, economy, culture, social, environ-ment and urban promotion. The project bringstogether local authorities, local stakeholdersand managing authorities responsible for sup-port programmes in 9 European cities. Initially,within its development phase, from April toOctober 2008, it assessed local policies andpractices, in particular towards SMEs. In itsimplementation phase, it will contribute to thedevelopment of Local Action Plans (LAPs) for company support in the regions involved,

using European, national and regional fundingsources. The LAPs have now been formallysigned by the City Mayors and counter-signed by the Commissioner for Regional Policy on the 20th of May 2010 in Brussels,and the cities should now move into imple-mentation of their policy priorities, outside of the UNIC scope and making use of otherCommunity sources of funding, benefitingfrom its “FAST TRACK” label. The signature ofthe Regional Policy Commissioner into thesecities LAPs is also a sign of commitment ofthe European Commission into the implemen-tation of these priorities in these cities.

UNIC is not the only one in this race for findingsmarter, sustainable and inclusive growth models. Other URBACT projects such as ESIMEC (Economic Strategies and Innovationin Medium-sized Cities or CityRegion.Net), addressing the role of cities in integrated regional developments, are also cuttingacross these 3 dimensions of growth in theirquest for new local measures and policies:the sectoral focus of UNIC, grouping towns in which decay of the main industrial sector - ceramics - has at once caused economic recession, left strong unsolved environmental issues and caused social exclusion, forcing cities to address all these issues in parallel,makes it a clear case study for the role that cities may play in the success of Europe 2020strategy.

Is it possible for cities to grow smarter, sustainableand inclusive? The UNICexample“A squalid ugliness on a scale so vast andover powering that it became sublime”.The landscape described in this sentencefrom Arnold Bennett’s 1907 novel “The Deathof Simon Fuge” is none other than Stoke-on-Trent, also known as “The Potteries”, theheart of the UK’s ceramics industry and oneof the 9 cities members of the UNIC Thematic Network, a project looking for innovative waysforward for cities that have grown, economi-cally, culturally and demographically aroundthe ceramics sector.

The vision from Arnold Bennett reflects wellwhat ceramic cities used to be: dirty, uglytowns with a skyline made of chimneys thatcontinuously spewed black smoke to the air.The UNIC project is about what ceramic cities want to be: innovative, dynamic and inclusive cities, that have overcome their economic dependence on a single, and

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The Europe 2020 strategymay have seen its birth thisyear, but European citieshave been for long trying toconciliate the need for localinnovation, that creates jobsand economic growth, with a sustainable developmentthat impacts on the quality of life of its inhabitants, and a permanent fight againstsocial inclusion.

CAN EUROPEAN CITIES ADAPT TO THE EUROPE 2020 CHALLENGES ?

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inevitably declining, traditional sector, whilereinforcing the unique cultural heritage thatsuch a sector has left them with, such as the“Delft blue” color or the luxury image inevitablyassociated with “Porcelaine de Limoges”. Theprincipal challenge will be to put forward thepolicies to be carried out to staunch the decline: to increase “traditional know-how”, to

support new initiatives in innovation, to workon a better match between heritage and inno-vation in order to offer a new image of the ci-ties and thus to reinforce their “attractiveness”while offering living conditions, professionaland personal development perspectives likelyto “gain loyalty” from inhabitants and compa-nies, and also attract new ones. In order to do

so, UNIC cities must build on their competitivefactors, often related with their tradition andheritage to set the context and stimulate thecreation of local knowledge (thus becoming“smarter” cities), namely through intervention– direct or indirect – in 4 areas, as picturedbelow: provision of public space, educatingpeople, creating and disseminating know-ledge and contributing to problem solving forindustry. Public research centres and univer-sities are key players, as they can contributeto all four.

A city that is not able to provide competitiveoffers in the 4 components above will not beable to foster the creation of knowledge, or tobecome smarter, and will lose the possibilityto follow an innovation-led growth path –which is possibly the only sustainable path forgrowth in Europe.

But for a competitive affirmation of cities and regions in a dynamic context, another dimension must also be considered, which is important for the attraction, retention andinclusion of talents (the “City as an inclusivecentre of attraction”), and which are in turnalso vital for knowledge creation: the “inclusion(and retention)” dimension, through interven-tion in another 4 areas: capacity to offer socialand cultural life, affordable housing, appro-priate and universal level of services, and adynamic and attractive “brand” and image.

The two dimensions – “Smarter cities” and“Inclusive cities” – are not absolutely inde-pendent. On the contrary, quite often an inter-vention in one area causes an effect in theother, while some efforts lay in-between thesetwo dimensions. This “grey area” betweenthe two dimensions above-mentioned is in itselfa third dimension for intervention, referred within the scope of the UNIC project as “Inte-grated Urban Approach” that is linked withsustainability actions.All the UNIC cities have already started theirpath towards becoming “smarter”, sustaina-ble, inclusive cities, and the goal of the UNICproject is to help them in going further intothat path, in particular by sharing experiencesand practices and by mutual learning thatcan then be reflected in their local action.

Picture 1 – New knowledge creation dimension (“Becoming smarter cities”)

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The UNIC project is about what Ceramic Cities want to be: innovative, dynamic and inclusivecities, that have overcome their economic dependence on a single, and inevitably decliningtraditional sector, while reinforcing the unique cultural heritage that such a sector has left themwith, such as the “Delft blue” color or the luxury image inevitably associated with “Porcelaine de Limoges”.

Picture 2 – New identity creation dimension (“City as an inclusive centre of attraction”)

PROBLEM-SOLVING FOR

INDUSTRY

CREATING CODIFIABLE KNOWLEDGE

EDUCATINGPEOPLE

PROVIDING PUBLIC SPACE

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• Undergraduates

• Graduates

• Mid-career

• Executive

• Contract researck

• Cooperative research with industry

• Technology licensing

• Faculty consulting

• Providing access to specialized instrumentation andequipment

• Incubation services

• Publications• Patents• Prototypes

• Forming/accessing networks of industry development pathways.

• Influencing the direction of search processes :- Meetings and conferences- Hosting stand-setting forums- Entrepreneurship centers & mentoring programs- Alumni networks- Personnel exchanges (internships, faculty exchanges, etc.)- Industrial liason programs- Visiting committees- Curriculum developmentcommittees

• Creating the built environment to support this

LEVEL OF CITIZEN SERVICES

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

OFFER

PROVIDING AFFORDABLE STANDARDS

OF LIVING

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• Museums

• Cultural life

• Animations

• Exhibitions

• Factory shops

• Education (all levels)

• City services

• Transport and mobility

• E-services

• Subsidies and othersupport schemes

• Heritage

• Tradition

• Differentiation

• Marketing

• Social housing

• Renting market

• Student accommodation

• Utilities costs

• Transport system andcosts

• Employment and salary levels

DYNAMICBRANDING


Creating codifiable knowledge for smarter cities: Limoges “Pôle Européen de la Ceramique”Limoges has set up as a priority tostrengthen its position as the Europeancentre of research on ceramics. Such goal will be pursued with thelaunch, at the end of 2010, of theEuropean Centre of Ceramics (ECC)which will bring together on the samesite (on ESTER Science Park) the ENSCI(National Industrial Ceramics EngineerSchool), the SPCTS laboratory (CeramicProcesses and Surface TreatmentsSciences) and the GEMH Laboratory(Heterogeneous Materials Study Group)and that is expected to become areference for European research in thesector.

How the local action plans of UNIC cities maycontribute to the Europe2020 strategy

The 9 partner cities within UNIC have presen-ted their Local Action Plans, for evolving intoa next dimension in terms of knowledge andinnovation, inclusion and sustainability, in Maythis year. These Local Action Plans are now inthe process of implementation and provide agood illustration of how European cities cancontribute to the Europe 2020 strategy, alongthe 3 dimensions defined for growth, as it canbe seen from the following examples.

The 9 Local Action Plans from the UNIC citiesinclude more than 100 actions intended topromote innovation at local level, strengthenindustry competitiveness, address urban inte-gration of ceramic materia in the city, developthe cities’ cultural and tourism potential andpromote cities’ image.

Some of the actions are already on theground, while others will start to be implemen-ted in the near future, often with resourcesfrom structural funds.

The actions planned by the UNIC partners aimspecifically at the Ceramic sector but oftenhave a broader reach, and include initiativesin sustainability, training and education, culturaland tourism fields with an impact at all levelsof the city life.

The results already achieved confirm thatwhile the challenges are high, and traditionalsectors such as ceramics will need to conti-nue to pursue their innovation path in questfor increased competitiveness, changes inthe cities environment are already visible.

Such visible aspects include the renewal ofseveral streets and public buildings in theSpanish city of Castellón, making use ofenergy efficient ceramic material or materialbuilt from recycled waste, and contributing atthe same time to the technological develop-ment, industry strengthening and sustainable

urban development. Or Stoke-on-Trent andAveiro massive programmes for vocationaltraining of staff made redundant by the shut-down of ceramic factories, with excellent success rates in terms of employment inother sectors. Another example is the Delftdynamic marketing campaign, built aroundthe Delft Blue famous image, that has beencontributing to the attractive image of thetown for tourists as well as students and migrant talents.

Conclusion – yes we can,but the way ahead is definitely challengingThe Europe 2020 strategy offers us a visionwhere knowledge intensive companies de-velop green and sustainable technologies thatcontribute for improving the quality of life ofnot only some, but all or most of Europe’s citizens. For cities such as Limoges, Stoke-on-Trent or Castellón, which until only recentlyhave based their growth on the once polluting,low tech, blue collar “low qualifications andlow wages”, ceramics industry, this meanscoming from a long way back and requires anin-depth transformation process.

Is it challenging? Yes, it is, and for sure some cities will be able to deal with it quicker and withmore success than others. The reassuring partis that such a process has already started,even before the first lines of Europe 2020 strategy have been drafted in Brussels. Projectssuch as UNIC, started in 2008, and other URBACT projects are the clear signs that citiesare committed to innovation and to an urban development and growth as smart, sustainable and inclusive as it possibly comes.The fact that they decide to do it in networks ofcities means that they realise that cooperationand knowledge exchange are the way for all of them to move ahead faster and steadier,which is something that nobody will disagreewith.

Can they do it? In UNIC we believe that, yesthey can, and all the achievements so farpoint in that direction. See you in 2020, as fornow we have work to do. ●

7CAN EUROPEAN CITIES ADAPT

TO THE EUROPE 2020 CHALLENGES ?

iMORE INFORMATION

UNIC project: http://urbact.eu/en/projects/innovation-creativity/unic/homepage/Lead Expert: Eurico [email protected]

Some of the actions arealready on the ground, while others will start to beimplemented in the nearfuture, often with resources from structural funds.

Integrating local industry with artists and residents, for greater inclusion through cultural events: Stoke-on-Trent British CeramicBiennalThe “grey” city of Stoke-on-Trent hascome up with what has become one of the most thrilling events in Britishvivid cultural life: The British CeramicsBiennal, a cultural but also economicevent organised every two years at “the Potteries”. This event, described byThe Guardian newspaper as “althoughthe current climate discourages daring, a sign that the will and potential are stillpresent in the Potteries” is not only ashowroom for local ceramic companies,but also an opportunity for craftsmen,artisans and individual designers tomainstream their work close to the greatpublic and larger companies and thuscontribute to their economic inclusion.

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STEPS TOWARDS INCLUSIVE GROWTH:LESSONS FOR THE RECOVERY

BY GILL SCOTTLEAD EXPERT OF THE WEED THEMATIC NETWORK

Growth and sustainability

The economic crisis of the last two years hascoincided with growing demands to exploreinnovative ways of developing jobs and enter-prises across Europe. At a time when no sector is exempt from job losses identifyingwhere new jobs might occur or could be en-couraged for a post crisis future is an impor-tant strategy. Essential features of the postLisbon Europe 2020 strategy highlight theneed for an increasing focus on greener jobsand enterprises as well as a service sectorwhere innovation is encouraged: a very reaso-nable idea when the OECD estimates thatthe value of the environmental goods andservice sector could increase to just underUSD 800 billion by 2015 (OECD 2009). Forthe first time, however, Europe’s new strategyfor 2020 also has the objective of ensuringgrowth is ‘inclusive’. Part of the reason for thisis that not all countries or localities can createsufficient jobs in green and service sectors.And even if they could, the problem of alreadymarginalized groups of workers as well aslarge numbers of unskilled workers who havebeen thrown out of work from constructionand other labour intensive sectors would notbe addressed in a strategy focused on smartknowledge intensive sectors or green indus-tries. A strategy of inclusive growth is needed.

Inclusion as key

Social inclusion strategy is obviously not justabout generating employment and gettingthe labour market right. It is also about redres-sing inequalities through, for example, pen-sions, health care, housing, benefits and, justnow, about making sure the crisis does not becomea catalyst for increasing social exclusion1. Nevertheless the economic stra-tegy can play a strong part in redressing thepattern of inequalities and in opening uproutes into a different quality of enterpriseand work. Poverty and inequality as a whole

Inequalities and poverty mar the experience of urban living for many:it is a matter of concern for economic as well as social growth.Finding the tools and measures that can be used to create inclusiveand sustainable jobs and enterprises with social as well as economicobjectives is crucially important if inequalities are to be overcome andthe well-being of city residents promoted. Innovative ways of thinkingabout enterprise creation as a route out of the current economic crisisas well as new measures to safeguard workers and prevent labourmarket rigidities that can hold back progress mark an important focusfor several URBACT projects working in the field of human capitaland entrepreneurship. This paper explores the lessons URBACTpartner cities can provide about how municipalities, local economicdevelopment agencies and other local stakeholders can develop amore sustainable, inclusive and innovative way of thinking and living.

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remain features of Europe, often linked to lowpay, the gender pay gap, racism, low skills, limited professional training opportunities, andprecarious employment 2. They are featuresthat are costly for individuals but also for localeconomies. For example, whilst immigrationoffers clear benefits to cities, immigrants oftenremain more exposed to long-term unem-ployment and social exclusion, as well aspoorer working conditions and temporaryemployment 3. To take another example, women are now, more than ever, directly exposed as employees and business ownersto the impact of the current recession. Yet itis not just women who lose out: their earningshave become significant for the economy andthe well being of families and the cities inwhich they live 4. The need for effective policy is underlinedwhen there is increasing evidence that eventhe policies that have been developed areunder threat, because they are seen as tooexpensive at a time of economic crisis 5 andtoo risky for new business finance. The 2020strategy is to be welcomed if it represents a EUview that inequalities are a matter of concernfor economic as well as social growth and if it results in what the OECD would also like to see- “a new approach to employment and skills…tied much closer to the longer-term eco nomicdevelopment of our local communities andthe competitiveness of national economies. 6”

Facilitating access to jobs,and supporting the creationof jobsIt is not just a question of access to jobs andskills. A positive and supportive environmentfor creating jobs and growing firms is also es-sential. It is increasingly new and small firms,rather than large ones, that are the major pro-viders of new jobs: there are some 23 millionSMEs in the EU, providing around 75 millionjobs and accounting for 99% of all enterprises.But how can enterprises become strongerand more robust in the face of recession?How can the factors that restrict the growthof SMEs in Europe 7 be overcome at a timewhen new types of enterprises, including social enterprises, desperately need to beencouraged 8; how can ignored sectors ofenterprise efficiently contribute to the econo-mic recovery? In this article we examine howURBACT partners can contribute to the deve-lopment of policy.

A local challenge?

In the recession, economic developmentagencies, both public and private are beingforced to think more creatively about how

to facilitate connections and partnerships. Ifthey don’t then the loss of momentum couldprolong an already slow and difficult recovery.But where should such action take place?The recent report on Cities and the Crisisproduced by the URBACT Programme high-lights the complex and varied impact of andresponses to the challenges presented bythe economic crisis but also argues stronglythat “cities and local governments are on the front line of the economic crisis, in terms of itsimpact on people, businesses and places”.9

It highlights in similar ways to the Young Foun-dation10 and the OECD-LEED reports 11 that local employment and enterprise develop-ment have a vital role to play in developingroutes out of the economic crisis. It is a rolewhich some authorities have already institutedalongside measures such as a living wagestrategy to reduce the impact of the crisis onthe most vulnerable in the labour market butwhich needs further development12.

Key questions for any city

The influence of economic developmentagencies is no doubt limited when it comes torestructuring industry, strengthening consu-mer demand, reducing labour market rigiditiesand opening up credit. Nevertheless muchmore can be done at local level. Some keyquestions that URBACT networks and otherspursuing economic growth and social inclu-sion at local level include: - What can cities do to support new and existing enterprises and at the same time aspromote the interests of employees in theface of the recession? - What can cities do to ensure that newgrowth opportunities have a social as well aseconomic impact? - How can labour market rigidities that lead to an underuse of the skills of women and mi-grants be reduced?

What can cities do to support new and existingenterprises? According to the URBACT Cities and the Crisis study the impact of the recession onbusiness and employment varies considera-bly between cities; appearing to be leastwhere the local economy is based on SMEsoperating locally. A major question now faced

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Supporting enterprising WomAn: Woman EmprendeProgrammeDespite the fact that the majority ofuniversity female students have receivedtheir education in the area of Technolo -gical and Experimental Science in theUniversity of Santiago de Compostela,the skills of female graduates is seldomtransferred into entrepreneurial initiatives.Barriers facing them include poor accessto technology and support as well asdifficulties in balancing work and family.

The Women Emprende project addressesthese issues. It is based in the Universityand receives municipal support. It focuseson the establishment of entrepreneurialventures that take into consideration the specific characteristics of women.The programme offers a variety ofsupports – knowledge up dating, accessto University technology, developmentof support structures for workingmothers, entrepreneurial training. Thesehave resulted in greater visibility andrelevance of female entrepreneurshipwithin the institution itself and a greaternumber of female entrepreneurs.Some examples of companies createdby women at the University of Santiagoare Estudio Adumbro, whose functionsare to manage and take care of theprojected image of a product, service,project or company and GalChimia, aleading Spanish company in the area ofSynthetic Organic Chemistry. Galchimawas constituted by four Doctors ofChemistry and they expect to have a turnover of 5 million Euros by 2011.

Contact: [email protected]://www.womanemprende.org/

Economic strategy can play a strong part in redressing thepattern of inequalities and in opening up routes into a differentquality of enterprise and work.

STEPS TOWARDS INCLUSIVE GROWTH

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examined by the new URBACT network ofESIMEC (Economic Strategies and Innovationin Medium Sized Cities). The network is exa-mining ‘how integrated and flexible workforcedevelopment strategies that simultaneouslytackle the demand and supply side of the labour market are a prerequisite of sustainableeconomic prosperity’. Strategies that partnercities are developing include better apprenti-ceship opportunities and upskilling of the un -employed in line with the needs of employers.It is an approach that the OECD LEED Pro-gramme also supports.It is important that communities use the current situation to build a better partnershipwith employers to better use skills and buildmeaningful career ladders that support pro-gression for the lower-skilled.15

Can cities help new growthopportunities to have a social as well as economicimpact? In relatively rich societies like Europe, there arestrong arguments to suggest that long-termcompetitiveness is more likely to come fromsectors which focus on the quality of life andthe environment than simply a return to theconsumption-led speculative patterns of thepast. The URBACT Network of Social Enter-prise (Urban N.O.S.E) led by Gela is exploringhow to create social economy incubators thatdo this. The experiences of its partner cities arevaried. Some have concentrated on buildingand developing social incubators throughcheaper access to premises (La Poussada inGrenoble), others to public private support forsocial enterprises that can grow to providebetter health and social care services. The contribution that social enterprise canmake to social and economic aims is evidentonce we realise that the type of new employ-ment created by social enterprises often favours individuals who may have difficultymoving between localities to find jobs and a higher quality of life. It also often favours women. An exploration of social enterprise bythe URBACT Women, Enterprise and Econo-

by cities is how to maintain and develop thesupport that will encourage and sustain SMEactivities.Cities involved in the WEED project haveshown that making micro finance more gender-sensitive can be done effectively and withlong-term positive effect on business sustai-nability. In Celje, Slovenia, it has been foundthat investing in a strong integrated system ofsupport for women entrepreneurs, includingmicro finance and longer term mentoring, hasa positive impact for start up and businessgrowth. Similar programmes for women inCanada demonstrate that loan funding com-bined with integrated support regularly increases revenues by a factor of 20 13. TheURBACT MILE project showed that integra-ted support could be developed into some-thing that is trusted by small ethnic minoritybusinesses and also explored how businesscreation can be used as both a tool and stra-tegy for integrating an immigrant populationinto a society and labour market 14. Suchexamples highlight that attention to inclusiveentrepreneurship is possible and offers poten-tial for growth and new, more strategic routesout of the economic crisis.Other ways of improving local economic resi-lience besides enterprise creation are being

Developing Social Enterprises: Brighton andHove Recycling ProjectBrighton & Hove’s experience of develo ping the “Wood RecyclingProject” provides valuable lessons inhow social enterprises develop andchange. Set up in 1998, in response tothe lack of recycling and re-use facilitiesfor wood waste in the Brighton area, it was the first organisation of its kind to exist in the UK. The project saveswaste and resources; it also generatesemployment and has created a successfulself-financing business model withenvironmental and social aims. The core organization in Hove now has 6 fulltime members of staff and 20 long-termworker trainee volunteers. It has,moreover, used its experience andmodel to help establish the NationalCommunity Wood Recycling Projectwhich comprises over 25 socialenterprises across the UK, providing in2009-2010 some 8000 days of trainingand volunteering for some of the mostdisadvantaged.

Contact: Alasdair Walmsley,[email protected]

mic Development project (WEED) highlighteda range of examples of how this can be achie-ved. One of these was the PAN project in Italy.The PAN Project was born in 2004 with theobjective to generate within three years atleast 5,000 new places for children in daynurseries as a response to significant regionaldifferences and lack of childcare. PAN is aconsortium of social enterprises. It offers plan-ning and start-up assistance to organisationsand people interested in establishing newtypes of services for children in the form of so-cial enterprises and also offers financial toolsdesigned. Between 2004-2008 PAN suc-cessfully built 140 new infant schools with4,311 available places and 943 new jobs, largely for women - a major development byanybody’s standards.

Other examples can be found in the areas ofrecycling as well as health and social care.The ‘More than Profit’ network in Brightonwas developed when it was realised that social enterprises already contributes signifi-cantly to the local economy and local employ-ment. It provides advice, events, facilitatespartnerships and business support towardsmore robust, sustainable enterprises thatmeet social needs, regenerate communitiesand minimise environmental impact.

Examples such as these offer evidence ofsocial as well as economic impact of intelli-gent and socially aware investment. They alsooffer valuable lessons that can be applied elsewhere, although it has to be admittedthat there is still much to be learned when itcomes to effectively measuring such impact.There is a growing awareness, for example,that counting new jobs does not create suffi-cient accountability for how money is spent.We still need more work on how to develop a clearer understanding of the overall impactsof enterprises, whether they are social or private16 if social as well as economic inequa-lities are to be addressed.

How can labour market rigidities that lead to an underuse of the skills of women and migrants be reduced?

This final question is one that a number ofURBACT projects have addressed, includingOpen Cities, MILE and WEED. They focus onways of ensuring that women and migrantsare not faced with unnecessary barriers toemployment and are not more exposed to thecold wind of the recession.

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The lessons emerging atlocal level provide a valuablereminder that social andeconomic strategies can be developed together andwith positive impact for all.


Integration measures for immigrant workers: StartCoaching START WIENOne of Open Cities partners, Vienna,has developed as part of its diversityagenda a programme for integrating newmigrants from third country citizenshipinto the city’s labour force. The ‘StartWien Integration Programme’ is one ofthe key integration initiatives which hasbeen in place since October 2008. Itaims to help newcomers make a goodstart in the city, and was developed bythe Integration and Diversity Departmentof the municipality in collaboration with NGOs in the field and all relevantdepartments. It covers welcome policies,housing, education and health informationpackages; as well as mother–tongueorientation meetings focused on thelabour market. Vienna’s integrationpolicy follows a clear concept based ontransparent rules for immigration andintegration. It focuses on a set of tailor-made integration measures for newlyarrived immigrants and specific targetgroups such as women and youngsters17. Between October 2008 and June2010 more than 5,000 immigrants werehelped by the project. Its annual budgetis 640,000 EUR.

Contact: MA 17, Karin Konig,[email protected]

Open Cities is exploring which strategies workbest for attracting, retaining and developingworkers in a way that suits the economic andsocial demands of particular environments. Its work is based on the idea that an effectiveagenda around diversity, integration and inclu-sion offers a real and tangible asset to a city.It is more than a social inclusion issue sincediversity can offer labour pool advantages,

talent attraction, creation of new markets andthe ability to attract international firms.

Cities involved in the MILE project also deve-loped a range of strategies that highlight theimportance of coordinated responses to localsituations. As part of its work in the MILEproject, Venice explored, within an ESF project,new tools for the inclusion of migrant womenin the labour market. In Turin, a pilot schemewas developed to reach young people frommigrant communities including the develop-ment of an INFOBUS: a mobile informationservice carrying information on vocational training, employment, job and educationalopportunities to excluded youth in the areaswhere they live 17.

The lessons from WEED partners focus farmore on ways that women can access jobsthat pay and on measures that can be takento make work less gendered. Umeå, one ofWEED’s partner cities, identified how munici-palities can make a positive contribution to labour market rigidities. Amongst their effortswas the municipally-based Attraktiv arbets-plats på lika villkor project 18. The project focu-sed on recruiting more men to a traditionallywoman dominated profession as well as im-proving the conditions for the (largely female)employees in the mealtime service. The mainwas to develop and thereby improve the sta-tus of the profession. It used gender equalityas a method for developing the work organi-sation and the profession and through trainingand recruitment tried new approaches to workduties. It resulted in more men employed in themunicipally funded mealtime service and better conditions for all: the model is being extended to other sectors of the municipalities’employment.

Conclusion

Nobody expects initiatives such as those listed above to transform the rigidities of locallabour markets or the problems of entrepre-neurs but by highlighting possibilities and dis-seminating the positive impacts of changethe potential for greater change at local andwider level can be promoted. We know that itwill be some time before economic activityand employment gets back to pre-recessionlevels. We also know that returns to enterpriseand returns in the form of increased wages foremployment are likely to be affected for sometime. In such an environment it is even moreimportant than before the recession to explorenew ways of encouraging enterprise for thelong-term and for the social good as well asdeveloping measures to ensure that the least

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iMORE INFORMATION

WEED project: http://urbact.eu/en/projects/human-capital-entrepreneur-ship/weed/homepage/Lead Expert: Gill [email protected]

powerful in the labour market do not suffer adisproportionate impact of the recession. Thetype of solutions being explored as part of theURBACT networks and highlighted here provide a reminder that much can be done at local level as well as that much has still to be learnt. Innovation and partnership do nothave to disappear and the lessons emergingat local level provide a valuable reminder that social and economic strategies can be developed together and with positive impactfor all. ●

(1) European Anti Poverty Network (2009) Social Cohesion at Stake: the Social Impact of the Crisis and Recovery Package.

(2) EUROPE 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainableand inclusive growth.

(3) OECD (2006), From Immigration to Integration: Local Solutions to a Global Challenge

(4) G Scott (2009) Developing an Urban Agenda for female Entrepreneurship During The EconomicDownturn. URBACT Tribune

(5) Seguino, S. (2009) The gender perspectives of the financial crisis. Submission to the United NationsCommission on the Status of Women

(6) Froy, F. & Giguere, S. (2009) Putting in Place jobsthat last: a guide to re-building sustainable employmentat local level. OECD

(7) Commission of the European Communities (2003)Entrepreneurship in Europe: Green Paper

(8) Nyssens, M. (2006) Social Enterprise, LondonRoutledge

(9) URBACT (2010) Cities and the Economic Crisis :Summary of the Impact and responses of URBACT IIcities

(10) The Young Foundation (2009) Fixing the Future Innovating more effective responses to recession

(11) Froy,F. & Giguere,S. (2009) op cit.

(12) Greater London Authority, The 2010 Living Wage in London

(13) Scarlett,T. (2010) Women’s Enterprise Initiative: Generating Significant Economic Impacts in WesternCanada. Alberta Women’s Entrepreneurs Association.

(14) Guidow,Y; Ramsden, P; Saad, H. (2008) Developing Action Plans for Operational Programmes:Enterprise Development for Migrants and Ethnic Minorities.

(15) Froy, F. & Giguere, S. (2009) op cit

(16) See NEF’s publication Hitting the target, missing the point for a discussion of why social as well as economic impact assessment is important

(17) See OPENCities Workshop Report: Thematic Workshop Three, Poznan, Poland, 2010

(18) MILE Second Action Plan Synthesis report

(19) WEED Thematic Workshop: Empowering women in the workplace. Case Study Compendium: Supplement to WEED Action Learning Set 2 Report

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URBAN HOTSPOT 2.0THE CHALLENGE OF INTEGRATING KNOWLEDGE HUBS IN THE CITY

Knowledge hubs come back to the city

Science parks have long been the most visible‘addresses’ of the knowledge economy. Citiesand universities have invested in them for anumber of reasons: to commercialize acade-mic research, to create knowledge-intensivejobs, or as a means to express a cities’ rea-diness for the knowledge economy. Cam-bridge Science Park (established by TrinityCollege in 1970), can be considered as themother of all science parks. It is the UK's oldest and most prestigious science park. Inthe 1980s, the science park concept becamewidespread, and currently, there are 123 uni-versity-based science parks in the US, 46 inthe UK and more than 200 in Asia. Scienceparks typically focus on ‘beta’ sciences andtechnology, ranging from basic science to

Cities all over Europe are developing ‘knowledge hotspots’:physical concentrations of knowledge-intensive or creative activity.They come in many disguises: science parks, technology parks,creative districts, design quarters, etc. Well-known examples are the Cambridge Science Park, Barcelona’s @22 district, or Helsinki’sArabianranta area. Increasingly, such hotspots are being developedinside the city rather than at sub-urban Greenfield sites. This makestheir development highly complex. A key challenge for cities is todeal with the many conflicting interests, and to integrate knowledgehubs in the city. How do European cities deal with these challenges?Which problems do they face, and how do they tackle them? This article draws on experience gained in the REDIS project, thatunites 8 cities that are developing knowledge hubs and seek waysto integrate them optimally in the city. The project has fuelled and inspired local debates, through an in-depth ‘peer review’ method, in which the local stakeholdersexposed themselves to constructive criticism of the partner cities.

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BY WILLEM VAN WINDENLEAD EXPERT OF THE REDIS THEMATIC NETWORK

Dublin

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applied science to product development andsometimes even manufacturing.

In the last decade, new types of ‘knowledgehubs’ were developed, around emerging thematic fields beyond science and techno-logy. Notably the ‘creative industries’ havebeen discovered as promising growth sector,and consequently, many cities have develo-ped a wide variety of hotspots to facilitatethem. In the 1990s, Manchester was early todevelop a ‘creative quarter’, adjacent to thecity centre. Other prominent frontrunners arethe Art&Design city in Helsinki, and Barcelona’s@22 district, in which two hundred hectaresof industrial land were transformed into an innovative district. Other cities are carryingout comparable concepts for creative indus-tries or more specific branches like media,design, fashion etc.

Although the thematic focus is different, thereare similarities between these new knowledgehubs and the more ‘traditional’ science parksdescribed above. The economic developmentmotives for investing in creative quarters aresimilar: Local governments invest in this typeof concepts in the hope to create new jobs,to gain a reputation as ‘knowledge city’ and toattract the creative class. Typically, universitiesand other knowledge institutes are involved inthe development, and hope to commercialisetheir research. Many have also incubation facilities, start-up support, and seek to deve-lop local networking as a means to promoteinnovation.

But there are major differences as well, espe-cially from an urban development perspective.Unlike science parks, the creative hubs don’tlook like mono-functional business parks.They are typically located in city centres and/orregenerated industrial areas, and have a moreurban and lively ambience that fits the needsof the type of people who work there. The tenants - design firms, architect agencies,media companies, etc. – prefer environmentswith a distinct and urban identity. Their work

culture is far away from the 9-17 mentality,and work and life are mixed up in time andspace. People in these industries think interms of projects rather than employers; thereare many freelancers working temporary together, and they use public facilities (barsetc) as meeting places. They are often deeplyinvolved in cultural production and consump-tion, and thrive in a lively and diverse urbanenvironment.

Given this distinctly ‘urban’ orientation, policy-makers have come to embrace the creativeindustries not only as promising growth indus-try but also as a catalyst for the urban rege-neration. All over Europe and the US, worn-outindustrial sites have been transformed into lively creative factories – often with substantialpublic sector support –, and have certainlycontributed to the regeneration of many citiesand districts. It is not only about physical regeneration: urban knowledge hubs are oftendeveloped with explicit social regenerationobjectives in mind.

Thus, ‘new generation’ knowledge hubs areincreasingly being developed as part of the urban fabric rather than outside town, andthey tend be more mixed in term of functions.Interestingly, this is not only true for hotspotsfor creative industries. There are several recent examples of technology-oriented urban know ledge quarters. The city of New-castle (UK), member of the REDIS-network, is developing a large science quarter in theheart of the city (see box). In Dortmund (Germany), a second generation technologyhub ‘Phoenix’ is being developed as full partof a new urban neighbourhood, includinghousing and leisure functions (see http://www.phoenix-dortmund.de/)

The shift from the isolated campus model tointegrated approaches has brought know-ledge-based development to the heart of Europe’s cities. This ‘urban turn’ is a manifes-tation of a more general re-appreciation of cities. Knowledge workers increasingly preferto work in a nice and lively working environ-ment that offers amenities and facilitiesbeyond just office and lab space, and whereconsumption opportunities are more widelyavailable (Florida, 2002; Glaeser, “Consumercity, 2010”). There is pressure on firms and research institutes to meet these demands:skilled knowledge workers have become ascarce commodity, and there is severe com-petition to lure them. One of the ways to doit is to offer a very attractive working environ-ment that includes facilities for leisure andshopping.

The challenge of integrationThe development of an ‘urban’ knowledgehub is a complex challenge. Many stakehol-ders play a role, with different interests: know-ledge institutes, housing corporations, neigh-bourhood councils, real estate developers,local government departments, etc. New urbanknowledge hubs are places where these different (and often conflicting) interests fighttheir battles. They are also places where thenew economy merges with the old, wherenew ‘elitist’ knowledge workers mix with theindigenous inhabitants, and where new archi-tecture and structures blend with the existingurban fabric.

A major challenge for cities is to handleconflicts of interest, and, in the end, to inte-grate knowledge hubs in the city in a sustai-nable way. Based on experience gained in theREDIS-project, we distinguish three dimensionsof integration: physical, social, and economic. Economic integration refers to the links bet-ween the knowledge hotspot and the localeconomy. Does the new development gene-rate jobs for locals or people in adjacentneighbourhood, or only for the ‘creative class’

Unlike science parks, the creative hubs don’t look like mono-functionalbusiness parks.

Newcastle Science CentralThe city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK) is an example. Over the last years, the city has successfully transformed its industrial image, through heavy investments in cultureand flagship architecture. The city’s next ambition is to become a significant ‘city ofknowledge’ in the UK. Among other things, Newcastle is developing a large ‘sciencequarter’ at a former brewery site in the city centre. To realise this ambition, the CityCouncil works together with the University of Newcastle and ONE Northeast, the regionaldevelopment company for the Northeast of England. The partners have the intention totransform the brewery site into a new mixed-used central district, focused on attractingand developing world-class knowledge and business in science and technology.

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coming from elsewhere? To what extent doesthe new knowledge hub offer interesting newbusiness perspectives for firms in the area, i.e.services firms, cafés, restaurants? Can localfirms use new facilities to be developed there?Are local firms involved in the project develop-ment process?

Social integration refers to the social benefitsof a new hub for inhabitants of the area andthe city at large. Will it generate relevant jobopenings for locals, or educational opportuni-ties for adults and children? Are there linkswith local schools? How is the developmentaffecting the social fabric of the neighbour -hood? To what extent will the developmentlead a process of gentrification, which maydrive up prices of real estate and replace poorinhabitants with more wealthy ones? To whatextent can the new facilities be used for localcommunity activities? In what ways are citi-zens involved in the development stages ofthe project? Do ordinary citizens benefit fromthe development of the knowledge hub?

Physical integration, finally, is about how thearchitecture and urban design of the know-ledge hub fit with the urban surrounding. Towhat extent does the architecture connectwith the design of adjacent areas? Are effortsmade to preserve signallers of local identitylike industrial heritage, or landmark buildings?How ‘open’ is the design in terms of accessfor citizens and pass-byers, or are there bar-riers that prevent such access? Is the hub de-veloped as a fully accessible part of the city,or rather as a closed design that intends tokeep people out who don’t live or work there?

Figure 1 shows the three dimensions. A key aspect in the figure is governance and parti-cipation of stakeholders in the developmentprocess. The figure can be seen as a checklistfor policy-makers as to how closely newknowledge hubs are integrated in the city.

Examples from European citiesCities all over Europe are struggling to inte-grate knowledge hubs in the urban fabric,each with its own particular approaches andissues. To illustrate this, below, we briefly pre-sent two different cases. The first is Magde-burg, where efforts are undertaken to ‘embed’the university campus in its surroundings. Thesecond is Dublin, where a new knowledgehub is being developed as part of a disadvan-taged neighbourhood. Each case highlightsdifferent aspects of integration.

k MagdeburgIn the German city of Magdeburg, lead partnerin the REDIS-network, a key challenge is toalign the interests of the university with that ofthe city. The city is redeveloping an old inlandport area that is no longer in use as a port intoa ‘Science port’. Some old warehouses areturned into ‘knowledge factories’ housingknowledge intensive firms, and new premiseswere built as well. The new Science Port liesnext to university campus, so in principle, thetwo can merge into one single knowledgequarter. In practice, however, it proves not easyto integrate both areas physically and functio-nally. For one thing, a busy road separates thetwo areas from each other. For another, the

university is mainly concerned with its owncampus area, and does not see many bene-fits in strategic co-operation with the develo-pers of the Science Port next door (similarproblems occur in many other European cities).Recently, an urban plan was commissioned,envisioning a physically integration of the twoareas. Rather than a ‘ghetto for boffins’, thearea is to become an open area also for citi-zens and tourists. Citizens should knowwhat’s happening in the area, they should recognize it as a new economic pillar of theircity. Public spaces in the area are designed towelcome to residents and tourists, and theamenities – bars, restaurants – are open toeveryone. The nearby Elbe River is an impor-tant asset, and it is hoped that with the newurban plan, the Science Port area may be-come an attractive spot to enjoy river viewsand leisure activity. That would draw morepeople into the area, making it livelier andmore mixed, which in turn may enhance theattractiveness for knowledge workers andhigh-tech firms as well.

It is not only about urban planning. The cityalso uses events as a tool to involve citizensmore in the knowledge economy. Each yearthe city organises the ‘long night of science’,during which labs and knowledge institutesopen to the public; there are all kinds ofworkshops, exhibitions and shows related toinnovation and science. The event is very po-pular, drawing thousands of visitors. It clearlysignals that knowledge and science need notbe something abstract and obscure, but canlead to interesting new products that makesense in daily life; also it reflects hopes for anew economic future of the city.

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Figure 1 : Integration of knowledge hotspots in the urban fabric: three dimensions

Dublin

Business participation

Governance

Physical integration

Economic integration

Social integration

Preserving identity/heritage

Transport connections

Open architecture

Open infrastructures

Meeting places

Services for locals

Educational opportunities

Business expansion for local SMEs

User-based innovation

Now jobs for locals

Citizen participation


Dublin’s Digital Hub.

Aerial view of the Science Port, Magdeburg.

k Dublin Dublin is another example where integration isa central issue. Since 2000, the ‘Digital Hub’is being developed. It is a dedicated cluster ofICT and new media firms, located in a distres-sed neighbourhood, at the premises of thewell-known Guinness-brewery. The old officesand buildings have been upgraded and refur-bished, and made ready to house ICT andmedia companies, thanks to contributions ofthe city and the national government. Theambition is to develop the area as a world-class knowledge cluster for ICT and new me-dia firms. The Hub should become a symbolfor Dublin’s economic transition. Meanwhile,84 companies have located in the Hub,among which big names like Google andFrance Telecom. The Digital Hub is located onthe edge of Dublin’s city centre, in a distres-sed neighbourhood named The Liberties. Thisis a typical blue-collar working class area forthe workers of the Guinness brewery. Overthe last decades, the Liberties area has beenin decay. It suffers from a high unemploymentrate, educational levels are low, and crimerates are relatively high.

To manage the different conflicting interests in the area, the state created a special deve-lopment organisation - the Digital Hub Deve-lopment Agency (DHDA). This organisationacquired the land, and was assigned to deve-lop a concept for the area and to make dealswith private developers for the developmentof commercial functions (retail, housing). Fromthe outset, the government did not want theDigital Hub to become an ‘elitist island’ in themiddle of a deprived area, and therefore tookseveral measures to link the Hub with its sur-roundings. One of the key ambitions has beento make the residents benefit from the hub aswell. The idea to explicitly link the Hub with theLiberties area emerged in a consultation process with the main stakeholders. A ‘Com-munity-Public-Private-Partnership’ (CPPP)was set up before the start of the develop-ment. Residents could express their wishesand ideas, which resulted in a set of conditionsand guidelines for the development process.

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A major challenge for citiesis to handle conflicts ofinterest and, in the end, tointegrate knowledge hubs inthe city in a sustainable way.

URBAN HOTSPOT 2.0

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Private developers commit themselves tocomply with these guidelines. In particular, allstakeholders signalled the importance of trai-ning and education as a link between the Digital Hub and the Liberties area. The DigitalHub Development Agency (DHDA) has signedagreements with 16 schools in the area. Itprovides training sessions on ICT and newmedia, typically in co-operation with tenantsof the Digital Hub. Moreover, it organises excursions for schoolchildren to the Hub, andduring holiday breaks, it offers all kinds ofworkshops, for example on making rap songsusing digital technologies.

Smart participation is keyClearly, there are no blueprints for an ‘optimal’integration of knowledge hubs, as their deve-lopment is highly context-specific. But in anycase, stakeholder management is essential,and needs to go beyond the ‘traditional’ ap-proach of informing and consulting citizens inthe masterplanning process. The transforma-tional aspects of large knowledge-driven urbandevelopment plans ask for a deeper involve-ment approach, that does not only addressthe spatial and physical aspects of the deve-lopment, but also the functional and concep-tual linkages between the new knowledgehub and the city. Participation should not beorganised as an occasional confrontation ofprofessional planners with ordinary citizensor business owners in the design stage only,but as a continuing dialogue.

This may benefit the knowledge quarter inseveral ways, and contributes to its physicaland functional integration in the city as a

whole. Also, a smart participation approachincreases the acceptance of knowledge hubsthat would otherwise be considered by manyresidents as elitist urban enclaves to whichthey have no relation.It is advisable to set up structures in whichstakeholders are represented from the outset.They serve as arenas where conflicting inte-rests are addressed at an early stage, andwhere creative solutions can be developed.As in the case of Dublin, the process maylead to a set of ‘development guidelines’ thatreflects (or reconciles) the different interestsand ambitions.

In practice, some topics or conceptual areascould be identified in which participation is li-kely to add value: examples are the temporaryuse of the development site, or the potentiallinks between science/technology and citi-zen’s daily lives. To generate and elaborateideas, working groups could be created, in-volving community representatives, relevantuniversity researchers, civil officers and mem-bers of the delivery organization, and fundingshould be made available to put the ideas intopractice.

Conclusion remarks

In the evolving knowledge economy, the com-petitiveness of Europe’s cities will depend ontheir ability to provide lively and attractive environments for knowledge creation and exchange. Many European realise this, andinvest substantially in the development of urban ‘knowledge hubs’ of all sorts. Old in-dustrial estates are transformed into fancycreative factories or knowledge quarters; theold ‘suburban’ model of greenfield campusdevelopment is getting out of fashion.

Will these new urban areas develop as ‘elitist’and stand-alone enclaves for the happy crea-tive class, or can they be made part of the cityat large and benefit other citizens as well?Many cities go for the latter option, for goodreasons. But the challenges and questionsthey face are numerous. How to deal withtensions between the original inhabitants andthe incoming ‘creative class’ in a particulararea? How to open opportunities for peopleand firms to benefit from the new develop-ments? How to deal with the tension betweenopenness and security? How to find and ma-nage real fruitful interactions between theknowledge hub and its surrounding?

This paper has conceptualised the issue, andprovided some case studies, but much morecan be said and learned about this emergingissue. More research and exchange is neededto assess the effectiveness of policy inter-ventions, and to discover the conditions un-der which ‘integration’ can succeed in varyingcircumstances and contexts. A promising approach - adopted in REDIS - is to combinestate-of-the-art research with ‘deep’ interna-tional policy exchange, in which not only policy-makers are involved but also other localstakeholders. ●

(1) Detailed information can be found at http://urbact.eu/en/projects/innovation-creativity/redis/homepage/

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The competitiveness ofEurope’s cities will dependon their ability to providelively and attractiveenvironments for knowledgecreation and exchange.

iMORE INFORMATION

REDIS project: http://urbact.eu/en/projects/innovation-creativity/redis/homepage/

Lead Expert: Willem van [email protected]

Magdeburg Water Bridge.

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ESIMeC (Economic Strategies andInnovation in MEdium-sized Cities) –led by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council – will help medium-

sized cities cope better with the challenges ofsustainable economic development, particu-larly in an economic downturn. More specifi-cally it will explore how demand-led workforcedevelopment strategies can be used as aninstrument of sustainable economic recoveryin medium sized cities.

Activities already being developed and delive-red by cities throughout the EU can be usedto identify some of the key challenges in this

field and draw key lessons for city policy ma-kers. Work carried out by the OECD LEEDGroup (Organisation for Economic Coopera-tion and Development, Local Employmentand Economic Development Forum) and URBACT’s own study into the local impact ofthe crisis (April 2010) 1, demonstrates that in-tegrated and flexible workforce develop-ment strategies that simultaneously tacklethe demand and supply side of the labourmarket are a prerequisite of sustainableeconomic prosperity.

An adaptable workforce for local economic stabilityAccording to the OECD “workforce develop-ment” is a term used to describe activitieswhich increase the capacity of individuals toparticipate in, and contribute effectively to,employment, either through training or otherforms of public assistance. The OECD LEEDForum report “Putting in place jobs whichlast: A guide to rebuilding sustainable em-ployment at local level” 1, argues that localitieswith a labour force able to adapt to externaltrends and shocks are more likely to recoverquickly and absorb the impact of future eco-nomic crises. It states that alongside business

interventions “countries need to be laying the foundations for a more sustainable econo-mic future”. It goes on to advocate “…a new approach to employment and skills… tiedmuch closer to the longer term economic development of local communities and thecompetitiveness of national economies”.

At the same time, the economy is changing.In the new knowledge economy, people areour main economic asset. If they do nothave the right mix of skills, or are not suffi-ciently flexible to adapt to economic change,then the economy will not be able to respondto the needs of new and growing sectorssuch as green technologies and social andhealth care.

In simple terms demand-led workforce deve-lopment is where the training provided to theworkforce (the supply of labour) is designed tomeet the ongoing skills needs of employers(on the demand side). This is the win-winsustainable employment scenario that citiesacross Europe strive to achieve. To do soworkforce development strategies must eitherbe driven by, or at the very least must engage,employers during development and delivery.Strategies must also tackle the supply side.

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A FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE FORLOCAL ECONOMIC RESILIENCEBY ALISON PARTRIDGELEAD EXPERT OF THE ESIMeC THEMATIC NETWORK

Cities across the EU haveexperienced a period of hugeeconomic volatility with massivejob losses and rising unemploy -ment. Many have introduceddedicated economic recoverypackages and there is growingacceptance that demand-ledworkforce development is a keyingredient for sustainableeconomic growth.

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Learning from the pastMany cities have focused on workforce deve-lopment as a route out of the recession. Whilethis is not a new concept, it is one that conti-nues to be difficult to get right. This article looksat a few examples of attempts to solve thispuzzle.

Back in 1998 Workforce Investment Boards3

(WIBs) in the US started to play a central rolein creating more integrated strategies to ad-dress employment and skills within broadereconomic development strategies locally.There are 650 WIBs across the US, at stateand local level. They are led by business,chaired by business and have a majority bu-siness membership. They also include repre-sentatives from labour unions and local edu-cational institutions, as well as economicdevelopment officials. Businesses take a ge-nuine lead. There is more emphasis on corpo-rate social responsibility and the state plays asmaller role. WIBs experiment with new acti-vities and have a proven capacity to deliver.States in the US can apply for certain laws tobe waived to allow for additional flexibility inimplementing innovative workforce strategiesand initiatives which they develop. This ap-proach not only promotes innovation but alsoawards flexibility to those most able to makeuse of it. It is an example of a national levelemployer driven intervention which has bene-fitted local economies.

Between 2001 and 2005 an EQUAL project inLondon (UK) started to explore demand-ledworkforce development through the BuildingLondon Creating Futures 4 (BLCF) project,which was born from a European Social Fundproject. The aim was to create a lasting, de-monstrable and transferable model of coope-ration and coordination between local labourand regeneration initiatives that respondedeffectively to employer and individual needs.BLCF was delivered by a partnership of localauthorities and construction employers.“Workplace Coordinators”, paid for by theproject, were hosted by the private sectorconstruction employers to broker their labourforce needs with the employment needs of lo-cal unemployed people. This was backed upwith an extensive e-brokerage and employ-ment training offer. The evaluation 5 concludedthat being industry-based and industry-spe-cific gave access to the right people withinemployers at the right time, and also helps tofoster good relationships with employers byhaving a sound understanding of their needs.The project provides a successful brokeragemodel as it works with both the supply side(beneficiaries) and the demand side (em-

ployers): “BLCF has an important role in theconstruction industry. It helps contractors findgood local workers and the additional trainingand support it provides benefits both contrac-tors and employees enormously.” (Director,Bovis Lend Lease).

The model developed by BLCF from 2001-2005 has since been mainstreamed throughthe “London Employer Accord” and the“Cons truction Employer Accord” program -mes and transferred to a wide range of otheremployment sectors including health, hospi-tality, arts and culture and business and finan-cial services. The Employer Accord’s aim is to work with significant employers in the UKcapital, from the private, public and third sec-tors. The Accord tests models for an enhan-ced and more integrated service to meet theirbusiness support, recruitment, employmentand skills needs, by working with the range of publicly funded delivery agencies andcontracted training providers who support individuals into work and training.

Current state of play in some URBACT citiesNewcastle and Gateshead (UK) Council,(featured in a recent URBACT case study 1

with Gateshead leading the RUnUP project 2)has included in their economic recovery plana series of long term measures to deal with both ends of the labour market (TheNewcastle Gateshead 1 Plan). It argues thatthe “growth of the knowledge economy willcreate jobs for a new generation of techni-cians and skilled workers...”. A LOAN (LinkingOpportunity And Need) response team is

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“Workforce development is key to ensure medium-sized cities have a skilledand adaptable workforce torespond to the current andfuture needs of employers.This can only be achievedthrough partnership workingbetween the public, privateand academic sectors. A skilled workforce able to meet the demands ofbusinesses will not only helpcities to ride the recessionbut also ensure long-termeconomic growth. Ourresidents are our main assetand we need to ensure weinvest in their development.”

Councillor Andrew Finney, leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough

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Adaptable skilled labour force

Balanced, integrated approach to education and training

Employment, economy and education workingtogether

Generic, flexible skills

Joined up delivery

Existing skills used effectively

Supply and demand sides linked

Technology transfer supported

Managers trained

Unions and intermediaries involved

Quality supply chains

Skills upgraded, careers progressed

Clear definition of jobs, sectors and job profiles

Growth and shrinkages forecast

Flexible specialisation

Training and education ready to respond

Good governanceClear priorities with defined roles

and responsibilities

Concise, realistic strategies taking localconditions into account

Informal relationships, mutual trust

Respect for diversity

Social capital

Support for sectors and clusters

being set up which will develop and imple-ment recruitment and training schemes linkedto major regeneration projects. On the supplyside, the Council will develop a package ofprojects with schools in order to reduce thenumbers of people leaving with no qualifica-tions and provide comprehensive employabi-lity support during the transition from schoolto work alongside actions aimed at attractingand retaining good students to the universitiesand colleges. There is also a package of sup-port measures for people who have beenmade redundant. On the demand side theCouncil has developed a Local EmploymentPartnership to improve access to its own17,000 jobs and increase the size of its ap-prenticeship programme. Newcastle believesthat this multifaceted approach towards thedemand and supply side of the labour marketwill create sustainable jobs at both the highend of the labour market and at entry level.

This has paved the way for a range of differentmeasures, such as those being introduced inESIMeC partner towns that are helping tobalance the needs of employers and em-ployees and create a sustainable job marketfor the future.

In Cherbourg (France) for example, the Em-ployment and Training Centre maps local skillsand jobs and forecasts the skills needs ofbusinesses on the demand side alongsidetraining requirements on the supply side – forboth unemployed and employed people. Italso carries out a wide range of activities tohelp the supply of labour meet the needs oflocal employers, in order to achieve sustaina-ble employment.

In Albacete (Spain) two associations of busi-ness representatives, FEDA and ADECA havecome together with CAMARA, the Chamberof Commerce and Industry to deliver a €2.8mannual training programme. The programmeaims to provide employees and employerswith a wide range of up to date employmentskills and knowledge in keeping with jobs thatare newly available. Currently the programmeis targeting workers made unemployed in thepost-construction boom period. They arebeing re-trained in areas such as renewableenergy and energy efficiency technologies.

In Basingstoke and Deane (UK lead partnerof ESIMeC), the Council is a key player in thecross sector Skills and Employability PriorityAction Group which includes a wide range ofpublic, private and community stakeholderssharing a common interest in workforce deve-lopment. Its priorities are to promote appren-ticeships to employers; to gear local collegesup to provide Science, Technology, Enginee-ring and Maths training and to be in a positionto react to the needs of the unemployed andemployers alike.

These examples give a sense of some of thedifferent measures being delivered and thedifferent approaches being taken in URBACTcities. The direct and proactive involvement of

employers is a common thread as is the aimto meet current and future skills needs in aflexible way. These can be taken forward within the URBACT framework in the work of URBACT Local Support Groups and sub-sequently in the co-production of practical Local Action Plans.

Meeting the challenge of balancing supply and demandAchieving the dream scenario of balancingsupply and demand in the labour force is byno means easy. Although many cities are ma-king progress in this area, there continue tobe many diverse challenges for practitionersand policy makers alike.

These include: 3How to join up the skills agenda with overalleconomic recovery; 3 How to understand which of the multipleactors need to be involved in developing and delivering effective demand led skills strategies;3 How to better understand the features and players of the skills ecosystem and particularly the skills requirements of evolvinggrowth sectors such as Green Technologiesand Health and Social Care;

19A FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE

FOR LOCAL ECONOMIC RESILIENCE

A flexible workforcefor inclusive

and sustainable economic growth

The diagram above is adapted from information from the OECD report and highlightssome of the key messages for policy-makers.

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People are a city’s asset. The skills of the future need to be identified now and trainingproviders need to gear up to provide them.Generic and transferable skills are essential tothis new and flexible market. Supply and demand sides of the labour market have to be carefully balanced to achieve sustainableemployment.

How ESIMeC can contribute to the debateESIMeC will explore how best to identify andmeet the needs of employers in this field –ensuring that both the demand and supplyneeds of the labour market are met. It will address the challenges set out above andlook at each and every angle of the virtuouscycle of sustainable growth set out below. The ESIMeC partners hope that working together will help them creatively address andanswer a wide range of questions relating tothe role of medium sized cities in post crisiseconomic growth. They believe that whilemedium-sized cities may face barriers interms of their lack of entrepreneurial culture,perceived lack of vision, leadership and imagecompared with larger agglomerations theyhave the potential to create a favourablestructural framework for sustainable econo-mic development by providing local peoplewith the necessary skills and qualifications inthe industries of the future to make them afundamental resource. Through the URBACTLocal Support Groups and Local Action Plansthe cities will start to identify and implementconcrete actions, working with employers to create a flexible workforce for sustainableeconomic growth. For more information onESIMeC and its partners please visit www.urbact.eu/esimec.

3 How to recognise diversity amongst the sta-ke holders but still be able to find a commonlanguage and agree a set of priorities whicheveryone understands, can sign up to anddeliver;3 How to engage the right people (includingindustry, government and universities) effec-tively in this debate;3 How to motivate and incentivise employersto innovate, introduce change and share responsibility for a skilled workforce – e.g. byimproving job design and finding more productive ways of using their workers in thefuture; 3 How to help their businesses and citizensunderstand and value the potential of highereducation and skills;3 How to fund workforce development in acontext of contracting public sector budgets;3 How to provide workers with generic andadaptable skills within a flexible lifelong learning system which meets employers’needs now and in the future?Responding to these challenges is no easytask. Anecdotal evidence suggests that thecultural and institutional differences acrossthe public and private sector are sometimesso vast that even establishing effective dia-logue is difficult.

The way forward for policy- makersThe OECD LEED Forum’s sustainable em-ployment report highlights a wide range ofmessages for policy makers. The key point isthat work needs to be driven by employers,involve all stakeholders and be taken forwardin a coordinated, flexible and responsive waywhich is integrated into existing economicdevelopment and employment strategies.

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iMORE INFORMATION

ESIMeC project:http://urbact.eu/en/projects/innovation-creativity/esimec/homepage/

Lead Expert: Alison [email protected]

ESIMEC Virtuous circle of sustainable growth

The ESIMeC group.

SustainableEconomicRecovery

andresilience

Partnership (Triple Helix, PPP)

Up-skillingexisting

workforce

Workforcewith skillsin demand

Retention of skilledworkers

Improvedpositioning

(image)

Entrepreneurial culture and innovation enhanced

Attract inward investment

Forecast Skillsneeds

Long-term demand-ledWorkforce

Development Strategies

ConclusionIn considering how policies and practicesacross the EU are adapting to the needs ofthe rapidly changing economy, this article hasdemonstrated the potential for demand-ledworkforce development to contribute to sus-tainable economic resilience in the 21st century.It is clear that employers have a large part toplay and that cities will need to adapt their policies, behaviour, governance and fundingmechanisms to be in a position to open andsustain constructive dialogue with them whichleads to positive and mutually beneficial results. European Union funding also has arole to play and integrating competitiveness(ERDF) and employment and training (ESF)programmes will be more and more important. The challenges and barriers to success areconsiderable and diverse. The work of ESIMeCaims to make a substantive contribution tothe debate and develop and test some newlocal approaches which can feed into policyand practice across the EU. There is no singlesolution and different approaches and combi-nations of approaches will suit different localcontexts. A flexible, adaptable and open approach is the key as is the opportunity tolearn from other cities and to keep the debatealive. ●

(1) http://urbact.eu/fileadmin/general_library/Survey_CitiesandCrisis_01.pdf

(2) http://www.oecd.org/document/23/0,3343,en_2649_33956792_44464727_1_1_1_1,00.html

(3) http://www.nawb.org/ - National Association of Workforce Investment Boards website

(4) http://www.equal-works.com/resources/content-files/968.pdf

(5) External Evaluation by Aurora for Cross River Partnership, 2004, unpublished

(6) http://urbact.eu/fileadmin/general_library/Newcastle.pdf

(7) http://urbact.eu/en/projects/innovation-creativity/runup/the-role-of-universities-for-economic-development-in-urban-poles/

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But what if you are a young Romaadult? In real terms it means youmost likely did not complete youreducation, you probably live at the

wrong address, in the wrong part of town,overcrowded and undervalued. It’s likely thatyour parents can’t support the family them-selves so you had to finish school early tosupplement their income. But without quali-fications, the only opportunities open to youare at best in the informal job market: unskil-led, poorly paid just like your parents andgrandparents before you. Does that makeyour hopes and your dreams any different,

any less important, than those of any otheryoung adult? In May 2010 in Budapest, Viktoria Farkas, a young Roma woman whohas personal aspirations told the ROMA-NeTpartners that ‘Employers don’t really offer jobsfor Roma people. Only a few people may un-derstand how life is on the Gypsy row - whatit means to have and to educate a child there.What it feels to have on your skin the non-acceptance, the exclusion whether in school,on the street, from wider society, and to be ex-cluded from the job market. How is it possibleto prove our competencies when we knowthat we don’t have much chance in life?

21

ROMA INCLUSION - CAN CITIES BE THE DRIVER OF CHANGE?WHAT WE NEED IS NOT SO MUCH A CLEVER SOLUTION BUT A NEW CULTURE OF WORKING TOGETHER WITH ROMA COMMUNITIES

BY ANN MORTON HYDELEAD EXPERT OF THE ROMANET THEMATIC NETWORK

In a society where we areconstantly led to believe thatanything is possible and thatbeing a celebrity is a valid‘career’ choice, it should be easy for our young people toaspire to greatness whatevertheir race or background.Shouldn’t it?

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nor lazy. For many, achieving basic subsis-tence demands constant innovation, arbitra-tion, determination, and ongoing resilience tosurvive. Imagine the growth potential if Euro-pean cities could harness and maximise thatkind of capacity from an additional 10 millionpeople living in the European Union. Whatthat could mean for economic growth and thefuture of our nations, let alone the moral andsocial justification associated with ensuringsuccessful integration of Roma into society.Economic crisis, competing priorities anddwindling public finances create an environ-ment where cities can easily turn away andfind other, more publicly supported, actions

Confined to the margins of society - because theyare RomaIn Europe today there are hundreds of thou-sands of ordinary young people confined tothe margins of society, often surviving in po-verty, in sub-standard, even deplorable livingconditions - because they are Roma. Youngpeople who grow up knowing that much ofsociety is closed to their ambitions, many areresigned to the situation, aware that their fullpotential is diminished, because they areRoma. Even today these youngsters are com-pelled to embark upon the same cycle of exclusion that has plagued their people forgenerations, because they are Roma. In asociety where equal rights and respect fordiversity have been championed for decades;not only is this morally indefensible it is downright wasteful and the economic justificationsto change the situation are compelling.

In an increasingly aging Europe, no country,nor city can afford to ignore the untappedpotential and the contributions that could bemade by this already enormous and growingsection of the population. Even in these daysof economic downturn our nations continueto face shortages of skilled workers, emplo -ying a variety of tactics to attract much neededskills including encouraging economic migra-tion. Yet European cities consistently fail to recognise the most shocking neglect of oneof our core economic resources, the disregar-ded human capital that already exists in theirsegregated and marginalised communities.Roma are the largest minority group in Europe,but most have been written off, living andworking outside the mainstream parametersof registered employment, health insuranceand income tax. Contrary to the stereotypicalimage of Roma, their lives are neither inactive

than investing in Roma. But they should beaware that such short-term, non-controversialdecisions will have long-term irreparableconsequences as the cycle of decline and segregation becomes more and more deeplyentrenched.

Roma exclusion - more thanan Eastern European issue For a long time Roma exclusion was regardedas mainly a Central and Eastern European issue: during the pre-accession years the European Commission pushed integration ofRoma as a priority for the countries of Bulga-ria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania andSlovakia. By 2001, reference to the Roma Minorities in the Accession Partnership docu-ments referred to: ‘fighting against discrimina-tion (including within the public administra-tion), fostering employment opportunities,increasing access to education, improvinghousing conditions; and providing adequatefinancial support’.

Simultaneously in 2000, the bell began to toll,for the end of blatant ethnic exclusion, or sowe thought, when the EU adopted its RacialEquality Directive (Directive 2000/43/EC –RED) aimed at combating discrimination onthe grounds of race or ethnic origin and prohibiting direct or indirect discrimination inemployment, education, social protection,property matters and services.

With some consensus that tackling exclusionand facilitating integration of Roma wouldcontribute significantly to the achievement ofthe aims of the Lisbon Strategy, came a suc-cession of targeted Roma policy directives:The Decade of Roma Inclusion in 2003, theOSCE Action Plan on Improving the Situationof Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area and

22

The 10 Common Basic Principles for Roma Inclusion are(EU Roma summit, 2008):1. Constructive, pragmatic and

non discriminatory policies 2. Explicit but not exclusive

targeting3. Inter-cultural approach4. Aiming for the mainstream5. Awareness of the gender

dimension6. Transfer of evidence-based

policies7. Use of Community instruments8. Involvement of regional

and local authorities9. Involvement of civil society10. Active participation

of the Roma


the first EU Roma Summit in 2008 which,reassuringly, resulted in the definition of 10Common Basic Principles to effectively address the issue of Roma inclusion in policyimplementation. Yet despite this compellingevidence of gathering momentum, support forthe case for Roma integration and a genuinewillingness to fund the policy changes and initiatives designed to promote Roma inclu-sion have so far failed to deliver significantchange. In fact recent Open Society Instituteevidence suggests that the living conditionsand economic situations for most Roma inEurope have not improved and may actuallyhave continued to decline.

In the last few years the complex situation ofRoma exclusion is a phenomenon that isspreading and growing across Europe. EUmem bership in 2004 1 and 2007 2 for coun-tries with significant Roma populations hasbrought about a new dynamic to the complexsituation of Roma exclusion. Namely that in significant numbers Roma have begun toexercise their freedom of movement and havechosen to live and if possible work in anotherEU country. Even in those old member statesthat have well developed anti-discrimination,equality and social inclusion policies, the behaviour, living conditions and exclusion ofRoma migrants is challenging the political,economic and social responses from recei-ving nations and cities. A recent FundamentalRights Agency study 3 concluded that ‘Romafrom other EU Member States are now part ofthe townscape of almost every Member Stateof the European Union’.

Shift towards Cities – drivers of change or not ? Until now, the Cities of Europe and their mu-nicipal authorities have not played a big partin the development of Roma inclusion policy.Municipalities have generally been passive intheir approach to Roma inclusion, sometimessupporting the action of NGOs and often taking the view that the Roma populationhave access to the same services as the ma-jority population. Historically, many of the coreRoma inclusion policies such as education,employment, health, housing, infrastructure,the fight against poverty and increased equa-lity have been the responsibility of NationalGovernments with non-governmental organi-sations working to provide the service deliveryrole at local level, through collections of essential projects often constrained by insuf-ficient resources and short-term unsustaina-ble funding streams.

It has long been recognised that deep-rootedcultural divides, even between Roma andtheir own country-nationals, and systemicinstitutional discrimination have fuelled exclu-sionary practices prominent across Nations,but they are also factors that have significantlylimited previous attempts at inclusion. Andthere has been very little genuine progressmade in attempts to reach out or to engagewith the Roma community. But why shouldthis be when many cities have adequate levels of know-how to make advances onRoma inclusion? The key component thathas been missing is not the know-how, the

what to do, but much more the wanting, thegenuine commitment to improvement, tochange and to eradicate discrimination andexclusion in the Roma communities. What is still missing in many cities is a clear-cut acknowledgement of the need to respond tothe levels of exclusion that exist in the Romacommunities, the political commitment andthe volume of resources over the long-termthat will be necessary to make a discernabledifference.

There has however been a recent shift in em-phasis and growing expectations of greaterinvolvement from the cities and municipalitiesof Europe in the issue of Roma inclusion. TheEuropean Parliament’s resolution of 31 Janu -ary 2008 stressed the importance of involvinglocal authorities and promoted full participa-tion of the Roma community at grass roots level in order to ensure their ability to fully benefit from the inclusion policies being defined. In persistently disadvantaged neigh-bourhoods often there are barriers to serviceswhich are beyond the ability of individuals toovercome. Reductions in vital education, childcare, health services, home care support,transport, employment, training and accessto financial services can have a compound effect on poverty and exclusion that can onlybe reversed through local authority driven interventions and community collaboration.

Yes, cities should have the necessary know-how and they are better placed to provoke in-volvement, maintain commitment and to bringabout sustainability than the NGOs that tried

23ROMA INCLUSION

CAN CITIES BE THE DRIVER OF CHANGE?

There has however been a recent shift in emphasis and growing expectations of greaterinvolvement from the cities and municipalities of Europe in the issue of Roma inclusion.

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the widespread Roma exclusion from basicand essential services.

ROMA-NeT to pioneer the way other cities can follow There is a strong case for sustainable inclusionvia a bottom-up approach which promotesjoint responsibility and places significant importance on the development of human,social and professional capital to tackle thecomplexity of the problems.

ROMA-Net: a network of nine European cities, supported by URBACT, plans to pioneera way forward. At this early stage the 9 partnerCities of ROMA-NeT clearly recognise thatRoma exclusion is multi-layered, deep-rootedand complex. No one has said that this will beeasy, and they are not deterred by the com-plexity of the issue, but rather committed to

to champion Roma inclusion in the past. Citieshave the breadth of experience and thestrength of human resources to bring togetherstakeholders to build common objectives thatwill generate synergy between services andensure that more relevant, more accessibleand more supportive services are available foryoung Roma people. Cities are best placed tomake use of the people they have with strongcommunity based know-how, honed overtime and spanning all facets of the district,and to re-deploy their skills to address Romaissues and to capitalise on available expertise.

Thus far however the skills for developingprojects and implementing interventions forRoma communities belong more to the NGOsector than with local authorities. But withthe shifting emphasis on cities, local authoritiesneed to grow the confidence and harness theskills to drive forward and deliver joint and integrated interventions that can overcome

finding the right way forward for an integratedapproach that puts dialogue with the Romacommunity at the heart of their actions.

We support an integrated, co-operative andco-ordinated approach where commitmentfrom local authorities can create:3 opportunities for Roma to participate in trai-ning measures and to create labour marketopportunities; 3 locally generated social projects, varying inscope and eligibility conditions; 3 real access to social welfare provisions –whether in education, health or social care,housing, etc;3 all of which must be underpinned by Romacommunities providing support, mediation, advo cacy, self-representation and active par-ti cipation in the supply of local service provision.A key start for the ROMA-NeT City partners,that could be followed by other Cities was to

24

1. Using mediators, in the fields of health,education and social services, to createconnections between the public service and the Roma community has proven to begood practice.

2. Roma mediators as classroom assistantshave been used in many cities in Hungary,Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia and are now seen as a critical link to engageparents in school activities to ensure childrenattend and remain in education.

3. Mediation has been applied effectively in many countries and in different formats,for example in Hungary to provide healthpromotion information to elderly members of Roma communities. In Dupnitsa, Bulgaria,mediators are used to help solve theproblem of electricity being disconnectedand non-payment of electricity expenses.

4. In Karviná, Czech Republic, dedicatedfieldworkers provide intermediary assistanceto implement all major initiatives beingundertaken in the city and are involved in all aspects of the community. Their respon-si bilities range from assisting with housingapplications, co-ordinating health forums to accompanying children to ensure theirschool attendance.

5. Success of mediators can largely be attributed to the fact that the majority are chosen from the Roma community, thus creating a faster build up of trust andthe ability to break down barriers with formal organisations as well as providing role models for the community.

6. Another critical and positive aspect is the fact that the positions provide goodquality jobs for members of the community.They show Roma undertaking responsibleemployment, performing in professional roleswhich projects a positive image and cancontribute to raising the aspirations of other.

7. For the foreseeable future while Romainclusion remains an under developedpractice, the role of community mediatorswill remain crucial to support less capablemembers of the community to utilise theservices of the main social and publicsectors such as health, education, socialcare, social welfare, housing and generaladvocacy services.

8. Although the role of mediators has beenwidely used there are a number of areaswhere the potential has not been adequatelyapplied, for example: • as relationship builders between fully

trained work ready Roma individuals andemployers in need of new workers but who have an inherent mistrust of Roma • to support new entrants, men and women,into the world of work either for the first timeor as adult returners.

9. The important role that mediators have inthe process of community empowerment hasalso not been fully recognised. However it isa role that can be promoted and developedthrough ROMA-Net activities as they aim to generate greater community participationand to empower and strengthen thecommunity voice. An extension of themediator is the community or local championand for widespread engagement andeffective communication each local supportgroup would benefit from the input of acollection of community champions.

Good Practice No1Sectoral mediators working at community level

Social work mediator in Karvina.

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to make existing services more accessibleand more appropriate for young Roma adults.Cities will have to confront the long-stan dingdilemma of ‘Roma-specific’ or ‘Roma- targe-ted’, keeping in mind that segregation may bea short-term remedy but is never the long-term answer.

Evidence from mapping studies carried out inthe ROMA-Net cities show that, as suspected,there is a vast array of untapped expertise tobe drawn out from successful implementationof a wide range of community initiativesacross the partner cities. For example, ahighly innovative educational initiative usedto illicit the opinions of young disadvantagedchildren in Almeria could easily be transferredto engage adults in the Roma communityand provoke in them a sense of belief that thesystem is interested in what they have to sayand what their needs are. Bologna City iswell known for its success in developing anddelivering innovative approaches to healthservices, and although these services havesomehow by-passed their resident Romacommunity, with some additional compo-nents, they can be made more relevant and

examine - critically analyse - what and howcore services, and other special initiatives,are currently being, or have been in the past,supplied to other disadvantaged groups inthe key areas of education, health, housingand employment. Initially, to establish the Critical Success Factors for each initiativeand then to question if and why they failed toreach, failed to attract, or simply by-passedthe Roma community. Working through theprocess, and involving the community shouldprovide an opportunity to adjust and realignservices in a way that is more relevant and appropriate for community need. Although itis unreasonable and potentially unsustainableto expect cities to develop a whole raft of newservices, what they can do is create inter -mediary links, pathway projects and mediators

25ROMA INCLUSION

CAN CITIES BE THE DRIVER OF CHANGE?

The project focuses on how to involve Roma people in reconstructing their homesand help them pay their debts and obtainvalid rent-contracts?

DescriptionBrno, the second largest city in the CzechRepublic, has a Roma population of appro ximately 12,000 - 3 % of thepopulation. These Roma people live intenement buildings which have sufferedfrom neglect for many years. A private non-profit organi sation and the localauthorities are working together to renovatethe buildings and help solve the debtproblems of many Roma people.

Crucial factors • Local authority to refurbish a Romacommunity centre. The centre is on theground floor of a building where manyRoma families live. The centre provideseducation, advice and leisure time supportfor Roma children, youngsters and adults,involving the local authorities, police andsocial work institutions to improve thesituation of Roma people in Brno. • Many of the Roma families are in debtand live in run-down apartments withoutpaying rent. • An international non-profit organisation is involved and wants to do more for theRoma families than just reconstructing the centre. • Idea emerges to have tenants help theauthorities to reconstruct their own homes,so that they could pay back their debts and negotiate valid leases. Well attended tenants’ meeting- reactionsgenerally positive but families were afraidthat once the building was refurbished thelocal authorities would evict because theydo not hold valid lease agreements. • The NGO and the local authorities set upa 'work-for-debt' programme. The tenantsare given the opportunity to work for thelocal authorities. This work consisted mainlyof cleaning of the unused spaces. Themoney earned was deducted from theirdebts. People who worked their debtsaway could sign a new and valid lease forone year.

Results• A large number of people worked in andaround the buildings and not only clearedtheir debts, but have also started to makeregular rent payments. • Two tenant committees have been set up:a total of forty-one people willing to beinvolved• The project is unique because many localauthorities in Eastern Europe are reluctantto allow Roma people to live in inner cityareas. In this case the local authorities tooka relaxed approach towards the families'illegal rent situation. • This is the first time an integratedapproach has been used to solve problemswith Roma people.

Learning experiences• It proved difficult to achieve concreteresults during tenant meetings, to which theRoma people are not accustomed. Romatenants should be seen as active citizensinstead of a problem. Both sides, localauthorities and Roma families, needed timeto adapt. And an attitude of apathy doesnot change overnight even where bothsides are cooperating. • Within the local authorities there are stillpeople who do not agree with any non-standard approach towards solving debtproblems. Also the general public issceptical. • After so many years of neglect, there area whole range of problems to be addressed.It is not possible to solve one problemwithout addressing the others. • It is important to keep the decision-making process as transparent andstraightforward as possible and to makeimportant decisions during meetings inwhich all participating organisations takepart. Corruption is something that can ruina project like this.

Key to success - ‘the active involvementof residents in the management andadministration as well as financial supportand commitment from the local authorities’.The project has a voluntary Self Adminis -tration and Management Committee. Thisexample should be looked upon as a modelof good practice relevant in all cities.

Good Practice No2 - Integrated Community Housing

Cities are best placed tomake use of the people theyhave with strong communitybased know-how, honedover time and spanning all facets of the district, and to re-deploy their skills to address Roma issues and to capitalise on availableexpertise.


nities are hard to find. Good practice No2considers a situation where the local authorityand an NGO worked together with positive results.

A culture of “with Roma”must replace the “for Roma”attitude What we need then, is to overcome andbreak down the barriers that all too oftenhave presented insurmountable challengesto engaging the Roma community. Cities haveto dispel the notion that there can be some‘quick fix’ solution, and realise that it is not somuch about haste or innovation but muchmore about sustained actions capitalising onexpertise with long-term commitment.

been applied successfully in many sectors,the concept is explained above in Good prac-tice No1.

Housing, tenure of housing and land are ma-jor issues in many Roma communities. The si-tuation is complex and is often difficult to dealwith in a way that is constructive for all sides.Although an integrated approach to housingcombined with community development isfrequently cited as good practice for Romacommunities, there are not that many suchinitiatives in existence. There are a few exam-ples where NGOs have been able to accessnational level EU programmes and other do-nor funding to support community led deve-lopment and regeneration type interventions,sometimes in partnership with a municipality,but mostly driven by NGOs. Examples of in-tegrated Urban Regeneration activities led bymunicipalities and focusing on Roma commu-

accessible going forward. Glasgow has astrong track record in area regeneration andthough a new migrant Roma population ischallenging these seasoned professionals, itis clear that with some concentrated efforts,they will create a community relationship andfoundation for improvement and change.Udine has demonstrated significant expertisein developing realistic employment and trainingprojects but they fail to attract unemployedRoma to their activities. Using a slightly diffe-rent recruitment procedure and supportivein-work services they can however, be muchmore relevant for the Roma community.

Good practice experiences can be drawnfrom the collections of initiatives supplied byNGOs in different countries, one of the mostsuccessful has been mediation or interme-diary services to link the Roma communitiesto vital public services. Such initiatives have

Through the URBACT local support groupsROMA-NeT partners will each bring together,vital service providers, the local stakeholdersand crucially members of the Roma commu-nity to start the dialogue and create the basisfor joint action planning. Instead of applyingsweeping homogenous interventions meantfor the benefit of the Roma, what is needed isa new culture to work with Roma: from incep-tion throughout delivery.

The ROMA-Net partnership promotes an integrated and supportive approach from theoutset, providing the perfect platform fromwhich to share the wealth of knowledge andexperience that exists. By focusing on thebroader context of what has been successful,we plan to capitalise on good practice, previous experience to re-model our thinkingaround the issues of Roma inclusion. With the support of our experienced local stake -holders, including Roma community benefi-ciaries themselves, we can translate good practice into meaningful interventions that arerelevant, sustainable and will have longevitybecause they are founded on approachesthat we and Roma communities know canwork.

Although there is no quick-fix, no solution norblueprint that can guarantee success there is a very real opportunity for the cities to pullresources, to capitalise on successes and toengage with the community in a way that willpermeate all aspects of their lives. We aim to provide a positive and achievable vision forthe future that can capture the imaginations ofthe young men and women in the Romacommunity; engendering in them the sense of ownership required to bring about the necessary change. What we need is not somuch a clever solution but a society that re-cognises, and is prepared to be fully commit-ted to the concept of greater equality for all.In so doing, Europe will not only benefit froma more diverse and inclusive society; but alsofrom a pool of viable workers who are contri-buting to wider society, to economic growthand in the future of their own communities. ●

(1) Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland

(2) Bulgaria and Romania

(3) The Situation of Roma EU Citizens Moving to and settling in other EU Member States’ 2009http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/attachments/Roma_Movement_Comparative-final_en.pdf

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iMORE INFORMATION

ROMANET project:http://urbact.eu/en/projects/active-inclusion/roma-net/homepage/

Lead Expert: Ann Morton [email protected]

Cities have to dispel the notion that there can be some ‘quick fix’solution, and realise that it is not so much about haste or innovationbut much more about sustainedactions capitalising on expertise with long-term commitment.

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The elder care sector is at the core ofa radical restructuring process. In theirsearch for a financially sustainableresponse to the challenges posed

by demographic and social change, all the EUcountries have introduced various reforms aimed at making care affordable. The questfor financial sustainability has been pursued intwo ways: reduction of entitlements, by targe-ting services more closely on the populationin greatest need, and reduction of care costs.The likely outcome of this process will be achange in the state-family-market care mixwhich, by shifting a greater burden onto thefamily, will call for greater support from the public authorities. Experience in the cities ofthe URBACT project “Active Age”, described

in this paper, helps us to identify some crucialpoints upon which health and social care policies for elderly people should focus.

The organisation of the care marketAlthough the majority of care is provided infor-mally, mostly by female carers, there are signi-ficant differences between countries in the roleplayed by the state, the market, and the familyin the provision and financing of elderly care.

Two common trends have been observed inEurope since the 1990s: 3 a shift from residential to home care and 3 a shift from in-kind1 services to cash transfers.

These developments have shifted an increa-singly heavy burden onto the family, thus calling for greater public support for families intheir daily care duties and in the reconciliationof work and care. Various levels of governmentare called upon to cooperate. Time-relatedprovisions – such as targeted and generalleave schemes and flexible working time arrangements – and most monetary transfers- as in the case of the disability allowance inItaly or long-term care insurance in the Conti-nental countries - are set at the national level.Conversely, services are mostly set at the local level. Municipalities are the main provi-ders of care for older people, either in-kindthrough traditional service delivery, or, increa-singly, in cash. They support families with

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LONG-TERM CARETHE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

BY ANNAMARIA SIMONAZZI AND FIORENZA DERIULEAD EXPERT AND THEMATIC EXPERT OF THE ACTIVE AGE THEMATIC NETWORK

Rapid population ageing has dramatically increased the social and economic cost of elderly care. In theirsearch for financial sustainability, all the EU countries have introduced reforms that have shifted anincreasingly heavy burden onto the family, thus calling for greater public support for families in their dailycare duties and in the reconciliation of work and care. Municipalities are the main providers of care forolder people, either in kind or, increasingly, in cash. Experience in the cities involved in the Active Ageproject described in this paper helps us to identify some crucial points upon which health and social carepolicies for elderly people should focus.

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and currently accommodating 200 residentswith different levels of dependency – organi-sed with the principle of maintaining closelinks with the surroundings by opening thestructure up to various social actors as well asencouraging the residents to participate inthe life of the city. A number of different areasof the building are devoted to socializing activities: a reading room and a library, a com-puter room and workshops for various typesof manual activities. Residents are encoura-ged to spend their time together, participatingin community events (birthday parties), groupswith specific interests and self-help groups, as well as excursions, picnics, workshops, cinema and theatre shows.

With large families rapidly disappearing, theshare of frail elderly people living alone, or withweakened family links, is rapidly increasing.Greater public support for these dependentpersons becomes essential, especially if institutionalisation needs to be postponed. Inmost countries home social care is still under-developed and not sufficiently supported by

information, coordination, counselling; withfinancial help - care allowances, subsidisedaccess to home and residential care – andwith services - home care, respite care andsemi-residential care (day-centres, outpatientclinics), commu nity social services, shelteredhomes, residential care and nursing homes.

The local authorities also have to ensure anadequate provision of qualified private andpublic care workers to supplement the careprovided by families. This involves the trainingof care workers (and family carers); accredi-tation of care workers and private firms (profitand no-profit); implementation of measures tofavour the regularisation of irregular/immigrantcare workers; and coordination (and gover-nance) of the various sources of care laboursupply (formal and informal, voluntary and forprofit).

The scope of the problems to be tackled accounts for the great differences within, aswell as between, countries in the implemen-tation of measures in support of families andcommunities. This wide range of experiencescan provide an useful basis for exchange andlearning.

From general policies to local experiences: some case studies from the municipalities of the Active Age ProjectWithin the Active Age project, involving ninecities of the URBACT network, the focus on“age and care” has produced a number of interesting case studies that were presentedat the Transnational Exchange Workshop(TEW) in Maribor 2 held on 24th-26th February2010. The participants singled out some coreproblems and reported on the different res-ponses activated by the Municipalities: fromresidential care to respite care, training of formal carers, resort to technology and otherinnovative solutions to improve quality andincrease efficiency. Here we report some of thecase studies in order to provide an overviewof the many aspects of long term care that thevarious local authorities are dealing with.

Poor quality, isolation, and estrangement arethe most common risks incurred in residentialcare: even the best structures run the risk ofcreating a “happy island” that isolates the residents from the rest of the society. The cityof Maribor (Slovenia) presented the case of aresidential care institution - the “Senior CitizenHome Tezno”, active since February 2004

public funding. The city of Rome is running aproject3 aimed at providing concrete respon -se to family needs in their daily care. Throughits network of volunteers it provides domesticand personal services (shopping, day care,helping with bureaucratic matters, and soforth). Moreover, in the course of this activity, it has succeeded in creating a link between thevarious networks of volunteers and social actors in the area to provide support for elderlypeople and their families.

Technology is expected to provide an econo-mically efficient answer to the problem of assisting elderly people at home, especiallywhen they are living alone and/or have weakfamily ties. Seville is participating in the “Am-bient Assisted Living” service, a joint researchand development funding programme imple-mented by 20 Member States 4 (which runsthe H&H (Health at Home) project). The H&Htargets people affected by chronic cardiacpathologies with the aim of improving thequality of their life by enabling remote constantmonitoring. It will also experiment with an innovative integrated European model for management of information through adoptionof international healthcare standards.

Finally, one crucial factor for the financial andsocial sustainability of an ageing populationrests in delaying dependency. Can care andactive ageing move together? This can beachieved if the “dependent” elderly personcan feel that he/she is still contributing to society. Experience in Prague is emblematic

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The scope of the problemsto be tackled accounts forthe great differences within,as well as between, count -ries in the implementation of measures in support offamilies and communities.This wide range of expe -riences can provide an useful basis for exchangeand learning.

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in this sense. The “Societa Social Service 5” isbased on the principle of mutual aid. Its aimwas to provide services for disabled and elderly people by employing people with disabilities. The service provides transport,delivery, personal assistance, emergency care(using new technologies), support for an inde-pendent living, guide and reading services forpeople with sensorial disabilities. The serviceis also connected to day care centres, carehomes and social services through an efficientcommunication network. The strength of thisexperience lies in the capacity to combineenhanced labour market access for disadvan-taged groups with the provision of high qualityhealth and care services.

Experience at work- Innovative solutions for long-term care: the Local Action Plans of the Active Age network Building upon the experience of case studies,some of the cities participating in the ActiveAge project are drafting their Local ActionPlans with the aim of studying innovative solutions and/or improving upon or develo-ping their experience.

As the dependent person’s disability pro-gresses from mild to severe, integration ofhealth and social care becomes of the utmostimportance. Severe disabilities necessitate,in fact, both specialized and professional

support and social care. Building upon its pre-vious experience – professional training com-bining the skills of both the “Social assistant”and the “Home assistant” - the city of Dobrichis working on the development of its homecare services with the creation of a new pro-fessional figure, the “Personal assistant” (PA),with the qualification needed to provide healthand social care. The PA may be a family mem-ber, a relative, a friend or a neighbour whomthe user trusts, will be employed and paid bythe Dobrich municipality, and will be trained bythe service provider. While responding to theimmediate needs of the elderly person andhis/her family, by contributing to the training ofqualified carers to respond to the increasingcare needs of an ageing population, this policy may help in preventing or postponinginstitutionalisation, while favouring reconcilia-tion of work and care.

The Rome project 6 focuses on respite care,to be realised through co-participation betweenMunicipalities and firms. A number of privatefirms have already developed a “welfare po-licy” designed especially to support mothersemployed in the company. The city of Romeis trying to extend this experience to welfarefor elderly people, offering respite services tothe employees of the firms participating inthe project. The LAP aims at building partner-ships between the firms and the Municipalityin order to create day-care centres close tothe firm, capable of providing assistance bothto elderly relatives of firm employees and of residents in the neighbourhood.

Conclusion

Experience in the cities described in this paper helps us to identify some crucial pointsupon which health and social care policies forelderly people should focus.

Firstly, there is the need for closer cooperationbetween the different social actors operatingat the local level in order to create the opera-tional network and the informative system essential to improve the effectiveness of inter-ventions and to ensure the widest possibleaccess to services for the elderly and their families.

Secondly, focus should also be brought tobear on possibilities to favour the implemen-tation of projects making the most of the human resources at all ages. For example thetight cooperation of the “Active age” and “My Generation” projects within the URBACTnetwork has shown that there are commonissues between project working with youngand old people. There are also new possibi-lities opening up for intergenerational workingas well as for the old to work with the very old.The experience of the “Societa service” ofPrague offers an excellent example of innova-tive care solutions implemented to combinecare and active ageing.

Finally, it is important to develop proposals forpublic and private actors to find a commonfield of action in order to relieve the care burden of families, arriving at solutions that in-tegrate individual and collective interests(Rome LAP). ●

(1) In-kind services refer to those services delivered by public services and others in the form of a staff input e.g. meals on wheels, home helps etc.

(2) http://urbact.eu/en/projects/active-inclusion/active-age/homepage/

(3) http://urbact.eu/en/header-main/documents-and-resources/documents/?project=62

(4) http://www.aal-europe.eu



29LONG-TERM CARE

iMORE INFORMATION

ACTIVE AGE project:http://urbact.eu/en/projects/active-inclusion/active-age/homepage/

Lead Expert: Annamaria [email protected]

Thematic Expert: Fiorenza [email protected]

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PLUGGING IN TO GO GREENA REVOLUTION IN ELECTRIC MOBILITY

There is no doubt that electric carscan help to make our city streetscleaner, quieter and more attractive.Transport accounts for around 25%

of CO2 emissions across the European Union,and it is the only sector where they are still rising. All electric powered vehicles are zeroemission at point of use, so there are noharmful gases or pollutants when they aredriven. Electric cars can be up to five timesmore energy efficient than traditional internalcombustion engines, which means the totalcarbon consumption is lower per mile. Andthe potential for electric vehicles to harnessclean energy creates real opportunities formore sustainable city living.

Across the globe a revolution is underway. Vehicles poweredby electricity are hitting theroads as the environmental andeco nomic benefits they bring areincreasingly recognised. Nationaland local policy-makers areseeking ways to make it easierfor citizens and businesses todrive cleaner vehicles. Thetechno logy is im proving rapidlyand car, energy and infra struc tureindustry players are gearing uptheir efforts to win market share.

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BY SALLY KNEESHAWLEAD EXPERT OF THE EVUE THEMATIC NETWORK

“We have a ‘practice before rules’approach. We want to avoid makingexpensive mistakes. In the EVUEnetwork we will be able to test and correct our ideas and plans, get a multi-level vision aboutelectric vehicles strategies.” Sergio Fernàndez, Balaguer Manager of the MOVELE project, Madrid

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31PLUGGING IN TO GO GREEN

Importantly for city planners, electric cars areideally suited to driving patterns in urbanareas. Around 50% of car trips in cities areless than 6 km in length.1 Electric vehicles’current limited battery range of anywhere between 40 and 160 km, depending on themodel, does not represent a problem for theshort distances involved and will only continueto improve. In fact, the stop start rhythm of urban driving actually contributes to the elec-tric car’s operation, as they can convert brakingenergy to new electricity.

Many mobility experts now agree that electriccars could and should be part of future urbanmobility solutions. The question is how can ci-ties realise the potential benefits, without ma-king costly errors, in a new and fast movingarea of policy? What are the most efficientways to implement strategies that maximisepublic investment in infrastructure and gene-rate driver confidence?

URBACT contributes

EVUE – Electric Vehicles in Urban Europe – isa newly approved URBACT thematic networkof 10 cities, led by Westminster City Councilin London.2 Its aim is to explore, exchangeand implement ideas on how cities can deve-lop integrated and sustainable strategies toincrease the use of electric vehicles. Over thenext two years the lessons learnt about thevery real challenges outlined here will be iden-tified and transferred to EU networks, such asEurocities Mobility Forum and POLIS. For cities that are yet to begin the journey,EVUE will provide the opportunity to assessrealistically the steps needed to prepare forelectric vehicles in the longer term, as lowercosts and the increased availability of cars willmake them more viable.

Who is in the driving seat?

In order for electric vehicle strategies to suc-ceed and contribute to meeting ambitious

CO2 targets in Europe a new set of pioneeringpartnerships are required.

The automotive industry’s investment in elec-tric vehicles is in part a response to tough EU targets, which set emission performancestandards. New passenger car fleets produ-ced will need to have an average of 95gms/kmCO2 emissions by 2020.3 Economic stimuluspackages have been introduced to re-orientcar makers to cleaner technologies and en-courage investment in green car production.Globally millions of dollars are being investedin R&D on battery technology and new mate-rials with a number of joint initiatives to sharedevelopment costs and risks, such as theNissan Renault joint venture to develop andmanufacture cars and the Toyota EDF energytie in for trials of the Prius Hybrid Plug in. Therange of models coming to the market includehybrid electric, plug in hybrids and battery electric. Industry experts forecast that electric

vehicles could represent 10% of the globalmarket by 2010.4 Car retailers are now lookingfor ways to accelerate the commercialisationof sustainable technologies. This crucially in-cludes partnerships with public sector bodiesas a way to test the markets, build consumerconfidence and guarantee orders.

Energy and infrastructure suppliers see newmarket opportunities and supply chains aroundelectric vehicles. Many European cities arealready running pilots and trials in cooperationwith energy companies, for instance incorpo-rating carsharing schemes powered by solarcharging points in new housing develop-ments. New companies are popping up to selland install charging points on the streets.Smart grids, which balance energy supply anddemand, are under development. In conver-gence regions with less developed infrastruc-ture, the electrification of mobility could bringopportunities to focus more on domestic andcleaner energy sources. Another vital piece of this jigsaw puzzle is drivers themselves. Who will buy and drive elec-tric cars? Although public opinion is changing,

Electric cars convert electricity to motion around three times moreefficiently than cars with internalcombustion engines. They also emit no CO exhaust, NOx (nitrogen oxides)NMHC (non-methane-hydrocarbons) or PM (particulate matter) in operation.

Source: European Commission Directorate General for Energy and Transport

Electricity company Fortum charging point in central Stockholm

Launch of the Frankfurter Modell, part of the German Elektromobilität programme

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develop new business models. Incentives,such as subsidies and tax relief, free parkingand charging, have been introduced, in manyregions to kick start the market. But they arenot sustainable in the long term, and plans totaper them off in future have to be carefullythought through. Clearly there is a need tomake wise choices at a time when the publicpurse is under pressure.

A cornerstone of these electric vehicle pro-grammes is multi-stakeholder partnerships,bringing together the key players describedabove. So the gauntlet is laid down for policymakers and urban planners to prepare forelectric vehicles. Part of a city’s leadership role

can be to set an example by converting theirown fleets. Many mobile municipal functions,such as community nurses, delivery and refusetrucks, are suited to electric vehicules. Lisbonhas set itself a target that 20% of its fleet renewal each year will be electric vehicles. Public procurement can be used as leverageto encourage companies in the municipalsupply chain to do the same.Establishing a network of city wide chargingpoints will help drivers feel confident in usingelectric cars. Charging points can be includedas a planning requirement for new buildingand developments. Cities can make informa-tion publically available for drivers on the costsand benefits of electric vehicles. Marketingand incentivising them will help build citizenconfidence.

The Electric Vehicle Clinton Climate Initiative is a programme of the C40 6 and the ClintonFoundation. It has launched a number of pilotprojects worldwide and provided guidelinesfor cities to get it right from the start to senda clear message to the market.

Charging Ahead?

There are still some doubts whether electriccars can deliver their promise. Battery techno-logy has to improve significantly to be able to minimise charging times, and allow vehiclesto take greater loads. The whole life cycle ofelectric cars must be cleaner and greener thanthe one it replaces. This includes manufacturing

as evidenced in numerous surveys, there are still real and perceived barriers of cost,performance and range, and a lack of char-ging infrastructure. Public information and financial incentives will be needed to encou-rage citizens and businesses to swap theirgas guzzlers for more environmentally friendlyoptions. The 2010 Annual Report of the RoyalAutomobile Club on Motoring in the UK statesthat seven out of ten drivers consider electricvehicles as a viable alternative. www.rac.co.uk

On the move?So what does this mean for European cities?Electric vehicles can be considered part of thesolution to a number of common issues. Theobvious advantages are that they are well

suited to urban mobility patterns, decreaseCO2 emissions and harness renewable energy.They can also play a part in reducing noiseand improving air quality. Strategies need tobe careful not to incentivise a negative modalshift away from public transport, walking andcycling to electric vehicles. This is not so easyto monitor or achieve, and represents a signi-ficant challenge.

Cities could also see benefits from the busi-ness and job growth linked to the electric carmarket. Transport and energy are consideredto be key sectors for the emergence of greenjobs 5. As the market takes off new skills willbe required and new jobs created in R&D,manufacturing, construction and maintenanceof vehicles, systems and infrastructure.

In many European countries, regions and cities,public authorities have started to design,adopt and finance strategies designed to increase the uptake of electric vehicles, topilot local electromobility programmes and

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“I will set ambitious targets - learnt from London. It is a pro cessthat won’t go backwards. Beja must be in the first phase [...] In Beja it must also be about business and job creation and thestrategy to develop tourism in the region.” Jorge Pulido Valente, Mayor of Beja

Norway has introduced a range of incentives to create a favourablemarket for electric vehicles. They include exemptions from road,tunnel, and bridge tolls, one off duties and VAT. Public parking and inlandferries are free. Electric cars can use the bus lanes on urban roads. They are subject to 50% less tax thaninternal combustion equivalents. There are currently 1,735 electricvehicles in Oslo. Most of these are privately owned (1,388) with 312 private sector fleet vehicles and35 municipal fleet vehicles.


methods, battery disposal and, crucially, theelectricity coming from sustainable sources inthe context of the EU 2008 Directive, whichrequires 10% of energy for transport to comefrom renewable sources by 2020.

Is it the right technology? Other green tech-nologies such as bio fuels and hydrogen cell

The European view

The reduction in CO2 and other emissionsthat electric vehicles can deliver, and the potential to harness renewable energysources and smart grids are important for cities in the context of the EU Climate andEnergy Package 8 and the 20:20:20 targets:

vehicles may have a role to play. Concernsthat cars would overload the electricity networkare without foundation. Energy company En-exis has predicted that if all 7 million passen-ger cars in the Netherlands were to becomeelectric it would only lead to 20 % higherelectricity consumption. 7

In order to deliver promised benefits in CO2

reduction the solutions will need to make use of mobile smart grids that balance outpeaks and troughs in the power supply. Smart charging could allow remote control of carcharging to support an optimal balance ofthe electricity supply grid, managing andcontrolling charging patterns, and incentivisingovernight charging.

Recovery Plan, the Commission has launchedthe European Green Cars Initiative. It fundsnew projects related to electric vehicles,which will cover batteries, electric powertrains and auxiliaries, information and commu-nication technologies and an electro mobilitydemonstration project.

URBACT co-finances projects that allow citiesto work together to find sustainable solutions.Within this framework the EVUE project willcontribute to understanding of how electrifica-tion of mobility could be a tool for low carboncity strategies.

Although there is no framework for the elec-trification of cars at EU level, in the last yearthe Commission has produced a Green CarCommunication and a Discussion Paper onElectric Vehicles and the Future of Transport.EU policy is technology neutral. It does not favor one technology over another, but theimportance of electric cars is acknowledged.In the coming years there will be a need for

3 A reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissionsof at least 20% below 1990 levels;3 20% of EU energy consumption to comefrom renewable resources;3 A 20% reduction in primary energy usecom pared with projected levels, to be achie-ved by improving energy efficiency.

EU programmes such as the CIVITAS Initiativeand Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) have sup-ported the testing of innovative and integratedsustainable urban transport strategies andenergy efficiency in transport. There havebeen a number of projects to facilitate themarket introduction of lower and zero emis-sion vehicles and alternative fuels, aiming toreduce dependency on fossil fuels.In the framework of the European Economic

33PLUGGING IN TO GO GREEN

Tokyo has more taxis than London, Paris, and New York combined, withapproximately 60,000 vehicles. They account for 2% of vehicles in the city, but are responsible for 20% of its CO2 emissions. The Tokyo Electric Taxi Project waslaunched in April 2010 as a pilot to demonstrate the advantages of switching toelectrical power. The three vehicles provided by Nissan have removable lithium-ionbatteries, which are changed by a robot arm in quick change stations. The fullyautomated operation takes between three and five minutes, and so far, the pilot driversreport that Japanese customers prefer to remain seated in the car to watch, fascinatedby the process. The pilot is run by Better Place, an American supplier of electric carnetworks and services. By using taxis as demonstration vehicles every day around 30 different people in each car get to experience how the cars operate and to talk to the driver about it. www.betterplace.com

Summary of city responsibilitiesINFRASTRUCTURE

Facilitate the planning and deployment of charging infrastructure and related electricity supply systems

PERMITTING AND PROCESSHelp streamline permitting for charging

DEMAND PROJECTIONSMobilise demand for EVs in city fleets and rally private fleets

COORDINATION OF INCENTIVESHelp coordinate incentives and contribute to the package

www.clintonfoundation.org

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joined up approach it should be possible tocatalyse the move towards electrification ofmobility and capture regional benefit in thede-carbonisation of transport and sustainableeconomic growth. ●

(1) Clean Urban Transport Report of DG Energy andTransport EXTRA consortium

(2) www.urbact.eu/evue

(3) Regulation (EC) 443/2009 of 23 April 2009

(4) Source: JD Power

(5) Putting in place jobs which last: A Guide to Re building sustainable employment at local level©2009 OECD

(6) C40 is a group of large cities committed to tacklingclimate change

(7) www.enexis.nl The Parliament magazine June 2010

(8) The EU climate and energy package http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/climate_action.htm

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“We need to make electric cars,vans and motorbikes an easychoice. If we're to really achieve a revolution in green travel andmeet the Mayor of London's owntarget of 25,000 charging pointsby 2015, we need to find ways to make installing them faster,cheaper and simpler.” Cllr Connell, Westminster Council.

iMORE INFORMATION

EVUE project: http://urbact.eu/en/projects/low-carbon-urban-environments/evue/homepage/

Lead Expert: Sally [email protected]

European standardisation for infrastructure,one solution for socket-connector-chargingpoint, for grid- vehicles connections, as wellas metering protocols. These steps are consi-dered key for a functional market and consu-mer confidence.

ConclusionElectric vehicles do not represent the totalsolution to greening transport. Multi-modalstrategies are needed that encourage allforms of cleaner mobility and that reducecongestion and the need to travel. But electriccars have the potential to form a vital compo-nent. They can help cities hit clean air and CO2

reduction targets and ultimately become moreattractive places to live.

By creating effective new partnerships, in thecase of EVUE through URBACT Local Sup-port Groups, cities, together with carmakers,car lease and hire companies, energy sup-pliers, infrastructure companies, businessesand civil society can develop a better unders-tanding of the practical challenges. With a

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Historic centres with their cultural heritage run the risk of becomingmono-structured centres. One exam -ple is their orientation to satisfy

mass tourism and leisure needs as they repre-sent important tourism destinations, and aremajor assets for the tourism industry (historiccentres as consumer product). This develop-ment evolution often leads to historic “Disney-land” centres, which many tourist and visitorsappreciate, but many inhabitants find inhos-pitable as the historic areas become crowdedand tourism functions push out ‘traditional’inhabitant functions (fewer shops of dailygoods, housing space decreases, rents in-crease, etc). Thus, quality of life is decreasing

and inhabitants have a tendency to leavesuch historic centres. In turn they lose one oftheir key functions – inherited over time – tobe a place for citizens to live, work and socia-lise. In the end this affects not only the city’squality of life but also its identity.

Our European historic centres have been offe-ring a multifunctional economic, social and cul-tural facility for centuries, being for their citizensthe focal point of daily life and the place of:3Work and trade (market places and merchantquarters);3 Social life and flow of people and informa-tion through open public spaces, pubs, localpress, etc.;

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READY-TO-LIVEMULTIFUNCTIONAL HISTORICCENTRESBY NILS SCHEFFLER LEAD EXPERT OF THE HERO THEMATIC NETWORK ANDFRÉDÉRIQUE CALVANUS LEAD PARTNER OF THE LINKS THEMATIC NETWORK

Multifunctional historic centresbring an added value to theattractiveness and quality of urban life. But such multi -functional historic centres arechallenged and to safeguard thepattern of mixed uses demandsan active exercise of influence.Practical examples will exemplifythe challenges as well ashighlighting some responsesdeveloped by URBACT citypartners.

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Another strong challenge to the traditional retail and small scale economy in historic centres is the emergence of chain stores andthe competition with shopping areas at the urban fringe (fostered by an increasing mobi-lity) more suitable for large-scale retail locationand offering specialised consumer services.

The pressure on space and functions, drivenby property and capital markets focused ongenerating increasing revenues, leads to: 1)favouring out-of-scale buildings, unsuitablein an urban structure which has been built upover time; 2) neglecting historic buildings; 3)developing a housing market just catering forhigher income classes (gentrification). This isaccompanied by the pressure to introducelarge-scale floor space for commerce, retailand services, squeezing out functions of importance for the provision of daily goods forthe inhabitants.

The particular challenge for a historic centre isto match the inherited urban structure, identityand buildings (the ‘cultural heritage’) with theabove mentioned demands and to turn the cultural heritage, both material and imma-terial, into a prime resource to fulfil these com-peting demands, without downgrading its intrinsic qualities.

Demand for action for multifunctional historiccentres

Multifunctional historic centres represent afabric of mixed-uses, a vibrant and diverseco-existence of jobs and public services, hou-sing, crafts, communication, education, recrea -tion and culture, retail and services, gastronomyand tourism. They are a model for the sustai-nable European city. As a matter of fact, historic centres offer both a compact, dense,human scale living framework and proximity(limiting daily journeys); they are walking andcycling friendly and well balanced in terms ofuse and social groups, thus providing a goodquality of life to their citizens and users.

So the aim for our historic centres ought tobe, on the one hand, to secure the continuityof traditional mixed uses and the small scalefunctionality they have acquired over time,and on the other hand, to adapt to meet newemerging needs and functions, without be-traying their history and losing their inhabi-tants. Part of the solution lies in the public ad-ministration’s, and its partners’, ability to makechoices that will safeguard the genius loci(the “spirit of the place”) and cultural traditionswhile fostering the contemporary creative

3 Living and consumption: housing space for“all” citizens (the rich and the poor), public andprivate services and provision of (daily) goods;3 Power (town hall, law courts, representativebusiness premises and churches).

Challenges to multi -functional historic centresToday, historic centres (and city centres ingeneral) are challenged to maintain or recovertheir multifunctional character. The main chal-lenges are the wide-ranging demands placedon the historic centre by residents, visitorsand tourists (‘consumers’) as well as localand global businesses. As a result of thesedemands, the historic centre appears as ahighly contested arena, host to diverse andoften conflicting interests and developmentideas.Examples of conflicting demands are the increasing numbers of tourists provoking thereplacement of housing space and dailygoods retail stores by hotels, pensions, giftshops, etc. and the conversion of non-com-mercial public space into commercial leisureareas (often crowding out essential functionsserving the real needs of existing inhabitants).

potentials which together contribute to theunique identity of historic cities.

Here conventional, uncoordinated mono-sec-toral policies and instruments are not suffi-cient. An integrated approach is needed, thatbrings the different demands onto the table,coordinates and links them to the further development of the cultural heritage on an ongoing basis. This requires an integrateddevelopment concept for the historic city, ba-sed on the model of the sustainable Europeancity. It has to consider and assess the functio-nal restructuring (new uses), the functionaldiversification (introduction of new uses whilekeeping existing ones) and the functional regeneration (optimizing existing uses) in thecontext of the historical environment and itsvalues.

The implementation of such a developmentconcept ought to be supported by a manage-ment system that continuously deals with thiscomposite topic, assessing, improving andadapting the development concept to res-pond to new emerging needs and challenges.While doing so, formal and informal planningas well as development instruments have tobe applied and coordinated in a framework ofmutual support.

In this paper, we draw on examples from cities involved in 2 URBACT networks, HerO(www.urbact.eu/hero) and LINKS (www.urbact.eu/links), to highlight some of the chal-lenges related to the development of historicalcity-centres - especially when it comes tomaintaining the residential function, housing –and how this development may be conceivedas a way to safeguard multifunctional historiccentres.

Managing multifunctionalhistoric quartersThe HerO network: the case of RegensburgWithin the URBACT HerO network, one of the main issues is the management and ba-lancing of urban functions to secure multi-functional and attractive historic urban quar-ters for visitors, residents and businessesalike. Examples of “good-practice” for secto-ral fragments such as housing and social mix,economic and cultural activities, tourism, (alternative) mobility and accessibility exist in nearly all partner cities. But a holistic and integrated approach which considers andcoordinates the different needs of local resi-dents, visitors and businesses while preservingthe needs of the cultural heritage, barely exists.

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“The challenge of historiccentres is to match theirinherited urban structure,identity and buildings with the manifold demands of residents, visitors andbusinesses.”

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Thus, one of the major tasks HerO partnerscommitted to undertake during the life time ofthe network was to set up a Cultural HeritageIntegrated Management Plan, or CHIMP (seeThematic Report on Cultural Heritage Integra-ted Management Plans updated version:http://urbact.eu/fileadmin/Projects/HERO/projects_media/Vilnius_Thematic_report04.pdf).The example of Regensburg shows how it ispossible to manage the mixed-use characterof the historic centre and balance the differentdemands on that area over time.

k The case of RegensburgRegensburg, in Bavaria, Germany, is locatedat the confluence of the Danube and Regenrivers, at the northernmost bend of the Danube.Its population is about 145,000, accommoda-ted in a territory covering 81 km². The largemedieval centre of the city with its well preser-ved original basic outline dating from the 14th

century is (since 2006) recognised as aUNESCO World Heritage Site. It covers anarea of 1.83 km² with 15,000 inhabitants and984 monuments. Public buildings, private re-sidences and the imposing grounds ofchurches, monasteries and religious founda-tions contribute to an authentic picture of medieval urban culture and architecture. Further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regensburg.

k Pioneering urban renewal in a multi-functional historic centre (20th century)A series of challenges faced the city after the2nd world war which incited local authorities to develop an integrated approach towardsthe revitalisation of the historic centre. The

The revitalisation process was initiated by themunicipality (which bought and renovated 12 buildings), playing a catalyst role for the renewal. In this very first stage of develop-ment, pilot projects were implemented thatmoderated the density of the built-up areas,and increased the green surface and parkingspaces. Meanwhile, the character of the historic buil-dings and the townscape was preserved andpublic spaces reorganised. The process rested

response was based on a long-term vision forthe city as a continuing multifunctional core.

The first step towards diversified functionswas the improvement of the living environ-ment, closely interlinked with the aim of thepreservation of the historic building stock. Inthe framework of the Donauwacht project(1955-1989), a complex revitalisation pro-gramme was initiated. The planners proposeda city centre as a space for living, suitable formodern business activities, and also as a‘museum’. Providing modern housing condi-tions for the inhabitants was a key issue; ho-wever, preservation of the historic structureswas given priority over redevelopment (newbuildings). The project was also focused onthe development of public spaces and re-organisation of the traffic system. Linking preservation to functional diversity represen-ted a shift from the ‘mainstream’ priorities setout in urban policy up to this point.

on the comprehensive review of the existingconditions in the area to be revitalised (inclu-ding conducting interviews with all stakehol-ders). Planning tools and techniques werealso developed to implement and managethe revitalisation strategy: The municipal inter-vention was institutionalised in 1967 by esta-blishing a local development company whichacted as a further catalyst with the renovationof buildings and inner courtyards. To avoid thedestruction of valuable old structures and thetownscape, a major part of the building stockwas put under protection, and local people(owners) were encouraged to participate inthe revitalisation.

k Pact for the Old Town (2005)In the first years of the new millennium, the diversity of functions of the historic centrewas endangered by major large-scale deve-lopments, including shops and a number ofservice facilities locating outside the historiccentre. The historic centre lost significant services and retail functions to these newcompetitors.

As a reaction, the “Pact for the Old Town” wasfounded in 2005. All agents concerned withthe Old Town retail sector such as municipaldepartments, organisations of the self-em-ployed (representing small businesses), or-ganisations of commerce, hotel and cateringindustries, chamber of industry and trade,Regensburg Tourism GmbH, real estate owners, banks and local media were broughttogether in a close-knit network. The resultingPact is a framework for information flow, adialogue to set common goals, division ofwork, cost, efforts and reconciliation ofconflicting interests that arise during imple-mentation. This forum of private and publicactors managed to stabilise the retail and service function of the historic centre.

k Integrated World Heritage Management Plan (2010)The “Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtam-hof”, comprising the historic centre, is listedsince 2006 as a World Heritage Site. TheHerO network built the framework to developan Integrated Management Plan (CHIMP) tocontinue and improve the efforts carried outover the last decades to realise a sustainabledevelopment of that area founded on reten-tion of its mixed use character and intact physical cultural heritage.

The CHIMP will be the integrated and imple-mentation-oriented concept for the protectionand development of the historic centre, deter-mining the vision, guidelines, objectives, ac-tions and a management system to safeguard

37READY-TO-LIVE MULTIFUNCTIONAL

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CHIMPsA “Cultural Heritage Integrated Management Plan” (CHIMP) is an innovative instrumentto effectively manage the sustainable safeguarding and development of historic urbanareas and their cultural heritage as attractive, competitive and multifunctional places. It balances and coordinates the cultural heritage needs with the needs of the (manifold)“users” of the historic urban area and those of the governmental bodies in charge. Thus, a Cultural Heritage Integrated Management Plan determines and establishes theappropriate strategy, objectives, actions and management structures to safeguard thecultural heritage, to balance the different needs while using historic urban areas and theircultural heritage as a significant development asset.

“The historic centre appearsas a highly contested arena,host to diverse and oftenconflicting interests anddevelopment ideas”.

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are strongly criticised as being unsustainable.These districts had become the beacon ofmodernity and the standard of the consume-rist society. Many inhabitants left the old citiesto find green spaces, access to property, larger housing, and a new sense of individualfreedom and social belonging. In that period,historic centres were considered as pictu-resque and touristic areas, as sorts of open-air museums and past testimonies of localhistory. A detrimental imbalance rapidly grewbetween residential functions and “attraction”functions.

The miracle is becoming something of anightmare for many suburbanites. Saturationof urban traffic, growing commuting cons -traints and distance to daily amenities havechanged our relationship with suburbia. Froma choice originally based on the conquest ofmobility, the attractiveness of suburban lifehas already faded away. As “peak oil” and climate change issues impose new limits onmobility, the old European city may recover itstraditional role thanks to its intrinsic advan-tages: diversity and proximity of urban func-tions as well as economical, cultural and edu-cational assets.

But this will not happen unless municipalitiesshow their ability to protect and reinforce thecentres’ residential functions, which are themost fragile, and to regulate the so-called“attraction” functions that have reached

the cultural heritage and the mixed-use cha-racter of the area. To secure the integratedapproach and the mixed-use character, eightfields of actions have been identified, whichare of outermost importance for the develop -ment of the area:1. Physical cultural heritage,2. Culture and tourism,3. Economy,4. Housing and living environment,5. Mobility and accessibility,6. Urban design,7. Environment and leisure,8. Awareness raising and research.

For each field of action, principles, objectivesand specific interventions were determinedand coordinated taking the parallel issues intoaccount. In order to boost the identificationand broad support of the CHIMP and itscontent (objectives, actions, etc.), manifoldpublic departments, private organisations andcitizens were involved in the development ofthe objectives and actions, using meetingsand workshops to discuss and coordinate thedifferent demands of the stakeholders, whichthey each brought to the discussion table.This also supported the understanding amongthe stakeholders about each others needs.

The upcoming years will show if the CHIMPdeveloped under URBACT and its participa-tive process will be successful in safeguardingboth the physical cultural heritage and themixed-use character of the historic city.

The LINKS network aims to secure housing k An increasing territorial competitionAll through the last century, the emergence ofmono-structured suburbs has rigorously accompanied the deep mutation of our wayof life, contributing to the shaping of our ex-pectations in terms of housing quality. Increa-sed mobility offset the constraints of thesemono functional urban extensions that today

unprecedented levels during the last decades.To improve their residential attractiveness, citycentres must offer credible alternatives to su-burban housing schemes. After several yearsof sustained efforts to revitalize the historiccentres, it is clearly evident that the improve-ment of buildings is not sufficient. Bringing lifeback to the city centre will depend on our ability to respect consumers’ habits and ex-pectations in terms of jobs, transport, leisure,culture and provision of services.

This is precisely why the partners of the URBACT network LINKS have decided to ini-tiate their exchanges by trying to answer asimple question: “Why live in a historic cen-tre?” The objective is to define social expec-tations in relationship with citizens. This socialapproach is indispensable in order to termi-nate with the practice of addressing onlymono-sector policies.

k Managing uses, conflicts: mixing fire and water? Most of the historic cities of the LINKS network are faced with an invasion of barsand restaurants which create conflicts withinhabitants. Bayonne (France) or Kilkenny (Ire-land) for example are known as “party cities”.Bayonne has developed a festive identity withthe famous Ferias in August, but in fact throu-ghout the year, a whole district of the historiccentre has become a dedicated place for stu-dents’ parties. All Ireland comes to Kilkenny

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Quality, Diversity, Accessibility: Bayonne’s historic centre (Right) is hardly any bigger but incomparably much denserand more diverse than the nearby commercial centre (Left).

Two faces of the same medal! (Kilkenny)

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for “stag” or “hen” parties. This can be a sym-pathetic aspect of the cities’ image, but inha-bitants can also suffer intensely from this phe-nomenon. From its origins as a traditionaldistrict for families, the “Petit Bayonne” districthas become a residential spot for studentsand low-income populations. The trade acti-vities are dominated by bars and cafes at theexpense of former proximity retail and servicefunctions. Some streets are overcrowded lateinto the night and noise is a real source ofconflict. This use of public spaces also imposesextra pressure on public resources to reinforcemeasures in respect of urban cleanliness.

To improve the situation, a process was laun-ched involving bars’ owners and students tojointly find solutions. As a first step, the mu-nicipality decided to close bars at half-pastmidnight to avoid at least part of the conflicts.Both in Kilkenny and in Bayonne, drinking al-cohol in the street is simply forbidden and aprevention policy has also been tested toavoid under-age drinking and tackle anti-so-cial behaviour.In order to address the low compatibility bet-ween festive activities and the expectation ofresidential quietness, some cities have chosenanother approach: they identify some streetsto specialise in accommodating night-life im-pacts and reduce or abandon housing pro-jects in these parts of town. Although it mayappear to reflect a failure of multi-functionalpolicies, the “Rue de la soif” (“Thirst Street”)policy actually permits the city to efficiently reduce usage conflicts. Bordeaux (France)and some other cities have developed leisureareas in former industrial sites, directing thisactivity away from living districts (e.g. “Quai dePaludate”: ancient warehouses on the riverdocks).

k Regulating commercial expansion:an uneasy challengeAnother functional conflict which needs to bemanaged is the development of shops to thedetriment of housing stock. In a context ofstrong economic activity, the independentcorridors and staircases giving access to theupper floors are often simply transformed intocommercial square meters. The upstairsapartments thus become inaccessible andremain empty; the loss of rental income iscompensated by high commercial rent. Toavoid this phenomenon, many historic citieshave instituted specific regulations forbiddingthe suppression or requiring the restoration ofthe original accesses. Even if this is not theuniversal panacea, it is important in preservingsome viable potential for housing in the historiccentre.

Some kind of balance between large com-mercial centres and Main Street shops mustalso be found, to help small businesses resistthe competition experienced as a result ofnearby commercial malls. This means suppor-ting shop owners initiatives to design alterna-tive marketing strategies, to retro-fit historic or traditional buildings, to find appropriateoperational solutions for in-town deliveriesand decrease management costs. Cities haveto invent and organize solutions for urban logistics that will respect the traditional patternof district life. The importance of pedestrianareas in historic centers logically encouragescities to implement “green traffic” policiesusing adapted vehicles and providing incen-tives to tradesmen and their clients to usethese alternatives. While in many towns, theonly solution is still to persist in welcoming tra-ditional vehicles with specific schedules,some others have designed innovative solu-tions to optimize the delivery of goods in thehistoric centers. During the tramway buildingwork, Bordeaux created Proximity DeliverySpots to lower the traffic flows inside the his-toric centre and thereby reduce the conflictsthus generated.

To maintain a diversity of trade, it is some-times necessary for the city to even controlpart of the commercial property stock. This isa measure that Bayonne municipality adoptedto foster the settlement of local arts and craftshops around a new public square created inthe core of the historic centre.

k No functional mix without social mixThe quest for a multifunctional city and a balanced revitalisation of historic quarterscannot be conceived without integrating thehuman factor. The main stakeholders and«user experts» in the city are still the citizens.By actively involving them in transforming theirliving environment, it is possible to achieve abetter appropriation of the city, which in turncontributes to the preservation of their qualityof life and local customs, through a restoreddialogue within an often conflicting context.Acceptance and success of the sustainable

city depends on the way social expectationsare understood and on an appropriate modeof governance.

ConclusionMultifunctional historic centres have a strongappeal to a wide and numerous variety of: residents, tourists, entrepreneurs, etc. Thiscan, at the same time, threaten the mixed-usepattern, in particular when tourism and leisurefunctions are increasing, pushing out servicefunctions for residents (e.g. housing, localservices) which are less profitable.

To secure multifunctional historic centres ascontribution for attractive and liveable cities,an active coordination and management ofthe needs and demands of the different stakeholders is essential based on the assetsof the cultural heritage. In order to achievethis, it is required: 3 to develop a participative and an integratedmanagement approach,3 to encourage the diversity of land-use, 3 to focus on the city’s cultural values as itsgreatest asset, 3 to recognise the needs of the different stakeholders and3 to activate the willingness of all stakeholdersconcerned to cooperate and find commonsolutions (looking for ‘win-win situations’ instead of “the winner takes it all’).

The functional diversity of historic centres canbe supported by the revitalisation of the tra-ditional activities of the urban centre, as wellas by strengthening new sectors – looking to-wards supporting a vital mixture of retail andservices, habitation, crafts, communication,education and academic life, recreation andculture, gastronomy, housing and tourism.This will result in mixed-used historic centres,which keep up residents and visitors’ qualityof life, the identity of the place and safeguardthe cultural heritage. ●

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iMORE INFORMATION

HERO project: http://urbact.eu/en/projects/cultural-heritage-city-development/hero/homepage/

Lead Expert: Nils [email protected]

LINKS project: http://urbact.eu/en/projects/cultural-heritage-city-development/links/homepage/

Lead Partner: Frédérique [email protected]

“This will lead to mixed-usedhistoric centres, which keepup residents and visitors’quality of life, the identity ofthe place and safeguard thecultural heritage.”


A “NEW SOCIAL DEAL” FOR STABLE LIVING?PROMISING WAYS FOR CITIES TO ACT IN SECURING HOUSING

Our URBACT II Thematic Network‚ SUITE TheHousing Project’ (social and urban inclusionthrough housing) – a collaboration of nine citiesin seven European countries – therefore dealswith the question how housing and especiallysocial housing (in all its facets) can be desi gnedin a liveable way in a synthesis of social, eco-nomic and environmental sustainability (seehttp://urbact.eu/en/projects/quality-sustaina-ble-living/suite/ homepage/).During our work we came upon numerouspro mising new, but also some time-testedexamples as well as confirmation of ongoingdifficulties1.

Short-sighted? - A lack of inclusive actionsOn the level of cities and agglomerationsmeasures to combine goals in housing, edu-cation and employment are those most in theirinfancy. A short-sighted course of action - earlyand preventative multi-faceted measures ofintervention by municipalities for securing

The term “crisis” seems so worn thatwe can already observe a gettingused to it, while the crisis itself is farfrom over. On the contrary, unem-

ployment keeps rising and the cities‘ financialcrisis has not yet reached its climax.

As was to be expected, crises are also usedto approach structural problems in the econo -my. Those who lose out are always likely to bethe jobholders. Even greater importance the-refore has to be applied to security in all otherlife areas, most of all concerning housing.In view of the crisis of the cities it should beof main interest to focus on experiences promising success during the often painfulprocess of restructuring.

Cities have the duty to strengthen the positionof their citizens, above all those with lesser in-come and those most disadvantaged, insofaras that changes on the job market should notbe aggravated by even higher housing costsand, in the worst case, housing loss.

Lost your job and then your flat? Or the other way around? There are a number of differentways to stabilise housing, or even to help locally with jobsituations. What really pays off are investments that citiesmake. Often, it is not even aquestion of money, but ofcreativity, open-mindedness and collaboration across different professional areas and hierarchies. URBACT citiesand other European cities have demonstrated this.

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BY HEIDRUN FEIGELFELDLEAD EXPERT OF THE SUITE THEMATIC NETWORK


41A “NEW SOCIAL DEAL” FOR STABLE LIVING?

issue – looking at the structure of the housingsystem. This includes the question of supplyof affordable and decent housing, access,preven tion of housing loss, and re-integrationinto a stable, independent living situation ofpeople who have fallen into homelessness.Furthermore, as mentioned before, the workingworld should be included.

Isolated? - The groups of actors and their interrelations

When dealing with a commodity as immobileas housing, the level of action is local. Here,a variety of actors act upon a variety of initia-tives: city councils, social NGOs, housingcompanies and local groups of residents, asthe examples show.

What can be observed as lacking most of thetime is a sufficiently coordinated and integra-ted action within and between these different

housing could avoid the long-term socialcosts of re-integration into the labour marketand remodelling a decent living situation, aswell as the costs of the re-stabilisation ofneighbourhoods.

Still, the question remains – How to do it? ‘Inclusive housing’ is an issue that cannot be resolved exclusively within municipal anti-poverty policy, concentrated on ‘homeless-ness’ or restricted to the field of ‘social welfareand homelessness’. Stakeholders and ex-perts support a much broader access to the

groups. This includes regulative measures,measures for certain types of households, “softmeasures and soft services” and some, whichare interdisciplinary and inter-institutional.

Choose the clover leaf! The areas of actionThe prior starting points therefore lie in accessto housing and prevention of housing loss,secondly in reintegration, rehousing andthirdly - and this is the least developed area -in connecting all this to employment.

k (A) Affordable and stable – prevention and accessThe insight that prevention of housing lossmust be addressed in a comprehensive andearly fashion, ideally before an eviction pro-cess is under way, has already become com-mon knowledge.

It is essential to guarantee that neither tenantsnor home-owners run into the insolvency trap.That means keeping housing affordable regar-ding access, buying and renovation costs aswell as – and here lies an often underestima-ted danger – increasing running costs.

Various good examples include the provisionof a quality control of new construction andregeneration, for new construction. The Cityof Vienna organises developers competitionswith comprehensive selection criteria basedon four pillars of sustainability (urban planning/architecture, society, economy, ecology). Furthermore, for regeneration projects, theCity of Vienna defines various social condi-tions for the allocation of old housing stock renovation credits (protection of sitting te-nants, flats for social needs). The City of New-castle upon Tyne carries out a comprehensivetenant-friendly regeneration of old social hou-sing stock from the 1960s (Riverside Dene) 2.

Another example in the field of creating ow-nership is provided by SUITE partner NantesMétropole with its funding programme en-abling access to ownership for young house-holds (see the box).

Later loss of housing can be avoided by a holistic approach towards the situation ofyoung flat seekers, as is impressively de-monstrated by the “Pathways for under 18s”service of Newcastle upon Tyne (see box).Current housing loss can be prevented by“prevention of eviction counselling” includingcontact with landlords, as has become

Individual support by lowering costs: Nantes Métropole’s Funding for young first-time owners“The first Key” (Première Clé Nantes Métropole) is a new financial aid for younger familieswith modest income to help them buy or construct housing space within the agglomeration.A one-time direct subsidy by the Métropole‘s administration (institutionalised unit of theagglomeration), awarded according to conditions of the financial and housing situation and family size, also facilitates access to further subsidies, such as a national “interest-freecredit” (Prêt à Taux Zéro) and the ”Pass-Foncier” - a support for building lot acquisition. This produces the desired leverage effect.The special feature: this action is valid not only on the level of the main city, but also on thelevel of the entire agglomeration. For this reason, migration into still more distant, but betteraffordable regions can be hindered. Indirectly, also a reduction of tension in the demand for social housing should be achieved.See www.nantesmetropole.fr/pratique/habitat/

Support a much broaderaccess to 'inclusive housing':look at the structure of thehousing system.

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In Europe, municipal services for the Home-less are being developed further, ranging from manifold offers in the form of “integrated chain approaches” and “networks” towards a paradigm shift to “Housing First” (see box).FEANTSA, the European Federation of Natio-nal Organisations working with the Homeless4,promotes the dissemination of good exam-ples, social inclusion of those affected, as wellas the guarantee of their rights on a Europeanlevel (www.feantsa.org).

k (C) Two pillars: housing and job –connection to employment and entrepreneurshipAlthough place of employment and place ofresidence have uncoupled over the course ofhistory, concerted actions are of paramountimportance when dealing with the highconcentration of unemployment in housingquarters (primarily among young people), withthe situation of single parents and with the vi-cious circle of job and housing loss.

Some examples: The City of Rennes, memberof Rennes Métropole, regenerated an isolatedhousing estate on the outskirts, the projectZAC Kennedy, until 2007. They integrated thelocal small enterprises and shops, and createda mixed offer of renovated flats and a remar-kable amelioration of public space. NantesMétropole, provides an employment assis-tance service in a large social housing rege-neration quarter (see Box). In one Berlin quar-ter, (“Kiez”), there are vocational trainingcentres and educational opportunities in a"Community-House", the "Osloer Street

Factory" (for a hint from the URBACT networkCO-NET, see the baseline study http://urbact .eu/ f i leadmin/Pro jects/CoNet/documents_media/CoNet_Baseline.pdf), inanother district, migrant women are beingtrained and employed as “neighbourhoodmothers” (“Stadtteilmütter” Neukölln, seehttp://www.sozialestadt.de/praxisdatenbank/suche/ausgabe.php?id=521 and also the CO-NET baseline study).

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Individual support by Services: Newcastle’s Pathways for under 18 Support for young first timetenantsThe service “Under 18 Pathway” of the Your Homes Newcastle (YHN)organisation, the housing enterprise,which manages almost the entire socialhousing stock of the city 3, offers youngpeople under 18 who express a demandfor a first independent flat a check of theircurrent situation and a compre hensiveadvisory service. In the case ofallocation of a flat, the young first timetenant will be accompanied until hisliving situation has stabilised.Also the floating support for youngpeople leaving homeless accommo da -tion has been integrated in the overallconcept of the programme. Through thisinitiative, in a relatively short time-scale,the number of young homeless hasbeen dramatically reduced.The programme brings togethernumerous activities in the field ofhousing provision, housing management,social issues and provisions for thehomeless. Among the main qualities,there are a clear assignment of roles,training, transparency and short-termreaction.

More: URBACT Newcastle Pathwayscase study (website, forthcoming)www.urbact.eu - www.newcastle.gov.uk

The Charter for Rehousing Nantes Métropole's offer for tenants householdsThe Charter contains clear points onquestions regarding housing, social issuesand financing. It ensures that:

3 moving costs are entirely borne by the lessor (the housing association),

3 possible rent increase is covered 100%in the first year, 50% in the second year,

3 possible costs of technical installation are covered,

3 It ensures up to five propositions of flats adapted for the needs of the tenants,

3 taking into consideration the wishesexpressed by the tenants,

3 comparable condition of the flat,

3 and, if necessary, an external help for moving out and moving in.

(see http://www.resovilles.com/media/BoiteaOutils/Charte_relogement_nantes_malakoff.pdf, in French)

common procedure in Austria by adaptingtechniques developed from a pilot project intoa highly successful practice by FAWOS inVienna (http://www.habitact.eu/files/news/news/_issue4_final.pdf).

k (B) Homelessness is not a fate – reintegration and return to independent living Once the existing housing situation is challen-ged – e.g. during broad regeneration – or ter-minated, the most urgent goal of all involvedpersons is to reintegrate those affected into astable and independent living situation as fastas possible, yet also in a sustainable way.For example, Nantes Métropole, together withthe City of Nantes, provides a “Charte de Re-logement” (Charter of Rehousing) for the for-mer tenants to facilitate a comprehensive re-generation of a large housing estate.

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Still a long way to goIt seems that the greatest deficits at the mo ment lie with the real application of the integrated view, the capacity to secure em-ployment while combining it with the protec-tion of the housing situation. But there arepromising approaches.The question whether it is possible to producehousing that is simultaniously ecologicallysustainable and affordable really needs to beaddressed.Another urgent question is why some of thepossibilities of EU housing subsidies - ERDFand ESF - that are already in effect are still notused to their full extent and how the future during the next period of funding could look.Last but not least it is essential that all theseaspects are not dealt with while excludingthose actually affected, but to respect their dignity and offer them a respectable role in the development of new paths. They are theliving experience specialists in this situation.

There is a huge amount of material on this documented in many papers. But each one ofthem yields the potential to be read by theright person at the right moment and to am-plify an existing idea or inspire a new directionof thinking. What helps even more for one‘sown morale boosting and outward argumen-tation is that others have already initiated andhad good experiences with courageous solu-tions in the field of securing of housing.

URBACT can also provide a valuable forumfor this and with a capacity to reach many cities. ●

(1) The examples mentioned in this article are from the SUITE partners Nantes Métropole, Newcastle uponTyne and Rennes Métropole, plus from Amsterdam,Berlin, Finland, Glasgow, and FEANTSA.

(2) Find the SUITE Network on the URBACT website.

(3) An arm’s length city council management body.

(4) Member of the URBACT SUITE network board of counsellors.

43A “NEW SOCIAL DEAL” FOR STABLE LIVING?

iMORE INFORMATION

SUITE project:http://urbact.eu/en/projects/quality-sustainable-living/suite/homepage/

Lead Expert: Heidrun [email protected]

Housing First Plus Finnish, Dutch and Scottish concepts and expertise Early independence for former homeless personsHousing First’ and “Housing First Plus” are new and much discussed approaches towardsthe reintegration of homeless persons. One of the fundamental principles is to providehomeless persons with access to independent and affordable housing situations as soonas possible without supplying them with homes or supported accommodation for longerperiods. So they can live in self-sustaining housing units of various forms (“normal housing”)with adequate floating support, flexible and pro-active, on a voluntary basis. There is norequirement that tenants be “housing ready” prior to entry. First studies confirm positiveoutputs. This holistic and systematic approach aims at being consistent with the multi-dimensionality of services for the Homeless (securing basic needs, access to employment,housing supply, psycho-social care).

Among the increasing number of countries following this approach, Finland for examplehas declared “Housing First” to be the main target of its homelessness policy and this canbe compared with first local offers, such as those operating in the Netherlands (e.g. Discusin Amsterdam) and in the UK (e.g. in Glasgow). On a European level, there are strongefforts to evaluate these pilot projects and test their transferability.

See various presentations on this subject on www.aurora-austria.eu/1005,,,2.html (EU project ‘Aurora plus – New Ways out of Poverty’ is an initiative for combating povertyin Austria) and http://www.habitact.eu/files/news/news/_issue4_final.pdf page 2)

Nantes Métropole’s employment service in a large housing estate - Malakoff

Within the framework of anongoing comprehensiveregeneration of the area NouveauMalakoff (GPV Grand Projet de Ville, 2008), a small “house of employment” (maison del’emploi) was installed, easilyaccessible and in the centre ofthe estate. It brings together thevarious actors in the field of work and provides in a “one-stop-shop” all usefulinformation about professions, employment, formation and creation of enterprises (in the framework of the “Local Social Project”, PST-Projet Social de Territoire).Further offers in Malakoff, apart from the allocation of numerous new enterprises, are: a local office (bureau de quartier), which also cares for the support of theresidents in daily questions related to jobs and formation; and also, a “Public digitalspace Malakoff” (Espace Public Numérique), where residents, jobseekers and othersare acquainted with the use of digital media. Furthermore, there is a provision withaffordable Internet access for the residents.

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MORE PEOPLE IN PRISONSAS A TOOL OF URBAN REGENERATION

This article is not about getting tough-on-crime in the ways of Rudy Giuliani,the former Mayor of New York - howe ver virtuous it may be. Yet it

promotes putting more people in prisons…Read on. Old prisons, many of them in citycentres, have become a headache for quite anumber of cities: while built on what is now often highly prized land, and thus prime can-didates for demolition and redevelopment,they are frequently protected as significantcultural heritage. Success stories of prisonconversions to hotels around the world abound. The Old Jail, Mount Gambier in Australia, Napier Prison, New Zealand, or Karosta prison,Liepaja, Latvia - all without major redevelopment

Recent history of the conversion of historic prisons often limits newuses of the old prisons to hotel and museum functions due to thespecificity of their spatial structure - buildings created for securedetention purposes. Whilst conversions of prisons to hotels provideus with some outstanding architectural examples, the impact ofthese uses on the regeneration of the surrounding urban area isnarrow. A different approach is demonstrated in the case of theongoing conversion of Le Murate prison in Florence (Italy) into amultifunctional hub of the historic centre. The new uses have beendetermined by needs and a visionary approach and serve social andeconomic sustainability of the broader regenerated neighbourhood.Its peer in the REPAIR network, Corradino prison in Paola (Malta),demonstrates an equally inte grative approach.

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BY PAULIUS KULIKAUSKASLEAD EXPERT OF THE REPAIR THEMATIC NETWORK

Le Murate before and after.©

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45MORE PEOPLE IN PRISONS

- cater to backpackers with maximum au-thenticity and very basic comfort. In Praguethe Pension Unitas occupies a former policedetainment house, where Vaclav Havel wasonce jailed. Hotel Malmaison in a former Cas-tle in Oxford, UK, Katajanokka in Helsinki,Långholmen in Stockholm, or Charles StreetJail in Boston have all been converted toluxury hotels, preserving the most presentablearchitectural features and spaces, but nowproviding a high level of comfort.

Yet a large hotel is not always the best newuse for such a complex in a neighbourhood tobe regenerated: it becomes a building that isalmost entirely isolated from the local neigh-bourhood, as if the spaceship from anotherplanet has landed. It burdens the neighbour -hood with additional traffic, and while someexpect that the local shops and restaurantswill benefit from patronage of the hotel’sguests, this is only true of the smaller hotels,as the large ones tend to be self-sufficient…

Can a former prison be used for somethingelse? Can it serve the neighbourhood by becoming an integral amenity, by respondingto its needs, by driving the regeneration? Canother uses be economically sustainable? Willthese uses preserve the original architecturebetter than a hotel?

More than a hotelThe regenerated prisons in the REPAIR The-matic Network stand out from the crowd. Corradino and Le Murate cases are unlike

each other: Le Murate project is run by theCity, while the Maltese example is leased to aprivate company. Le Murate is in a historiccentre, and Corradino’s immediate surroun-dings are devoted to sports and industrialland uses. Le Murate is older and larger. Theimplementation of its reconversion has beengoing on for 10 years, and is now half-waycompleted, whilst Corradino has just started.Yet they share the common effort seeking tointegrate former places of isolation into thesurrounding neighbourhood.

Whilst Florence is known for difference of opi-nions and heated debates among its citizensin respect of development proposals, regene-ration of Le Murate did not stir up much resis-tance in the neighbourhood. The new com-mercial and art-leisure activities target the localcommunity, offering new jobs to the unem-ployed, and attracting university studentswho live and visit the area in which two seatsof the architecture faculty are located. The for-merly secluded block is now completely openfor through passage, and two new squaresare open to the public for enjoyment and forperforming arts.

Besides the skilful integration into the urbanspatial pattern and life of the neighbourhood,Le Murate’s regeneration is architecturally da-ring. The architects of the City’s social housingoffice (Roberto Melosi, Mario Pittalis, Giusep-pina Fantozzi, Santi Garufi) cour ageously jux-tapose the historic and the new architecturalelements, intertwining them into a harmonious,functional whole. Such a result is not easy toachieve while simultaneously complying withthe stringent requirements of heritage pro-tection. It is perhaps the only former prison inwhich parts the building have been convertedto social housing.

Back to freedomThe icing on Le Murate’s cake is the area ofthe complex devoted to “Smart dissidents2.0” and “SUC” activities.

The memory of a prison generally brings withit a dreadful image. The name chosen for thehotel in the former Charles Street Jail in Boston

The REPAIRSmall and medium sized urban areas where historically the military presence has dominatedeconomic activity are especially vulnerable to withdrawal of the military presence.However, former military sites often have excellent potential as catalysts for urbanregeneration. Many consist of historic buildings, which may be considered critical assets.The challenge is to transform these abandoned military heritage sites into thrivingsources of economic activity, employment and social cohesion, so that the regenerationof these sites contributes to the sustainable development of the broader urban areaswithin which they are located.

The partner cities in the REPAIR (Realization of the Potential of Abandoned military sitesas an Integral part of sustainable urban community Regeneration) Thematic Network, led by Medway Council (UK), represent very diverse geographical, political and historicalcircumstances but they share some key common characteristics. Their ‘sense of place’and identity have been shaped by the presence of large military sites and installations,now abandoned by the military authorities. Some of the urban areas have historicfortifications or other buildings dating back many centuries, protected as valued elementsof the cultural heritage.

In REPAIR the partners are tackling a broader agenda. Their key task is to explore howthe successful regeneration of former military sites can also act as a catalyst for broadersustainable urban development. http://urbact.eu/repair

Le Murate: new social housing and new city squares.

“A living urban neighbourhood is hardly possible withouthousing. This not only contributes for the healthy mix offunctions – we are also retaining social diversity in the areawhere most of the people cannot afford to live on marketconditions. Le Murate demonstrates that homes in a formerprison are not only feasible but also desirable.”

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the heart of Florence incorporating fine andaudiovisual arts, music, performance, fashion,botany and cooking.This all-pervading openness and freedom -the innovative integration of uses in the cou-rageously rearranged historic space, integra-ted into the life and space of the neighbour -hood- is the essence of Le Murate: a prisonwhich has been set free.

Can a hotel work for a neighbourhood?In Malta, Corradino’s planned uses are moremainstream than the Firenze experience: in-volving the introduction of a museum and ahostel. This is however not a result of simplyfollowing trends or copying quick and easysolutions developed elsewhere. These func-tions are determined by the needs of the Hibernians organisation, the company thatleases the building. The organisation requires

is not coincidentally the Liberty Hotel. Theoriginators of Le Murate’s regeneration projecthave taken a step further. The Smart dissi-dents 2.0 is a shelter for journalists who havebeen persecuted in their countries. Here at LeMurate they find a place to stay with commonservices and support to allow them to conti-nue their journalistic activities, including com-puter training, creation of websites and othermeans of publishing their work on the Internet- telling the world about injustice in their coun-tries without being censored and subjected toviolence. Here they can meet, share their ex-periences, and devise new, better strategies.SUC – the Spazi Urbani Contemporanei (alsoinspired by “souk” – a Middle East market) isa laboratory of contemporary culture. Coupledwith the Smart Dissidents, this part of le Murateis not just not a mere exhibition venue, but anarea open to contemporary, interdisciplinaryinteraction “at 360 degrees”, a permanent laboratory of cross-fertilising artistic ideas at

such facilities to enhance the offer for interna-tional sports exchanges, and so complementthe neighbouring building that houses a hugesports arena.

The Action Plan creates green corridorsthrough the Paola town square and previewsa kilometre of pedestrian connections linkingthe Prison to the town centre, Hal Saflieniand Kordin III World Heritage Sites and to otherarchitectural landmarks. The centre of Paolais transformed into a hub feeding 23 busroutes. A “park and ride” facility and a pedes-trian bridge together with the new campusdevelopment are being contemplated. Whatmakes the Corradino project innovative andintegrative is how its new role in the largerarea is being determined, conceiving future interaction with other elements of the holisticdistrict vision, and planning appropriate deve-lopment of infra-structure to serve the wholeneighbourhood.

46

In 1997, Renzo Piano was commissioned to propose an idea on how to regenerate the site. Planning regeneration was a greatchallenge: to respect the historical andarchitectural value of the Grade 1 listedcomplex, and to integrate it into the citycentre. The vision was to create the widestpossible mix of features and functions,plugging in to the complexity and therichness of the surrounding urban space,opening it up for pedestrian passage, andbringing residents back to the historic centre.The plan has been drawn adhering to theprinciples of preservation and conservation, in a fruitful collaboration with the Fine ArtsTrust (La Soprintendenza per i BeniArchitettonici). Existing building elements(stones, iron elements like gates, roof tiles,wooden beams….) were reused as much as possible. The techniques of regeneration

required by the Fine Arts Trust allowed theCity to accept higher costs than usual forsocial housing, at the same time integratingsocial, commercial, leisure and art functions.

The project is managed by the Social HousingOffice of the City of Florence, and this ensuresthat time schedules and desired quality arestringently observed. The first ten year phaseresulted in delivery of 73 social dwellings, 2 new urban squares, a commercial-leisuregallery and public and service spaces. The highly innovative approach has beenrecognized by the European Union, financingthe “Reprise” network of cities under the1998 Raphael programme, enabling Florenceto lead an exchange of experiences on theregeneration of abandoned historic prisons.

The project has been strongly supported by the citizens in the neighbourhood.

Commitment of the Mayors and the city

Boards continued throughout the ten years.

The City is now actively promoting the site,

with involvement of almost all the City Board

departments (housing, town-planning,

economic development, culture, social affairs).

The current phase 2010-2013 includes

36 new social dwellings for young couples

and artists, open space for performances

and a subterranean parking below the

performance space, 24 accommodation units

with common services dedicated to “smart

dissidents” (costing 1.8 MEUR financed by

the City), a culture laboratory to gather young

artists from the whole town in a new and

attractive location (0.7 MEUR part-financed

by Tuscany Region).

http://lemurate.comune.fi.it

Le Murate, Florence’s city centre former prison, remained vacant since 1985

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Projects to learn fromUsing the prisons as drivers for regenerationis a characteristic objective shared by Le Murateand Corradino, along with the endeavour ofboth projects to integrate new uses into thelife of the neighbourhoods and their commu-nities. In this way the value of the interventionsare extended and enhanced by firmly deter-mining the future of the regenerated prisonswithin the vision of a wider area rehabilitation,while at the same time establishing connec-tions to other key city locations.

To create a living urban environment in a former prison, as the REPAIR prisons de-monstrate, 3 notions are essential: transfor-ming a formerly secluded, closed space to interact with the urban pattern and life of theneighbourhood; creating a productive mix of functions; and achieving a balance and interplay between those who traverse the siteor purposefully visit it and people who cometo live there. As Claudio Fantoni, member of the City Board of Florence, states: “A livingurban neighbourhood is hardly possible without housing. This not only contributes for the healthy mix of functions – we are alsoretaining social diversity in the area wheremost of the people cannot afford to live onmarket conditions. Le Murate demonstratesthat homes in a former prison are not only feasible but also desirable.”

Karlskrona, a REPAIR partner, and Vilnius aretwo cities which still have functioning historicprisons in their city centres. Both have an-nounced their closure, so the debates on the future of these prisons is imminent. The discussions are now ongoing in Berkshireabout the future of the Broadmoor Prison.We, in REPAIR, hope that, following the LeMurate example, these cities will choose tosteer more people to live in prisons! ●

This article was written using sources kindly provided by REPAIR partners: City of Florence (Dr. Marco Toccafondi), and Paola Local Council (Heritage Enterprise: Dr. Malcolm Borg).

47MORE PEOPLE IN PRISONS

iMORE INFORMATION

REPAIR project:http://urbact.eu/en/projects/cultural-heritage-city-development/repair/homepage/

Lead Expert: Paulius Kulikauskas [email protected]

The Corradino Military Detention Barracks (Prison) has been in the last 30 years encroached on by the expandingindustrial zone of the Marsa and Corradino

The Prison, itself a scheduled Grade 1asset, is close to the Corradino Lines - a part of the Harbour Fortifications onMalta’s Tentative List for World Heritage,and Kordin III - a Temples Site designatedon a World Heritage List. In therehabilitation and regeneration of the areawhich includes the Malta College for Arts,Science and Technology Campus, thePrison will be a point of reference forsports, recreation, tourism and education.

The Prison is currently managed throughthe granting of a lease of 49 years to A.S.Hibernians Ltd. who promote sportsactivities and exchanges. There has alsobeen a close consultation with the MaltaEnvironment and Planning Authority aspart of the restoration and redevelopmentapplication, to consider sustainableconservation in the light of the existingland-use policy for the area. In thedevelopment of the project the PaolaLocal Council has come forward tosupport the development of this visionand there is further support from ThePaola Heritage Foundation, The MaltaIndustrial Parks and The Malta TourismAuthority.

The Conservation Management Planincludes a restoration and rehabilitation of 3 Cell Blocks with adaptive reuse of theEast Block as a Museum and the SouthBlock as a Hostel to be opened by late2012. The project needs the support ofthe Local Council and the possibility ofdeveloping transport and pedestrian linksto and from the town centre. These linkswill be vital for the tourism offer of diverseheritage assets in the area of Paola andCorradino.

The key aspirations of the regenerationproject are private sector involvement and investment in socio-economicregeneration, creating a distinct nichemarket through the services offered, in synergy with the Maltese InternationalConvention Centre, thus maximizing return on investment to make the projectsustainable in the long term. The project is expected to catalyse neighbourhoodempowerment as a means of instilling a sense of belonging and civic prideincorporating heritage as part of theregeneration process.

1. Entrance and Guardhouse of the Corradino Prison. 2. REPAIR Partners and Local support group meetat Corradino. 3. The restored wing of Corradino.

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LINKING CRUISE TOURISM TO URBAN REGENERATIONTHE CTUR PROJECT AND BEYOND

is neither straightforward nor mundane. Therelation between regeneration and cruise tourism can work in two ways:3 when the growth of cruise tourism automa-tically determines regeneration effects in someparts of the city-port or when it becomes themain driver for regeneration measures; 3when an urban regeneration process triggers,among other things, the growth of the localcruise tourist flow.Which conditions should be analysed in orderto determine which approach should be used

the factors at stake should concern residentialfacilities, housing and public space quality,urban communities, human resources as wellas employment, education and professionaltraining.

Cruises and urban rege ne-ration: looking for the linkThe answer to the question of how it is possi-ble to actually develop potential relations bet-ween cruise tourism and a “real” regeneration

Linking cruise tourism to urban rege-neration enables cities to ensure thatcruise lines do not just simply touchand take advantage of urban commu -

nities, thereby generating limited and transitoryeconomic impact. The aim is rather that newgrowth opportunities can be created throughdeveloping the relationship between city, portand tourism in every aspect and in this waycontributing to a “real” urban regeneration,with special (yet not exclusive) reference to portareas. In a genuine regeneration programme

What kind of policies can city-ports implement in order to linkurban regeneration goals to thecruise tourism growth potential,with special reference to citiesendowed with importanthistorical areas? This is the keyquestion behind the CTUR project(Cruise Traffic and UrbanRegeneration), which involveseleven European cities that arequite different from each other(Alicante, Dublin, Helsinki,Istanbul, Matosinhos, Naples,Rhodes, Rostock, Valencia,Varna and Trieste), and is coordi -nated by Naples' City Council.CTUR's goal is to maximize thepositive effects of a touristmarket segment that is showingstrong growth dynamics - evenduring the present economicdownturn - by having the variousstakeholders (starting from the respective “city” and “port”authorities) work together.

48

BY VITTORIO TORBIANELLI LEAD EXPERT OF THE CTUR THEMATIC NETWORK

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49LINKING CRUISE TOURISM

TO URBAN REGENERATION

to bring about the greatest regeneration impact(i.e. comprising the environmental, physical,social, cultural and economic levels)? On the basis of the experiences made byCTUR cities and other locations, the prevailingpolicies can be ascribed to some basic ap-proaches that can be implemented separatelyor in an adequate mix: a) policies based on terminal facilities; b) policies based on a regeneration plan for aneighbourhood; c) policies based on educa-tion and up-skilling to sustain the offer of services to cruise lines. Which are the strengths and weaknesses, therisks and opportunities for each approach?CTUR's experiences (cases studies and LocalAction Plans – LAP) can help find the answerto these key questions.

A terminal-driven approach...The choice of linking cruise tourism to rege-neration goals starting from the creation of anew and attractive cruise terminal was madeby many European (as well as non European)cities over the last few years. In practical terms, there can be great diffe-rences in the approach (and outcome) of thevarious cases, as some significant “Local Action Plans” put forward by CTUR citiesshow.

The Portuguese city of Matosinhos (15,000cruise pax) has chosen to create a new terminal with great architectural visibility in apart of the waterfront that is now peripheral,but which is located not far away from thecity's historical core. The idea behind this isthat the new terminal can help increase cruisepassenger flows based on image and servicequality, which has positive effects on the eco-nomy of the port area (e.g. restaurants) andhelps at the same time to revive the surroun-ding area. The terminal is conceived as part ofa multifunctional urban facility which alsohosts university research laboratories andconference rooms that should attract working

population and new activities to the area alsoin low season, thus sustaining the demand forcommerce and refreshments.

Varna, located on the Black Sea, has deci-ded to re-launch a completely abandonedarea of its commercial port by creating a newmodern and prestigious cruise terminal. Behind Varna's goals there seems to be a dynamic based mainly on real estate develop-ment with the creation of new residential

homes and buildings with services for yach-ting. The growth effects are expected to expand to the neighbourhood close to theport area and to generate a value increasethat is likely to, at least to some extent, befuelled by gentrification processes.

Helsinki (330,000 cruise pax) also believesthat a new cruise terminal, to be located in aperipheral city area, can play an importantrole as attraction pole for the creation of anew multifunctional neighbourhood. Helsinki'sLAP does not focus on the terminal as suchsince only a provisional facility will be used, atleast in the short term. As other cities, likeHamburg, have done, the main goal in theshort term is to transform that area from a peripheral to a central position by attractingflows of people to an area where there isplenty of space – for example old port ware-houses that will be converted into culturaland shopping centres – where new eventsinspired by the idea of a “creative city” can beorganized (shows, spectacle etc.) and com-mercial activities for tourist and citizens canbe set up. In due course, new and more far-reaching interventions for housing, work andleisure will be carried out.

…or rather an urban regeneration driven approach?Other cities have opted for different strategiesby trying to link regeneration to cruise tourismstarting from the urban regeneration of a his-torical neighbourhood connected to the portarea and by considering cruise tourism asone of the opportunities that enable regene-ration effects to be increased.

Dublin (100,000 cruise pax) has implemen-ted a far-reaching multifunctional recovery

Looking for the link: the main models

Linking cruise tourism to regeneration through ornewly built, attractive cruiseterminal was the choise ofmany cruise destinationsover the last years. However,this is not always the optimalsolution and a case-by-caseapproach is required.

urban regeneration

?

cruise market

cruise market in port areas

activates

regeneration of districts in the city tissue

model 1

terminal or port area - driven relation

model 2

urban regenerationdriven relation

model 3

education/skill/labour-driven relation

strong urban regeneration processes

attract

cruise companies

Matosinhos. Varna.

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and re-development plan in abandoneddockland areas. The project (with residential,tourist-cultural and commercial functions)aims at creating locations that can offer a vibrant urban experience, thus diversifying andinnovating the city's tourist attractiveness. The docklands are located along the river Liffey, halfway between the present port(where the cruise terminal, which is not consi-dered a strategical factor per se, is located)and the city's historical core. Cruise passen-gers, like other tourist segments, will travelalong the route from the port to the historicalcity and will contribute to achieving at leastpart of the ambitious goal of a complete rege-neration package.

In 1992, Alicante launched a successful regeneration project in Casco Antiguo (thehistorical centre behind the waterfront) thatwas based on the purchase of degraded

private homes and on providing support toentrepreneurs, thus aligning strategy with various international EU programmes.The goal of attracting cruise tourism (360,000cruise pax) had been pursued almost exclu-sively by Port Authorities for many years; largeinvestments were made on the terminal loca-ted at the end of the port's breakwater andresults were only partially successful in termsof utilization of the available capacity. It wasthrough the CTUR project that cruise tourismwas recently reintegrated into the regenera-tion of the historical centre aiming to exploitthe potential contribution of visitors to thenewly restored historical centre. The key mea-sure in this was identifying and highlighting aseries of “theme itineraries for visitors” withinCasco Antiguo. The routes are presented tovisitors in a brand new, dedicated info-pointthat has a fine architectural style and is loca-ted right at the beginning of the historicalarea. Here it is highly visible and can be ac-cessed by visitors who reach the waterfrontfrom the cruise terminal.

Naples (1.2 million cruise pax) is evaluating acomplex urban regeneration project in a his-torical neighbourhood close to the port that isstill in a highly degraded condition, in spite ofa first series of interventions (paving and streetlighting). The pursued goal is directed at re-launching craftsmen's activities in the area(extending goldsmiths and handmade fabricproducers activity already operating in a nearbyarea). It is anticipated that, in the future, cruisepassengers will be able to contribute to sus-taining the economic and social regenerationeffects as a result of their purchases. Thepre-requisites for this project are the redesi-

50

Dublin.

Naples.

The aim is that new growthopportunities can be createdthrough developing therelationship between city,port and tourism in everyaspect and in this waycontributing to a “real” urbanregeneration, with special(yet not exclusive) referenceto port areas.

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gning and re-qualifying of the physical inter-face between port and city in order to createa revitalised route between the cruise terminaland the neighbourhood, but this is extremelydifficult from a technical and town planningpoint of view. At present very few cruise pas-sengers visit Naples' historical centre on theirown because they prefer organized excur-sions. These are perceived as safer, but theydo not include the city.

Comparing the models In the LAPs drawn up by the cities of Mato-sinhos, Varna and Helsinki, terminal facilitiesrepresent the main driver that should triggerurban regeneration processes, albeit throughvery different mechanisms. However, some questions arise. Since buildingnew terminals requires a huge amount of public funds, first of all it is essential to deter-mine what role a new terminal can actuallyplay in terms of maintaining or increasingcruise passengers flows in the long run. The assessment of the direct and indirect impact of cruise activity on an urban region interms of added value is neither easy to drawup nor often available; assessing the impactinduced by the location of a new cruise terminalis even more difficult. According to a number ofstudies, cruise tourism has a limited localeconomic impact and in many cases the balance of costs and benefits produced byterminals is questionable.

The fact is that a new and prestigious terminaldoes not necessarily make a cruise destina-tion more attractive, as some recent Euro-pean cases of “over-investment” show. A ter-

minal is really attractive if it meets the actualneeds of cruise lines and of their passengers.A terminal is fundamental in the case of tur-naround ports: it is the actual “entrance andexit door” of the whole cruise supply chainand the logistics involved in the arrival phase,in passengers reception, baggage manage-ment and cruise ship supply must work perfectly. However, for ports of call (disembar-kation and embarkation during visits) it is notas im portant to have a big and prestigious terminal. It goes without saying that a presti-gious terminal does not make a city a turna-round port, for that requires a city to be a keycandidate for cruise tourism, which implieshaving flight connections, motorways, good roadconnections and being an attractive touristdestination. These are no minor requirements.

Other open issues regarding terminal policiesconcern primarily the regeneration aspect.For example, what urban regeneration effectscan actually be obtained by relying mainly onpassengers' expenditures, especially whenthe tourist area involved is rather small andcovers only a few streets, or when sufficientannual flow thresholds are not reached? Whatif opting for a multifunctional terminal open tothe city proves not to work as hoped? Whatif the terminal's features (for example, a somew hat peripheral location) are not appropriate

for urban functions? Is there a potentialconflict between citizens' and cruise passen-gers' needs? What if deciding that a new terminal, as driver for a wider real estate rede-velopment or for a new urban pole, ratherthan the means through which typical far-reaching social regeneration goals will beachieved, brings about no useful effects oreven negative effects on pre-existing condi-tions (for example, because some categoriesof users are excluded or expelled)? Much depends on the capability to choose the rightapproach for the actual situation and not bedeluded into thinking that a cruise terminal isthe goal (or the panacea) of urban policies, rather than the means – one out of many –through which cruise-oriented urban regene-ration can be implemented.

However, as was outlined above, not all citiesfocus on terminals. In Dublin, Alicante andNaples, regeneration strategies have beendrawn up without a specific regard for cruisetourism – also in terms of decision-making.This is a positive element, because it meansthat they represent real regeneration effortsand not superficial attempts to make small urban zones close to cruise terminals moreappealing. However, their effect is potentiallysubstantial also for cruise tourism, becausethe urban quality of the whole urban fabric inconnection with the port (and not the “termi-nal” building!) is gaining more and more rele-vance as an attraction factor for cruise passengers. Furthermore in view of the factthat cruise tourism is increasingly catchingon in new socio-economic and cultural seg-ments, the city benefits from new visitorgroups that prefer organizing their urban visitsby themselves.

51LINKING CRUISE TOURISM

TO URBAN REGENERATION

According to some studies, the addedvalue generated at a local level by cruisetourism is generally not so relevant andit depends mainly on the cruise lineexpenditure for services and not on thepassenger expenditures (Braun andTramell, 2006). However, a given traffic 2

threshold must be reached, whichmakes ports attractive as a specializedsuppliers for the whole cruise linesupply chain (services to cruise ships,etc. ). Moreover, the size of the localcruise industry impact depends on theunderlying structure of the local eco -nomy (sectors involved, interconnec tivityof the local economy, etc.). Speaking of terminals, Klein maintains that “thesituation is a classic buyers market withthe cruise lines doing the buying; theyare able to play ports off against one to another…” This is reflected in thewillingness of many ports to build newterminals (often advised, among thescholar, by consultants with close linksto the cruise industry)… However,terminals do not guarantee continuedcruise business (redeployments ofcruise lines) (Klein, 2006) 3.

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Naples' project also includes “training oppor-tunities for young people in a neighbourhoodwith a high level of youth unemployment” andputs forward the idea of a “Sea Training Pole”for both personnel on board and on land (onboard chefs, dock workers, cruise liner crew,head stewards for ferries, tour escorts forcruise liners, hostesses and stewards for ferries and front desk operators).

Rostock, in a joint enterprise with the localuniversity system, which is traditionally mari-time-oriented, has already created a “cruisetourism skills training academy” in co-opera-tion with an important German cruise-line thathas established its headquarters in Rostock.This initiative was launched in order to dealwith an issue that is extremely important for agrowing sector like cruise tourism: the gapbetween the skills of available personnel (star-ting from language skills!) and the actualcruise lines' needs .

Making the right choiceSelecting the right strategy is actually no random choice: it is self-evident that eachcity has specific features (in terms of urbancontext and cruise tourism potential) andpaths, and the option that fits them best must

be chosen accordingly. In fact, there are somegeneral rules of thumb that indicate wheneach strategy is most effective. The best choice for cities that have the realpotential to strongly develop their roles asturnaround ports is probably to opt for a newurban terminal, provided the terminal can atthe same time effectively sustain its “logisticsrole” (for example, by way of road connec-tions or parking lots). This is not always easyin areas close to historical centres (Policy Re-search Corporation, 2009) 6.

Pursuing strategies based on offering servicesand skills specific for cruise lines is easier if thecity's role as turnaround port is already wellestablished, but this requires the service net-work to be well structured. For ports thatcannot guarantee all the basic conditions

On the other hand, it is important to evaluatethe negative impact that an increased numberof cruise passengers may have on regeneratedareas: for example, the commercial offer canchange (consider potential price increases orthe predominance of the leisure function) orthere can be an excess of passenger flows inspecific areas. However, it is self-evident thatincluding the “cruise factor” in a far-reachingregeneration plan is less risky than choosingstrategies that revolve solely around a newterminal project - both in terms of negative impact and in respect of inefficient use of public funds.

A social-focused approachas a “third way”? Cruise tourism, employmentand educationFocusing on a terminal, or rather on the rege-neration of a city's historical centre, are twopossible points of departure. However, bothof them show that policies linking cruise tou-rism to regeneration do not often concentrateon social goals like creating employment. Yet,it is possible to decide to sustain the develop-ment of a working community by supportingactivities (and services in particular) connec-ted to cruise tourism. In general, “Cruise tou-

rism development facilitates the social andeconomic potential of cities through new jobs,old skills and new skills” (Geoghegan, 2010) 4

and it is a fact that the kind of locally availableskills and dedicated services represent a keyfactor for cruise lines when they choose theirports of call. Furthermore, as was mentionedbefore, most studies on the economic impactof cruise tourism agree that the most impor-tant effect that cruise tourism has on the urban economy is not determined by howmuch passengers spend for services, whichis often not a great amount. It is rather the ex-penditures made by cruise lines for serviceson land and the level of structural integrationof the local economy in the cruise lines' supply chain (Klein, 2006) 5 which generatemost impact. Education is an essential factorin this employment-support perspective.

(accessibility, catchment area, facilities, soundservice supply background) required to be-come effective “logistics bases”, it is far moreimportant to invest in urban regeneration, sointegrating their tourist goals into a wider stra-tegy rather than creating expensive terminals:if a city becomes attractive, cruise lines will stillchoose it as a port of call, and the risk of buil-ding “cathedrals in the dock-desert” will beavoided. ●

BibliographyCTUR case studies:

Alicante:Gaspar Mayor Pascual, La intervención Pública en elCasco Antiguo de Alicante, Fifth seminar - ThematicConference, Alicante-Valencia, 24-26 March 2010.

Plan de ordenación municipal para el desarrollo del turismo de cruceros, Porto de Alicante, Fifth seminar - Thematic Conference, Alicante-Valencia, 24-26 March 2010.

Dublin:Regenerating Dublin’s Docklands, CTUR Case study, Fourth seminar - Thematic Conference – Dublin(Ireland), 10 -11 December 2009, Dublin.

Helsinki:Hernesaaren väliaikaistoimintojen ja risteilymatkailunkehittäminen 2010-2012, Second Seminar – Thematicworkshop, 15-16 June 2009, Matosinhos.

Matosinhos: Joana Moreira, South Matosinhos Urbanization Plan,Third seminar - Thematic Conference –Trieste, 28-29 September 2009.

João Pedro Matos Fernandes, The port project for Matosinhos, Second Seminar – Thematic workshop, 15-16 June 2009, Matosinhos.

Trieste:Port of Trieste, Trieste, Third seminar - ThematicConference –Trieste, 28-29 September 2009.

(1) CTUR - cruise traffic and urban regeneration of city port heritage, urbact thematic network, baseline study, 2009.

(2) Braun, b.m., tramell, f. (2006), the sources and magnitude of the economic impact on a local economy from cruise activities: evidence from Port Canaveral, Florida, cruise ship tourism, edited by Ross K. Dowling, cabi

(3 et 5) Klein, R.A. (2006), Turning Water into Money: the economics of the cruise industry, Cruise Ship Tourism, edited by Ross K. Dowling, CABI.

(4) Geoghegan p., Social and economic questions,fourth seminar of CTUR, Alicante-Valencia, 24-26 March 2010. McCarthy j., (2003) ‘the cruise industry and port city regeneration: the case of Valletta’, European planning studies, vol. 11, issue 3,pp. 341-350.

(6) Policy research corporation, (2009). Tourist facilitiesin ports, draft report, commissioned by European commission, Directorate-general for maritime affairsand fisheries.

52

iMORE INFORMATION

CTUR project: http://urbact.eu/en/projects/port-cities/ctur/homepage/

Lead Expert: Vittorio Alberto [email protected]

Rostock, in a joint enterprise with the local university system,which is traditionally maritime-oriented, has already created a “cruise tourism skills training academy” in co-operation with an important German cruise-line that has established itsheadquarters in Rostock.


53

CURBACT II PROJECTS

PROJECTS LEAD PARTNERSISSUES ADDRESSED

CITIES, ENGINES OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & JOB CREATION

Creative Clusters

FIN-URB-ACT

ESIMEC

OPENCities*

REDIS

RUnUp

UNIC*

Urban N.O.S.E.

WEED

Obidos - PT

Basingstoke and Deane - UK

Aachen - DE

Belfast - UK

Magdeburg - DE

Gateshead - UK

Limoges - FR

Gela - IT

Celje - SI

Creative clusters in low density urban areas (diversifying local economic base; using cultural activities as catalysts for development; setting up physical, social, educational environment to attract and retain talented people in "the creative city"; etc.)

Economic strategies and innovation in medium-sized cities (workforce development and demand-led skills initiatives to ensure a sustainable economic recovery, growth and resilience in medium-sized cities)

SMEs and local economic development (support systems for SMEs and innovative/high-tech projects; pathways to partnerships between cities and Managing Authorities; communication on support schemes, etc.)

Opening cities to build-up, attract and retain human capital (identifying factors of "openness" and their impact on city attractiveness; increasing and promoting city openness to attract international migrants, etc.)

Science districts and urban development (integrated policies for the development of science/knowledge districts; multi-level governance issues; etc.)

Strengthening endogenous potential of urban poles (improving local governance of innovation; promoting triple helix partnerships for local economic development; setting conditions for the stimulation of knowledge-based activities, etc.)

Traditional industries and innovation (strengthening local industries and promoting innovation in the ceramics sector; promoting ceramics traditions as a driver for urban renewal; promoting cultural and industrial heritage, etc.)

Urban incubators for social enterprises (fostering inclusive development policies; consolidating inter-institutional partnerships; connecting local authorities and the Service sector, etc.)

Women at work (improving working conditions, promoting/supporting entrepreneurship, fostering employment in IT and scientific/ knowledge-based sectors, etc.)

Active A.G.E.

Building Healthy Communities*

CityRegion.Net

HOPUS

Joining Forces

My Generation

Roma - IT

Torino - IT

Graz - AT

Lille Metropole - FR

Rotterdam - NL

Strategies for cities with an ageing population (supporting employment; improving long-term and home-based care services; fighting social exclusion and insecurity; fostering inter-generational solidarity as a driver for elderly-sensitive urban development policies; assessingthe impact of ageing in urban planning; etc.)

Urban factors influencing health (indicators and criteria for a healthy sustainable urban development; healthy sustainable lifestyles; use of structural funds in addressing health issues)

Urban sprawl and development of hinterlands (planning tools and financial schemes for a sustainable city-hinterland development; cooperation at regional level)

Sustainable development of cross-border agglomerations (local and multi-level governance systems)

Design coding for sustainable housing (governance for the implementation of design coding; quality standards for urban and architectural design, etc.)

Strategy and governance at city-region scale (spatial planning; mobility and transports; environmental issues; development of knowledge-based economies; attractiveness and competitiveness; social inclusion, participation, empowerment; governance mechanisms, etc.)

Sustainable land use management (managing urban sprawl; fostering attractiveness; strategies for local decision-makers, etc.)

Promoting the positive potential of young people in cities (transforming passivity and alienation into positive personal and professional aspirations; fostering active transitions from education to work; holistic coordination of youth related initiatives, etc.)

City model for intermediate/peripheral metropolitan cities (managing urban identity; governance issues; fighting urban fragmentation; regeneration of brownfields, military sites, etc.; transforming a mono-functional city into a multifunctional city)

Spatial planning and urban regeneration (improving coordination of area-based regeneration and regional/metropolitan planning; integrated policies, etc.)

Strategic positioning of small and medium-sized cities (sustainable, efficient financial and economic structures to face demographic change, advanced de-industrialization and the effects of the crisis)

Integration of the Roma population in European cities (access to key services, active inclusion into the labour market through education, and development of self-help initiatives)

Sustainable housing provision (economic viability and social mix; environmental quality standards, etc.)

Developing co-responsibility for social inclusion and well-being of residents in European cities (Integrated strategies to foster cooperation between public authorities, citizens and private stakeholders, and indicators for the management of such strategies)

EVUE

C.T.U.R.

EGTC

CASH*

HerO*

LUMASEC

LINKS

NeT-TOPIC

Nodus

REPAIR

TOGETHER

Napoli - IT

Weiz - AT

Echirolles - FR

Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière - FR

Westminster - UK

University of Karlsruhe - DE

University La Sapienza, Roma - IT

Regensburg - DE

Bayonne - FR

L’Hospitalet de Llobregat - ES

Generalitat de Catalunya - ES

Medway - UK

Mulhouse - FR

Tackling transport problems by promoting walking and cycling in small and medium-sized cities (Integrated strategies for cities to pro-mote environment-friendly means of urban transport and improve energy efficiency)

Cities' Action for Sustainable Housing (Solutions for sustainable renovation of social housing and the provision of affordable housing units in urban cities)

Cruise Traffic and Urban Regeneration (physical and environmental regeneration of port-areas; cruise traffic and port-heritage as drivers for economic and social development; planning and management of cruise development, etc.)

Approaches to strengthening social cohesion in neighbourhoods (area-based and integrated approaches to neighbourhood development;new governance structures for the integration of socio-cultural, educational and economic dimensions, etc.)

Electric Vehicles in Urban Europe (Integrated, sustainable strategies and leadership techniques for cities to promote the use of electric vehicles and to improve their attractiveness)

Cultural heritage and urban development (revitalization policies; protection of visual integrity; integrated systems for the management of cultural heritage)

JESSICA and Urban Development Funds (design and implementation of funding schemes; territorial evaluation and diagnoses; city projectsand Operational Programmes, etc.)

Implementing integrated sustainable urban development according to the Leipzig Charter (tools for the definition, implementation, monitoring of integrated policies for urban development; testing the “Sustainable cities Reference Framework” developed by the Group of Member States and Institutions)

Old European cities as a key for sustainability (Integrated strategies to improve the attractiveness and quality of life in old historical centres,foster sustainable housing, while preserving architectural identity and cultural heritage)

Governance in integrated urban development (long-term integrated policies and financial planning for sustainable regeneration of deprivedareas; monitoring progress and achievements; sustainable partnerships; city-region governance; neighbourhoods at risk, etc.)

Regeneration of abandoned military sites (socio-economic regeneration of abandoned military heritage sites as a driver for sustainableurban development)

Socio-economic methods for urban rehabilitation in deprived urban areas (enhancing sustainable growth through diversification of localeconomies in deprived areas of medium-size cities)

CITIES, ACTIVE INCLUSION & GOVERNANCE

CITIES & INTEGRATED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

SURE

OP-ACT

RegGov*

Suite

Roma-Net*

Leoben - AT

Duisburg - DE

Budapest - HU

Santiago de Compostela - ES

ACTIVE TRAVEL

Eger - HU

LC-Facil Leipzig - DE

*Fast Track Label

CoNet Berlin - DE

JESSICA 4 Cities Regione Toscana - IT


54 CTHE URBACT II PARTNERS


www.urbact.eu

URBACT is a European exchange and learning programme promoting sustainableurban development.

It enables cities to work together to develop solutions to major urban challenges, reaffir-ming the key role they play in facing increasingly complex societal changes. URBACT helpscites to develop pragmatic solutions that are new and sustainable, and that integrate economic, social and environmental dimensions. It enables cities to share good practicesand lessons learned with all professionals involved in urban policy throughout Europe. UR-BACT II is 290 different sized cities and their Local Support Groups, 37 Projects, 29 countries, and 5,000 active stakeholders coming equally from Convergence and Competitiveness areas. URBACT is jointly financed by ERDF and the Member States.

URBACT Secretariat194, avenue du Président Wilson

93217 Saint-Denis La Plaine - FranceTel.: +33 (0)1 49 17 46 02Fax: +33 (0)1 49 17 45 55


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