urbact project results, 2nd call projects, 2013

November 2013u

rb

ac

tII

uRBAct PRoJect

ResuLtsSecond edition

Published by urbact5, Rue Pleyel, 93283 Saint-Denis, FranceTel. +33 1 49 17 46 08Fax: +33 1 49 17 45 [email protected]

Publication Manager: Laura Caldironieditorial advisory Group: EmmanuelMoulin, Kristine Sergejeva, Melody Houk,Jenny Koutsomarkou, Sally Kneeshawand Amy Labarriere

Design and Printing: Bialec, Nancy (France)2013 © URBACT All rights reserved.

contents2 eDItoRIAL

3 IntRoDuctIonMessages from URBACT II Second Call Projects(November 2009 – February 2013)

12 ActIve tRAveL netwoRkMAIN RESULTSZoom on LjutOMer, SloveniaZoom on SKaNDerbOrG, denmark

21 cAsHMAIN RESULTSZoom on tatabÁNYa, HungaryZoom on brIDGeND, united Kingdom

30 esIMecMAIN RESULTSZoom on baSINGStOKe aND DeaNe, united kingdomZoom on SabaDeLL, Spain

39 evueMAIN RESULTSZoom on KatOWIce, polandZoom on Suceava, romania

48 LInksMAIN RESULTSZoom on baYONNe, FranceZoom on verIa, greece

57 oP-ActMAIN RESULTSZoom on aLteNa, germanyZoom on NaGYKÁLLÓ, Hungary

66 RoMA-netMAIN RESULTSZoom on uDINe, italyZoom on GLaSGOW, united kingdom

77 suReMAIN RESULTSZoom on POrI, FinlandZoom on OttIGNIeS-LOuvaIN-La-Neuve, Belgium

87 toGetHeRMAIN RESULTSZoom on SaLaSPILS, latviaZoom on bOtKYrKa, Sweden

2 urbact project results

eDItoRIALthe main challenges faced by european cities andtowns are well known: globalisation, economiccrisis, climate change and demographic changes.the european commission, the european UnionMember States and two Partner States (norwayand Switzerland) assigned an ambitious objectiveto the URBAct ii european territorial cooperationprogramme: to assist european cities in becomingengines of growth and jobs, while at the same timestriving to be attractive and cohesive.

inspired by the positive experience of the URBAncommunity initiative, URBAct ii fosters sustainableand integrated urban development. it enableseuropean cities to work together and to developeffective and sustainable solutions to major keyurban challenges. each network brings together 8to 12 cities or other partners working together toaddress a specific urban issue and develop integratedaction plans.

Since 2007, more than 500 cities of all sizes fromall over europe have been exchanging and workingin the framework of URBAct, mobilising a workingcommunity of 7000 people.

in order to produce a real impact with this transnationalexchange and to achieve concrete results in eachof the partner cities, URBAct established a strongmethodology, now branded as the URBAct method.the URBAct method relies on mutual assistancebetween cities (transnational exchange), action-orientated (each city commits to elaborate and adopta Local Action Plan) participative approach (each cityco-produces its Local Action Plan with a Local SupportGroup bringing together all concerned stakeholders),and a strong methodological support (guidance fromthe URBAct Secretariat and from thematic experts).

nine thematic networks from the second URBActcall for proposals have completed their programmeof exchange and learning activities in 2013. You

will find in this second issue of the URBAct Resultspublication the results and main recommendations ofthese networks which have been working relentlesslyfor three years looking for joint, effective andsustainable solutions to major urban challenges:

y Active Travel Network - Promoting walking andcycling in small and medium-sized cities. (LeadPartner: Weiz - At).

y CASH - Sustainable and affordable energy efficienthousing. (Lead Partner: echirolles - FR).

y ESIMeC - economic strategies and innovation inmedium-sized cities. (Lead Partner: Basingstokeand deane - UK).

y EVUE - electric vehicles in urban europe. (LeadPartner: Westminster - UK).

y LINKS - improving the attractiveness and qualityof life in old historical centres. (Lead Partner:Bayonne - FR).

y OP-ACT - Strategic positioning of small andmedium-sized cities facing demographic changes.(Lead Partner: Leoben - At).

y Roma-Net - integration of the Roma populationin european cities. (Lead Partner: Budapest - HU).

y SURE - Socio-economic methods for urbanrehabilitation of deprived urban areas. (LeadPartner: eger - HU).

y TOGETHER - developing co-responsibility forsocial inclusion and well-being of residents ineuropean cities (Lead Partner: Mulhouse - FR)

URBAct is a living programme. it has been capableof taking into account the consequences of theeconomic and financial crisis and of incorporating theeurope 2020 Strategy into its objectives. this papermakes a significant contribution to the europeancohesion Policy and provides concrete answers tourban concerns.

Raphaël LE MEHAUTEHead of the URBAct Managing Authority

urbact project results 3

Welcome to the second editionof the URBAct ii ProjectResults publication. in thefollowing chapters we presentkey findings from nine projectsfunded under the second callbetween november 2009 andFebruary 2013. We also zoomin some of the 90 integratedLocal Action Plans, whichresulted from exchanges ofknowledge, experience, andthe use of tools and trainingwithin the URBAct framework.

Meet the Projects

this chapter briefly introduces the nine projects,described in greater detail in the following chaptersand presents some complementarities and cross-cutting messages emerging from the global results.

in Active travel 9 small cities focussed on ways toencourage walking and cycling. Although these activemodes have a high potential for positive change toovercome congestion, reduce c02 emissions andimprove air quality (by cutting the number of shortcar trips) they are undervalued by transport plannersand local politicians. Participation in the network gavecities new ins ights into push and pull strategies

IntRoDuctIonMessages from uRBAct IIsecond call Projects(november 2009 – February 2013)

that both enhance desired mobi l i ty behaviour anddiscourage un-desirable behaviour.

cASH dealt with efficient renovation of socialhousing. city partners discovered the potential toachieve better progress and longevity of impacts bybringing together different agencies in an integratedapproach, underpinned by the URBAct model. thecASH compendium lists the different elements,including technological, legal, financial, participatory,energy and project management aspects, which needto be integrated for successful energy efficiencymeasure in social housing.

©M

adra

both

air/

Dre

amst

ime.

com


eSiMec promoted learning about innovativeeconomic strategies that capitalise on the assetsand specificities of medium sized cities. As a resulteSiMec cities are better equipped to cope witheconomic downturns, to encourage faster economicrecovery, and to manage long-term economic growthand resilience.

the cities in eVUe tried to work out the right nichefor electric mobility within wider sustainable mobilitystrategies, and to clarify their role in supportingmarket uptake of clean technologies. eVUe deliverednew knowledge based on the main learning needsfor cities in the four interrelated e-mobility themes:infrastructure, procurement, awareness and businessmodels.

LinKS explored ways in which historic city centerscan become attractive to residents while preservingarchitectural identity, cultural heritage and historicalvalues. the challenge was to improve quality of lifein their old centres and to create a comfortable,affordable and sustainable housing taking into

account economic, social, cultural, environmentaland technical challenges (including energy efficiencyof historic buildings.)

the oP-Act project brought together small andmedium-sized cities affected by the phenomenon ofdemographic decline. By accepting a paradigm shiftaway from growth towards stabilisation or reductionof population, the partner cities were able to configuredifferent options for re-structuring.

RoMA-net brought together cities committedto improving the social inclusion and communityintegration of the Roma population living in theircities, including access to education, housing andliving conditions, health services, employability andskills. Most of the partner cities were small, and thesubject of Roma was still new and difficult. the focuswas on working with Roma representatives to findsolutions.

SURe supported small and medium sized cities inthe development of integrated strategies for theregeneration of deprived neighbourhoods located

©Re

tina2

02

0/

Dre

amst

ime.

com


close to town centres. Much of the analysis andgood practice on integrated regeneration tends to bebased on the experiences of large cities that are notalways useful or transferable to cities of a differentscale. SURe built capacity to form multi-agencypartnerships and develop cross-cutting interventionsspecific to local needs, opportunities and resources.

the toGetHeR cities sought to put citizens, civicassociations and municipalities in a new productiverelationship and to mobilise communities to identifyand address gaps in local services. inspired by thethinking behind the council of europe charter forShared Social Responsibility, it developed in practicea concept of active citizenship, or co-responsibility,summarised as more participative, more engaged andmore collaborative.

URBACT Projects AddressingEurope 2020

the themes tackled by these nine projects cut acrossmany policy areas reflecting both the complexityof urban challenges, and the solutions needed toaddress them. Here we present some of the mainresults in line with the policy priorities of the europe2020 Growth Strategy:

y Making a reality of the low carbon future;

y Targeting local economic growth potential;

y Building capacity for inclusion;

y Developing new governance.

Making a reality of the low carbon future

Several of the URBAct ii call 2 projects tackled climatechallenges related to reducing carbon emissions andimproving energy efficiency in both transport andbuildings, the two sectors producing the most carbonin europe. in many cases local stakeholders reached abetter understanding of how to combine old and new,how to integrate new technologies with establishedinfrastructures or ecosystems.

Resourcing sustainability: Finding the resources toaddress multiple urban challenges at a time of austerity

and reduced public budgets was a constant theme inall URBAct projects. evidence from cities points to astructural lack of finance for energy efficient upgradesor renovations, and complications arise around publicand private ownership of buildings. As a consequencemany cities were interested in the new generationof Financial instruments such as revolving funds,especially, Jessica. Public-private partnerships andmobilisation of citizen resources were also exploredas ways to achieve low carbon targets. For example,eVUe cities exchanged on the involvement ofenergy companies in building e-mobility re-charginginfrastructure. Active travel cities showed theiringenuity in finding low-cost and low-tech solutions,for instance, encouraging cycling by lowering thespeed limit and painting a cycle lane on the road. Apriority for Local Action Plans in the projects dealingwith energy efficiency and buildings was to developthe use of new financial tools such as energy Savingcertificates (eSc) and energy Performance contracts.LinKS partners solicited the support of the europeaninstitutions, arguing that the reinforced urban focus ofthe Regional development Funds was an opportunityto recognise the key role of historic centres forsustainable urban development. they called for apercentage of eRdF for cities to be allocated to energyretrofitting of residential buildings in historic centres.the aim would be to provide exemplary solutions ofeco-restoration in order to help municipalities kick-

©A

mm

it/

Dre

amst

ime.

com


start the mainstream energy retrofitting of existingbuildings. these URBAct cities are now makingbetter use of available resources in spite of the tougheconomic environment, finding innovative solutionsto keep moving towards sustainability.

Soft measures for changing behaviour: theemerging evidence from several cities stressed thattechnology-based changes, to save energy, forinstance, have to be backed up by softer measuresto involve citizens and businesses, to educate andmotivate behaviour change. this was the case in allof the projects tackling climate change. From Activetravel and eVUe the recommendation was made thatfuture energy efficiency measures should includefunding for both hard and soft initiatives in urbanmobility. this is a vital dimension of an integratedapproach that cohesion Policy frameworks canencourage. For instance, Active travel advocatedthat mobility budgets should not just focus oninfrastructure investments. A good example is that1 out of every 4 euros of Munich’s cycle policy isspent on soft measures like marketing, informationor testing new behaviour campaigns. cASHpartners came up with a mixture of innovative toolssupporting exchanges between all stakeholders, suchas independent energy advisors, champions andcommunity ambassadors trained to change behaviourand educate citizens in realising the benefits of energyefficient renovation. Similarly, certain LinKS citiesdeveloped guidelines and assistance for the ownersof historic buildings to better consume energy andundertake renovation work. Bayonne, for instance,with the involvement of diverse local stakeholderscarried out many campaigns, workshops and trainingto inhabitants about the way of consuming energyand preserving historic buildings (see “Zoom onBayonne” for more details).

Diversification of energy sources: Projectsexplored ways for cities to move to cleaner energysources. Project outputs include checklists for citiesto make sure that new technologies harness thepotential for greener energy supply and understandin what circumstances district heating, local grid

management or decentralised generation can becomeviable. cASH recommended using strategic energyplanning in order to choose the most suitable energyscenario and most suitable energy sources for a givencity. experiences in eVUe showed that electric mobilityis not the only solution for future urban mobility, butthat it can make an important contribution in reducingenvironmental impact, especially when applied totrips that are necessary for the functioning of the city(freight operations, service fleets) but which cannoteasily be made in other modes (public transport,walking or cycling). the ‘total cost of ownership’ ofalternative technology models has to be calculateddifferently (in the case of electric vehicles thereis no fuel and lower maintenance costs) but thisnecessitates a change in thinking and planning torealise the benefits. other exemplary pilot projectscarried out within LinKS showed how traditional low-tech renovation techniques can be combined withhigh-tech, low-energy retrofitting. LinKS partnersalso agreed that eco-restoration of old publicbuildings should be in the heart of an integrated andsustainable plan for urban regeneration. combiningwork on public buildings with redesigning publicspace can only bring environmental, social andeconomic benefits in the long-term, as shows Veria’sexample in the following pages.

targeting local economic growth potential

Many of the projects also looked at the local economyof the future from several perspectives:

Tapping into promising sectors for job creation:through their Local Actions Plans, eSiMec citiestargeted sectors that they had identified as havingthe greatest potential in terms of job creation: thegreen, white (health and social care) and digitaleconomies. Albacete (Spain) has ambitious co2reduction targets for public buildings. the cityhas developed a plan to re-skill building workerswho have lost their jobs to develop new greenconstruction skills. they hope to use these newlytrained people to work on municipal energyefficiency projects thereby achieving a win-win for


the environment and the economy. in cASH therewas a focus on how to generate local clusters for thewhole supply chain in energy efficient renovationfrom supplier, planners, architects via installers, tousers. Quality management and energy labelling canhelp promote initiatives like this. LinKS also arguedthat eco-restoration, including retrofitting, of publicbuilding could directly contribute to job creationin the construction sector, and indirectly in relatedindustries in the materials supply chain, education,research and innovation, energy services companies,and waste management.

Social enterprise: in a context of unprecedentedausterity in government budgets, businesses whichtrade with a social purpose are becoming increasinglyvital in the provision of public services and economicdevelopment. the SURe cities explored both theopportunities and limitations of social enterprise inthe socio-economic regeneration of deprived urbanareas. one study visit focused on a well-establishedsocial enterprise network in Albacete. there, cáritasAlbacete runs shops selling recycled or donatedgoods, creating volunteering and paid work. onesuch shop was relocated to the SURe target area.

Realism in local economicstrategy: one of the conclusionsof the oP-Act project was thatinstead of competing with biggerneighbouring cities partnersshould build on their ownstrengths.Ratherthandenyingthereality of socio-economic declineand developing overambitiouslocal strategies, shrinking citiesneed to be realistic and arrestthe decline by reinforcing existingassets. Altena in Germany, one ofoP-Act’s partners, responded tochronic shrinkage by decidingto take better advantage ofits historic castle situated onthe cliffs above the town byconstructing a lift to connect thecastle and its visiting tourists with

the city. this ongoing project carried out by a privateinvestor aims to brings economic growth inside thecity. eSiMec emphasised the importance of a thoroughunderstanding of the real needs of local employersand the state of labour market. the project launcheda skills forecasting tool to help cities use quantitativeand qualitative methodologies to understand employerskills needs, an essential step in any city strategy. thepartnership also identified examples of good practice,such as the Job andtraining House in cherbourg, whichforecasts economic development trends for job demandand supply.

building capacity for inclusion

cities are the level of government closest to citizens,which means they are closest to people’s needsand better placed to understand the problems ofexclusion faced by certain individuals, families andgroups. Several URBAct cities learnt how to use thisasset to promote inclusion and better involvement ofall citizens.

Building better engagement with excludedgroups: Local Support Groups provided a platform

©Sk

ypix

el/

Dre

amst

ime.

com


for cities to work with communities most at risk ofurban poverty. drawing on other URBAct cities’experiences, it appears that many stakeholdersbenefitted from the Local Support Group mechanismto address politically sensitive problems ofmarginalised communities. the lack of capabilitiesamong residents or excluded community groupsto engage in complex strategy development and

implementation is frequently presented as a barrier.But the lack of capacity within municipalities to workwith these communities is rarely mentioned. RoMA-net made a recommendation that all hard measures,for instance, for regeneration of neighbourhoods,should be supplemented with soft measures to buildthe capacity of local residents to be involved.

Participation of Roma communities: RoMA-net proved to be a useful vehicle for articulatingand promoting the needs of the Roma minority,by the simple fact of getting people round a tablefor first time to talk with and about the Roma. theexperience of RoMA-net gave partners knowledgeabout integrated, community-led approaches ofother cities in europe on Roma inclusion that take along term view, develop closer ongoing relationshipswith the community, and do not try to impose asolution of simply moving communities from ghettosto new housing. Participation in the network initiateda debate about who has the right to represent theRoma. it started people moving in a process to better

©Ty

ler

Ols

on/

Dre

amst

ime.

com

©M

imag

epho

togr

aphy

|Dre

amst

ime.

com


manage integration of Roma, together with Romarepresentatives. the end result was a new realisationfor some cities that without community engagementthe implementation of policy interventions will fail.the URBAct Local Support Groups provide a modelfor making this happen. there was also a learningpoint that in order to effectively articulate what theyneed to improve their own quality of life civil societyorganisations, such as those of the Roma, needresources and capacity.

Needs-led collaboration for better services: thetoGetHeR project provided a mechanism by whichmunicipalities and their politicians were able to enterinto a systematic dialogue with a wider group ofcitizens for the first time outside of election times. Aninteresting result was the Social Pharmacy project inKavala, Greece, in which the city, the health service andvolunteers started to run a public service. this modelof provision moved from a linear form of welfare,which just goes from the state to the beneficiary, witha service that goes both ways. in Active travel Audit aself-assessment method was introduced and pilotedto bring user needs into planning of mobility. in SURecities more than half of the participating stakeholderswere resident representatives in disadvantagedneighbourhoods working with their Local SupportGroups. Participants learnt how to work togetherwith community organisations to develop strategicregeneration actions that ultimately better serveneeds and focus investments in areas of deprivation.

Developing new governance

one of the messages from all projects for cities isthat even if they do not have enough margins formanoeuvre, they have the possibility to do thingsdifferently to achieve results. Replacing traditionalgovernance by new ways of working, involvingunusual suspects, citizens, private and public sectors,regional and national authorities should be in cities’agendas for change. Better governance, intelligenceand collective consciousness are part of it and can bedone in different ways:

Citizen engagement moving to co-responsibility:Several projects exchanged and experimented withnew ways of involving stakeholder groups, especially,citizens and residents, in local action planning. SUReproduced a toolkit with tips on participatory planningin medium sized cities. it provides concrete ideas onhow to develop a consensus-building approach thathelps a community to join together in explaininghow they would like their community or organizationto develop over the next few years. the approachrequires constant communication, so that planning,implementation and feedback are merged into asingle process.

toGetHeR produced a 7 point scale to measureprogress in citizen engagement which gives someinsight in how to rectify the democratic deficitand reduce the distance between government andcitizen. Focus groups were held to pose open-endedquestions and collect ideas and observations aboutwhat citizens see as well-being and ill-being. thefeedback provided a rich seam of material to deepenthe understanding of the range of issues which areof concern to all sections of the local community. Asa result in Botkyrka (a suburb of Stockholm) citizensself organised to negotiate and provide new servicesin partnership with the municipality to deal withsecurity problems in the neighbourhood. in close co-operation with both local council staff and the police,an initiative for night patrols emerged.

Management of demographic decline: oP-Acttackled a governance issue faced by some 40%of medium-sized european cities that have lost asignificant part of their population. Many easterneuropean cities are affected by this shrinkage. theconclusions are that the management of shrinkageis much more complicated and more difficult toaccomplish politically than the governance of growth.in parallel to growth processes, creative instrumentsand solutions for dismantling and/or stabilizationmust be developed. the oP-Act project alsounderlined the importance of changing mindsets –particularly those of key decision makers and thoughtleaders.


Multi –level governance: in the oP-Act Mayorscharta civic leaders from the partner cities requesteda greater response from regional, national andsupranational institutions to the shrinking citiesproblem. Sharing these results with cities facingdeclining population is a major contribution to shapinga more realistic approach for territorial cohesion acrosseurope. LinKS and cASH projects also highlightedthe importance of making connections from local toregional and national levels in order to raise awarenessand strengthen their local strategies.

The URBACT Legacy

URBAct created a space to exchange and learn.transnational exchange provides an opportunity toshare experiences, to learn how to use processes,tools and new core knowledge, and this is enrichedby being accompanied and supported on that journey

by peers in other cities. thematic expertise and thecross-fertilisation of emerging ideas in thematicpoles bring further inspiration. the experience ofdeveloping integrated plans over time, and involvingmultiple stakeholders through URBAct Local Support


Groups proves to cities that, in the face of the complexchallenges, a robust and systematic approach candeliver the best way forward.

All of the city experiences documented in thispublication highlight the positive impact of theURBAct method, whereby cities create localstakeholder groups to develop integrated plans. Forsome cities, particularly, but not only, in convergenceregions, this was the first time that they had broughtlocal stakeholders together to work on a concreteproblem. the URBAct Local Support Group provideda forum in which stakeholders could come out oftraditional silos and define challenges together. thisin turn created awareness amongst the municipalstaff of the need to reach out to other departments,policy areas and stakeholders when making plans orstrategies. they began to understand the power ofpartnerships and the central role of cities in bringingstakeholders together and building relationships.these platforms and processes which create trustwith citizens are vital, even though managing themis not an easy task. the URBAct experience led tothe realisation for many that when a dialogue ofculture and involvement is created, the integratedapproach that follows has a much greater chance

of delivering sustainability both in terms of policyimpact and in better connections and relationshipsfor future initiatives. A new reality is embedded inlocal processes as well as an understanding that thisis a prerequisite of success. these actions are notheadline grabbing, or easy to report and quantify. itis often the low key, long term, hard work of meeting,talking, making efforts to understand each other,and reaching compromises that allows solutions andagreements to emerge.

Looking to the future the URBAct partners involvedin the second call of projects build on the lessonslearnt during three years of exchanges and resultsso far are very encouraging. in their closure reports(Spring 2013) more than 50% of partners declarehaving secured funds for the implementation of theirURBAct Local Action Plans, out of which 75% havealready started implementing actions. other cities arestill in negotiation with Managing Authorities to fundtheir Local Action Plans during the next programmeperiod 2014-2020.

discover more about our projects, partners and LocalAction Plans in the following pages and atwww.urbact.eu.


active travelNetworktackling transport problems by promoting walkingand cycling in Small and medium Sized citiesOVERVIEWproject duration2009-2012

lead partnerWeiz (Austria)

partners FundingTotal Eligible Cost: EUR 553 267ERDF Contribution: EUR 395 523

Urban mobility is vital for socio-economic growth, but overwhelmingcar use in cities causes accidents, urban sprawl, noise, and emissions ofCO2 and other pollutants. In a 2007 Eurobarometer survey Attitudes on

issues related to EU Transport Policy, 90% of Europeans said their local trafficsituation should be improved. For the URBACT project Active Travel Network,the answer is sustainable transport policies that encourage people to use activealternatives to driving. Active travel – such as walking or cycling – is still lowin many cities despite being cheap, healthy, non-polluting, and good for localeconomies. For three years, Active Travel Network’s partnership of small andmedium cities focused on promoting active travel for journeys under 5 km,which represent 25-50% of car trips in EU cities.


PolicyRecommendationsfor Increasing ActiveTravelActive Travel Network set out policy recom-mendations for increasing active travel,drawing directly on experiences of its partnercities in tackling their traffic problems.Actions taken – and analysed – by partnersduring the project include: a deal with localgarages to lend clients electric bikes whiletheir cars are serviced; creating andpromoting thematic walking and cyclingroutes; planning a green, integrated “urbantrack” linking downtown to the suburbs; a“Hotel Bike System” for tourists; andpromoting the health benefits of daily phys-ical activity.

Recommendations apply to all Europeancities and municipalities. Here are somehighlights:

1 active travel awareness raising− Politicians, planners and other

authorities must recognise cycling andwalking as modes of transport just as impor-tant as cars or buses.− Inform stakeholders and foster commit-ment by showing the benefits and impacts ofa combined approach to non-motorisedtransport and mobility management.

2 active travel strategies andaccompanying measures

− Push and pull strategies are crucial to influ-ence travel behavior, and can encourage ashift from car use to more energy efficientcity transport, a main objective of moderntransport policies.− Lower speed limits, and limited paidparking, if properly enforced, can reduce caruse and increase cycling and walking bymaking short trips safer and more attractive.Parking fees can also raise money, whichshould be channeled into financing cyclingand walking measures. This is a key means toensure sustainable modes become an “inte-gral part of mobility” in cities, as highlightedin the Transport White Paper COM (2011)144, Roadmap to a Single European Transport

Area – Towards a competitive and resourceefficient transport system.− Measures that reduce emissions byencouraging non-motorised personal trans-port such as walking and cycling, and publictransport (linked to cycling measures), are inline with EU targets to cut carbon emissionsin transport by 20% by 2020 and 60% by2050.− Other policies such as health, environ-ment, youth and family, tourism, public rela-tions and economy should be combined andco-operate with mobility policy.− Strategic planning decisions shouldconsider the benefits of active mobility. Thisis particularly true when allocating space tocars, public transport, cyclists or pedestrians.With indicators like transport capacity,safety, health impacts and costs, decisionsshould be set on active travel modes andsecondly on public transport. A recent studyin Helsinki, for example, found that infra-structure investments targeting cyclingbrought significant health and socio-economic benefits. In fact, their benefit-costratio was nearly 8:1 compared with ordinaryinfrastructure investments.− Authorities should establish a permanentLocal Support Group targeting active travelpolicy, with representatives from variousauthorities, and externals and stakeholderssuch as school children, travel-to-workemployees and employers, and tourists.− Funding for active travel policies, strate-gies and measures must be guaranteed andnot just an appendix to transport planning.Fixed budgets must be set for short, mid andlong term projects.− Active travel budget should not coverinfrastructure alone. The city of Munichspends one in four Euros of its cycle policy onsoft measures like marketing and testing newbehaviour campaigns.

3 Managing active travel projects− Carry out an active travel audit.

When making decisions, politicians and plan-ners must consider the real needs of users, inorder to develop integrated policy ratherthan ad hoc, isolated plans and measures. TheActive Travel Audit Scheme, developedwithin the Active Travel Network project, andbased on BYPAD, is a self-assessmentmethod carried out by different groups. Itrequires an external auditor and an internal

evaluation group of politicians, administra-tions and users.

− Set clear, measurable objectives. Whenplanning a project or measures, define inadvance: expected results; time schedule;and who should do what, when and withwhich resources and responsibilities.

− Inter-departmental and inter-disciplinarywork is key to success. Urban mobility proj-ects should follow an integrated approach,and not be limited to the transport depart-ment and engineers. For Active TravelNetwork, the diversity of knowledge, workingmethods, external and internal contacts of arange of relevant departments wasinvaluable.

− People appreciate pedestrian and cyclenetworks, but separate cycle tracks are notalways necessary. There is a belief thatcycling can only be promoted once a networkof separate cycle tracks has been built. Butsuch construction is often impossible due tolimits on space, time or financing. A cost-effective solution is to reduce – and enforce– speed limits for the entire city, to 30 km/hfor example; then paint cycle lanes on theroads, not the pavements.

− Pedestrians and cyclists should havehighest priorities – above car traffic. Themunicipality should back this up with year-round, unproblematic cycling possibilities andstandardised complaint management.

− High quality, safe, rain-protected bicycleparking next to living areas and other targetssuch as schools, companies, shops, leisurefacilities and train stations.

− People won’t cycle simply because a cyclepath is available: they need encouragement.A specific communication strategy forwalking and cycling is vital, including tailor-made information material (e.g. brochures,flyers) and elements to motivate pedestriansand cyclists to interact with the city.

− Cities should regularly organise events forvarious groups of all ages, with participationincentives such as awards or prizes. Someexamples: bikers’ breakfast, accompaniedcycling to school, best employer for activetravel-awards, joint walking actions, city-wide cycle to work campaign.

− Cycling and walking need data. As formotorised traffic, automatic permanentcounting points with feedback-display,household surveys with special analysis and


active travel NetworkTackling Transport Problems by Promoting Walking and Cycling in Smalland Medium Sized Cities

periodic evaluation for success control shouldbe carried out and action plans adopted.− Cooperation with media. Debates ontransport, a popular urban issue, can getemotional. To encourage objectivity andreduce negative coverage in the local media– and on social media – the topic must becommunicated positively, highlighting bene-fits such as increased quality of life.− Decision makers and stakeholders mustact as shining role models. Authenticity andcredibility are particularly important in trans-port behaviour, where the advantages are notalways obvious, and the switch from drivingto cycling or walking can be seen as restric-tive or a sign of poverty.

ProspectsThe Active Travel Network project helpedpartners develop an URBACT Local ActionPlan to boost active travel in their own city.All expect to start implementing these plansin the next years. Some budgets are alreadyavailable. Skanderborg has received nationalfunding, and other partners are submittingproposals to the European Commission.

URBACT Local Support Groups set up byproject partners will continue, and may evenbroaden the range of topics they cover.

Finally, links made during the project willremain, between partner cities and withother projects and professionals working ontransport.

Oswin Donnerer, Town Councillor, Weiz: “All in all, the project wasa big success. Not only did we have many international contacts, butwe could also learn very much from our project partners. The final phaseof the project consists of putting as many ideas as possible from theproject into practice, which will lead to an improvement of urbanplanning for all participating project partners.”

learn more about active travel and download active travel Final publicationand partners’ local action plans on www.urbact.eu/activetravel


Ljutomer is a small town near the Croatian border, in the Pomurje Region of north-easternSlovenia. While the town has a population of about 5500, the wider Ljutomer Municipalitycovers some 18 000 people. Transport-wise, many people commute to work by car,though Ljutomer also has two railway stations. In fact, the city is surrounded by railways,causing traffic jams at peak times when roads close to allow trains to pass. The localeconomy is largely based on grape farming and winemaking. With official records goingback nearly 800 years, the town today boasts three main squares, and a number ofbeautiful 18th century buildings.

ljutomerSlovenia

Local ChallengesLjutomer joined the URBACT project ActiveTravel Network in search of solutions to localtraffic problems caused by high levels ofcar-use.

The Municipality also faced a host ofrelated challenges: shop owners weredemanding more car parks to improve citycentre access; the city centre faced decayas shops and people moved out; citizenssaw walking and cycling as leisure activi-ties, rather than as a means of transport;

pedestrians and cyclists were not givenenough priority, on the roads or in planningdecisions; pedestrians were endangered bypoor infrastructure; public transportneeded improvement ; and, final ly,increasing energy costs were makingmotorised travel expensive.



It was time to improve unhealthy travelhabits, raise public transport use, create goodconditions for walking and cycling, andpromote active, high quality lifestyles.

With URBACT partner cities, Ljutomer couldgain the mobility management experience itneeded to promote sustainable road trans-port with an emphasis on energy efficiency,environmental conservation and socialimpacts.

Added-Valueof TransnationalNetworking

Ljutomer found the project’s transnationalexchanges particularly rewarding, enablingthem to draw on experiences, ideas and goodpractices from other partners and implementthem in their own town. In this way, the “BikeCheck” event, described below, is one ideaLjutomer picked up from the Active TravelLead Partner Weiz.

On a larger scale, plans to build more carparks at the school in Ljutomer have beenrewritten to encourage active travel, thanksto lessons learnt in Skanderborg, togetherwith input from local stakeholders. Ratherthan simply increase space for parking, theplan is now to improve the local road systemso children can walk or cycle more safely toschool. Some roads will be permanentlyclosed to cars. Benefits should be seen assoon as children start back after the 2013summer holiday.

URBACT Local SupportGroup Experience

Thanks to the URBACT Local Support Group,a range of previously unconnected stake-holders in Ljutomer now cooperate on awealth of local issues that involve encour-aging people to walk or cycle instead of trav-elling by car.

Members include people from schools, akindergarten, the municipality, the police,non-governmental organisations, and ahome for the elderly. “Rather than working inisolation, they have now started to functionlike a team,” says Mitja Kolbl, of theMunicipality of Ljutomer. “The operation ofthe Local Support Group began to revealdifferent views on people’s own transport-related problems, and their solutions.”

In one 2013 action, for example, the LocalSupport Group (LSG) is cooperating with theMunicipality to make the road leading to theprimary school car-free, and build newwalking paths, bicycle storage and parkingspaces some distance from the school.

“Another thing that our LSG is working on atthe moment is the organisation of MobilityDay that was held on 11 May 2013, and theyare also preparing actions for EuropeanMobility Week that will be held in September[2013],” adds Mitja Kolbl.

As a result, Ljutomer’s URBACT Local SupportGroup has sparked a new, more integratedapproach to tackling local problems.Improving access to the school is just oneexample of a project where the involvementof a range of stakeholders enabled Ljutomerto have a clear overview and produce a well-targeted, realistic action plan.

With Ljutomer’s Local Action Plan includingactions up to 2020, the town’s Local SupportGroup will live on after the end of the ActiveTravel Network project.

Highlights of the LocalAction Plan

The Local Action Plan (LAP) drawn up byLjutomer during the project was the first ofits kind ever produced in the country, andgained national recognition. In 2012, whenthe President of the Republic of SloveniaDanilo Türk visited the Municipality anddiscovered Active Travel Network, the project

gained an ally at the highest national level inthe Republic of Slovenia.

The LAP is part of Ljutomer’s SustainableUrban Mobility Plan (SUMP), which waschosen as one of three top European mobilityplans in 2012. Specifically, the LAP coversLjutomer’s plans for a series of promotion andawareness-raising actions within the city’swider strategy on urban mobility.

“Our SUMP contains five chapters. Two ofthem encourage walking and exploit thepotential of cycling,” explains Mitja Kolbl.“Both chapters are connected with our LocalAction Plan that we created during theURBACT programme.”

The “Walking chapter” in the SUMP includesfive goals to reach by 2020: increase theshare of walking by a fifth from 2010 levels;improve Ljutomer’s walking network; intro-duce comprehensive traffic calming, both inLjutomer and in at least three other settle-ments in the Municipality; halve the 2005-2010 average number of pedestrians injuredin accidents; improve the physical infrastruc-ture serving central and hinterland areas. Inthis chapter, the URBACT Local Action Plancovers “Promotional and educational activi-ties”, alongside two other areas of action:“ Infrastructure improvement” and“Improvement of conditions for planning”.

The “Cycling chapter” also has five goals:increase the proportion of primary school chil-dren cycling to school from 8% to 20% andincrease the share of high school studentsfrom 7% to 15% by 2020; increase theproportion of employees cycling to work from


10% to 20% by 2020; double the length ofthe cycle network in the hinterland by 2015and establish a comprehensive cycle networkby 2025; ensure conditions for safe bicycleparking in the city of Ljutomer to 2025; and,finally, halve the 2005-2010 average numberof cyclists injured in accidents by 2020. Again,the URBACT Local Action Plan contributes toone of three action areas: “Management ofcycling in the municipality”. The other two are:“Development of a network of bicycle lanes”and “Providing safe bicycle parking”.

As part of the LAP’s preparation, LjutomerURBACT Local Support Group membersselected and approved the most relevantpromotional and awareness-raising activitiesfrom a wider list of suggestions.

Here are some highlights:− Nurseries – “mobility week: moveyourself, Have Fun, drive me” (annually,2013-20): nurseries and primary schoolslend children scooters and bikes for thejourney home, and the next day children andparents use them to come back.− Primary schools – “traffic Snake game”,a campaign in which coloured stickers aregiven out daily to encourage children to travelto school by foot or bike (annually, 2012-20); and “traffic diary” - campaign for chil-dren and their teachers (annually, 2013-20)aiming to stimulate home-school travel in asafe and environmentally-friendly way for aweek (or more).− Gymnasium – “Bike check” (annually,2012-20): workshops organised on theproper use of bicycles, meanwhile, bicycleexperts make professional inspections of

students’ bicycles; and “pimp my Bike”(annually, 2012-20): presentation of bikesspruced up by young innovators with the aimof encouraging other students to use bicyclesmore often (even old bikes can be repairedand used again).

− Organisations and companies – “By Bikeor on Foot to work” (annually, 2013-20):all employees of the Ljutomer Home for theElderly will participate in a competition forthe highest number of kilometres travelled inan environmentally friendly manner. Workingwith the Primary school of Ljutomer, newcovered and secured bicycle storage with40 parking spots are to be built in front of theschool (2017).

− General public – “active mobility dayin ljutomer” (annually, 2012-20): severalawareness-raising campaigns grouped in aone-day event, such as: bike check activity,health check activity, funny bike ridingcompetition, hiking through the city,painted shapes to cycle on, promotion ofnew electric bicycles; “Billboards with thecity map”, showing bus stops and foot-paths to the train station (2018);

“awareness-rais ing promotionalBrochure with a walking and a cyclingmap of ljutomer ” (2012-future)including maps showing short walks andbike rides of up to 15 minutes across thecity-centre.

Prospects

Ljutomer’s Local Action Plan includes actionsto be implemented every year until 2020,some with funding secured in the munici-pality budget. For others, they plan to applyto the European Commission’s SustainableUrban Mobility (SUM) fund (further informa-tion at www.dotherightmix.com).

Ljutomer aims to be the leading Slovenianmunicipality of its size in terms of sustainableurban mobility by 2016, and to expand theirgood practices to other municipalities. Theyplan to keep their helpful links with ActiveTravel Network partners and compare prog-ress in the years to come.

Mayor of Ljutomer Olga Karba: “Participating in the Active TravelNetwork has strengthened our resolve, and empowered us, to take thenext step towards an environmentally friendly way of managing mobilitywithin our municipality. The exchange of ideas and experience withpartner cities was of great mutual benefit and has yielded solutionswhich enable and promote a more active daily lifestyle within our localcommunity.”



skanderborgdenmark

Skanderborg is a historic, medium-sized town in eastern mainland Denmark. Once ahunting retreat for 12th-16th century Danish kings, today Skanderborg is better knownfor its annual music festival, “Denmark’s Most Beautiful Festival”. Within 30 km of threemajor cities, including Denmark’s second city Aarhus, the municipality is popular withcommuters, and its population of about 58 000 is growing. The municipality comprisesseveral urban areas as well as woods and farmland, and is part of the wider East Jutlandmetropolitan area of 1.2 million inhabitants.


Local Challenges

When Skanderborg decided to join theURBACT project Active Travel Network, localcycling conditions were relatively good, andalmost everybody owned a bike. The chal-lenge was to get more people using theirbikes for everyday travel, particularlycommuting to work, going to school andother short trips, such as shopping.

Skanderborg is on Jutland’s main North-South traffic corridor. While a motorwaytakes most of the transit car traffic outsidethe town, extra local traffic is created by the16 000 inhabitants commuting daily out ofthe municipality, including 10 000 travelling20 km to Aarhus.

In terms of public transport, the main railwayprovides a good train service to the North,South and West. Travelling by bus is also anoption. In fact, many commuters could leavetheir car at home, and cycle to bus and trainstations.

In its 2009 Municipal Plan, Skanderborg setas a long-term target the improvement oftraffic safety, particularly on school roads andfor cyclists and pedestrians in city centres.Other priorities included paths ensuring easyaccess from homes to schools, jobs, shops,recreational facilities, nature sites, and publictransport.

Skanderborg needed to find solutions toencourage people to cycle more in order toreduce car traffic, lower CO2 emissions, andimprove physical and mental health.

Added Value ofTransnationalNetworking

For Skanderborg, working with towns fromother countries was “ inspirational”.Particularly useful was the chance to discusscommon challenges, benefit from experi-ences gained by others, and look for solutionstogether. Not only did transnational discus-sions bring new ideas, but it also gaveSkanderborg the confidence – and politicalweight – to apply new solutions. One examplewas “The Extraordinaries”, a campaign thatinvolved shutting major roads around localschools every morning for a week in 2012.People cycled or walked to school instead ofdriving, and many continued to do so oncethe roads were reopened.

Drawing up a Local Action Plan takes time anddedication, as well as crucial additional advice

and support from partner towns and theproject’s Lead Expert.

Asked if participation in the URBACT projecthelped them find new interesting practices,tools, and policy ideas to address local chal-lenges, Skanderborg answers: “Absolutely!”.One example is the “walking bus”, based onideas from Ljutomer and Sebes, which groupsof children now use to walk to and fromschool in Skanderborg.


A major new approach resulting fromSkanderborg’s participation in Active TravelNetwork is the unprecedented cooperationbetween departments within the munici-pality. On joining Active Travel Network,Skanderborg set up links between threedepartments: the Municipal PlanningDepartment, which also works on energy andCO2 issues; the Road and Traffic Department;and the Health Department. Using this inte-grated approach, the working group becamean important element in achieving the aimsof municipality plans.

The URBACT Local Support Group (LSG) inSkanderborg brought new stakeholders onboard and built lasting contacts. The nationaltrain company DSB and the regional traincompany Arriva joined local partners in theLSG to work on improving conditions forcyclists at train stations. Others ranged fromcycling clubs to politicians, including thechairmen of the Communities Committeesfor Planning and Roads, and Education andChildren, and a member of the CommunitiesCommittee for Health.

Joint tasks included identifying problems andsolutions, contributing ideas to the LocalAction Plan, and making sure actions wererelevant and clearly described. Involvingstakeholders encouraged their backing forcarrying out the actions, and helped promoteActive Travel Network in local clubs andorganisations.


For Skanderborg, drawing up a Local ActionPlan (LAP) during the Active Travel Networkproject provided a clear set of measures tohelp implement the city’s 2009 MunicipalPlan. Hans Jørgen Bitsch, Public HealthConsultant at Skanderborg’s MunicipalDepartment of Health Promotion, explains:

“The 2009 plan is a general engagementabout, amongst other things, reducing CO2emissions, helping people have better health,and improving travelling safety, especially forcyclists. But it’s not concrete. The LAP takesup certain objectives of the 2009 plan andanswers with concrete actions; it’soperational.”

Hans Jørgen Bitsch says efforts are nowbeing made to feed parts of the Local ActionPlan into the long-term action plans of rele-vant municipal departments, for example,those dealing with health and roads.

“Working with Active Travel Network madeus focus on how to turn our municipal planinto real actions, more quickly and with abroader input than we might have doneotherwise,” says Hans Jørgen Bitsch.

Here are just a few of the concrete initiativesin the Skanderborg Local Action Plan, someof which have already been implemented:− “Traffic Safe School Route”, with associ-ated promotional elements including “TheExtraordinaries” where roads around schoolsare temporarily closed to encourage familiesto find healthy alternatives for getting toschool (www.deualmindelige.dk) (piloted in2011, events in 2012, 2013, and beyond);− More bicycle racks installed at stations, incooperation with the national and regionaltrain companies DSB and Arriva (2011onwards);− More bicycle racks installed at traffic junc-tions, with air pumps where possible (2011onwards);− Lower speed limits enforced in built-upareas, for example, in residential areas, andnear schools, kindergartens and leisure facili-ties (up for political discussion in 2013);− “Bike Games Corps”, a cooperationbetween the Municipality of Skanderborgand the Danish Cyclist Federation (DCF),supported by the Government’s NationalCycling Promotion Fund. A one-day coursefor teachers to become instructors in cyclingsafety for children (2012);− “Bicycle Friendly Workplaces”, an agree-ment between the Municipality ofSkanderborg and DCF to promote employees’use of bikes for commuting to and from work.Expert assistance from DCF is paid byNational Cycling Promotion Fund. The idea isto increase the proportion of bike commuters,and raise the number of healthy, happyemployees. If a workplace supports its riders,the urge to cycle can catch on (2013).

Skanderborg has already implemented someof the planned actions, like safe school routes,and others are in the pipeline. For this, theMunicipality of Skanderborg has assignedfunds of about EUR 400 000 every year forfour years.



Prospects

Tackling challenges through the URBACTLocal Support Group, the Active Travel Audit,and clear problem analysis has givenSkanderborg a durable method for pinpointingits most effective actions. Thanks to ActiveTravel Network, Municipality staff nowconsider active travel when drafting plans orstrategies.

Skanderborg will continue to implement itsLocal Action Plan, and build on the experi-ences it has gained through URBACT. Anadditional direct result for the Municipalitywas the invitation to join a major project,Nordic Bicycle Cities II – a pro-cycling coop-eration between Nordic cities, funded by theEU programme INTERREG IVA.

As well as enabling Skanderborg to exchangeideas and develop new campaigns withother Nordic cities, the new project willcontribute to running campaigns planned inthe Local Action Plan to encourage peopleto use their cars less when travelling toschool and work.

And, building on their joint success withActive Travel Network, the Municipality’sthree relevant departments will continuetheir cooperation on this new project,together with a new member : theMunicipality’s Department for Children andEducation.

Hans Jørgen Bitsch, Public Health Consultant, Department ofHealth Promotion, Municipality of Skanderborg: “Denmark is a‘bicycle country‘, but the share of bikers is decreasing. Only cities thathave focused on this issue have got an increase in the number of bikers.Working on this with URBACT, we’ve brought municipal departmentsto work together in a way they’ve never done before.”

caSHcities’ action for Sustainable Housing

OVERVIEWproject durationNovember 2009 - January 2013

lead partnerEchirolles (France)


Housing is a priority area for European energy efficiency, not only becauseit consumes a high volume of energy, but it is also an area where hugeimprovements could be made. Although contribution of housing to

carbon dioxide emissions is high and growing, many residents still cannot accessaffordable, “clean” energy, and practices remain inefficient. Technologies havebeen developed that could drastically reduce energy use in housing, but take-up is slow, and much of the related business potential remains untapped.In line with European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU(EPBD), and other EU initiatives like the Energy Efficiency Directive of 22 June2011, the URBACT project CASH set out to help reduce the energy consumptionof buildings and their occupants. Over three years, CASH’s 11 partners focusedon improving the energy efficiency of social and affordable housing, proposingnew solutions and promoting new policies for sustainable renovation. They alsoaimed to influence users’ behaviour through citizens’ involvement.


Because the high technical potential formaking energy savings in housing was notbeing fulfilled, CASH’s partners understoodthere were other factors to take into account,some of them complicated, and someemotional. One is the question of identity,where housing type can play a strong role forcities, neighbourhoods and even individualfamilies. Others concern quality of life andliving costs. Unfortunately, the most afford-able housing is often of the poorest quality,especially in countries where there is nogovernmental system for social housing.Renovation costs for individual householdshave to be affordable, with acceptable costsfor the house owners too.

Integrated GreenRenovationof Social Housing:A Guide for CitiesThe 11 partners in the URBACT project CASHcombined their own experiences with inputfrom experts to produce a guide on the inte-grated energy efficient renovation of socialhousing, with advice for greater EU support.The partners also took these findings back totheir own Local Support Groups, where theyfed into the Local Action Plans. Here is aselection of their concrete suggestions.

1 technological Developments forenergy efficient renovation

Technological possibilities are developingfast, and not always used in the most effec-tive way. How to tackle energy refurbish-ment of social housing in cities:− Make a survey of the heat energy demand(heating and domestic hot water);− Look for potentials of reducing demand(through insulation, water saving devices,etc.);− Calculate the differences between heatingsystems (boiler only, boiler and CombinedHeat and Power, heat pump, biomass heatingsystems such as stoves or boilers, districtheating), comparing not only acquisition,installation and maintenance costs, but fueldependency and emissions (CO2 and others).

Keep in mind that prices for different fuelsmay develop differently in the future;− Make a long term calculation(15-20 years). To avoid ad hoc decisionmaking, social landlords and house ownersshould make a structural renovation plan,covering technical, social and economic andenvironmental aspects. Choices should takeinto account grey (hidden) energy, includingenergy required in transporting and recyclingmaterials and technology at the end of theirlife cycle.

2 LegalFrameworkforGreenHousingSupport: National, International

and Local− Create local clusters on green socialhousing. These can cover the whole supplychain of energy efficient renovation, fromsupplier, planners, architects via installer, tousers. In such a cluster quality managementcan be developed, using energy labelling;− Flexible mechanism for rents adapted tolocal context (deprived neighbourhoods) anda form of protection from rent increase forexisting social rents should be ensured;− In countries with little or no social housing,individual owners are responsible for renova-tion. Legislation on co-properties and condo-miniums can stimulate this. In some countriesindividual owners are obliged to form anassociation and build a fund for long termmaintenance. Regulations should then alsocover how the decision making process willbe organised.

3 Financial Instruments: energy,Living environment, Maintenance

and Integration− National and regional revolving funds(supported by additional fees on rent orenergy bills) can be an important instrument,favouring long-term and large-scaleprojects;− Independent third-parties should becreated or supported to manage technical,financial and organisational aspects andmonitor the measures. They could act as afacilitator between landlords/owners of thehousing units and tenants. These could belocal or regional foundations, energy compa-nies or tenants’ organisations;− All calculations should include runningcosts for water, electricity and waste -“thesecond rent”;

− European funds such as the EuropeanRegional Development Fund (ERDF) shouldnot only be provided for energy measures,but should also be focused on social housingwith an integrated approach covering energy,living environment, maintenance andintegration.

4 Get citizens Involved in urbanclimate Policy

Urban climate policy can only be effectivewith citizen participation, for three mainreasons: (1) much energy can be saved inhousing using not only technical measures,but also behavioural change; (2) behaviouralchange is also vital for many technical energyefficiency measures to work; and (3) “invest-ment-behaviour”: the choice to invest inbuying energy efficient household appliancesdepends on the public’s knowledge andawareness.

It is important to involve citizens at all stagesof a policy: use a mixture of innovative toolsfavouring exchanges between all stake-holders, such as independent energy advi-sors, trained champions, and ambassadors ofenergy trained to change behaviour and atti-tudes and make citizens aware of the bene-fits of energy efficiency renovation.

6 use Strategic Planning for energyProduction and Distribution

Use strategic energy planning to choose themost suitable energy scenario, and energysources, for a given city. Strategic energyplanning should cover all buildings in the city,including houses, independent of ownershipor the existence of a social housing system.(Naturally, the possible measures and actionswill vary considerably.)− Diversification with several green energysources is important and should beencouraged;− Green Combined Heat Power cogenera-tion should be promoted. A flexible and effi-cient method for energy transformation, itoffers tremendous efficiency and costsavings and can be implemented by energycompanies, social land lords, tenants associa-tions or associations of private owners;− House owners or communities of tenantscan be involved in the production and distri-bution of renewable energy to keep transportlines short and fixed costs low;


caSHCities’ Action for Sustainable Housing

− Social housing building blocks and areasmay be the nucleus of local energy distribu-tion grids, giving better conditions for theimplementation of cogeneration units andtransforming the supply from fossil fuels torenewables.

6 tips for Managing Social Housingenergy efficient renovation

ProjectsIt is essential to ensure the adequate partici-pation of all actors in energy renovation andto develop synergies between them:− Use a systematic approach of energy effi-cient renovation integrating social, political,environmental, legal and financial compo-nents and competences;− Set up an independent project manage-ment body;− Involve as many strategic stakeholders aspossible in the planning phase;− Take into account the stakeholders’ varyingtimescales and ensure actions in line withvarious needs;− Match the funding schemes with the proj-ect’s timeframe and allow adjustmentsaccording to the project evolution;− Provide the end users with project detailsat each stage to increase transparency andimprove public consultation;− National policy framework must support,or at least allow, local actions; influence bylocal actors should be possible.

Nine PolicyRecommendationsto Help EU Decision-Makers and ManagingAuthorities Make theBest Use of StructuralFunds for SustainableSocial HousingDrawing on local solutions, CASH workedclosely with CECODHAS Housing Europe (theEuropean Federation of Public, Cooperativeand Social Housing) to build a series of policy

recommendations for EU decision-makersand Managing Authorities. The resultingbrochure of “9 Policy Recommendations”features four sections that reflect whatCASH describes as the “ingredients ofsuccess” for a programme of Cities’ Action forSocial Housing.

better monitor local need and resourcesand favour local green energy mix

1 Adapt the energy production systemsto the local specificities and favour

green solutions

2 Make affordable housing the core oflocal energy production and distribu-

tion grids

3 Strengthen the local human capital

Dare citizens’ empowerment and partic-ipation of civil society

4 Strengthen the participatory approachwithin the cohesion policy

5 Use EU funds to enable the participa-tion of tenants in all stages of sustain-

ability programmes in the field of socialhousing

Provide clear and stable financial options

6 Set up long-term, large-scale energyefficiency funds accessible at local

levels

7 Create intermediary bodies that willcoordinate energy efficiency

programmes and help social housing dealwith energy companies

Strengthen the skills of localauthorities

8 Use EU Structural Funds to providetechnical assistance to develop long-

term sustainable social housing programmes

9 Create local clusters on sustainablesocial housing

Prospects

In cities across the CASH partnership, LocalAction Plans are starting to be followed, waysof working have been improved, and lastingrelationships forged. Rhône-Alpes, forexample, is strengthening working relationswith various local partners. For Echirolles,systematic asset management has become apriority. Frankfurt is planning the develop-ment of a refurbishment roadmap for thewhole housing stock. The situation andnecessary renovation of all houses in the cityare being analysed and will form the basis ofa renovation plan.

As a direct consequence of CASH, LesMureaux has officially launched the SeineAval Platform for Energy Efficiency, acompletely new concept of taskforce and aninnovative process for education and training,research and communication on energyefficiency.


“We, Mayors of the 10 cities and Vice-President of the region partnersof the CASH network, have worked during 30 months - with thestakeholders involved in social housing energy efficient renovation - onthe major challenges of energy intensive social housing and fuel poverty.The sharing of experiences and the analysis of key obstacles, led to theelaboration of proposals to shape a more favorable future for socialhousing energy efficient renovation…” From CASH’s ‘Declaration ofIntent’, signed in Brussels, November 2012.

learn more about caSH and download caSH Final publication and partners’local action plans on www.urbact.eu/cash



Tatabánya (about 72 000 inhabitants) is situated in the Central Transdanubian region ofHungary, on the Vienna-Budapest transport route. The city was founded in 1947 by theunion of four existing villages. Tatabánya became one of Hungary’s most important coal-mining and industrial areas in the second part of the 20th century, requiring housing to bebuilt quickly for the employees of the mines and connected enterprises. Today, no activemines remain. The difficulties of social and economic change after 1990 were ironed outby the municipality’s systematic economic development policy, and Tatabánya is now oneof Hungary’s most rapidly developing settlements. However Tatabánya, and Hungary as awhole, still suffer from high energy costs and unemployment despite various successfulprogrammes set up to tackle these problems in recent years. A lack of past renovationefforts, together with increasing energy costs, mean the city now faces a real need forhome reconstruction and building. In response, the city has recently started an efficientEnergy Efficiency (EE) programme and fund.

tatabányaHungary


Local Challenges

Some 40% of energy consumed in Hungaryis used in buildings, two-thirds of which goeson heating and cooling. Meanwhile, 70% ofHungary’s approximately 4.3 million homesfail to meet modern functional technical andthermal engineering requirements, with asimilar ratio for public buildings. These figurescome from Hungary’s National EnergyStrategy 2030 (published 2012), which aimsto reduce, by 2030, the heating energyrequirements of buildings by 30% throughenergy efficiency programmes in accordancewith European Union targets. This will enablea more than 10% reduction in the overallprimary energy demand in Hungary.

At city level, Tatabánya’s Local ClimateChange Strategy and the Integrated TownDeveloping Strategy (both published 2008),aim to stimulate energy efficiency andpromote the use of renewable energy, andreduce local CO2 emissions. In 2010, whenthe city joined the URBACT project, it wassearching for solutions to a number of prob-lems related to the energy efficient renova-tion of housing stock.− aging buildings: The housing stock’saverage age was 35 years; most neededcomplex renovation.− Mixed ownership: Most municipalitiesowned dwellings were for social housing,often in blocks of flats shared by a number ofowners, complicating the renovation process.− High energy costs: 75% of housingstock used district heating provided by a localcompany. Heat was produced by the localpower plant using foreign gas. High gas pricesand the relative inefficiency of the districtheating system were increasing heating costsfor local people and social housing tenants.− technological complications: Blocks offlats and houses were made of a variety ofmaterials, including breeze blocks, bricks,tunnel sheeting and reinforced concrete. Eachmaterial and technology available for renova-tions requires specialist’s knowledge, to beadapted to the type of building.− Social aspects: Several buildings neededrenovation in deprived neighbourhoods, withproblems such as the inability of low-incometenants and owners to finance renovationsthemselves.− Financing aspects: Although large reno-vation projects require large, often externalfunds, financial mechanisms were lacking atnational or regional level. Funds change, andapplication forms are complex, requiringfinancial guarantees, declarations and insur-ances. Additional costs for the municipalitycould be brought on by the requirement togain consent from 80-90% of owners beforeapplications could be made and renovationsimplemented.

− communication problems: Tatabánya’spopulation had an insufficient understandingof the advantages and technical possibilitiesof EE renovation. Owners and tenants wereunaware of funding available forrenovations.− behaviour: Lack of interest from tenantsor owners. Fear of change.

The term social housing is used here todescribe the part of Tatabánya’s municipalityowned housing stock (more than 2000pieces) that is rented by social baseapplications.

Due to the complexity of EE renovation ofsocial housing, and with various reconstruc-tion activities underway, Tatabánya faced amultitude of questions: What was the bestway to modernise the social housing stock,finance energy efficient renovations, andreduce energy costs and CO2 emissions?How could modernisation activities bepromoted and propagated? How could localpeople be informed about achievable energyefficiency solutions?

In this context, the city joined CASH as a wayto gain insight into creating an effective anduseful tool for EE renovation of social housingin Tatabánya. This would involve planning apilot project in Kertváros, a district withparticularly high levels of social housing inpoor condition, to implement a schemenamed “Town rehabilitation project for socialpurpose in the district Kertváros ofTatabánya”, or Kertváros project for short.

added valueof transnationalNetworkingThrough a series of transnational seminars onthe renewal of social housing, Tatabányalearnt about good practices and EU policiesfrom its partner cities, representatives ofother EU projects and EU organisations.Certain themes were particularly beneficial:

techniques, projects and procedures forinvolving citizens in housing reconstructionprojects and informing them about relevantlocal, regional, national and EU funds; collabo-ration between reconstruction actors (e.g.,owners, tenants, municipalities, investors,architects and coordinating body); anddistrict heating systems using renewalenergy sources.

This was particularly useful in Tatabánya’sdrive to change the behaviour of flat-ownersand tenants, a key local challenge. As part ofCASH, the city learnt best European tech-niques, projects and procedures for involvingcitizens in housing reconstruction projectsand informing them about available funds.Solutions include energy ambassadors,energy campaigns and information activitieswith volunteers, social workers, NGOs, insu-lation manufacturers, as well as exhibitionsexplaining various insulation techniques.Another benefit was to see locally importantand complex projects already implemented orstarted by the host partners of CASHthematic transnational seminars. A significantgood practice revealed in a series of seminarson renewal energy sources (biogas, biomass,geothermal energy, wind, etc.) was the“green” energy production and distributionsystem of Sonderborg and its ProjectZero forreducing the Danish city’s CO2 emissions.

Tatabánya fed these best practices fromother cities and specialists into their LocalAction Plan for Kertváros project. New ideaswill also improve the implementation of theDistrict Heating Modernization Program ofthe city. This programme is managed by theDistrict Heating Development Nonprofit Ltd,which was set up in 2010 to manage aheating modernisation fund with the aim ofencouraging all Tatabánya citizens (withinfive to eight years) to install measuring andcontrol appliances on their radiators. Heatingcosts have been reduced by an average of30% in the more than 2500 flats involved, asign of the initiative’s success. The programmewas extended in 2013 with a housing recon-struction fund.

the intervention area of Kertváros project



urbact Local SupportGroup experience

Tatabánya’s URBACT Local Support Groupinvolved a range of stakeholders, from repre-sentatives of housing associations to thelocal power plant and district heatingcompany. A number of people took part fromthe Mayor’s Office of Tatabánya, includingspecialists in environmental and energy-saving subjects. As Managing Authority,Hungary’s National Development Agencywas also involved.

The Local Support Group brought togetherdiverse points of view on Tatabánya’s localchallenges, and, specifically, on the LocalAction Plan’s Kertváros project, tacklingissues such as energy production and distri-bution, tenants and owners, architecture andenergy, and finance and funding. Anotherbenefit was the active collaboration withKertváros project’s management body(Economic Development OrganisationNonprofit Ltd) and the executive body of thelocal District Heating Modernization Program(District Heating Development NonprofitLtd), both owned by the city.

Certain group members – including theMayor of the City Council of Tatabánya, thePresident of a Federation of Technical andScientific Societies, the Coordinator ofKertváros project, managing directors ofTatabánya Power Plant Ltd and DistrictHeating Developing Ltd, and relevant officersof the Mayor’s Office – also took part inCASH’s transnational thematic seminars,described as very useful and efficient.

Highlights of the Localaction Plan

As part of its objective to address city-wideEE challenges, a central function of the LocalAction Plan was to set out clear actions forimplementing Kertváros project. This schemewas first mentioned in Tatabánya’s 2008Integrated Town Developing Strategy andaims to renovate buildings and stop depriva-tion through both EE renovation and socialmeasures. Kertváros’ 4600 inhabitants makeup 6% of Tatabánya’s population. Of the1 633 dwellings in the target area, 26% aremunicipal owned. Kertváros project aims torenovate 449 homes, 144 of which areowned by the municipality.

With a total budget of about 4.2 millioneuros, Kertváros project involves a range ofintegrated activities planned over two years.Here is a summary:

− Improve living conditions: moderniseheating, insulation (heat and water related),renovate and change facade windows andfront doors, renovate staircases and entrancedoors, improve access for disabled people;− Develop public places (install new busstops, and EE street-lighting system);− Develop infrastructure (install streetcameras at a new children’s play area andplayhouse – see below);− Strengthen public services (kinder-garten modernisation, relocate the localoffice of Family Care Service to a new officewithin the target area);− Strengthen community functions(build a new Maltese playhouse and play-ground providing free children’s activities andassistants. The City of Tatabánya alreadysupports a Maltese playground, one of 14 setup across Hungary thanks to the HungarianMaltese Charity Service – www.facebook.com/maltaijatszotertatabanya );− Social activities for the reintegrationand reactivation of local disadvantagedand unemployed people (labour marketreintegration programme, training for unem-ployed people, programmes and events forchildren and youth, community strength-ening programmes).

Drafting a detailed Local Action Plan during theCASH project enabled the City Council of

Tatabánya to make a well-defined proposal forKertváros Project in response to a regional callnamedHighpriorityurbanrehabilitationprojectproposals of unitary authorities (code: KDOP-3.1.1/D2-13).ThisERDFfunding,co-financedby the Hungarian State, is destined for actionsfocusing on specific social topics and dedicatedto certain cities in the region. This project hasbeen approved, and started on September2013. The funding covers the core activities ofthe Local Action Plan.

ProspectThe initiation of Kertváros project is a nextstep for Tatabánya in achieving its EE objec-tives involving the reconstruction of socialhousing and reduction of CO2 emissions. In2013, the city contracted its service relatedcompanies in one holding structure (includingthe local district heating company andDistrict Heating Developing Ltd). This newstructure will allow more effective, low-priced implementation of EE housing recon-struction projects at city level, benefitingboth the city and its citizens. New projectsrelated to the development of the localpower plant and the reconstruction of thelocal heating pipe system increase the effi-ciency of the heating system and reducecosts – for the customers too.

Csaba Schmidt, Mayor of City Council of Tatabánya : “The CASHproject of the URBACT II Programme was a good opportunity forTatabánya to see social housing reconstruction related problems fromdifferent points of view and at various EU levels. The city could learn alot about the experiences from the transnational thematic seminars andenergy efficiency related EU projects presented by the project partners.We got answers for a reconstruction connected concrete question andalso elaborated models, projects for reducing CO2 emission at city level.The added values of CASH project can help us to achieve our middle-and long-term EE objectives.”

a reconstructed block of flat (2013) performed in the framework of District HeatingModernization Program


Bridgend County Borough (135000 inhabitants) lies in the heart of South Wales, in anarea dominated by coal-mining since the 17th century. Closure of the coal industry in thelate 20th century generated considerable unemployment. Much of Bridgend’s older socialhousing was built for miners as terrace and semi-attached houses. New house building hasbeen consistent since the 1980s. Significant growth includes the 1980s Brackla HousingEstate, which in the 1990s became Europe’s largest privately owned estate.

bridgendunited kingdom



Local Challenges

The M4 motorway between South Wales andLondon cuts through the County Borough ofBridgend, marking the county’s north-southdivide. North of the M4 are Bridgend’s mostdeprived areas, where the old coal-miningcommunities exist, and where levels of fuelpoverty are highest. Properties are of solidconstruction and are mainly terraced houses.

Bridgend joined the URBACT project CASH tolook into innovative new ways to meetgovernment targets to reduce CO2 emis-sions, to take people living in deprived areasout of fuel poverty and to share good prac-tice and ideas with European partner cities.

Early in the project, a workshop with keyURBACT Local Support Group membersidentified a series of main issues, summarisedbelow to give an idea of the local challengesBridgend set out to tackle.

1 Fuel poverty and its causes (highfuel prices, low income households and

inefficient heating systems).

2 the need to change households’attitudes and behaviour so they can

understand energy efficiency’s benefits.

3 How to operate controls, measureconsumption and identify cost

savings? This is complicated by the exist-ence of a range of energy tariffs and lack ofcoordination between energy providers.While data collection is reasonable, it is notbeing used fully to identify gaps in provisionand plan accordingly.

People did not understand heating controls,too much energy was being consumed, andheating products were expensive. As a result,certain households were choosing not to heattheir homes, due mainly to debt and nomoney to pay bills.

added valueof transnationalNetworking

Through the CASH experience and attendingsix thematic seminars in partner cities acrossEurope, Bridgend learnt how local authoritiesin other countries were improving energyefficiency (EE) in social and affordablehousing. Elaine Williams, Senior HousingStrategy Officer at Bridgend County BoroughCoucil, recalls: “It was interesting to see howcities had progressed for different reasons.

For example, Sonderborg have areas of lowlevel housing and seemed to be at the fore-front in technology and energy production,and in comparrison Yambol have a higherconcentration of flats and tenements that areprivately owned and more difficult to under-take energy efficiency renovation.”

Participation in CASH enabled the partners toidentify situations, problems, causes andeffects. It helped them find solutions anddevelop tools together to meet differentcircumstances. In some cases, new ideaswere found for integrating the activities ofthe URBACT Local Action Plan (LAP) intoexisting corporate priorities, policies andstrategies.

As part of their LAP, Bridgend developed twopilot operations, one for District Heating,using examples taken from Frankfurt andYambol, and the other to develop the GreenDeal. This scheme aims to take people out offuel poverty by carrying out EE renovationand charging the renovation costs throughthe meter. The charge stays with the meterif the occupier moves out, with the newoccupier continuing to pay through theirenergy bills. Other tools Bridgend are consi-dering include developing a charging policywith housing associations for EE renovationto be charged through rents, as in Tatabánya,Hungary.

The URBACT project stimulated Bridgend touse new approaches in managing projects,such as involving citizens right from theinception of an idea, where previously theywould only have been included in later stagesof the process and aftercare. Elaine Williamsexplains: “For example, past schemes underthe Community Energy Savings Programmeinvolved citizens once a project had alreadybeen decided, and citizens had little choice inwhat renovation work was to be undertaken.

At the thematic seminar in Yambol, Bridgendlearnt new ways from partners of involvingcitizens from the inception, through the plan-ning stages and completion and in managingand operating controls, monitoring and iden-tifying savings.”

urbact Local SupportGroup experience

For Bridgend, setting up an URBACT LocalSupport Group had the added value ofbringing together people and organisationswith expertise and experience in a broadrange of fields, as Elaine Williams describes.“Prior to setting up CASH, organisations wereworking in isolation. The network benefitedfrom the Housing Association’s experience inenergy efficiency renovation, helpful in iden-tifying and addressing local problems. Alsoinvolved was the Centre for RegenerationExcellence in Wales (CREW) that producedinformation on up-skilling and education.They were also good for networking with theWelsh Government, the Welsh EuropeanFunding Office and Central Government toenable a shared vision.”

In a mission statement, the URBACT LocalSupport Group (LSG) signed their commit-ment to “a reduction in emissions from poorenergy-efficient housing” and agreed to“encourage and implement actions andexperiments that will increase the energyefficiency of dwellings”.

Continuing the LSG’s work, two groups willensure the implementation of the LocalAction Plan until 2015. A Working Group,committed to delivering Local Action Planpriorities and activities, and the BridgendEnergy Efficiency Network, a wider group

Mat

tbuc

k


that will spread the good work, integrateplanned actions into policies and strategiesand publicise progress. The network wasestablished through CASH’s closing seminarin January 2013. It consists of some originalLSG members and stakeholders, and otherpartners added throughout the project,including the new Vibrant and Viable PlacesSection from Regeneration in WelshGovernment, and a community-led organi-sation named Groundworks.

Highlights of the Localaction Plan

Bridgend’s Local Action Plan (LAP) forsustainable housing was developed by theWorking Group, which will continue to deliverthe LAP until 2015. The group includesHousing Association members, CREW(looking at up-skilling and local employ-ment), and Bridgend Council’s housing,regeneration and sustainable developmentofficers. The plan has two main goals:

1 reduce fuel poverty in deprivedareas and low income households,

identifying the households in fuel poverty,and seeing what extra help is available,working with a range of specialist bodies inWales such as the Climate ChangeCommissioner for Wales, Community HousingCymru and the Energy Saving Trust (UK).

2 change attitudes and behaviour oftenants and residents so they

understand the benefits of energy effi-ciency to reduce their energy consump-tion and save money. Using controls, withinformation and advice from energy suppliersand local authorities.

Bridgend started implementing the plan assoon as it was developed in 2012. Over halfa million pounds grant funding was securedin 2012-13 to deliver EE renovation fromthe Welsh Government’s Arbed programme(meaning ‘Save’ in Welsh) together withfunding from energy companies through theUK’s Community Energy Savings Programme(CESP) and Energy Company Obligation(ECO). Elaine Williams says: “A great deal hasbeen undertaken through these schemes.Bridgend are looking at innovative ways todeliver the LAP and the pilot operations, forexample, the next phase of Arbed which islargely funded by ERDF could fund a districtheating scheme. The Energy Savings Trusthas also received funding to develop localised

databases to support the local authority’sGreen Deal schemes. Discussions areunderway with the scheme manager forSouth Wales Arbed/ERDF scheme to link inwith their project to change behaviours bytraining citizens to become energyambassadors.”

Local authorities in Wales have to apply forEuropean funding through their ManagingAuthorities, which for Bridgend is the WelshGovernment. Bridgend cannot apply directlyto the EC through the 2014-2020 ECCohesion Policy for funding activities in theLAP or the Pilot Operations and is waiting forfurther guidance on how projects will bemanaged and funded by the WelshGovernment.

Bridgend’s work with the CASH project hasalready sparked a multitude of actions. Oneis the city’s adoption of an EnergyManagement Action Plan including promo-tion of advice to residents and developmentof affordable warmth programmes. Initiativesto reduce the carbon footprint are also beingdeveloped in cooperation with CardiffUniversity. Energy consumption of the city’shousing stock is monitored and policy moni-toring is undertaken in a systematic way.

Prospects

The network and the working group set up tocontinue the good work undertaken byBridgend throughout CASH and the imple-mentation of the Local Action Plan will sustaina busy calendar of exchanges locally andregionally until 2015 at least.

At a CASH workshop in early 2013, workinggroup members confirmed that actions hadbeen taken to reduce fuel poverty inBridgend’s deprived neighbourhoods, butthat more work was still needed to changeattitudes and behaviours. Elaine Williamssays: “Since the workshop, we’ve establisheda working relationship with Groundworkswho work with communities and have thecapacity to help train citizens to becomeenergy ambassadors. Also negotiations areunderway with the Arbed scheme managerin South Wales to use some of their commu-nity benefits to train citizens to use controlsand reduce energy consumption.”

Bridgend will continue to source and leveragefunding to reduce fuel poverty further andcelebrate and publicise results andachievements.

Andrew Smith, Head of Procurement and Assets at not-for-profit housing association V2C, and an active member ofBridgend’s URBACT Local Support Group, describes hisinvolvement in the URBACT project: “For me this has been a valuableopportunity to see how the challenges we all face with retrofittingenergy efficiency and new technologies to older properties are beingtackled across Europe.”


eSIMececonomic Strategies and innovation in mediumSized cities

OVERVIEWproject durationNovember 2009 – January 2013

lead partnerBasingstoke and Deane BoroughCouncil (UK)

partners FundingTotal Eligible Cost: EUR 634 968ERDF Contribution : EUR 460 200

As home to the vast majority of people in Europe, medium sized townsand cities have a key role to play in economic development andcompetitiveness. But economic recession tends to hit them harder than

larger metropolitan areas. This is the case for the eight medium sized citieswho formed the URBACT project ESIMeC to find innovative, people-basedapproaches to economic recovery, growth and resilience. Over three years,the partners explored how medium sized cities can generate new employmentopportunities, prepare workers for jobs, and address mismatches between thesupply of labour and demand for workers.


ESIMeC’s “Cookbook”of WorkforceDevelopmentRecipes for EconomicRecoveryBased on their joint exploration of eight keyareas of workforce development, ESIMeC’spartner cities published a set of particularlyuseful approaches, or “Recipes for Success”,for other cities to try. The eight themes fit inwell with the Europe 2020 flagship initiativeAn Agenda for new skills and jobs: A Europeancontribution towards full employment andthe subsequent Employment Package (April2012). Towns looking for ways to unlocktheir people’s potential through jobs and skillswill particularly appreciate the recipes inESIMeC’s Cookbook:− Recipe 1: Effective Partnership working;− Recipe 2: Municipality-University-Business cooperation for workforcedevelopment;− Recipe 3: Green growth and green jobs;− Recipe 4: Preparing young people for theworld of work;− Recipe 5: A marinade for destinationmarketing;− Recipe 6: Cultural and creative growth andjobs;− Recipe 7: Integrated approaches toeconomic and workforce development;− Recipe 8: Skills forecasting at city level.

ESIMEC’s Conclusionsand PolicyRecommendationsESIMeC’s partners identified a number offundamental approaches that all mediumsized towns and cities can follow to supportjob creation and growth.

understand the needs of employers andthe state of labour market: ESIMeClaunched a skills forecasting tool (November2012) to help cities use quantitative andqualitative methodologies to understand

employer skills needs, an essential step in anycity strategy. The partnership also identifiedexamples of good practice, such as the Joband Training House in Cherbourg, which fore-casts economic development trends for jobdemand and supply. This informs a structuredapproach to adapting and using training avail-ability in the city and helps match training andskills with employer demands. Employers areregularly asked for information on the jobsthey are having trouble filling. Drawing ontheir answers, MEF analyses the availabilityof training, and develops new training whereappropriate. MEF has created job data speci-fications for 20 occupations. These describethe roles, outline required skills, and identifyany relevant training available locally. This hasbeen collated into a booklet focusing on“industrial jobs of tomorrow”.

Foster entrepreneurship: Convinced that“entrepreneurs are made, not born”, ESIMeCsays teaching entrepreneurship and devel-oping an entrepreneurial attitude in youngpeople is vital. An example is Gävle, which hasdeveloped a range of entrepreneurial learninginitiatives and a programme of employerengagement in education at all levels.Entrepreneurship is explained to teachers,and young people are matched withemployers through a mentoring programme.

engage stakeholders from sectors withgreatest potential: The 2012 EUEmployment Package identifies the green,white (health and social care) and digitaleconomy sectors as those with the greatestpotential for creating jobs. ESIMeC’s partnersdrafted their Local Action Plans with this inmind. Here are some examples:

− In Albacete, where the Municipality hasambitious CO2 reduction targets for publicbuildings, the city plans to help unemployedconstruction workers to develop new greenconstruction skills. New approaches will alsobe developed for vocational training inschools and companies. Albacete hopes toemploy these newly trained workers onmunicipal energy efficiency projects, awin-win for environment and economy;

− Besançon plans to maximise the economicpotential of its cultural and creative industriesby developing a skills and business supportecosystem linked to its new Art Area;

− In Debrecen, the Municipality, universityand businesses are working together tofoster a business environment, which encour-ages innovation and knowledge-basedindustries. Actions include internshipprogrammes, various cluster initiatives (ICT,Food, Pharmaceuticals) and industry-ledlecture programmes in local companies.

Develop and deliver a whole systemapproach to employment and economicdevelopment: Here too, ESIMeC identifiedgood practices from its partners’ experi-ences, including:− In Basingstoke, a structured but flexiblestrategic partnership covering all areas ofurban development has helped break down“policy silos” to deliver integrated policy andaction. A series of groups focuses on thetown’s various issues. Each group bringstogether a wide range of stakeholders,including health and community agencies,local authority departments (at county anddistrict level), employers and employerrepresentatives, the police, education andtraining organisations and third sectorgroups;− Sabadell’s municipality has outsourced itsemployment and economic developmentfunctions to a single, arms-length organisa-tion. This is a way to integrate services andstrengthen links with local businesses. Theorganisation works with employers to deter-mine their skills needs, and helps unemployedpeople to develop their skills. It also workswith training agencies to develop new trainingprogrammes that answer the needs of thelabour market, and to match the skills needsof employers with the skills of unemployedpeople more effectively;− Bistrita has, for the first time, engagedmultiple stakeholders in developing a stra-tegic approach to skills and employmentdevelopment, linked to the long term devel-opment of an industrial park.

Make more of european regionalDevelopment Fund (erDF) and europeanSocial Fund (eSF): ESIMeC’s findings willhelp medium sized cities position themselvesfor future structural fund programmes.Medium sized cities could do more to takeadvantage of the resources available fromERDF and ESF. At the time of publishing theseconclusions, while operational programmes


eSIMecEconomic Strategies and Innovation in Medium Sized Cities

for 2014-2020 were not yet confirmed,ESIMeC said towns would benefit from usingCommunity Led Local Development (CLLD)and Integrated Territorial Investments (ITIs)to develop integrated approaches to work-force development and economic growth.

ESIMeC’s SkillsForecasting Manualand Tool – HelpingCities on the Roadto RecoveryESIMeC’s partner cities developed a practicaltool and manual to help EU cities on their pathto job-rich recovery and growth. City prac-titioners can use the ESIMeC Skills ForecastingManual and Tool to gain a clear, in-depthpicture of skills shortages and demand intheir local area. This information can helpthem develop and implement skills develop-ment strategies that are based on real localneeds and address real local issues, as well asresponding better to employer needs.

ProspectsESIMeC’s partners believe the project willhelp them to develop effective integrated

“ESIMeC has shown the value of workforce development as a key toolof economic development. An array of examples, good practices andpractical tools have been produced that help make workforcedevelopment both more ‘demand led ‘(i.e., able to meet the changingneeds of the labour market) and more closely integrated into theeconomic development process, through closer partnership working.”Professor Mike Campbell, an expert in skills and employment,who has worked for URBACT as well as the OECD, EuropeanCommission, ILO and the World Bank.

strategies under future structural fundprogrammes, through CLLD or ITIs, forexample. Several partners hope their LocalAction Plans will provide a useful startingpoint for dialogue with Managing Authoritieson this issue. However, the Local Action Planswere produced at a time when structuralfund programmes were in a period of transi-tion, and funding opportunities uncertain.

Although ESIMeC has ended, Sabadell, Gävle,Bistrita and Basingstoke are actively exploringopportunities to continue working togetheron workforce and economic developmentissues. Some of ESIMeC’s partners havesecured funding for parts of their LocalAction Plans and further international links.For example, the Lead Partner Basingstokewill develop a plan to regenerate its central

business park within the INTERREG IVAChannel Programme project GreenFit.Sabadell will develop its skills forecasting withsupport from the European Social Fund.During the ESIMeC project, a Leonardoproject funded staff exchanges betweenlocal authorities in Basingstoke and Gävle.And Sabadell and Gävle both got involved ina new INTERREG IVC project called CCIC(Complex Challenges: Innovative Cities)which explores the role of innovation andsocial innovation in economic recovery.

One lasting impact in all partner cities– anda major legacy of the project – is the positivechange in working practices, in particularmulti-agency collaboration and a joined upapproach to economic development andemployment.

learn more about eSimec and download eSimec Final publication andpartners’ local action plans on www.urbact.eu/esimec


basingstokeand deaneunited kingdom

The borough of Basingstoke and Deane (population - 165000) comprises a large urbancentre surrounded by small villages and beautiful North Hampshire rolling countryside. Theold market town of Basingstoke grew rapidly in the 1960s when it was designated as an“expanded town”, and many people moved in from London. The town capitalised on thisinflux, and its strategic location, to attract multinational companies. A strong, diverse localeconomy developed, with a wide variety of jobs. Sony, Thales and Motorola are just a fewof the large firms with headquarters in Basingstoke today. Although Basingstoke’s economyhas weathered the recession fairly well, a number of big businesses have moved out, andthe area has suffered from public sector spending cuts. Still, Basingstoke is home to aworld-class concert hall, an award winning shopping centre and nationally recognisedmuseum.



Local Challenges

Basingstoke joined the URBACT projectESIMeC just after the onset of economicrecession. Companies were closing or leavingtown, and unemployment had risen over fiveyears from near zero to 4.9%. Basingstokeneeded to act to ensure it remained a vibrant,attractive business centre. But tackling theunemployment problem was difficult for anumber of reasons. The district lacked astrong strategic and coordinated approachfor addressing skills issues at local level. Therewas also a perceived mismatch between skillssupply and skills demand in the labour market.And finally, local authorities, educationproviders, businesses and other relevantorganisations, lacked robust, shared informa-tion about the local skills landscape.

When Besançon suggested forming anURBACT partnership tackling economicdecline, Basingstoke seized the opportunityto learn from other similar EU cities. Together,the partners worked out that for them, theanswer to economic strength lay in work-force development, and above all, people.

Added-Valueof TransnationalNetworking

Through ESIMeC, Basingstoke picked upinteresting new examples of how cities in

other countries were tackling unemploy-ment, and saw how partner cities wereworking with their Local Support Groups anddeveloping their Local Action Plans.Basingstoke also benefited from the broaderperspectives of external experts from organ-isationssuchastheOrganisationforEconomicCooperation and Development (OECD) andthe UK Skills Commission.

Basingstoke and its seven partner citiesdeveloped a skills forecasting tool to helpanticipate future skills needs in order toreduce skills gaps. In Basingstoke, the toolbrought a more focused understanding ofhow businesses were struggling to recruitlocally. Two main skills were lacking: basicskills such as timekeeping and presentation,on one hand; and high-tech engineering skills,on the other.

Stimulated by lessons learnt from partnercities, Basingstoke is starting to apply newapproaches at home. For example, the Jobfair in Cherbourg inspired Basingstoke toorganise its own joint jobs and careers fair,which attracted 1000 visitors in 2012. TheConvention Bureau model in Gävle is alsosomething Basingstoke aims to take on. Theidea is to promote Basingstoke as a great cityfor holding conferences, with a designatedbureau to help conference organisers, gener-ating revenue for the city as a whole. The wayeducation and business interact in Gävle isalso something Basingstoke aims to copy, aswell as some of their activities aimed atpromoting engineering careers, such as kitsfor primary schools, or partnerships withbusiness mentors.


From the start, ESIMeC gave the Basingstokeand Deane Borough Council the boost itneeded to set up a strategic URBACT LocalSupport Group made up of about 20 peopleit had already worked with directly or throughpartnerships such as the BasingstokeBusiness Partnership and Basingstoke AreaStrategic Partnership. The group identifiedkey local economic development issues, andprovided a clear overview of local skills andemployment. This formed the basis for amore strategic and coordinated approach,and decided on the focus of the Local ActionPlan. The Local Support Group was thenreplaced by three smaller action groups whowould turn these plans into reality. They areSkills and Employability; Engineering (skillsand employment issues in the engineeringsector); and Sustainable Regeneration(making the Basing View business park rede-velopment as green and attractive aspossible).

Over time, the Skills and Employability groupbroadened its scope and took on moremember organisations, such as housing asso-ciations and local charities, to become the“Basingstoke Employment and Skills ZonePartnership”, which has as one of its objec-tives the implementation of the Local ActionPlan.

Highlights of LocalAction Plan

The Local Action Plan focused on the regen-eration of Basing View, a large town centrebusiness park built in the 1970s, and only


60% occupied today. The Local SupportGroup believed this project had the potentialto bring broad new economic and employ-ment opportunities to the whole area. Takingaround 15 years, this would be Basingstoke’smost fundamental commercial regenerationsince the 1980s.

Basingstoke drew on the rich experiences ofits ESIMeC partners to inform its decisionsduring the Basing View redevelopment plan-ning. Particularly important questions were:how to prepare young people for the worldof work; how to prepare the workforce forthe green economy and jobs; how to antici-pate future skills needs; and how to connectwork on employment with economicdevelopment. With this understanding,Basingstoke could make the most of theredevelopment’s multiple and long-termopportunities to improvethetown’seconomy.Priorities include:

1. Develop a clear vision for the occupationof Basing View (2012-2014);2. Market Basing View and Basingstoke as amodern and vibrant business location(ongoing);3. Understand and anticipate the skill needsof employers; identify and address skills gaps(ongoing);4. Work with businesses and educationproviders to improve the level of skills foremployment (2012 onwards);5. Raise the profile of STEM subjects (science,technology, engineering and maths) andpromote careers in engineering (2011onwards);6. Raise aspiration and educational attain-ment of local young people (2013 onwards);

7. Ensure Basing View offers relevant andflexible accommodation to suit businesses ofvarying sizes and sectors (long-term project,2013-2025 and beyond);8. Explore the potential of turning BasingView into a sustainable and ‘super green’ lowcarbon business area, a possible selling point(analysis 2012-2015, followed byimplementation).

The Local Action Plan includes organisingevents to help residents find jobs locally,particularly, in engineering. Some havealready taken place, including the TeenTechevent which brought businesses and youngpeople together for a day in 2012, and againin 2013; and the first Basingstoke Jobs andCareers Fair, organised in 2013, following thesuccess of a similar event in Cherbourg.

The local authority obtained some fundingfrom the European Commission’s LifelongLearning Programme to set up Engineering+,a 2011-2013 partnership with six other EU

cities to look specifically at the engineeringsector and how to promote careers inengineering.

Using the Local Action Plan defined duringESIMeC as a basis, Basingstoke has obtainedERDF funding from the INTERREG IVA ChannelProgramme project GreenFit to work onmaking the regeneration of the Basing Viewbusiness park as sustainable as possible.

Prospects

Basingstoke is very keen to build on the linksit made through the ESIMeC project. Inparticular, they are exploring opportunities towork with Gävle and Sabadell, towns thathave similar economic developmentchallenges, in order to compare the imple-mentation and results of their respectiveLocal Action Plans.

Andrew Finney, local entrepreneur and Cabinet Member forEconomic Strategy and Development, Basingstoke and DeaneBorough Council: “ESIMeC taught us that workforce development iskey to ensure medium sized cities have a skilled and adaptable workforceto respond to the current and future need of our employers. ESIMeCalso helped us strengthen our partnership working between the public,private and academic sector. A skilled workforce able to meet the needsof our businesses will not only help Basingstoke ride the recession butalso ensure long-term economic growth. Our residents are our mainasset and we need to ensure we invest in their development.”



Sabadell (population - about 208 000) is the Catalonia Region’s fifth largest city. Just20 km from Barcelona, Sabadell is surrounded by technological centres and universities.Although dominated by industry for more than a century, in recent years the local economyhas evolved, and today most of the workforce is employed in the service sector.Nevertheless, industry is still prominent, particularly, the textile and metallurgy sectors,but also in machinery, food processing, paper and graphic arts. The medical technologiessubsector has also grown markedly in recent years; as a result Sabadell leads the CatalanMedical Technologies Cluster. Small and medium sized companies play a large role, andsome 21% of the total workforce is self-employed, although this figure is declining.

sabadellSpain


Local Challenges

When Sabadell joined the URBACT projectESIMeC, the economic downturn hadbrought rising unemployment, particularly,among young people, immigrants and lowskilled workers, a reduction in the number ofbusinesses, and a huge decline in theconstruction sector. Still, Sabadell aimed tobecome a knowledge economy city for the21st century, and in 2009 set itself thefollowing objectives, among others, in a LocalPact to recover from the economic crisis:− Develop strong and effective linksbetween businesses and research, contrib-uting to the development of the knowledgeeconomy;− Develop mixed business centres housingindustry and services, combined with publicsector business support and training services;− Increase the number and effectiveness ofinnovation projects in the town;− Facilitate better education and skills withinSabadell’s workforce;− Adapt the town’s economic model in orderto promote innovation in processes andproducts;− Promote and secure funding to supportcluster development.

Sabadell ’s Business Support Unit hadsuggested the city could generate morereactive and adapted services for businesses,in answer to a need detected among compa-nies. Meanwhile, reports – such as Vallesinforma 2009 by the county’s Local EconomicDevelopment Consortium COPEVO, andESIMeC’s baseline study (2010) – showed inmost European medium-sized cities there

were not enough appropriate professionals tomeet employers’ future needs, and theSabadell area was no exception.

In this context, Sabadell chose to focus itsESIMeC work on developing an integratedapproach to business support, incorporatingworkforce development and skills. Thepriority was to improve communicationbetween education providers and the city’sbusiness sector, to achieve economicrecovery and resilience.

Sabadell was represented in ESIMeC by itsLocal Development Agency, Vapor Llonch, amunicipal organisation responsible for thecity’s development since 1991. Open to allcitizens, the body aims to promote the terri-tory’s development and correct social andeconomic imbalances.

Added Valueof TransnationalNetworking

The Department of Business Support atVapor Llonch found two aspects of URBACTtransnational networking particularly useful:learning about practices developed bypartner cities; and gaining a multitude ofhelpful contacts with plans for futurecollaboration.

Through ESIMeC, Sabadell discovered newpractices, tools and policy ideas for improvingits business services. Particularly useful wasthe Skills Forecasting Manual and Tool,

developed jointly by ESIMeC partner citieswith support from an expert. This tool helpscity practitioners forecast local skills needsby producing tables and figures based on localeconomic and occupation data. Sabadell’sLocal Action Plan foresees using the tool atcounty level, introducing the skills forecastingconcept to the policymaking process.

Another lasting benefit of transnationalnetworking is Sabadell’s planned adoption ofa new approach to organising its localeconomy by sectoral networks (detailsbelow), a method ESIMeC partners studiedin Antwerp.


The URBACT Local Support Group (LSG) wasbased on a local group that already partici-pated in Council decisions. During ESIMeC,new stakeholders were brought in to ensurea broad range of Sabadell’s relevant economicand social entities were represented, includingthe Chamber of Commerce, trade unions,SME organisations, local universities special-ising in design and other fields, vocationalcentres, and a voluntary organisation. Otherpublic offices were also involved, such asVapor Llonch’s Employment BrokeringDepartment and the City Council’s EducationDepartment.

The URBACT method introduced a new, moredynamic approach to discussions. It focusedthe group on specific local problems to drawup a clear plan of actions for improvingSabadell’s business support services. GerardMayol, European Projects Officer,Department of Business Support, explains,“Rather than discussing general actions, ourLocal Action Plan focused on concreteactions, especially, for the health sector,which the LSG agreed was a strategic sectorfor the city.” Members of the Local SupportGroup will continue their work together onimplementing various aspects of the LocalAction Plan (see below).


Building on the experiences of internationalpartner cities and input from the URBACTLocal Support Group, Sabadell’s Local ActionPlan (LAP) focuses on developing an inte-grated approach to business support in thecity. It defines clear actions for addressingimbalances between labour market needsand workforce skills so that companies will be



able to find the employees they need, andpeople can find relevant training and jobs.

The LAP stresses the need for active businesssector involvement: “Much of the success ofthe plan’s implementation will be based oneffective collaboration with the region’scompanies. The relevant training can only bedeveloped if the needs of local companies interms of job profiles and skills are compiledand analysed in an effective and systematicway.”

Actions are planned around threeobjectives.

1 Develop a coordinated network oflocal organisations providing

services to companies

Sabadell’s 2009 Strategic Plan for ImprovingEmployment and Competitiveness, hadalready proposed to transform the existing“Municipal Business Support Office” into a“one-stop-shop” providing a range ofservices from licensing to recruitmentsupport. The ESIMeC project helped defineplans to develop this business support unit,engaging other stakeholders in the serviceoffer and building a coordinated network ofbusiness support agencies (2013). Fundedby the Municipality, these actions involveSabadell’s Local Development Agency, aBusiness Union, the local Chamber ofCommerce, an SME association, and anetwork for senior business people. Together,they will work on the effective use of the“one-stop-shop”, to improve links betweenSabadell’s business support organisations,and compile a contact list of all the bodiesinvolved. The organisations will also combinetheir information on the skills needs of localbusinesses to give one clear overview. Theimproved service will benefit small busi-nesses and the self-employed, as well asinternational companies, such as IKEA orMcDonalds, seeking to set up in Sabadell.

2 broaden services offered to thebusiness sector by integrating

services related to training needs arisingfrom new business recruitment demands

One main step here is to design an improvedservices chart for Sabadell’s Business Support

Unit (2013). Business support organisationswill use the new chart, published online, toshare information, reduce duplication, andachieve a more concerted and targetedresponse to business needs. The workinvolves strong coordination betweendepartments within the Local DevelopmentAgency, together with workers and businessunions, banks, a number of local universities,and permanent contact with the City CouncilInformatics Department.

Other actions focus on “Better identificationof needs of businesses and enhanced plan-ning through skills forecasting” (2012-2014), based on improving the way Sabadellprospects businesses. This includes designinga more complete business questionnaire anda better coordinated system for compilingbusiness demands to answer skills needs andrespond to shortages of workers for certainjobs. Involving the same actors as the “one-stop-shop” project, the aim is to produce ajoint picture of business demand for skills andskills needs in Sabadell.

3 Work with educational institutionsto build a better, faster response

to new business demands in terms ofworkforce development by integratingnew demands in educational and trainingprogrammes

Here, Sabadell’s Local Development Agencyworked with the city of Antwerp to exploreAntwerp’s “Sectoral Networks Model”involving a permanent business-educationpartnership, and assess the feasibility offollowing a similar model in Sabadell (2012-2014). Whereas Antwerp’s sectoral initiative

focuses largely on raising skills levels inconstruction, Sabadell’s concentrates on thehealth sector. With support from ESIMeC,Sabadell’s Local Development Agency heldtwo workshops with LSG members, healthcompanies, and education, training andresearch institutions (2012). The result wasa thorough discussion of the feasibility ofsetting up a health sector network, leading toa positive response from the bodies involved.A pilot project will be implemented thanks toESF regional funds (2013). Vapor Llonch islooking for further funding from ESF regionalfunds or other European programmes such asPROGRESS, related to training and business.

Prospects

In parallel with business support improve-ments planned in the LAP, Sabadell aims toadapt the ESIMeC skills forecasting conceptto enable local educational centres to preparefor study plans that link with local economicneeds, helping prevent future shortages ofworkers in certain fields. To do so, VaporLlonch – using ESF regional funds – plans totest the skills forecasting tool at county leveltogether with the Local EconomicDevelopmentConsortiumatVallesOccidentalCounty, COPEVO (2013).

Depending on the success of the plannedhealth sector network in helping matchworkforce supply and demand and developinnovative training programmes, Sabadellmay transfer the approach to other sectorsin the future.

Montserrat Capdevila Tatché, Deputy Mayor of SabadellMunicipality: “Through Sabadell’s Department of Business Supportwe try to help local business and enhance the business environment inorder to attract new companies. In parallel we work with citizens inorder to improve their skills. The URBACT project has put these twogoals together in a Strategic Plan.”

evueelectric vehicles in urban europe


lead partnerWestminster (UK)

partners FundingTotal Eligible Cost: EUR 493 615ERDF Contribution : EUR 352 709

How can cities answer their need for transport while respecting stringentEuropean and national environmental standards? As part of a balancedresponse, electric vehicles can be a way for cities to introduce clean,

energy-efficient and sustainable mobility. To reduce dependency on oil imports,greenhouse gas emissions and local air and noise pollution, a 2011 White Paperby the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transportgoes as far as encouraging conventionally fuelled cars to be phased out of urbantransport. But electromobility does have certain downsides. For example, itbrings high initial costs, and risks attracting people away from active or collectivetransport. Cities need to learn how to exploit the potentials of e-mobility andovercome difficulties. They must also clarify their role in supporting its uptake.These are some of the challenges EVUE’s partnership of European cities tackledover three years to develop sound e-mobility strategies that fit into their widersustainable mobility policies.


Policy Messagesfor Cities UsingElectric VehiclesBased on their work in four key areas, EVUE’spartners defined a set of policy messages forcities to ensure the best use of electricvehicle technology, in optimal conditions. Theaim is to enhance, rather than skew, transportoperations and the use of space in the city.Here are some highlights:

1 Procurement of electric vehicles− Facilitate bulk and group

procurement of electric vehicles andcharging points (in public, private sectorsand joint ventures) for market attraction andefficiency. Given the current limited supplyof vehicles, group procurement has littleimpact on price, but that may change;− use public procurement of electricvehiclesto makemunicipalfleetscleaner;− Introduce clauses relating to cO2emissions to encourage suppliers to useelectric vehicles in their own fleets.

Note: When the right policy levers are used,fleet operators can save money by usingelectric vehicles. This can also significantlyimprove air quality and reduce CO2 emissionsin a city. It also enhances visibility of electricvehicles.

2 electric vehicle Infrastructure− Develop a vehicle charging infra-

structure programme that is appropriatefor local conditions in terms of technologyuse, interoperability, location of chargingpoints, procurement of equipment andenergy, parking charging policies;− calibrate the installation of charginginfrastructure with the market andconsumer uptake. This is harder than itsounds! Ensure there are enough chargingpoints so drivers of electric vehicles areconfident they will not run out of juice, butmake sure this does not lead to too manyempty electric vehicle parking places, whichcan frustrate other drivers and create abacklash;− Locate charging infrastructure wherepeople park regularly, especially over-night at home, depots and workplaces.Research shows that drivers of private

electric vehicles mostly charge overnight,and the fear of not being able to charge thevehicle elsewhere is much greater thanreality. Most drivers quickly adapt to thevehicle’s charge levels, and plan journeysaccordingly;− Harness renewable energy and use theelectrification of transport to developrenewable energy markets and supplychains. The overall benefits of e-mobility aremaximised when vehicles use renewableenergy alone. Meanwhile, using existingenergy sources for e-mobility significantlyimproves urban air quality;− Work with grid operators to managecapacity and develop the smart grids ofthe future. Grid operators and energysuppliers need to plan for increasing demandon the grid, and smart solutions such as bidi-rectional grid-to-vehicle solutions. It isworthwhile for cities to be partners in theseinitiatives as they can help achieve climatetargets;− Facilitate private-public-partnershipsin charging infrastructure. Private sectorinvestment and expertise are needed, andnew business models are making this possible.

3 raising awareness of e-Mobility− Lead by example. Get the Mayor

driving an electric vehicle;− enhance the visibility of electric vehi-cles, for instance, by locating charging pointsin central places with lots of pedestrians.Organise media events around the inaugura-tion of charging points or new fleets of elec-tric vehicles;− use branding, celebrity endorsementand lighthouse projects, such as electricvehicle taxis or shuttle services;− Get people to touch, try-out, feel,drive, and ride in electric vehicles to experi-ence how great they are. Evidence showsthat drivers really like electric vehicles andwill champion the technology.

4 business Models− various business models, part-

nerships and investment strategies areneeded to kick-start the electric vehiclemarket. Be open to new business modelsand ways of working;− be a reliable partner for the privatesector by creating stable regulation inthe medium and long-term, and be willingto enter into a dialogue to establish

common interests, cooperation frameworksand good working relationships, for example,in car sharing, smart grids and charging pointschemes.− Include electric vehicles in movestowards mobility services, car and bikesharing schemes, and integration withpublic transport systems.

City Measures toEncourage Take-Upof Electric Vehiclesevue’s suggestions for low or no-costpolicy measures include: zero emissionzones; electric vehicle use of bus lanes;incentive packages at national and city levels;free parking and charging for electric vehi-cles; procurement; promotional activitiessuch as test drive sessions, promotions in themedia; building regulation that includesrequirements for charging points and electricvehicle parking in new developments orredevelopments. They must be carefullytargeted, monitored and communicated. Partof a transition phase to encourage uptake ofelectric vehicles, they may not be sustainablein the longer term.

urban policymakers should take a long-term view, and create a stable frameworkthat generates the confidence that electricvehicles are here to stay, and gives privatesector partners reassurance that their long-term investments will reap rewards.

electric vehicles can be a part of innova-tive approaches to mobility, such asencouraging shared rather than owned trans-port. It requires fresh thinking, integrationbetween city departments, and multi-stake-holder cooperation with grid operators,energy companies, public transport authori-ties and the media.

cities should encourage a switch fromcombustion engine vehicles to cleanermodels, but not draw people away frompublic transport, walking or cycling. Theaim is to reduce cars in cities. Land-use plan-ning in city centres must consider the loca-tion and space given to electric chargingpoints and parking places. Road-use


evueElectric Vehicles in Urban Europe

hierarchies should favour active modes (suchas walking and cycling), then public trans-port, before personal motorised transport.One new electric vehicle should replacemany combustion engine vehicles. Electricmobility alone will not solve urban mobilityproblems, but it can help reduce environ-mental impact, especially on trips necessaryfor the city to function, such as freight oper-ations or municipal service fleets.

Larger cities in more developed parts ofeurope are more likely to invest in elec-tric mobility, for now. Among the widevariety of cities – and e-mobility experiences– in EVUE’s partnership, smaller cities learntfrom others through observation andexchange, so now they too will be ready todevelop sound e-mobility strategies, andavoid mistakes.

Prospects

Building on experiences with EVUE, a newproject has been born… FREVUE, which looksat electric freight vehicles and how they canbe optimised in the urban environment.Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Milan will partic-ipate together with most EVUE partners and

several new partners from the private sectorand research organisations. Funded throughFP7, the new EUR 14.2 million project lastsfour and a half years. Each city will have itsLocal Support Group, along the lines of theURBACT model used in EVUE.

As for EVUE’s legacy in each partner city, hereare a few examples:− Frankfurt’s ‘Allianz Elektromobilität’ wasannounced in February 2013 withEUR 469000 from the Ministry of Transportfor infrastructure. It includes an intelligentreservation and sharing system for an electricvehicle fleet with 30 pedelecs, 18 cars and4 transport-vehicles;− The Madrid Electric Mobility Forum willbecome the institutional framework and keytool to encourage innovation and competi-tiveness of e-mobility services andtechnologies;− Lisbon City Council has signed an agree-ment that at least 20% of all new vehiclesbought should be electric. The municipalityfleet already included 36 electric vehicles in2011;− Oslo City Council announced that itsmunicipal fleet would be totally electric by2020;− Finally, both Katowice and Suceava expectto submit funding applications to StructuralFunds in the next programme period basedon their Local Action Plans.


Matthew Noon, EVUE Lead Partner: “The URBACT-funded EVUEproject not only helped the participating cities learn about new waysof working and implementing e-mobility, it enabled the cities to secureover EUR 14 million in implementation funding. That would not haveoccurred if not for URBACT!”

learn more about evue and download evue Final publication and partners’local action plans on www.urbact.eu/evue



katowicepoland

The City of Katowice (about 300000 inhabitants) is the capital of a vast agglomeration of2.1 million inhabitants in the Upper Silesian Industrial District, one of Europe’s biggestindustrial centres. Owing much of its existence to the 19th century industrial boom,Katowice is today a major commercial and cultural centre, easily accessible by air, rail androad. In fact, road traffic is heavy; Katowice lies near the junction of two highways (north-south and east-west), at the centre of the region with the most developed road networkin Poland. The city is trying to change its image, promoting Katowice’s large areas of forestsand other natural sites and its steps to reduce air pollution. But the fact remains that thearea has suffered extensive mining damage; the agglomeration today contains 14 existingand disused mining areas. Most people in Poland still see Katowice as a dirty, polluted city,according to recent analysis for the creation of the Strategy for Promotion of KatowiceCity (published by City of Katowice, 2013).

Local Challenges

Katowice was searching for new transportsolutions when it decided to join the EVUEproject at the invitation of Lead Partner theCity of Westminster in London. The city’smain challenges were environmental.Improving public and private transport couldimprove air quality, reduce oil dependency,and strengthen sustainable mobility.

“We needed to make the air healthier for thosewho live here as well as those who work here,”explains Adam Lipinski, Projects Coordinatorfor Katowice City Hall. Katowice wanted toencourage the use of electric vehicles (EVs) toreduce traditional motor pollution, but theauthorities faced a number of hurdles. Theseincluded the relatively high cost of electriccars, the need for vehicle-charging points, andthe lack of common standards and financialsupport. Consumer resistance would beaddressed by demonstrating the benefits ofEVs. The idea was that increased uptake ofelectric transport would also bring tangibleenvironmental benefits.


Katowice saw URBACT as a unique opportu-nity to work with and learn from otherEuropean cities facing similar challenges, inorder to incorporate e-mobility into its citytransport and environment policy.

“Even in these times of rapid global informa-tion flow, nothing can replace a personalconversation, meeting someone, seeing howthey work,” says Adam Lipinski. “Even thenegative experiences of our project partnershad some positive aspects for us: we can avoidthe mistakes they have committed; it’s one ofthe benefits of participating. One reason forprojects like EVUE is that after they haveformally ceased, the results can live on.”

Examples of particularly useful practicesKatowice picked up from partner citiesinclude Oslo’s approach to providing freeparking space for electric cars, and Beja’sideas for promoting electromobility.


Katowice had already experienced URBACT ina previous project NODUS (2008-2012). On

joining EVUE they knew whom to involve intheir URBACT Local Support Group (LSG).“The regional energy supplier, energy regu-lator, the region’s largest transport operator,public and research bodies, and the ManagingAuthority of the Silesian Voivodeship RegionalOperational Programme. We invited theseinstitutions to designate someone to work atthe LSG, and so it began,” recalls Adam. Thegroup grew to include participants rangingfrom potential electric vehicles users to theMunicipal Board of Roads and Bridges.

“Although some members were less inter-ested than others, the group provided goodsupport during the project, and in creatingthe Local Action Plan (LAP),” he explains.“Two LSG members participated in theURBACT Summer University in Krakow(2011). It was an extraordinary opportunityto work with knowledgeable experts, learnhow to create the LAP, and a very interestingexchange of experiences between partici-pants from different cities.”

“An example of the active involvement of ourManaging Authority is the fact that its repre-sentative participated not only in LSG meet-ings, but also in the EVUE project meeting inFrankfurt (2011) and the final conference inLondon (2012).”

Katowice’s Local Support Group produced acase study on its experiences in developingpolicy, a novel method for Katowice, which itplans to use again in other areas.

Highlights of LocalAction Plan

With its URBACT Local Support Group,Katowice analysed the motivation of

stakeholders, and potential problems andsolutions, following the URBACT method-ology. This helped define the Local ActionPlan’s three key areas of action, contributingto certain priorities of the City DevelopmentStrategy “Katowice 2020” (published in2005).

1 Support for potential operators ofvehicle recharging infrastructure

Recharging infrastructure was included in therebuilding of a car park at the SilesianUniversity of Technology’s Faculty ofElectrical Engineering (2013).

2 creation of system of incentivesfor electric vehicles

This plan is based on Katowice’s analysis ofactions by other EVUE cities, as well as thenational Ministry of Economy’s “Conditionsfor the implementation of an integratedsystem of e-mobility in Poland” (2012). Thenew system includes exemption from parkingfees for electric vehicles and hybrid cars, asa result of a change in city regulation made inApril 2013.

3 the promotion of electric vehicles

Much of the LAP focuses on promotion andawareness-raising, as for electric vehicles tobe taken up on a large scale, people need toknow their benefits. About 10 electric vehi-cles are currently registered in Katowice,some of which are older vehicles. Accordingto Adam Lipinski, getting more on the roadwill require “much work, and goodwill fromthe producers to reduce prices”. A few actionsby Katowice in this area are highlightedbelow.

One promotional need defined by Katowice’sURBACT Local Support Group was for the


city to set a good example by promoting itsown eco-responsibility. To do so, they boughttheir own “innovative electric vehicle” – aMitsubishi i-MiEV – in late 2012, branded itwith easily recognisable colours and theslogan “eco-responsibility”, and sent it onawareness-raising missions. The electric carwill also be tested by various municipalservices such as the police, the Board forGreen Areas and the Board for Roads andBridges to assess its capacity and investigate,which departments are most suited to usingEVs (2013). The findings will informKatowice’s future decisions on purchasingelectric vehicles.

To prepare young people to consider usingelectric vehicles when the time comes, thecity held a series of talks in local schools onenergy efficiency and the benefits of elec-tromobility (2012). Lesser known aspectswere presented, such as the wider environ-mental implications, and the way electricvehicles can “lend their power” to othervehicles or devices, useful in a power cut, forexample.

Other actions include the introduction of anew criterion to purchasing procedures ofCity Hall vehicles to reduce emissions of CO2and other pollutants (2012); and a jointstudy with the Silesian University ofTechnology, Poland’s second technicaluniversity and a member of the Local SupportGroup, to improve knowledge on theeconomic and ecological aspects of electric

vehicle use (2012). Students from the sameuniversity will also monitor the activity of theCity Hall’s Mitsubishi i-MiEV, sending contin-uous data on its location, charging-times andruns – as well as information such as averagespeed and energy consumption – to a data-base accessible online (planned for 2013).These actions do not require any additionalfunding.

Prospects

“I must admit that it was not easy, but we didit. Our work, however, did not end with theend of the project: we keep in touch withpartner cities, consulting on issues concerninge-mobility,” says Adam Lipinski.

Katowice will use its new understanding ofe-mobility from EVUE to improve its overallapproach to green transportation, which is akey element of the City DevelopmentStrategy “Katowice 2020”. This broad project

on integrated urban transport combines:reconstruction of the city centre as a hub,walking and cycling trails, and electromobilityinfrastructure, as well as replacement of thepublic transport fleet to prioritise trams,supported by buses.

Katowice expects to submit Structural Fundsapplications in the next programming period,based on the Local Action Plan. Building onEVUE’s work, the Managing Authority plansto support electromobility in the RegionalOperating Programme for the 2014-2020programming period, with perhaps somesupport under the complex projectsframework.

For the City of Katowice, participation inEVUE has led to further European coopera-tion, this time in the framework of theINTERREG IVC project Sustainable UrbanMobility (2012-2014). Experiences fromEVUE will feed into studies and interregionalexchanges on e-mobility, biofuels and intel-ligent transport systems.

Adam Lipinski, Projects Coordinator for Katowice City Hall:“Participation in the URBACT project EVUE has given Katowice insights,inspiration, technical experience, information, and connections to moreadvanced cities in promoting the use of electric vehicles.”



The north-east Romanian city of Suceava (population about 107 000), one of Romania’soldest settlements, has been the capital of Suceava County since 1388. Suceava lies450 km from Romania’s capital Bucharest, on a main European highway. The Governmentis making efforts to improve the region’s transport network as part of a broader urbanregeneration using EU Cohesion Policy grants. Figuring on UNESCO’s World Heritage List,Suceava is home to orthodox monasteries and churches, and a 14th century castle. Thelocal industry is based on glass and wood manufactories, textiles and construction materials.

Local Challenges

Suceava faces the combined challenges ofincreased motorised traffic, and stringentEuropean environmental and energy targets.

The Municipality, which owns the local publictransport company, has already taken part ininitiatives to encourage sustainable urbanmobility, including the CIVITAS II (2005-2009) Smile Project, and MIDAS (2006-2009), part of the Intelligent Energy forEurope’s STEER Programme.

When buying new public vehicles, their life-time energy consumption and pollution mustnow be considered. Meanwhile, Romania’snew Environment Fund grant system“Program for National Fleet RenewalStimulation” encourages the sale of hybridand electric vehicles (EVs).


suceavaromania

Suceava joined the URBACT project EVUElooking for ways to promote the replace-ment of inefficient, polluting vehicles withcleaner electric alternatives, ensure suitablecharging infrastructure, and encourage areduction in the consumption of non-renewable energy. This, it hoped, wouldreduce the city’s air and noise pollution,increase energy efficiency, reduce vehicleoperating costs, boost the local economy,reduce CO2 emissions, and preserve historicsites.

Hurdles included: the expense of electricvehicles; limited public sector resources andpolitical support; lack of charging infrastruc-ture, and after-sales assistance; lack ofconsumer support and knowledge; and poorlegislation.


Suceava’s exchanges with EVUE partnercities were “a source of inspiration”.Transnational discussions helped Suceavatake a strategic approach to their LocalAction Plan (LAP) for e-mobility, byenhancing the visibility of electric vehiclesand targeting potential early users. Suceava’splanned actions, such as installing electricvehicle charging points in public car parks,also drew on examples studied in partnercities.

Study visits enabled members of Suceava’sURBACT Local Support Group (LSG) to testthe functionality and interoperability of elec-tric vehicles and charging technologies.Mayor of Suceava, Ion Lungu, recalls, “Thevisits helped strengthen the trust of SuceavaLSG and enhance their imagination in localmeetings in terms of development of prac-tical ideas applicable locally. This is a valueadded to the already indisputable initial valueof working groups and joint activities withinthe project.”

With delays at national level on adoptingelectric vehicle technology, another keybenefit of EVUE’s transnational meetings wastheir involvement of the national Ministry ofRegional Development and Tourism,Managing Authority of Romania’s ERDFRegional Operational Programme for 2007-2013. One representative attendede-mobility talks organised by Oslo andStockholm. Another attended EVUE’s finalconference in London. This gave extra weightto Suceava’s plan to modernise its urbanmobility using electric transport.


The Mayor launched Suceava’s URBACT LocalSupport Group (LSG) in 2010 to develop ane-mobility strategy. “With representativesfrom local authorities, the motor industry,electricity generators/distributors andretailers as well as academic institutions andprivate consultancies, the LSG has provideda focused approach to looking at the chal-lenges while incorporating the experience ofother EVUE partner cities, in developing anapproach that can be taken forward inRomania,” notes the Local Action Plan.

LSG members “conscientiously responded toall calls to local and transnational meetings,roundtables and seminars organised bySuceava Municipality”.

The URBACT process improved the quality ofdecisions by identifying – and agreeing on –Suceava’scontroversial issuesthroughconsul-tations in the planning phase, preventingopposition later in the decision-makingprocess. It helped prevent delays and reducecosts during implementation, and obtainedenthusiasm and confidence in plannedmeasures. The LSG made decision-makingmore democratic, putting the power to influ-ence decisions in the hands of local communi-ties. “As a consequence,” as reported inthe Local Action Plan, “they becomeresponsible.”

Highlights of the LocalAction PlanSuceava’s Local Action Plan (LAP) for elec-tromobility builds on knowledge gained

throughout EVUE, from transnational studyvisits and capacity-building events to LocalSupport Group work on analysing the localcontext and defining objectives.

Described as “a strategy to promote andimplement electric vehicles and charginginfrastructure in the city”, the LAP will beadapted to embrace economic and legislativechanges, new opportunities, citizens’proposals, and experience gained throughfurther projects. Any change “must have thesupport of the decisional board of SuceavaMunicipality - Suceava City Council.”

Within Suceava Municipality’s overall ambi-tion to establish its approach for stimulatingEV-use as a model for other Romanian cities,the LAP specifies eight objectives achievableby 2020, outlined below. For the first three,in addition to local funds and, possibly, the2014-2020 Cohesion Fund, preparationsare underway to receive grants from theSwiss-Romanian Cooperation Programme.

1 Install charging infrastructure,with uniform charging points in

highly visible parking spaces near down-town shopping areas, raising publicawareness and stimulating business(2014-2015)

Later, public-private partnerships or conces-sion contracts could provide installation, main-tenance and operation of technological equip-ment in further designated parking spaces.Two clearly marked electric vehicle chargingpoints will be included in underground parkingfacilities developed as part of broader effortsto upgrade the city centre and gradually trans-form it into a pedestrian area (2014).

2 Plan a specific operating systemfor electric vehicles

Through smart technology, link electric vehi-cles to other services – mobile phones,



internet, smart cards, GPS, surveillancecameras, and intelligent maps showing loca-tions and charging points. Following advicefrom a Local Support Group for ElectricVehicles (2014-2015), the operatingsystem’s design will be subcontracted, forinstallation by 2018-2020.

3 buy two promotional electric vehi-cles for Suceava city Hall

(2014-2015)Suceava Municipality uses its 10 vehiclespredominantly for short trips. The first twoelectric vehicles will be used by local govern-ment staff, and appear in local events, helpingpopularise electric vehicles among publicinstitutions, local equipment manufacturers,electricity suppliers and consumers.

4 Modernise local public transport,so 85% of its total capacity is elec-

tric, reducing operating costs and cO2emissions, answering green local publictransport requirements, encouraging areduction in car traffic (2014-2018)Introduce 40 electric buses (financed by theMunicipality and 2014-2020 CohesionFund). This EUR 12 million complex projectproposal includes a charging infrastructureand real-time passenger information systemin stations and buses, a smart card paymentsystem, technical training, and improvedaccessibility. It also includes installing solarpanels and closing contaminated land.

5 Introduce electric transport in15% of authorised urban taxis

(2014)While current taxi licensing regulations disad-vantage electric vehicles, new criteria willgive electric vehicles top scores for enginecapacity and pollution, and the weight ofcarriers’ seniority in the overall score will bereduced. Priority places will be assigned forelectric taxis in waiting stations.

6 Promote legislative and financialmeasures favourable to the

purchase and use of electric vehicles tostimulate private sector interest in elec-tric transportIntroduce a system of parking charge provi-sions (2014), free electric vehicle parking,and fines (2018), helping discourage city-centre car travel, as today only 5% of parkingis paying. Electric vehicles’ selling price shouldinclude maintenance throughout vehicles’lives, reassuring potential buyers, andcreating a new market for electric vehiclemaintenance and management services. TheMunicipality will look for grants for purchasinggreen vehicles. Other plans include intro-ducing 10 private electric vehicles (privatesources and possibly grants; 2018-2020),and new legislation granting local tax

reductions or exemptions for electric vehiclepurchase (2016-2020). County Council andenvironmental officers will lobby nationalgovernment to prepare a coherent, favour-able framework for EV introduction, includingtax cuts.

7 Support public and private invest-ments in sustainable energy to

create public electric vehicle chargingfacilities that use renewable energyDespite Romania’s potential for alternativeelectricity generation, its national distribu-tion system makes no distinction betweenenergy sources in its pricing. Suceavaproposes these changes: ease the electricvehicle charging-place approval and accessfor intermittent charging; impose preferentialtariffs and funding, card metres and pre-payfacilities in hypermarkets and restaurants;use wind power. At least 5% of energyconsumed by electric vehicles should be fromrenewable sources; a system will be devel-oped to monitor this ratio in Suceava(2019-2020).

8 Public information on the environ-ment, electric vehicles and active

transportE-mobility projects with schools and theUniversity of Suceava’s Faculty of Electrical

Engineering (local budget and sponsorship;2014-2016), following a successful trialwith a team of 15 year-olds. Other actionsinclude a “Green Energy Day” promotinge-mobility (local funds and grants; 2014),e-bike contests and environmental projects(with prizes including visits to technicalmuseums in major European cities, electricscooters and bicycles).

Prospects

Through the URBACT project, Suceavadeveloped a better understanding of howelectromobility can support sustainabletransport. Building on this, the Local ActionPlan will feed into Suceava’s broader schemesfor integrated urban transport and city centrereconstruction. The Managing Authorityplans to support electromobility in the 2014-2020 Regional Operating Programme.

Work started during EVUE will continue withLocal Support Group members, and throughEuropean projects including the Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Programme forimplementing a sustainable energy strategy.

Dan Dura, Head of the European Integration and DevelopmentStrategies Office, Suceava City Hall: “Through URBACT, diverselocal stakeholders have come together to build a strategy for electrictransport in our city, by identifying issues of concern and seeking waysto overcome them. It has boosted confidence - both in e-mobility, andin local decision-making.”


LINKSFuture-proof Historic centres


lead partnerBayonne (France)


Historic city centres are a crucial part of Europe’s cultural heritage, anda potential force for economic development and social cohesion. Howcan they be turned into sustainable, diverse and attractive places to live,

while preserving the architectural and cultural heritage, and respecting theenvironment? How to improve rundown areas in historical city centres withoutdisplacing fragile residents? And how to reach the right balance of residential,commercial and tertiary functions? These are some of the questions that drovenine European cities to form the URBACT LINKS project and search together forpractical solutions. Over three years, they analysed urban, social and culturalchallenges,environmentalandtechnicalchallenges,andeconomicopportunities.Their shared conviction is that the high density, architectural quality, diversityand proximity of facilities in historic city centres offer the perfect sustainableurban model.


Actions for MakingHistoric CentresFuture-proofDrawing on pilot projects, transnationalexchange and discussions with their URBACTLocal Support Groups, LINKS identified anarray of practical solutions for historic citycentres to adjust to modern comfortstandards.

this fundamental advice runs through allLINKS solutions for making historiccentres future-proof− Relate eco-renovation to the urbancontext;− Develop knowledge on eco-renovationand disseminate it widely;− Include inhabitants in the process;− Look for funding opportunities for privateowners and public projects;− Work with local stakeholders, who areparticularly helpful in overcoming legalbarriers;− And in each policy, find a balance betweenthe city centre’s economic development, itsuse as a public meeting place and the needsof its inhabitants.

Put eco-restoration at the heart ofurban developmentThe eco-restoration of old public buildingscan form a focus for redeveloping citycentres. Examples include: the low-energyrenovation of the Vet School (administrativebuilding) in Anderlecht; the renovation of StMary’s Church in Kilkenny; and the eco-restoration of a cultural cluster in Budrio,which combines work on public cultural build-ings with a redesign of the connecting publicspace. Veria will also redesign streets so theyconnect scattered historic areas. The regen-eration plan of Delft over the last 15 years isa good example of how an integral approachof renovation and governance can stimulatethe re-use of central historic buildings.

Social developments and city regenera-tion – you can’t have one without theotherA city’s regeneration is deeply linked with itssocial structure, so will only work if it meetsthe needs of its inhabitants. Citizens took

part in building the Local Action Plans of allLINKS cities. Good examples include the eco-restoration of Roma House and the school tolearn craftwork in Almeria. Here the socialinclusion of the Roma population is related tothe area’s future development. In Brasovpeople are involved through socio-culturaland artistic public events like the Fatzadaproject. Veria citizens participated via a door-to-door questionnaire.

Help people know the techniques, andthe advantages, of high-qualityrenovationQuality renovation of historic centres impliesan understanding of traditional building tech-niques and the cultural value of heritage.Certain LINKS cities developed technicalguidelines and assistance for the owners ofhistoric buildings. In Bayonne, heritage giftshop and thematic workshops whettedappetites for training in traditional techniques(see “Zoom on Bayonne”). In Veria, theuniversity assessed the performances andtechnical characteristics of typical historicbuildings and materials. Exemplary pilot proj-ects showed how traditional low-tech reno-vation techniques can be combined withhigh-tech, low-energy retrofitting. Examplesof “learning by doing” include the Vet Schoolpilot project in Anderlecht, the White RoseFoundation in Delft, and Bourgneuf Street 22house renovation in Bayonne.

use eco-restoration to boost the localeconomyThe experiences of LINKS cities proved thateco-restoration through handcraft andtailor-made solutions can help boost localeconomies. High-tech innovations for lowenergy interventions can be stimulated andpromoted by exemplary retrofitting of publicbuildings, but the large majority of buildingsin city centres are privately owned. Hence,the need for actions targeting small owners,small enterprises in the building supply chain,and related professionals. A good example isBayonne (see “Zoom on Bayonne”).

LINKS investigated funding opportunities,particularly, for small private owners with lowspending power and limited access to sophis-ticated financial support mechanisms. ForBrasov, micro-financing is a way to stimulateprivate owners to improve their buildings.

Anderlecht, Budrio, Kilkenny and Veria haveinvolved their Managing Authorities inexploring possibilities for European funding.Pilot projects can support lobbying for anintegral approach to eco-restoration atnational level.

Improve governance: try to catch themissing voicesAs private property makes up a good part ofold town centres, private owners must beinvolved, whether the priority is pedestrian-isation, renovation of iconic buildings, culturalvitality or attracting families to the centre.Their participation is vital, from their input todevelopment policies through to the imple-mentation of planned actions. LINKS citiesnoted a wide variation in governance struc-tures, with some room for improvement.They encourage integrated and inclusiveurban policies that always try “to catch themissing voices” (Kilkenny), and turnconstraints into opportunities.

Policy Recommendationsfor the Revitalisationof Historic Centres

LINKS partners shared the belief that, “asound revitalisation of European historiccentres is a key driver for a resource efficientEurope, an urgent social need, a source ofnew economic opportunities, but requiresdeep changes in professional practices, aswell as a clear and stable financial support”.

recommendations for retrofitting− Adapt current energy efficiency assess-ment methods to existing buildings;− Consider the reduction of the global envi-ronmental footprint of renovation works as acriterion for a resource efficient policy;− Support the necessary change of practicesby giving specific attention to traditionalbuilding characteristics within the EU EnergyPerformance of Buildings Directive;− Foster the use of renewable energy.

LINKS saw European energy savings commit-ments as an opportunity for economic devel-opment, employment, innovation and socialcohesion. The thermal renovation of existing


buildings represents a potentially lucrativemarket. Improving energy performance is areal technical challenge, but the main sourceof energy efficiency lies in using less.

A strong retrofitting market would need astable regulatory framework, exemptinghistoric buildings from energy regulations,and providing specific measures to guaranteecompatible, long-lasting energy perfor-mances. To ensure the retrofitting challengeis met across the EU, new regulations mustbe accompanied by local support to structurethe offer and stimulate market demand.

For this, LINKS partners solicited the supportof the European institutions, arguing that thereinforced urban focus of the RegionalDevelopment Funds was an opportunity torecognise the key role of historic centres forsustainable urban development. They calledfor a percentage of ERDF for cities to be allo-cated to energy retrofitting of residentialbuildings in historic centres. The aim, to beclearly identified, would be to provide exem-plary solutions of eco-restoration in order tohelp municipalities kick-start the mainstreamenergy retrofitting of existing buildings. Thisalso represented a key opportunity to supportrecovery from the current economic crisis.

recommendations for more and betterconstruction sector jobs, particularly, inrenovation− Accompany measures to generate jobopportunities;− Facilitate access to the market for eco-materials to create opportunities for SMEs;− Raise awareness among practitioners anddecision-makers.

Improving energy efficiency and environ-mental performance of buildings could boostthe economy and substantially contribute tothe Europe 2020 Strategy, and EU 2050roadmap targets. Jobs would be createddirectly in the construction sector, and indi-rectly in related industries in the materialssupply chain, education, research and

innovation, energy services companies,waste management.

However, LINKS says that to trigger renova-tion across Europe that would deliver signifi-cant societal, economic and environmentalbenefits, practices need to change funda-mentally. Such changes – as well as wide-spread training of employers and profes-sionals – will only be achieved by adaptingregulation and providing effective financialsupport.

LINKS also voiced the need for a sustainablebusiness sector, with support for local SMEsin eco-material manufacturing, in order tostimulate local job creation and develop amore labour intensive sector.

recommendations for more innovativegovernance and better use of publicfunds− Overcome obstacles hindering the effec-tive cooperation of stakeholders;− Ensure provision of clear and stable finan-cial support;− Disseminate good practices.

Though the LINKS partner cities acknowl-edged that progress had been made in elimi-nating conflict between heritage value andenergy efficiency, they noticed differencesbetween the rules and standards promotedby various legal actors. In response, theycalled for a common frame of methodologies,

regulations and technical specifications,requiring agreement by the various legalrepresentations. They said demands ofdifferent operations should be clarified,helping procedures run more smoothly andimproving the use of scarce financialresources.

Although the multiple benefits of energyefficient retrofitting of buildings and urbaninfrastructure are evident even in the shortand medium term, budgetary constraints areblocking certain actions to kick-startretrofitting.

ProspectsURBACT Local Support Groups have becomeestablished and Local Action Plans well rootedin the local policies of all LINKS partner cities,so are set to be carried out over the nextyears. Most municipalities have eitheradopted the plans or are preparing to do so.

LINKS partner cities believe their exchangeand learning should continue, and plan tomeet in 2014. This will be the occasion tocompare progress on implementing theirplanned actions, and to share approaches forovercoming obstacles such as financing,inconsistent regulations, and getting the rightmaterials, advice and techniques onto themarket.

Frédérique Calvanus, Lead Partner of LINKS: “After nearly threeyears of exchanges, the diversity of the approaches and solutions to acommon problem – the project for the future of historic centres – willhave been a most interesting experience. I think we have taken the bestof each other’s ideas to feed our own reflections and to apply newsolutions to our cities. … Now, I’m curious to see how our differentprojects will take shape in reality and I’m looking forward to seeing theLINKS partners in a year’s time to continue all these fruitful and enrichingexchanges.”


LINKSFuture-Proof Historic Centres

learn more about linkS and download linkS Final publication and partners’local action plans on www.urbact.eu/links


In Southern France, on the coast near the Spanish border, the city of Bayonne has apopulation of 45000 and is growing steadily. Part of a wider urban area of120 000 inhabitants, Bayonne is a centre for tourism, administration, commerce andculture, and a university site. The town was fortified from Roman times, when a fortresswas erected on the headland overlooking the rivers Nive and Adour, until the early20th century, when the ramparts were partially removed to allow the city’s expansion. Inrecent decades Bayonne has worked to revitalise its historic centre, with its coherentensemble of 17th to 19th century domestic buildings.

bayonneFrance

Local Challenges

When Bayonne joined the URBACT projectLINKS, its historic centre was recovering from30 years of decline. The population had fallento a record low of 5000 in 1990, leavingbuildings empty and decaying. Meanwhile,the city centre lacked affordable housing. Theold buildings, which tended to be fragile, dark,noisy and too densely packed together,needed work to improve their energy perfor-mance and meet modern living standards.

Bayonne realised the solution involved radi-cally changing the way its historic buildingswere restored.

As part of a broad, integrated urban approach,developing eco-restoration could solve anumber of problems simultaneously. It couldbring high-yield results in terms of comfortand energy savings. It could ensure durableresults, thanks to the use of materialscompatible with old buildings. And it couldsave traditional building techniques, buildopportunities for local jobs and help the localeconomy by supporting the local productionof eco-materials.


Frédérique Calvanus of the Municipality ofBayonne’s Sustainable DevelopmentDepartment was Lead Partner representativefor LINKS. She says that transnationalexchanges with other cities in the LINKSnetwork brought Bayonne into contact withan enriching diversity of techniques, gover-nance and ways of working, which consider-ably accelerated their collection of technicalknowledge on energy saving in oldbuildings.

Exchanges with other European cities also fedinto improving Bayonne’s approach toencouraging the eco-restoration of its owntraditional buildings, and brought new prac-tices, tools and policy ideas. FrédériqueCalvanus recalls: “The consultation organisedby the city of Veria to analyse inhabitants’satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, with their oldbuildings compared to others in modernbuildings was particularly inspiring.”

One of the interesting benefits of LINKS’balanced geographical spread of cities wasthat it ensured a broad, representative panelof climatic conditions. This means, saysFrédérique Calvanus: “The technical conclu-sions are valuable for most of the geographic

situations and a whole range of building tech-niques.” Useful for giving meaningful recom-mendations at EU level.


“Thanks to the URBACT Local Support Group,different groups, people and institutions arenow cooperating on changing the wayhistoric buildings are restored in Bayonne. Astrong local partnership has developed,” saysFrédérique Calvanus. Members include publicbodies, like the Municipality of Bayonne, theEspace Info Energy, and the CAUE (ResourceCentre for Town Planning, Architecture andEnvironment), and other groups such as theCAPEB (Confederation of Craftsmanship andSmall Enterprises in the Building Sector).Businesses also take part, like Ouateco, alocal cellulose wadding producer. Another keyURBACT Local Support Group (LSG) partici-pant is the Ecole d’Avignon, a centre forlearning about the rehabilitation of architec-tural heritage, and a reference in the field.

Setting up the LSG and following URBACTmethods, as well as attending the 2011URBACT Summer University, inspiredBayonne to test new methods and tools. Thecreativity of the Local Support Group led toinnovative, friendly approaches, just right forboosting interest in this new topic of eco-restoration. Now well established, the LSGwill continue to complete the actions it hasplanned.

For broader actions aimed at influencingpublic attitudes, the group was enlarged toinvolve more local associations. An exampleis Bayonne’s annual event on energy saving,which shows techniques for construction andrenovation, says Frédérique Calvanus: “Theassociation Txirrind’Ola joined the group toprepare and animate the Positive EnergyDays. This association promotes cycling andorganises workshops to teach people torepair their own bicycles. They also collect oldbikes, recycle them and sell them at veryattractive prices.”

Overall, the integrated URBACT approachenabled local stakeholders to reach a shareddiagnosis of the situation in Bayonne’s historic



centre and how to improve it. It also meantthe feasibility of planned actions could bechecked, obstacles identified, and solutionsadapted. In one such case, LSG membersnoticed builders were avoiding official trainingin eco-restoration, seen as an unnecessaryuse of three days. As a result, feedback anddiscussion in the group led to the set-up ofthe popular Form’actions (see below).

Main Actionsof Local Action Plan

“Conviviality has been the guiding principle ofthe Local Action Plan,” says FrédériqueCalvanus. “It’s all about changing attitudesand behaviour.” To reach their target audi-ences, whether it was the general public,owners, architects, or craftsmen, Bayonneused “novel, playful activities”. The LocalAction Plan is mainly about:− Developing skills and contributing to theevolution of crafts, overcoming reluctance toeco-restoration;− Increasing demand for eco-restorationthrough an adapted aid policy and an aware-ness-raising programme;− Supporting small companies in the eco-construction industry in the long term, imple-menting administrative simplification proce-dures and favouring the creation of localnetworks.

Some examples:

Form’actions, an idea brought up byBayonne’s LSG to spread technical knowledgeon planning and implementing the thermalrenovation of historic buildings, and incitepeople to sign up for official training in greenbuilding techniques. The Form’action daysmix training with networking and experi-ence-sharing, theory with practical groupexercises, and are open to anyone linked withthe local restoration sector, from projectmanagersandcraftspeopletocityemployees.Sessions in 2012, for about 35 people,investigated: the reasons for eco-restoration;the indivisible triptych: air tightness, ventila-tion and indoor air quality; and acoustics.

“These Form’actions became kind of fashion-able rendez-vous – the place to be – forprofessionals of the restoration sector inBayonne,” explains Frédérique Calvanus. “Weplan to continue with them.”

thematic cafés, a now well-established,friendly event for local craftsmen. Overcoffee, several experienced craftsmeneducate about 30 of their fellows on markettrends, introduce new techniques and mate-rials, demonstrate their experience, andprovide practical advice. Two themes weretackled in 2012: airtightness; and thermalcorrections using hemp-lime coatings.

technical guidance on energy perfor-mance and comfort (2013-2014). Theidea is for two thermal engineers to providetechnical assistance throughout the wholerestoration process of old buildings, from aninitial analysis of the building when a restora-tion application is made, through to on-siteadvice during construction. This will help allactors in the construction chain: the cityduring the instruction authorisation phase;operators for their investment choices; archi-tects, in design and implementation; andcraftsmen in providing high quality work.

The experts will suggest improvements andcreate a learning resource with implementa-tion prototypes, pictures, and factsheets, forother professionals to use. Over two years,some forty home restorations could besupported in this way, with long-lastingknock-on benefits as knowledge spreadsthroughout the sector.

Public challenges such as Positive EnergyDays, with a game that encourages people toreduce their daily CO2 emissions, and theVillage of Sustainable Development tempo-rary exhibition, held at the Bayonne market.

The LAP also proposes the Pavillon desBerges, an innovative EUR 240000 schemeto develop a riverside area with small modular,low-energy buildings, although this optionhas not yet been validated.

Though most actions in Bayonne’s LocalAction Plan are low-cost or free, the totalcost is about EUR 30000 for 2013, quitesignificant for a medium sized city likeBayonne. Funding is mainly provided by theMunicipality, with some co-funding fromADEME, the French Environment and EnergyManagement Agency.

Prospects

“Thanks to LINKS, most renovation ofBayonne’s historic buildings now use eco-materials to insulate them. But we can gofurther to improve the benefits for the localeconomy and try to develop the supply chainfor local materials,” says Frédérique Calvanus.“LINKS, with our LSG, showed how eco-restoration can improve thermal, acousticand general comfort in Bayonne’s historicbuildings. Now each builder, architect, andmember of the public who learns about eco-restoration will play a part in encouragingthese improvements go on beyond the life-time of the LINKS project.”

“Opening perspectives to other cities, LINKS removed the traditionalconflicts, which had poisoned the management of the historic centrefor years, and the project showed that it is possible to conciliate heritageprotection and modern way of life,” Martine Bisauta, Deputy Mayorof Bayonne, Sustainable Development and Citizen Participation.




Veria (population – 47500), the capital city of the Prefecture of Imathia, in CentralMacedonia, has kept the same name and location over more than two thousand years.Today, a considerable number of monuments and sites remain, dating from the Hellenisticperiod onwards, including 48 Byzantine and post Byzantine churches with frescos. About1 500 people live in the old centre, where the architecture is as varied as the city’smulticultural history, characterised by narrow streets twisting among two and three-storey buildings with courtyards behind, many with overhanging upper floors. Runningthrough the town is the Tripotamos river, a stunning natural feature.

veriagreece

Local Challenges

Previously a prosperous city based on agri-culture, Veria now faces economic decline.Though the city is rich in cultural assets, witha strong potential to develop cultural tourism,many old buildings are badly preserved orabandoned as they do not meet modernliving standards. Extensive areas of thehistoric centre have been demolished, andfragmentation, desertification and segrega-tion are common. Veria faced an urgent needto develop both restoration techniques thatanswered the specific characteristics of itshistoric buildings, and training for all involvedin the building sector.

When Veria joined the URBACT project LINKS,it was looking for new ways to bring more lifeback into the city’s historic centre, improveits image and function, and restore its iden-tity. Eco-restoration was an answer, repre-senting an opportunity to improve thehistoric centre aesthetically and reconstituteits unity. Properly restored and adapted, oldbuildings in protected areas could providehigh quality housing that would raise stan-dards of living in the heart of the city. Thiswould also boost the local economy by devel-oping cultural tourism.

Through LINKS, the Municipality of Veria setout to develop an action plan detailing meth-odologies and proposals to:− Reconstitute the unity of the historiccentre;− Develop environmentally friendly tech-niques for the restoration of historicbuildings;− Explore administrative and financial tools;− Answer needs for proper training;− Encourage the active participation andsupport of inhabitants and actors involvedthroughout the protection and restorationprocess.


Central to LINKS, explains KleopatraTheologidou, Scientific Associate for theVeria Mayor, is “the idea of different peoplefrom different countries, with differentculture and backgrounds working togetherand trying to exchange ideas and best prac-tices to face the range of challenges involvedin reviving their cities’ historic centres”.Kleopatra Theologidou adds: “Solidarity andunderstanding were developed among

partners. And we got the understanding thatat European level we have more things incommon than differences.”

URBACT events, such as the SummerUniversity (Krakow, 2011), conferences andthematic seminars, helped Veria apply theURBACT method to develop a plan forreviving the old city centre. Transnationalexchanges with LINKS partner cities, andstrong support from Lead Partner Bayonne,brought Veria new policy ideas, knowledgeand approaches for tackling its own chal-lenges. Here are some examples:− Creating the URBACT Local Support Group(LSG) from the start, with a range of stake-holders. Bayonne was particularly helpfulduring the development phase, contributingideas on how to organise the LSG and who toinvolve.− Involving citizens, using good practicesfrom other cities, and participatory toolsproposed by thematic expert BrechtVandekerckhove. Almeria, for example, hasencouraged citizen participation for years.The residents’ association in the district of LaChanca is a particularly strong driver ofchange.− Techniques for the eco-restoration ofhistoric centres, discussed during transna-tional thematic seminars with the help ofbest practices, experts and site visits. Veriaappreciated examples and knowledge fromall partner cities, particularly helpful in thedevelopment of its Local Action Plan.− Methods to raise awareness and dissemi-nation of knowledge, drawing on good prac-tices from Bayonne, such as the creation of a“Restoration Shop” and “Nights ofThermography” in Bayonne. Freiberg citizenstook part in an “Ideas Competition” for thefuture of their city’s central market square.− Taking a truly integrated approach todrafting a Local Action Plan, following Delft’sexperiences.


A vital element of the project has been theURBACT Local Support Group’s (LSG)creation from the beginning, involving arange of stakeholders, such as the ManagingAuthority, the Chamber of SMEs, the localUnion of Architects, universities, electedrepresentatives and municipal officials whoworked together on producing a Local ActionPlan (LAP) to revitalise their historic citycentre.

“The LSG enabled the creation of an inte-grated policy to accomplish our targets by

setting goals, defining actions, examiningstrategies and risks, investigating financialtools. It brought new ways of looking at localproblems through the different roles andbackground of its members. It brought a newshared vision, developed during the elabora-tion of the Local Action Plan. And it helpedplan more targeted and mostly more inte-grated actions to address problems in ourcity’s historic centre.”

The LSG helped promote broader citizenparticipation in preparing Veria’s Local ActionPlan, with actions such as door-to-doorquestionnaires for people living in the historiccentre, online questionnaires for citizens, andinvitations to specific stakeholder meetings.

Veria’s Municipal Council approved the LocalAction Plan in April 2013 and decided theURBACT Local Support Group would becontinued to further elaborate and imple-ment the Local Action Plan.

Highlightsof the Local Action Plan

Based on the approach above, Veria’s LocalAction Plan (LAP) to revive the historic centrefocuses on three main objectives, eachinvolving a broad range of actions. A selectionis highlighted below:


ObjectIve 1 - the urban dimension:make the historic centre attractive forresidents and visitors by improving itsimage and function and restoring itsunity and identity− restore unity and identity of thehistoric centre (architectural competitionconcerning open public spaces, conducted bythe Unification of Archaeological Sites andRenewals SA, end 2013, EUR 100 000;works to be implemented in the 2014-2020programming period.) This includes the urbanregeneration of protected areas with inter-ventions to increase green spaces, minimisecars and use eco-materials and techniques,improving comfort, especially, duringsummer. Actions also include creating acultural route connecting these areas,installing energy efficient public lighting andputting electricity cables underground.− city-wide traffic study enabling reduc-tion of car traffic and other improvements inthe historic centre (conducted by the Regionof Central Macedonia, completion expected2014, EUR 150000).− regenerate Mitropoleos Street andenhance the ancient roman road acrossit, highlighting antiquities and unifyingprotected areas on each side (application forfunding in preparation for a 2013-2015project). This street, in the heart of Veria’scity centre, has existed since Roman times orearlier. Extended rebuilding and streetwidening has transformed it into a road split-ting the historic centre in two. A preliminarystudy has been made, contributing to plansto highlight the ancient road revealed byexcavations, reduce traffic and increasegreen areas.− refurbish blind facades of high-risebuildings in the periphery of protectedareas that impact negatively on theirsurroundings (implementation during the2014-2020 programming period).− Define the historic centre’s uses toensure its multi-functional character(end of action and official approval expected2014).

ObjectIve 2 - buildings: stimulatedemand for eco-restoration in thehistoric centre – financial, administra-tive and technical support− eco-restoration and energy perfor-mance improvement of protected

buildings and traditional buildings in thehistoric centre – identifying grants andfinancial tools (implementation during the2014-2020 programming period).− eco-restoration and energy perfor-mance improvement of the municipally-owned chatzikou House, and conversionto a cultural centre to promote folkculture – identifying grants and financialtools (funding application under preparationfor a 2013-2015 project).

This was a Local Action Plan pilot project.Chatzikou House, a typical early 20th centurybuilding, has shops on the ground floor andhousing above. Its outside walls are stone onthe ground floor and brick above, strength-ened with timber beams. The floors and roofare timber. A restoration study is in progressfollowing the rules and techniques of eco-restoration, with restoration worksprogrammed to act as a good example,helping boost demand for eco-restoration.Experts examined the building’s energyperformance and ability to survive earth-quakes, as well as the composition and char-acteristics of the building materials, andmade proposals for its eco-restoration. Basedon these findings, guidelines and recommen-dations will be drafted for the eco-restora-tion of similar buildings.− technical and administrative supportThematic workshops for engineers, techni-cians, stakeholders and owners, defined bythe LSG (2013-2020); creation of a digitalplatform (end 2013, EUR 3000); productionof information material (2013-2020);

simplification of bureaucratic procedures (inprogress until 2014).

ObjectIve 3 - raise awareness,empower citizens’ participation –includes organising events, regular meetingswith citizens, and further synergies withinVeria and with other cities facing similar chal-lenges (on-going).

Prospects

Veria City Council has adopted its LocalAction Plan in local policies and plans toimplement as many actions as possible. TheLAP’s timescale is 2013-2020 in order tosecure funding from the 2014-2020programming period. Low cost activities,such as awareness-raising, empoweredparticipation, dissemination of knowledgeand administrative support, will continueusing Municipality resources.

National funding has been secured for thearchitectural competition and traffic study,and ERDF Operational Programme funding isbeing sought for actions to regenerateMitropoleos Street and enhance the Romanroad, and restore Chatzikou House.

To continue international exchanges, Veria islooking for opportunities to take part infurther European programmes, such asIntelligent Energy, Life, and Europe forCitizens.

Charikleia Ousoultzoglou Georgiadi, Mayor of the Municipalityof Veria: “Our participation in the LINKS project gave us the opportunityto examine the problems of our historic centre in depth and developactions and strategies in an integrated way. Our methodical preparation,in the effort to respond to the high values and importance of ourheritage will help determine the city’s future. Our Action Plan is also asubstantial tool to ensure benefits from the new programme period2014-2020.”



OP-actoptions of actionsStrategic positioning of Smalland medium Sized cities


lead partnerLeoben (Austria)


For centuries Europe has seen widespread urban growth, but deindus-trialisation, and the recent economic crisis, have sparked a decline in theeconomic strength, populations and employment levels of many cities. Forty

per cent of medium sized European cities experienced a decrease in populationin recent decades, according to the EU funded SHRINK SMART research project(2009-2012). These cities are faced with a decision: continue trying to regaingrowth; or opt for sustainable management of shrinkage, a process often morecomplicated to govern than growth.The URBACT project OP-ACT is the reaction of ten small and medium sizedcities to the challenges of demographic change and population decline. As suchtowns face the dual dilemma of an increasing need to act and diminishing financialmeans, OP-ACT’s partners focused on the most urgent issues. Together theyidentified a set of strategic actions for the successful restructuring of shrinkingand stagnating cities.


Five Priority Actionsto Boost Small andMedium Sized CitiesOP-ACT’s partner cities defined five mainoverlapping and interlinked priority areas,which informed their search for solutions todemographic change and population decline:

Priority 1: Stabilise communal revenues.Tackle decreasing communal revenues inorder to stabilise the financial situation.Improve the city image and to attract newinhabitants and investors.

Priority 2: address social services andsocial inclusion, the sector most hit bybudget reductions. Partners reported thatmany planned projects for young people,senior citizens and migrants had to be post-poned or cancelled completely.

Priority 3: boost the local economy.Boost the local economy to break the viciouscircle of “economic stagnation – closing oflocal businesses – falling employment –outward migration”.

Priority 4: adapt urban development todemographic change. Measures to dealwith vacant premises and brownfields, as wellas changed technical and social infrastructure

requirements. In this context “reduction” canalso lead to the creation of a greener, lesspolluted and more liveable city.

Priority 5: Promote existing local advan-tages. Partner cities tried to (re-)discoverand focus on their own qualities rather thancompete with the advantages of largermetropolitan areas.

Core Approaches toMaking Cities Smaller,Greener,More AttractiveIf the inevitable refrain from growth isaccepted, the planning of future, smallercities can start. Steps include “re-naturising”depopulated areas, re-using brownfields orvacant buildings, restructuring economicdevelopment and adapting social infrastruc-ture. With a smaller population and geograph-ical area, a town can be a greener, moreenjoyable and attractive place to live. This canhave a positive impact on the regionalcompetition for new inhabitants andinvestors.

Two core approaches proved essential forOP-ACT’s partner cities during the

development and implementation of theirmeasures:− Plan and implement projects in aholistic manner. In most cases integratedprojects are more adequate than sectoralprojects;− Involve the general public in the plan-ning and implementation process andchoose the right stakeholders.

OP-ACT Actionsfor Towns to Tacklethe Challenges ofDemographic ChangeUnderstanding that every city needs to dealwith demographic change in its own way, theOP-ACT partners defined some key actionsfor small and medium sized towns to choosefrom. Here are some highlights:

raise awareness, gain political leadershipand acceptance. City councils should acceptthe paradigm shift away from growth tostabilisation or reduction, and develop theirintegrated urban renewal concept accord-ingly. Avoid negative connotations: highlightthe chance for active transformation. Theurban renewal concept should cover theurban area and all factors influencing urbandevelopment. Managing such a restructuringprocess needs the commitment and skills ofall involved actors much more than handlinggrowth. Active planning and steering arerequired more than ever.

Involve local and regional stakeholdersand citizens, a vital instrument in therestructuring process. Administrative depart-ments, local actors such as enterprises andbusiness, real estate developers, social insti-tutions and NGOs, and citizens, should alltake part, right from the development of anaction, through the decision-making, and upto implementation. This is the only way toguarantee identification with the project andsustainable modification according the policy“Let’s plan together with the citizens and notfor them!” Many volunteers worked inOP-ACT’s partner cities, proving that citizensare willing to support public administrations,especially in providing social services. It isvital to establish a culture of dialogue and


OP-act - Options of ActionsStrategic Positioning of Small and Medium Sized Cities

interaction, to ensure strong communicationwith all people involved.

choose to cooperate, not compete, withneighbouring municipalities. This is oneway to share communal tasks and costs, toensure a coordinated city-hinterland devel-opment and to reduce competition within aregion. This needs an atmosphere of trust,equal rights and transparent structures.

re-use abandoned areas and brownfieldsites. A positive city image must besupported by the local population and mustreflect reality. As well as a city’s “hard” loca-tion factors, promote its increasingly signifi-cant “soft” factors. These include quality oflife, a safe environment, a range of sports,leisure and cultural activities, and the avail-ability of green spaces. It is precisely thisimprovement in quality of life that can bereached by re-using abandoned areas andbrownfields as open or green spaces.

Match social measures with intendedpopulations. Inward-migration can beenhanced by promoting the advantages of“urban life”. Creating affordable and familyfriendly living spaces and initiating integrationprogrammes for foreign immigrants can helpattract new inhabitants.

Adapt the local infrastructure and services tothe changed age structure, both for theincreasing percentage of senior citizens, andfor the young people to keep them in town.Some possible actions are: make pavementsnear retirement homes barrier-free; offerfree transportation to social clubs; buildmore-generation houses to reduce barriersbetween senior and young citizens; offeradequate education facilities, and creativeand sport activities for the young, as well asgood meeting points.

create incentives for investment. Buildone “eye-catcher” building in the area, to berevitalised with city funds or through public-private-partnership. This can stimulateprivate investment in further development inthe area. Special incentives can be offered forinvestors and entrepreneurs, such as taxrelief, cuts in red tape, reduced rents.

Strengthen links between education andlabour markets for local needs. Do notforget the importance of cooperationbetween local educational facilities and localbusinesses to offer the education and trainingrequired by the labour market. Self-employment can be promoted as an alterna-tive job opportunity for young people with

the help of coaching programmes andadequate workplaces.

reorientate the local economy, enhanceold traditions. Restructuring should also beimplemented in the local economy. Newsectors such as creative industries, as well asculture and historic handicrafts, can be devel-oped supplementing the traditional ones.

OP-ACT concludes that demographic changeand population decline, rather than repre-senting a sad road to despair, should be seenpositively as the beginning of a new “slimtown” era. Creating realistic visions should becentral to urban planning. Local, regional andfederal public authorities are now asked toprovide an appropriate framework to securethe right direction of restructuring, so thatthe urban structure does not lead to socialpolarisation. Integrated and holistic strategiesas well as national funding programmes areneeded to implement the transformation toa well-tailored urban fabric.

The OP-ACT CharterFormulating the partner cities’ demands atvarious political levels, the OP-ACT Charterhas been signed not only by the mayors of allten partner cities, but also by cities outside theOP-ACT project. The Zealand Denmark EUOffice, for example, has recommended othercities to support and sign the OP-ACT Charter.The range of requests includes calls for:− The adjustment of financial allocations tospecific solutions, not just to populationnumbers;− More flexible support and fundingprogrammes for small and medium-sizedcities;− No cutbacks to social facilities or infra-structure arrangements. Avoid devolvingwelfare and social support costs to cities;− Targeted migration and family policies;− The launch of a European award for inno-vation and sustainable approaches in the field

of demographic change in small and medium-sized cities.

ProspectsOP-ACT’s partnership has decided to worktogether on creating new strategies beyondthe project’s closure. Smaller partnershipshave also formed between OP-ACT cities.For example, Dabrowa Górnicza and Mediasagreed to work together on the specific topicof “mobility”, with some involvement fromNotodden.

URBACT Local Support Groups in mostpartner cities will continue to apply an inte-grate approach to demographic change asassociations, linking the target groups withcity administration departments, and oftenwith elected city representatives. They willsupport and evaluate the implementation ofmeasures defined in their Local Action Plans.

Almost all OP-ACT’s partner cities have inte-grated their Local Action Plans into strategicplanning documents for the coming years.While implementation is politically approved,the financing of many actions is still to bediscussed. Here are just a few examples ofactions already implemented, as part of eachcity’s wider approach to tackling demographicchanges. The library in Ancona has opened. An“experience elevator” in Altena will be ready bylate 2013 to serve as an incubator for positivedevelopment and help revitalise the old town(see “Zoom on Altena”). In Leoben, manyevents for young people were organised in2012, new events are integrated in the 2013cultural programme, and actions for seniorcitizens and migrants are in preparation.Dabrowa Górnicza put some initial short-termsolutions into place in 2012 and 2013, andstarted preparations for long-term actionssuch as the social and infrastructural revitali-sation of urban public spaces, in particular,Zielona Park.

Hanns-Uve Schwedler, OP-ACT Lead Expert: “It took some time ofmutual discussions and exchange of views amongst partner cities toovercome the perception that present shrinking processes are oftemporary nature and that growth is only hidden behind the horizon.This opened the view to the fact, that ‘shrinking’ and ‘demographicchange’ do not have to carry only negative connotations. They can beseen as opportunity to break down traditional structures and to adaptthem to actual demand. The OP-ACT partner cities are certainly ontheir way to do this.”

learn more about op-act and download op-act Final publication andpartners’ local action plans on www.urbact.eu/op-act




The city of Altena (population about 18 000) in South-Westphalia, is 40 km fromDortmund. While the area is highly industrialised, it is also 65% woodland. Altena’s twomain attractions, an unlikely pair, are: its stunning castle, built on a hilltop in the early12th century, home to the world’s first youth hostel; and its steel wire industry (no surprisethat this is the site of the German Museum of Wire). The city of Altena was built soon afterthe castle, near the river Lenne in the valley below, and it prospered thanks to local ironsources and a blossoming wire industry. Today Altena supplies 18% of the world’s steelwire, particularly, for automotive products. Special steel sheets are produced for Airbusand the Ariane Rocket.

altenagermany

Cop

yrig

ht-S

tadt

Alte

na

Local Challenges

Altena was hit hard by deindustrialisation andthe recent economic downturn. Over anumber of decades, major businesses,including Nokia, have left the city, resulting ina marked drop in population. Properties wereleft empty, and the housing market went intodecline, as did the provision of public andprivate services and trade and industry.

The City Council knew something must bedone. Altena already had a tourist magnet: itshilltop fortress, one of the most beautiful inGermany and a monument of national signifi-cance. But of the 100000 people visiting thecastle every year, only 10 000 made theshort trip down to the historic city centre. So,in 2007 the City Council agreed on an “inte-grated urban development concept” namedAltena 2015, which identified tourism as amain area for action. It involved the buildingof an elevator linking the castle with theemptying old town centre. Altena’s plan wasthat this would improve connections betweenthe castle and the city, and tempt visitors intothe old town, even those visiting the castleby bus. Stimulating sustainable tourism wouldhelp create much-needed local jobs, particu-larly, for women.

For support in planning a successful, inte-grated tourism concept in line with Altena2015, the city decided to join the URBACTproject OP-ACT. This enabled Altena todevelop a strategy for sustainable tourism(the Local Action Plan), by drawing on theexperiences of similar European cities in tack-ling local tourism challenges.


Being part of OP-ACT broadened theperspectives of the small town of Altena,opening up invaluable access to theapproaches and best practice examples ofother European towns. “It was important tosee how other towns have the same prob-lems. It makes you stronger, and by learningfrom each other, it helps make things betterlocally,” says Gundula Schulze, of the Mayor’soffice of Altena.

Particularly fruitful exchanges were withother towns developing sustainable tourism:Medias, Dabrowa Gornicza, and the LeadPartner Leoben. Gundula Schulze describeshow in one case this led to Altena’s Mayor,Andreas Hollstein, learning from a city inAustria: “Graz, near Leoben, already has an

elevator similar to the one we are nowbuilding. They have some very good experi-ences. Our mayor has visited the elevator inGraz to see how such a construction can bepart of a wider project to benefit the wholetown.”

As well as sparking a multitude of usefulideas, this was a capacity building experiencefor city administration staff. The mayor wasamong those to see the added-value ofOP-ACT. Andreas Hollstein said: “WithOP-ACT and the final declaration wesucceeded in stressing the concerns andneeds of small and medium sized cities, butalso to emphasize their potentials and inno-vative strength.”


Small working groups on housing, or innercity development, for example, had alreadybeen set up to implement Altena 2015.Within the framework of OP-ACT, theWorking Group for Culture and Tourism wasbroadened to become the URBACT LocalSupport Group, which in cooperation with theTown Council, had enough weight to takeuseful action. New partners such as shop-owners and a marketing group for tourismjoined the group. In total there were some15-20 members, including citizens, localpoliticians, City Council staff, chairpersons ofprivate associations and Altena civic forumsas well as representatives of the press,cultural, educational and social groups.

Having developed the Local Action Plan, themembers of the URBACT Local SupportGroup also went on to contribute to the proj-ect’s success by communicating its benefitsfor the town to the local newspaper and abroad range of people and organisations. Thisall contributes to promoting the old city as alively centre, and an attractive investment forthe tourism sector.

“People who met during the Local SupportGroup will carry on working together,” saysGundula Schulze. “And the main lasting effectwill be the success of the Local Action Plan.”


Altena’s URBACT Local Support Groupdiscussions fed into a Local Action Plan (LAP)to make the city more attractive for inhabit-ants, employees and visitors, and boost thetown’s economy through sustainable tourism.This LAP fits in with the City Council’s broaderAltena 2015 concept by helping the city planan integrated tourism concept around its newelevator, whose construction started in2012.

actions around two strong points foraltena

The “Altena Experience Elevator”, whenfinished in 2014, will connect the castle withthe town centre, offering visitors a combina-tion of education and entertainment.


Cop

yrig

ht-S

tadt

Alte

na

Altena decided to put its main advantage –the castle – at the centre of its tourismstrategy. With this in mind, the Local ActionPlan aims to market the city centre andestablish tourism as the second largestcontributor to the local economy. The goal isto increase the annual number of tourists tothe castle – and the town – from 100000to more than 140000. Many of the plannedactions involve developing urban areas interms of retail, city centre development, andquality of housing. Others aim to enhanceAltena’s image and get local people involved.

The second major task, based on suggestionsfrom inhabitants, is to fill over 20 emptyshops to turn the city centre into a craftsvillage (Krämerdorf) where tourists can buysouvenirs. An association was founded in2011 to promote real estate in the citycentre, and manage the sale of shops. And,

as Gundula Schulze explains, progress isalready being made: “For ten years, shops inthe centre were empty – no one was buying.And now, something is changing. During thelast two years, about ten buildings with shopshave been sold near the elevator site.Everyone knows something is changing in ourtown, and people think they can make moneywith tourism increases.”

Additional actions and sub-projects involvemaking Altena more lively and welcoming.

These include a medieval market, which nowattracts 25 000 visitors each year, withperformances on the new river Lenne prom-enade. Developing Altena as a centre forwalking and hiking is another plan, started inrecent years. This involves building up tourisminfrastructure, such as a town trail, newsouvenir shops, higher quality hotels, andsign-posting for tourists. There will also be a‘quality offensive’ aimed at retailers,employees and owners of hotels, restaurants,cafes and bars.

Andreas Hollstein, Mayor of Altena: “The exchange with partnercities from other European countries greatly contributed to the capacitybuilding of the city administration’s staff. The participation in OP-ACTallowed us to gain valuable experience – technically as well as in regardsto international cooperation.”




Nagykálló (population about 10 000) lies less than twenty minutes’ drive from the countycapital Nyíregyháza in north-eastern Hungary. With the Romanian border 47 km away,and Ukraine 70 km to the north-east, international traffic speeds through a nearbymotorway intersection. Meanwhile, Nagykálló’s quiet local economy revolves around anumber of micro, small and medium-sized companies involved in agribusiness – processinglocal and micro-regional produce such as maize, wheat, sunflowers, peppers and apples– and farming-related trades. Nagykálló managed to stave off population decline untilrecently, but selective migration and aging are now making their mark.

nagykállóHungary

Local Challenges

Nagykálló joined the URBACT projectOP-ACT during a massive overhaul ofHungary’s public administration structure, inwhich the town became the district centre– the first level of state administration – ofa micro-region of seven settlements.

With an aging population in Nagykálló and itsrural surroundings, small family agriculturalenterprises are closing. This, together withhigh numbers of young children, and loweducation and skills among working agedinhabitants, means trouble for the local labourmarket and a growing burden for the activepopulation. Official sources put the unem-ployment rate at over 18% in 2011.Meanwhile, there is a lack of local part-timejobs and support for entrepreneurship.People are unwilling to start their own busi-nesses. Young adults tend to look for work inthe province’s capital, move to Budapest, orleave the country.

Though Nagykálló has gone through dynamicdevelopment in recent years – involving over40 national and European developmentprojects with a total value exceedingEUR 15 million – a number of areas still needmajor improvement to prevent the city losingits young, well-educated workforce. ThroughOP-ACT, Nagykálló defined its mainchallenges:− Limited employment opportunities;− “Ordinary” city image, un-attractive foryoung people;− Uninteresting, functionless public cityspaces;− Lack of high quality dwellings attractive toyoung families;− Insufficient attractive local cultural andleisure activities;− Pressing social problems.


With its partners of similarly sized Europeancities, Nagykálló investigated urban develop-ment issues such as governance andfinancing, social and economic integration,quality of life and territorial competitiveness.Marianna Diósi, Quality Management,Benchmarking and Applications Assistant,Nagykálló, explains, “We found useful theexchange of experiences through OP-ACT:the project contributed to identifyingcommon solutions which can be built into thestrategies of partner cities; it helped comple-ment economic and environmental strategies

with cohesion and social elements. Partnerscould use OP-ACT as a city-marketing tool,too.”

OP-ACT’s transnational workshops and otherexchanges provided Nagykálló with bestpractices, innovative approaches and ideas tostrengthen their own Local Action Plan.Discussions on economic growth, socialinclusion and improved living conditions wereparticularly useful. Partner cities focusedtogether on growth tools and strategies attheir workshop in Altena. In Legazpi, partnersshared their draft Local Action Plans, andNagykálló learnt about urban developmentand planning to cope with the challenges ofdemographic change.

“The support and experience of the interna-tional partners constantly provided usefulguidelines and orientation for our LocalAction Plan development process,” recallsMarianna Diósi. This helped Nagykálló definefocused objectives for becoming a liveableand attractive small city (see the five priorityareas below).


Nagykálló developed a core URBACT LocalSupport Group (LSG) consisting of the CityCouncil, the local urban developmentcompany, citizens, businesses, non-profitorganisations, urban development specialistsand journalists. Supported by OP-ACT’stransnational partnership, this group wascentral to the extensive consultation processinvolved in preparing a local plan to revitaliseNagykálló.

One initiative where the community’s activeinvolvement was particularly valuable was informing an agricultural cooperative to supplylocal institutions and sell produce in neigh-bouring Nyíregyháza. Others ideas werebuilding a strong brand for local products andencouraging low-cost housing in climate-friendly residential areas (details below).

The URBACT method enabled Nagykálló to:− Develop common thinking with localstakeholders on the town’s development;− Access information on changes and newtrends, mainly in economic and town devel-opment, social needs and communications;− Find the best way to encourage the activeinclusion of local decision-makers and targetgroups;− Organise local meetings with concrete,clear aims addressing key issues forNagykálló’s citizens;− Promote and strengthen communicationbetween local actors, find new tools forimproving communication channels;− Set up personal meetings and discussionswith stakeholders, LSG members and localdecision-makers:− Encourage stakeholders to contributetheir own experience and professional knowl-edge to defining local problems andsolutions;− Ensure local actors participate in relevantinternational workshops and seminars.


With input from URBACT Local SupportGroup members, and support from Europeanpartner cities at each step of the process,



Nagykálló developed a flexible, strategicLocal Action Plan for becoming a liveable andattractive small city.

“We tried to create a living Local Action Plan,open to amendments,” explains MariannaDiósi. “We drew up specific solutions whichcan be continuously adapted to respond tonew challenges, following the basic principlesof: creativity and innovation; cost-efficiency;involvement of the local community; climate-friendly development projects and operation;information technology.”

These guiding principles, known as “UrbanDevelopment 2.0”, were proposed by anexternal expertise team supporting the LocalAction Plan’s creation.

The five priority areas for revitalisingNagykálló are outlined below. Requiring littleinitial capital investment, pilot actions startedduring the URBACT project are alreadymaking perceivable improvements to life inNagykálló.

1 competitive local economy andquality jobs for local citizens

a) attract new enterprises to Nagykálló,primarily, to the industrial park area.b) Set up a local social cooperative: Withthree main elements, this was developed asa pilot action during OP-ACT, creating jobsand finding markets for local, high qualityagricultural products:

i. Agricultural Public Work Programmeemploying 50 people, including Romas, infarming Hungarian paprika. Wages and toolswere financed by the Hungarian Ministry forHome Affairs’ public work programme, mate-rials were sponsored by KITE company, andthe municipality provided agricultural land forgrowing the vegetables. The executor is KállaiDuet Farmer Ltd.

ii. Kállai Duet Public Foundation collectslocally grown products from traditionalfarmers and small agricultural enterprises,labels them with the farmer’s name, and sellsthem at nearby county markets (non-profit).The programme is self-supporting, and triesto help 15-20 small and medium sized agri-cultural enterprises every week.

iii. Fruit and Vegetable Farmer Organisation(launched 2012, seven members) – Localtraditional farmers and small and mediumsized agricultural enterprises from the townand micro-region of Nagykálló joined to forma cooperative which also included Kállai DuetFarmer Ltd. As well as helping farmers findnew markets, the organisation is using a HUF1 billion (about EUR 3.4 million) grant to builda freezing, manufacturing and packing site(2013). In addition, Kállai Duet Farmer Ltd’smarketing activities are helping raise aware-ness of Nagykálló’s local products brand.

2 attractive, lively urban spaces

Develop creative, interesting urbanpublic spaces through low-budget, creativeand community-based developments.climate-friendly residential areas: Buildnew affordable small houses with low runningcosts, using local materials in an attractiveenvironment. Preparations are underway fora “Summer University” involving theconstruction of a cheap, energy efficient andsustainable model house from local materials.The project associates: educational institu-tions specialised in architecture and construc-tion, professors and students, local labourforce experienced in building, an environ-mental organisation, the municipality andtown development company.

3 active community and culturalscene Develop a unique cultural

programme: for a vibrant cultural life toretain young and educated people. Use publicspaces in creative ways, and make more ofexisting events such as Kállai Duet Folk DanceFestival, ”Nagykálló Days”, Christmas, NewYear and national events. create qualityconditions for leisure and sports activities:Building on existing potential and infrastruc-ture, encourage a range of leisure and sportsactivities for local citizens, citizens of theneighbouring settlements and visitors. Long-term plans include the redevelopment of alocal lido.

4 Social inclusion establish the keyconditions for sustainable social

employment, and build the foundations of a

social economy to support integration andimprove the living conditions of disadvan-taged people.

a dedicated Local action Plan for romaintegration was developed to tackle thehousing, employment, and educational prob-lems faced by many local Roma people.

5 Develop a communication strategyto promote the city brand and local

products build a strong brand for thecity… very few people outside the city knowabout the positive changes that have takenplace during Nagykálló’s recent major devel-opment. … and for local products, tomarket the social cooperative’s range of highquality, mainly, agricultural, products.

ProspectsWhile part of OP-ACT, Nagykálló was alsopartner in another URBACT project,Roma-Net, which focused on the integrationof Roma populations. Then, in 2012, the cityjoined a third URBACT project, Jobtown,which aims to ensure that “today’s youthbecome effective and successful members oftomorrow’s workforce”. Nagykálló hopesthese partnerships will help sustain furtherinternational cooperation. In the meantime,the Council aims to strengthen existing coop-eration with the Local Support Group, buildingon the benefits of the URBACT process, andmake further efforts to involve a broaderrange of local actors.

Zoltan Juhasz, Mayor of Nagykálló: “While working as a mayor,I have learned that in urban development – as in many other areas oflife – there is nothing more valuable than learning from the real-lifeexperience – successes and mistakes alike – of other city leaders. Andthat is exactly what we have received from the OP-ACT project.”


rOMa-Netintegration of roma population


lead partnerBudapest (Hungary)

partners FundingTotal Eligible Fund: EUR 622 918ERDF Contribution: EUR 459 549

With 10-12 million members, the Roma population is Europe’slargest minority. Their communities vary in terms of culture andreligion, legal status, language, settlement models, and periods

of migration. But, despite efforts at local, national and European levels, inmany countries Roma show high levels of social exclusion from employment,education, health and social services; high rates of illiteracy; and poor schoolattendance. Many Roma people live in segregated, isolated districts whereovercrowding and a lack of basic facilities contribute to poor health.The URBACT project ROMA-NeT was set up by nine European cities tohelp improve the social inclusion and community integration of their Romapopulations. They built ROMA-NeT on the conviction that the integrationof Roma populations is vital in a cohesive society, in line with the EuropeanCommission’s long-term goals, and that cities have a critical, central role toplay if Roma inclusion is to move from a concept to a functioning reality.


©Be

nce

Járd

ányi

For three years the partner cities investigated how to overcome negativeattitudes and improve consultation and engagement with the Romacommunity. They worked to identify ways to improve community cohesionand engagement, employment and education, social, healthcare and housing,as well as governance and community policing. Much of their work focusedon a step-by-step inclusive approach, particularly, for young Roma and theirtransition into active adult citizens.

Each ROMA-NeT city set up a Local SupportGroup bringing together for the first timestakeholders from services such as educa-tion, healthcare, employment, housing,policing and political organisations, as well aslocal Roma organisations, to discuss Romainclusion actions. In addition, and linked tothis, a series of transnational “learning clus-ters” focused on three main themes: activecommunity engagement and local empower-ment; integrated approach to housing andlocal service provision; and Roma employ-ability – understanding the barriers toemployment.

Recommendationsfor Roma Inclusionin EU CitiesThe project concludes: “ROMA-NeT citieshave already begun a journey that has thechance to really make a difference across allthe important themes and to spread themessage to other cities on how they mightbegin to achieve this too. For many Europeancities that have to confront the fact that theyhave a Roma community facing problems ofexclusion, marginalisation and discrimination,the reality is the same as for ROMA-NeTcities. They should listen to the experiencesof ROMA-NeT.”

Four key messages for cities

One step at a timeRoma inclusion takes time and effort. A step-by-step approach is needed. Initiativesforcing too big an “integration leap”, such asmoving Roma families from ghettos to blocks

of flats, are doomed to fail. A gradual integra-tion process needs to be in place with active,individual support and communication alongthe way.

More than one pieceRoma integration is a process that shouldintegrate a number of key elements. There isno quick fix solution. Simply providing a job,or a better housing environment, is far fromsufficient.

together – in equal partnerships withthe communityInstitutions offering support should work inpartnership. The integrated, community-ledapproach is the only way forward for socialinclusion of Roma and other vulnerablegroups.

Involve roma at an early stage – “nothingabout us without us”Only Roma people have the power to changetheir lives; you can only support this process.Adopt innovative ways to involve them fromthe start - traditional participative methodswill not work! If they seem disinterested, youare not trying hard enough!

WiderRecommendations –Some HighlightsLonger term programme-based fundingover project-based funding.Projects aiming at improving social inclusiondo not achieve their potential in two or threeyears: much longer periods are needed.Moreover, the results tend not to last long,unless continuity is ensured.

cities, and all development actors, musttrust the roma community to articulatewhat they need to improve the quality oflife and living conditions in their commu-nity.Working with Roma at local level throughoutpolicy development, action planning andimplementation is critical for successful Romainclusion measures. To allow funds to beallocated for active Roma communityengagement and community participationinterventions, Managing Authorities mustensure such measures are included in thepartnership contracts and operationalprogrammes.

continued capacity building is necessaryfor the Local Support Groups (LSG) inrOMa-Net cities. Further training andsupport is needed to help the LSGs developto ensure each city prepares a successfulfunding application for the necessary EUStructural Funds to support implementationof their Local Action Plans. There is a need tocover continued LSG capacity building activi-ties that will prepare cities to develop inte-grated proposals focusing on the newmeasures being introduced in the 2014–2020 Common Strategic Framework.

©Pé

ter

Wen

d


civil society organisations are critical inthe implementation of roma inclusionmeasures, so actions must continue tosupport, strengthen and build the capacity ofthose seriously lacking resources. To this endit is necessary that not only large organisa-tions and large projects are funded throughthe Structural Funds, but that local organisa-tions and the realisation of local ideas becomecomponents of larger urban developmentactivities.

cities should not be afraid to confrontracism and discrimination issues head on.They should use communications to explainthe current situation and change behaviour– both in Roma and wider communities. Toallow funds to be allocated for such interven-tions, Managing Authorities should ensurerelevant anti-discrimination measures areincluded in partnership contracts and opera-tional programmes.

the eu, cities and other public sectororganisations should look at ways to cutthrough the bureaucracy to make thedevelopment and implementation ofroma inclusion measures easier to takefrom idea to successful interventions.

Local authorities, in partnership withroma populations and key local stake-holders, should follow the example ofrOMa-Net cities in developingevidence-based Local action Planswhich include integrated measures as thebasis of a future application for EU StructuralFunds in the 2014–2020 programmingperiod. The European Commission’s CommonStrategic Framework 2014-2020 makesprovision for ‘community-led local develop-ment’ measures, which offers real opportu-nity for cities to develop integrated localactions.

rOMa-Net calls for a significant increasein roma inclusion actions across europe,particularly, through new initiativesfrom many more cities. These actions willreveal what really works, enable the creationof good practices, and most importantly,contribute to improving living conditions andlife circumstances of Roma populationsacross Europe.

Eight Thematic Guides

“All Roma inclusion strategy documents askfor an integrated, meaningful, cross-sectorapproach, but this has only just begun tohappen through projects like ROMA-NeTwith proven, tangible results,” statesROMA-NeT.

To help other cities learn from these results,and the experiences they gained during theproject, the partner cities produced a set ofthematic guides available online. Presentingcase studies from across the EU, usefulcontacts, and other resources, theROMA-NeT guides clarify eight key issuesfacing Roma communities and their cities, asfollows:− an introduction to the challenges ofroma inclusionA background to working with Roma commu-nities, this guide introduces the four keythemes of education, employment, health-care and housing, that underpin all issuesaffecting Roma people across the EU.− the education challenges of romainclusionThe scale of this challenge is highlighted withfigures from Greece where under 10% ofRoma children go to kindergarten, pre-schoolor school. The guide provides tried and testededucational practices for improving inclusion,with actions encouraging zero tolerance ofprejudice, harassment and racism in schools.Features interesting examples of how Romaparents are involved with kindergartens inTorrent and Nagykallo.− the health and social care challengesof roma inclusionWith life expectancy for Roma populations inEastern Europe about 10 years less than theoverall population, “negative experiencesfrom the past and exclusionary attitudesfrom ‘public authorities’ make many Romareluctant, even afraid, to approach doctors,health care professionals or to engage withsocial care providers”. Many of the innovativeapproaches to health and social care selectedfor this guide involve outreach work andhealth mediators. A case study shows howGlasgow is helping families to claim freeschool meals.− the housing challenges of roma inclu-sion“Most Roma people want to be part of alegitimate economy and to contribute to thewider community of which they are part,”explains this guide. But residential segrega-tion of many Roma communities, sometimesresulting from deliberate past public policies,represents “a significant barrier” to providingadequate housing, healthcare, education andemployment services. An example fromMadrid shows how an integrated and inclu-sive approach to housing and regeneration,led by a regional public authority, can signifi-cantly improve social integration and commu-nity cohesion.− the employability challenges of romainclusionJust one in three Roma are in paid work, whichis not only critical for Roma individuals, butalso a drain on national, regional and localeconomies. Proposing a set of practicalresponses for cities, this guide calls forgreater investment in educational support,

skill development and other employabilitymeasures. It features a case study of the“START UP” Budapest Municipality TraineeProject for Young Roma, involving traineeplacements with the Mayor’s Office, schools,hospitals and other municipal institutions.− the policing challenges of roma inclu-sionROMA-NeT’s partner cities draw here ontheir experiences of how various policingapproaches affect social cohesion betweenRoma and neighbouring communities. Itoutlines how police can engage better withother public sector partners and with Romacommunities, helping protect Roma againstcrime as well as enforcing when appropriate.Many solutions lie in improving communica-tion and understanding. This is reflected in aninformative case study of Strathclyde Police’swork in Govanhill, Glasgow, a central areawhere many Roma people live in poverty.− roma on the move in europe – thechallenges for inclusionUnderstanding that the main reason Romachange countries is to find a better life,ROMA-NeT’s partner cities present possiblesolutions for tackling the “extraordinarydiscrimination” faced by Roma people whenthey exercise their right to move freely withinthe European Union. As well as clearing upsome of the myths about the way Romafamilies live, this guide investigates howmovement affects Roma and two examplecities, Kosice and Glasgow.− the planning and governance for romainclusionThis guide outlines the ROMA-NeT cities’varied experiences of the URBACT method-ology, including Local Support Groups of keyservice providers and organisations workingwith Roma communities, and the develop-ment of a Local Action Plan in each city. Thisapproach, they resume, “gives stakeholdergroups the tools to develop a positive part-nership approach for specific local actions”. Acase study on Torrent reveals “How URBACTROMA-NeT planning processes helped createintelligent schools”.

ProspectsAlthough the project has finished, ROMA-NeT’s partners see this as the beginning of apath towards Roma inclusion andintegration.

“ROMA-NeT cities continue to face big chal-lenges in improving access to education;housing and living conditions; health services;employability and skills for Roma populations,but they are better organised and betterequipped to face the challenges of the future.ROMA-NeT cities know most importantly


rOMa-NetIntegration of Roma Population

that they must find and invest in innovativeways to engage and to work in partnershipalongside Roma communities,” statesROMA-NeT.

Beyond the transnational, learning and localoutputs originally planned – and the LocalSupport Groups, which will continue involvingRoma in planning and delivering local actions– ROMA-NeT has generated spin-off activi-ties in each partner city. In Karvina, forexample, a new Roma Mentor position wascreated, enabling the municipality to havediscussions with Roma people, not just aboutthem. Kosice has undertaken the firstin-depth analysis of municipal Roma integra-tion policies over the last 20 years, identi-fying questions that need answering to over-come the unsatisfactory situation of Roma in

the city. In Nagykallo, discussions havestarted with the Regional OperationalProgramme Managing Authority in Hungaryto launch a EUR 0.7 million pilot project onsocial urban rehabilitation.

Building on their work with ROMA-NeT,Glasgow, Budapest, Bologna, Kosice have

joined the Roma Matrix project co-funded bythe European Union’s Fundamental Rights andCitizenship Programme (2013-2015), a19-strong partnership formed to combatracism, intolerance and xenophobia towardsRoma and to increase integration.

learn more about roma-net and download roma-net Final publicationsand partners’ local action plans on www.urbact.eu/roma-net

A recommendation in ROMA-NeT’s final report: “Roma integrationis not a project that only has one element; it is a process that shouldintegrate a number of key elements. The integrated, community-ledapproach is the only way forward for social inclusion of Roma and othervulnerable groups. Involving Roma people from the beginning is key! Ifthe local Roma seem disinterested: you are not trying hard enough!”




Udine (population 100 000) is an ancient city in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region of north-east Italy, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps, less than 40 km from Slovenia. TheProvince of Udine has an unemployment rate of 5%, and its relatively healthy economy isdominated by the tertiary sector. Foreign citizens make up 14% of Udine’s growingpopulation. Almost 400 Roma people live in Udine and the surrounding area. Althoughmost live in town, in 2008 about 100 Roma lived in Udine’s largest unregulated camp,where more than half were under 21 years old. By 2012, efforts including relocation tosocial houses and help with buying land had reduced the number of people in this campto 43.

udineitaly

Local Challenges

Unlawful occupation of state land, unhealthyliving conditions, poor education, socialexclusion, internal conflict, and limited accessto training; these are some main challengesfaced by Udine’s Roma community, the city’smost seriously disadvantaged citizens.

Dubbed “Campland” by the European RomaRights Centre (Country Report, 2000), Italyhas a reputation for Roma segregation–whether they be citizens of Italy or othercountries, refugees or stateless. Despitepromises to stop isolation in camps in itsNational Strategy for Roma Inclusion (2012),Amnesty International noted in the same year“the exact opposite is still happening” in thecountry.

Udine’s commitment to solve Roma issueswas reflected in its 2008-2013Administrative Mandate, which includes theappointment of a dedicated councillor toliaise with the Roma community and relevantorganisations. This 2008 administrativeprogramme included work on Roma integra-tion in areas such as education, jobs, andhousing.

Udine joined ROMA-NeT looking for newways to associate the various institutionaland social actors working with and for Roma,and establish a framework for sharing infor-mation and operational strategies to tackleexclusion and discrimination. Udine alsoneeded solutions for promoting andenhancing the participation of Roma in initia-tives that targeted them.


“Being part of a transnational network isimportant in terms of learning from othercities, comparing contexts, and seeing newideas and different perspectives on experi-mented initiatives,” explains AntonellaNonino, Udine’s Deputy Mayor for relation-ships with the Roma community. “Sharingplans and projects during ROMA-NeTSteering Committees around Europe helpedus discover what can and cannot work in ourcontext.” A weaker element, however, wascomparing actions in cities that were sodifferent, including Lead Partner Budapest,with its more than 1.7 million inhabitants andpolitically-represented Roma.

However, Udine did learn from its partners.Budapest, Almería and Karviná provided

examples of inclusion practices in education,professional training and social housing,which Udine transferred to their URBACTLocal Action Plan. These included strength-ening the involvement of voluntary associa-tions in educative interventions within andoutside the Roma camp. To plan the promo-tion of self-management of Roma settle-ments, Udine drew on examples fromBudapest and Glasgow.


Forming an officially-recognised URBACTLocal Support Group (LSG) in 2011 for publicinstitutions and social actors to cooperate onRoma issues was one of the most meaningfulpreliminary actions of Udine’s participation inROMA-NeT. The group involved the HealthPrevention Department, Ministry of Justice,voluntary organisations, UNICEF, a migrants’association and a women’s association. SomeRoma/Sinti people attended LSG meetingsand participated in Udine’s ROMA-NeTSteering meeting and the local final confer-ence (2013).

One advantage of the LSG was its promotionof Roma participation, a real challenge for themunicipality. Involving the Roma communityas a whole in planning and realising actions forits members is among Udine’s core strategicissues for the coming years, building onstrong foundations laid during ROMA-NeT.

The Local Support Group’s main tasks wereto explore Roma issues such as education andtraining, health, housing and labour marketinclusion, and draft a Local Action Plan.Introducing this plan, Udine’s mayor FurioHonsell stated: “…many isolated and frag-mented actions and programmes had beenrepeatedly attempted and put into action inthe past fifty years in Udine, but never beforehad all the stakeholders defined a coordi-nated joint action plan. ROMA-NeT hasinvolved members of the various Romasettlements in Udine, social and health publicofficers and workers, voluntary workers fromvarious non-profit associations, urban plan-ners, policymakers both at local and regionallevels. For more than two years they havediscussed and planned together an integratedaction.”


Based on their study of Udine’s Roma, munic-ipal initiatives, and local associations’ actions,

the URBACT Local Support Group identifiedprincipal challenges and developed a LocalAction Plan (LAP): an integrated strategy foraddressing the needs of Udine’s Romacommunity. The plan fits in with Italy’s 2012“National strategy of inclusion of Roma, Sintiand Caminanti Communities – EuropeanCommission Communication n. 173/2011”,with its strategic axes: education, employ-ment, health and social services, and housing.

Designed as a flexible document, the LAP isa concrete vision of actions in six main areasto improve social inclusion for Roma peopleand avoid discrimination and racism. Udine’sManaging Authority in ROMA-NeT, whoworks in the regional department dealingwith vocational training, looks out for fundingto implement the plan, mainly from theEuropean Social Fund. Private sector supportor – more often – municipal co-financing isalso needed.

1 education and training, to promotepre-schooling, schooling and voca-

tional training for Roma children and young-sters by facilitating non-discriminatoryaccess to schools and tackling drop-outphenomena. Actions include enhancing theMunicipality Social Department‘s TerritorialSocio-Educative Service for Roma children(regional and municipal funding allocated for2012-2015). Designed for youngsters indifficult situations risking psycho-socialdistress, this preventive activity was rarelyused by Roma in the past. Efforts will becontinued to enhance cooperation betweenpublic institutions, schools, voluntary asso-ciations, families and the Roma community.

2 Health, improving Roma access tolocal socio-sanitary services, espe-

cially for women, children and the elderly,and reinforcing preventative medicine,


particularly, in reproductive health and moth-erhood. Two main actions: first, duringUdine’s yearly anti-flu vaccination campaign,dedicated sessions are planned in the Romacamp or other easily-accessible structures(starting 2013). Second, informative meet-ings about healthy eating are planned andfunded by the Health Department, workingwith schools, to prevent obesity and toothdecay (starting 2013), in connection withother international projects such as HealthyCities.

3 Housing. Facilitate inter-institutionalcooperation to improve housing

opportunities for Roma people; promotelawful housing solutions to answer Romafamilies’ specific needs; enhance housingmediation; reinforce information on financialsupport and housing solutions managed bypublic institutions. Actions here include:providing mediators in social tenements toprevent conflicts and facilitate communica-tion; promoting legal self-management ofRoma settlements and enhancing institu-tional and public-private networks.

4 Work, encouraging access to bettertraining, employment and entrepre-

neurship. Also to develop ways to regulariseunlawful or provisional work, and accompanyyoung Roma starting work. Actions includepromoting joint projects with training insti-tutes, enterprises and cooperatives (regionaland private funds). Administrative expertswill accompany Roma in experimentalprojects of enterprise creation and self-management. Municipal and regional fundswill be allocated to implementing educationalsupport for Roma youngsters searching forjobs and starting work, cooperating with theprivate social sector.

5 Legality, encouraging lawful behav-iour through education and aware-

ness-raising, promoting exchanges betweenRoma and non-Roma people, favouring anti-discrimination measures. Crime-preventionprojects will be supported, especially thoseimproving links with jobs or training. Educationin citizenship and legality will continue withschools.

6 Professional training, improvingpublic and private social workers’

understanding of Roma issues, supplyingsocial and anthropological data on Roma,good practice from other professionals, andtools and methodologies in education, health,housing and work. A training course “Socialwork with Roma people” for public andprivate professionals, will be co-financed by

the municipality, with EUR 3 504 from theEuropean Social Fund, Regional OperativeProgramme “Continuous training for socio-sanitary professionals”, 2012.

Prospects

Udine found the URBACT methodology“extremely effective” in building a sustainableframework for its actions to integrate Romapeople.

In his foreword to Udine’s Local Action Plan,Mayor Furio Honsell writes: “Thanks to thisproject, we can claim that all the children ofthe various Roma settlements in Udinereceive compulsory vaccinations, and attendschool; all our Roma citizens who previouslylived in camps and, who have agreed to apply

for social housing, have had the opportunityto settle in public tenements; after-schoolschool support services have been providedin the largest Roma camp, and finally we havestreamlined the programme for providingvocational training and working experiencesfor Roma youths.”

He says ROMA-NeT was “extremely benefi-cial” for all Udine’s Roma citizens, socialworkers and volunteers, who will worktogether with more awareness, motivation,and effectiveness. “I am confident the impactof the project is likely to improve the qualityof life for the whole Udine population. Ofcourse a lot more has to be done to overcomethe prejudices against Roma, that have beenbuilt in decades, but the active citizenshipthat this project has stirred will have longlasting effects across all sectors of oursociety.”

Furio Honsell, Mayor of Udine: “The impact of the URBACT projectROMA-NeT was huge and will continue to be extremely beneficial forthe all the citizens of Udine. ROMA-NeT has made it possible, for thefirst time, to bring together and develop an integrated action to addressthe needs of the most severely disadvantaged members of ourcommunity, the Roma minority.”




Situated on the river Clyde in Western Scotland, Glasgow is a major cultural and touristdestination, known for its shops, museums, Victorian architecture, and thriving musicscene. The city of Glasgow has a diverse, relatively young, population of around 588 000,and is part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation of more than a million inhabitants. In the1960s, the area was marked by large-scale relocation of people to new towns andperipheral suburbs. While Glasgow was historically a centre for heavy industry, famousworldwide for its shipbuilding and marine engineering, today the economy is dominated bythe service sector. Boosted by the International Financial Services District and its status asa major European conference venue, Glasgow is the powerhouse of the Scottish economy.

glasgowunited kingdom

Local Challenges

Glasgow joined ROMA-NeT in 2010 whenthe city was adjusting to an influx of Romathat had started around 2004. The Romawere, and largely still are, concentrated inGlasgow’s south-east neighbourhood ofGovanhill, a traditional area of ‘first settle-ment’ for migrant groups, where around athird of residents are from ethnic minoritybackgrounds. Though numbers are difficult tocalculate, various studies have estimated thataround 2500 to 3000 Romanian andSlovakian Roma lived in Govanhill in 2012.Most of these people are concentrated infour or five streets, often in housing officiallydescribed as “Below Tolerable Standard”.While many statutory and non-governmentalorganisations were working with Roma, theiractions focused mainly on immediate issuesof poverty. Some service provision was alittle disjointed and the smaller organisationslacked funding. There was no official city-wide strategy linking the multitude ofservices dealing with Roma integration.

As the Roma were concentrated in oneneighbourhood, there was a lack of aware-ness at city level of the issues faced by theRoma and related local organisations.Glasgow joined ROMA-NeT recognising aneed for stronger engagement and collabo-ration between service providers and theRoma community. The city was looking forways to improve the Roma population’saccess to health services, housing, employ-ment, vocational training and education.Glasgow wanted to develop “trusted inter-mediaries” in the Roma community, to helpconnect members of the community withexisting services and build new, speciallytailored services where necessary.


“The transnational exchanges added greatvalue to the work of ROMA-NeT in Glasgowand gave the city unprecedented insight intohow partner cities were responding to thechallenges faced by their respective Romapopulations,” explains Glasgow City Council’sMarie McLelland. “The different attitudes,both positive and negative, and differentapproaches, enriched the development ofour own Local Action Plan and enlightenedour development of future policy.”

One such change was sparked by membersof Glasgow’s Local Support Group visitingKosice in the Slovak Republic. Many of the

Roma in Glasgow have travelled from theKosice region and Michalovce district. MarieMcLelland says: “The high levels of povertywitnessed made Glasgow more determinedto improve the standard of living for theRoma here. We have developed vital linkswith this region that will benefit both ourpolicy development and our service provi-sion, especially, given the number of Romawe receive from there.”

Each ROMA-NeT partner city has its specificproblems. For Glasgow, whose Roma popula-tion is not indigenous to the area, language isa particular challenge. “We’ve had to invest alot of money and time into translationservices, which is making an impact on somealready stretched services,” explains MarieMcLelland. “For example, there are over 50languages spoken in the local primary schoolattended by some of the Roma community.”However, Glasgow found many issues to bestrikingly similar across the European part-nership. Engagement and reaching out to theRoma is an issue in almost all ROMA-NeTcities, as is sustaining services in times offinancial crisis.


“While partnerships had existed locally toaddress the overall regeneration of the area,this was the first to specifically look at theRoma community, its challenges, and the

services it was receiving as a community,”says Marie McLelland.

The URBACT Local Support Group set up inGovanhill brought together a group of stake-holders with varying degrees of experienceof working with the Roma community. Whilenot involving Roma directly in discussions,the group ensured that organisations inter-acting with Roma at community level wererepresented. It was a way to address a lack ofengagement with the Roma and the need toempower this community more. Membersinclude several departments of Glasgow CityCouncil; Govanhill Housing Association;community-based activities involving Roma,such as the Govanhill Youth Project, GovanhillLaw Centre and Oxfam; Strathclyde Police,whose work involves building better commu-nity relations; Community Health Partnership;Romano Lav, the area’s first organisation tobe set up by Roma; West of Scotland RegionalEquality Council; and the GlasgowRegeneration Agency, which helps peoplemove into jobs or training.

Despite a slow start, the Local Support Groupsoon grew, tapping into existing networksand constantly communicating with keyorganisations and service providers alreadyworking with the Roma community. MarieMcLelland recalls: “It was an interesting timeto start such a project, and ROMA-NeTbenefited from the build-up of interest inRoma migration that was beginning to mani-fest in the city. It was also vital to ensure thatall participants in the project were fully awareof the benefits of working in this transna-tional manner. As a result the Local Support



Group became an important vehicle forcollaboration of local stakeholders and thedevelopment of the Local Action Plan”.

Designed to complement the EU Frameworkfor National Roma Integration Strategy andthe overall targets of the Europe 2020Strategy, the Local Action Plan was devel-oped through a highly interactive processinvolving a mix of stakeholders. While led bythe local authority, an independent facilitatorwas appointed to ensure all stakeholderscould contribute to the Local Action Plan.

Glasgow’s Local Support Group agreed tocontinue beyond the end of the network,with the city committing officers to facilitatethe process, and ensure resources are avail-able to source funding to implement recom-mendations. People now see the benefits ofworking together and taking a more strategicapproach to funding local activities. The LocalSupport Group will be supported by fourworking groups covering the EuropeanCommission’s four key areas for Roma inte-gration efforts: education, health and socialcare, housing, and employment. They willfollow a set of guiding principles adoptedduring ROMA-NeT: Roma representation isessential; all working groups should identifyand gather data in order to shape services forlocal Roma residents and they should seekinput from Roma service users into the shapeand delivery of services; the Local SupportGroup should seek participation from keyagencies such as Education, Housing benefit,Social Work and the Job centre; the LocalSupport Group should engage Leadershipwithin Glasgow City Council and locallyelected members.

Highlights of the LocalAction Plan“It was important that our Local Action Plancontained actions on both influencing policyand implementing practical solutions,”explains Marie McLelland. The main purposeof Glasgow’s Local Action Plan (LAP) was toprovide a set of recommendations for Romaintegration – such as awareness raising, proj-ects and funding applications – under thethemes of education, health, housing andemployment. Below are some highlights ofrecommendations detailed in Glasgow’s LocalAction Plan, which draws on the city’s trans-national and Local Support Group experi-ences with ROMA-NeT:

education:− Greater support for language and transla-tion services, including an easy-to-accessinterpreting hotline, intensive English

language programmes for new arrivals andthe employment of more bilingual staff;− Increasing nursery school provision withinitiatives targeted at improving schoolattendance and retention at both primary andsecondary school;− Increasing the provision of more commu-nity-based education for both children andadults as well as community activities, forexample, arts, music and sports.

employment:− Greater provision of interpreting servicesfor local organisations providing employmentadvice combined with active English languageclasses for adults;− Encouragement of young people to stay inschool to increase future employmentprospects;− Create a training and employmentprogramme for Roma to work as mediators/intermediaries in the areas of health, socialwork, housing, education, welfare benefitsand employment.

Health and Social care:− Maintain and improve links with healthservices in the Slovak Republic, Romania, andthe Czech Republic;− Ensure adequate funding and support tosustain community-based support servicesthat provide day-to-day advice to the Romacommunity.

Housing:− Greater enforcement of private landlordsto improve properties while encouragingwider policy debate on Roma access to goodquality social rented housing;

− More discussion needed on the potentialre-housing and wider integration throughoutthe south of the city to ensure access tobetter quality housing.

How will these recommended actions befunded? Marie McLelland explains: “We areactively looking into funding sources toimplement our action plan, working closelywith the Scottish Government through thetechnical assistance programme to capitaliseon funding opportunities from the 2014-2020 funding period.”

Prospects

Building on experiences and partnershipsdeveloped with ROMA-NeT, Glasgow joinedthe transnational Roma Matrix project led byLeeds City Council (see ROMA-NeT projectMain Results). Glasgow City Council havealso received approval for a new EUROCITIESinitiative on social services with the SlovakRepublic, Romania and Northern Ireland,while the EUROCITIES Roma Inclusion TaskForce carried out a peer review on Romaemployability projects in Glasgow in June2013. The city is also awaiting news on alifelong learning bid led by ROMA-NeTpartner Almeria.

Glasgow successfully secured technicalassistance to map the Roma population andprovision of Roma services across Scotland,a project now underway. The plan is to deliverthe findings to the Scottish Government in

this photo is a result of West of Scotland regional equality council project calledembrace (empowering roma communities).Denisa, (16) Shawlands academy, Glasgow


Keith Moore Milne, Team Leader, Roma Children and FamiliesTeam in Glasgow’s Social Work Services, and LSG Member: “Wewould never have made our connections with Arad and EUROCITIESwithout ROMA-NeT. Also connections with Rotherham (I visited thereand got some great ideas) came out of ROMA-Net. ROMA-NeT has anextremely powerful influence on agencies and NGOs in Glasgow andhas definitely influenced thinking and policy in social work, education,health and housing.”

August 2013 with a view to aiding theirdevelopment of Scotland’s OperationalProgramme for the next round of EuropeanStructural Funds.

All these initiatives are a direct result ofGlasgow’s involvement in ROMA-NeT.



©Po

riC

ity

Plan

ning

Dep

artm

ent


SureSocio-economic methods of urban regenerationin deprived urban areas


lead partnerEger (Hungary)


The URBACT project SURE helps small and medium sized towns buildstrategies for the social, economic and physical regeneration of theirdeprived central neighbourhoods. Smaller municipalities can lack the

expertise and resources to tackle the complex web of issues that cause urbanareas to decline. SURE’s partnership of small and medium sized cities foundmuch of the ‘good practice’ available on integrated regeneration to be basedon the experiences of large cities, despite European Commission’s calculationsthat 56% of Europe’s urban population lives in small and medium sized cities(Cities of Tomorrow, 2011). In response, for three years the partner citiesexchanged experiences and investigated ways for smaller municipalities todevelop integrated socio-economic regeneration strategies that build on localstrengths and opportunities to answer local needs. Core themes includedtourism, enterprise, physical improvements and community.


SureSocio-Economic Methods of Urban Regeneration in Deprived Urban Areas

Five topics provided the focus of analysis,learning and exchange during the SUREproject.

1 Strategy DevelopmentAnalysing a target area’s challenges and

opportunities, assessing resources available,identifying and choosing options. SUREapproached this topic both from a high levelstrategic perspective, on the development ofa town within a European context (study visitto Larnaca); and from a local perspective, ondeveloping a strategy to improve the physicalfabric of the town centre and its links to thelocal tourism industry (study visit toGheorgheni).

2 Social enterpriseAs government budgets are squeezed,

SURE explored social enterprise contributionsto socio-economic regeneration, focusing ona well-established social enterprise networkin Albacete. There, Cáritas Albacete organisa-tion runs shops selling recycled or donatedgoods, creating volunteering and paid work.One such shop was relocated to the SUREtarget area.

3 PlacemakingUnlike institutionalised, top-down

development of urban spaces, placemakingis an ongoing process in which local commu-nities express their desires and aspirationsthen participate in their realisation. Manypublic agencies struggle to invest in suchcommunity engagement and high qualityurban spaces. A SURE study visit saw howplacemaking worked in Louvain-la-Neuve’sWallons Square, with its complex mix of inter-ests. While the area’s institutional stake-holders had participated in SURE’s strategyprocess, private property owners stayedaway. However, placemaking soon changedthis, and the previously chairman of theprivate landlords associations approachedthe Local Support Group to discuss how heand other investors could get involved in thearea’s regeneration.

4 Social InclusionThe inclusion of Roma communities

presented a particular challenge for a numberof SURE partner cities, who confirmed awidespread difficulty in turning Europeanpolicy intentions into actions that really

benefit excluded communities. This wasexplored in a study visit to Komotini.

5 community DevelopmentHow should neighbourhoods and their

inhabitants be ‘regenerated’? One widelyaccepted approach is to build deprivedcommunities’ capacities so they can helpthemselves. But according to SURE this oftenaccentuates differences in values, norms andexpectations, encouraging fragmentationand isolation. SURE explored communitydevelopment as a way to enable local peopleto accept differences and to benefit fromthem (study visit to Dún Laoghaire).

SURE ParticipatoryPlanning ToolkitSURE’s partner cities put their experiencesinto an easy-to-use toolkit that helps smalland medium sized cities understand andadopt the methodology of participatoryplanning. It encourages local governments,communities and local stakeholders to coop-erate on urban development issues.

SURE describes the Participatory StrategicPlanning process as “a consensus-buildingapproach that helps a community to jointogether in explaining how they would liketheir community or organisation to developover the next few years”. The approachrequires constant communication, so thatplanning, implementation and feedback aremerged into a single process.

Designed as a catalogue to support the workof cities and Local Support Groups in ensuringextensive participation in Local ActionPlanning, the SURE Toolkit includes tips, toolsand practices identified by partner cities inthree key phases of the Participatory PlanningProcess: “Community Engagement”;“Strategy and Programme Development”;and “Developing and Disseminating LocalAction Plans”.

The Guide warns that before choosing a toolit is crucial to analyse the target area’s localenvironment, relations and processes. Toolsmust be adapted to local contexts using

creative approaches. “While these toolsmight seem like simple things to do, they arewell developed and structured techniques. Inwell adopting the techniques success can beachieved easily, and members begin to coop-erate, share ideas that can be visible for allwithin a short period of time,” states theSURE Toolkit.

The Toolkit also features an evaluation systemfor categorising participative tools. Usingthis, SURE’s partner cities analysed a widerange of tools for each step of the planningprocess, and set out six basic “recommended”participative tools to be used by LocalSupport Groups and cities:1. Organise a minimum of 10 forums for

Local Support Groups during the life of theproject;

2. Organise an award competition to gatherideas from youth about the target areas;

3. Send out regular newsletters for localstakeholders to promote and disseminateresults of the programme and upcomingevents;

4. Inform the public and gather feedback andideas through press conferences;

5. Organise a local dissemination event topublish outcomes and Local Action Plans,feedback, and network development;

6. Hold a transnational study visit in eachpartner city, encourage internationalknowledge sharing.

SURE Modelof Integrated StrategyDevelopmentSURE’s partner cities built a model of inte-grated strategy development covering threestages of strategic planning – analysis, devel-opment and implementation – as well asthree key tasks, all involving Local SupportGroups:1. Research and ideas generation;2. Consultation and benchmarking (Local

Support Group members compare aninitiative in another city against their ownneeds and capabilities; SURE’s exchangevisits enabled this, but local residentsrarely benefit in this way from


regeneration resources available tomunicipalities);

3. Examining and prioritising options (oftenthis decision-making stage is led bymunicipalities, but a Local Support Group/Local Action Plan focus can involve localcommunities more closely).

The SURE model represents strategy stagesand tasks as ‘building blocks’ of the strategyprocess. While these blocks vary in the timeand effort they require from the LocalSupport Group, high level inputs on some “A”blocks might support decision-makingprocesses in blocks “B” or “C”. The principleunderpinning this model is that all the blocksshould be in place before any project isreleased for implementation.

SURE partner cities found their model ofintegrated strategy development can providea number of useful strategy-making aids,including: a checklist for sequencing andassigning strategy development tasks; a toolfor monitoring and evaluating progress; anda framework for exploring the complexprocesses of interactions between officials,citizens and institutions.

SURE says its model offers a valuable alterna-tive to project-level case studies. Althoughthe facts and figures in typical case studyinterventions are certainly helpful as eachcity can adapt ideas to local circumstances,SURE found exchanges of practice between

cities tend to miss a higher level conceptualframework that allows citizens and officialsto understand each stage and task of strat-egy-making. SURE says its model might fillthis gap and support cities to learn moreeffectively from each other in future.

Key Policy Messages

The experience of the SURE project supportsthe argument that small and medium sizedcities have distinctive features which shouldbe taken into account when designing policyand funding programmes for urban regenera-tion. Surprised that policy makers have notinvested more heavily in targeted capacitybuilding initiatives for small and medium sizedcities, SURE underlines the importance ofURBACT having such cities among its coreconstituents. The SURE project demonstratesthat this capacity can be quickly developedand the SURE model of integrated strategydevelopment would appear to be well suitedto support such capacity building initiativesin future.

“The SURE project, and many other reportson the renewal of deprived neighbourhoods,suggests community development remains asignificant problem for many municipalities.Local politicians and municipality officerspublicly accept that there is no shortcut toachieving community engagement, but inpractice they struggle to deliver such goals.While residents’ lack of ability to engage incomplex strategy development and imple-mentation is frequently presented as abarrier, the lack of capacity within municipali-ties to work with their communities is rarelymentioned. The time has come for small andmedium sized towns to be open about theirdevelopment needs and demand capacitybuilding support to enhance their ability tothe Sure Model of Integrated Strategy Development

Municipality Officer, Dún Laoghaire: “We find that every study visitimpacts on our work, and the benefits are wide ranging for us. Forexample, our local enterprise board is developing three other Europeanprojects because of how well the SURE project is going. One exampleis the Erasmus programme for young entrepreneurs. This idea wasinitiated by CEEI during our SURE visit in Albacete, and the idea camejust at the right time, with the recession and the need to support ouryoung entrepreneurs. The presentation on placemaking in Louvain-la-Neuve also had a direct impact on us. We decided as a result to hold aninternational conference in our own municipality and we also held a twoday training programme for our senior staff on placemaking and thatnow influences our strategic public spaces project.”

learn more about Sure and download Sure Final publication and partners’local action plans on www.urbact.eu/sure



engage local communities through structuralpolicy instruments.

“We need more research and less evaluationabout the way in which small and mediumsized cities approach strategy developmentand implementation. Evaluations suggest weknow what should happen, yet even this rela-tively small SURE project points to a diversityof possible approaches to strategy develop-ment which defies meaningful evaluativeassessment. We need to learn more aboutthe processes that lead to desired outcomes.Here we could build on the approach taken bythe SURE project in designing and learningfrom study visits. These are importantmessages for policy makers, particularly inthe light of the strong CLLD focus containedwithin the new Structural Fund plans.”

ProspectsIn most cases the strategy developmentprocess initiated through the SURE projectwill continue to lead to tangible, integrated

regeneration interventions. These processeswill be embedded in municipality-led stra-tegic planning frameworks, such as in Pori orEger. Elsewhere, partnership-based organ-isations will continue to work on specificproject ideas, such as the European Businessand Innovation Centre (CEEI) in Albacete, theGestion Centre Ville in Louvain-la-Neuve or

the Target project in Dun Laoghaire. TheSURE project has broadened the perspec-tives of many participants, particularly inrecognising that socio-economic regenera-tion goals can only be achieved throughmulti-agency partnerships and genuine inte-gration of citizens’ interests in the strategyprocess.


Pori (population 83000) is Finland’s eleventh largest city, and home to one of the largestcommercial bulk ports in the country. The city centre, on the banks of the KokemäenjokiRiver, is about 20 km from the coast of the Bothnian Sea. Following a severe recession inthe 1980s, significant changes provoked a varied economic structure that has enabledPori to fare reasonably well during Europe’s economic crisis compared with similarly sizedcities. Since 2003, a renovated former cotton factory has provided space for the UniversityConsortium of Pori and dozens of entrepreneurs in media and communications, and otherservice industries. The Pori National Urban Park was established in 2002, helping gainpublicity and support for the natural and cultural landscape of the Kokemäenjoki RiverDelta and nearby urban areas.

poriFinland



Local Challenges

Pori’s work in the SURE project focused ondrafting a long-term development vision forthe city’s old industrial district of Karjaranta.Unlike the target areas of Pori’s partner cities,Karjaranta showed no visible signs of socialexclusion or physical, environmental deterio-ration. Instead, the interesting aspect herewas the area’s strategic role in the city’sfuture development. The goal is for Karjarantato evolve into an integrated residential citydistrict, in line with Pori City Master Plan2025 (published in 2007) and Pori CityStrategy 2016 (published in 2010).

Pori needed to define a coherent vision forKarjaranta, involving multifaceted coopera-tion between stakeholders. Local challengesincluded: reducing traffic and the barriereffect of Karjaranta’s main street; attractinga diverse population with young families;improving local services; harmonising indus-trial and residential areas reinforcing thesense of community; and addressing resi-dents’ demands for car-parking. Pori neededto create diverse new housing as mostaccommodation is currently in high-riseapartment blocks; develop new uses forvacant buildings; and phase multiple ongoingdetailed city plans into the district’s long-term development. All this, while capitalisingon the district’s positive aspects, not least itsindustrial history, relatively high variety ofenterprises, and proximity to the city centre,riverside and islets.


Pori saw a huge variety of approaches togovernance and urban policies during SURE’swork on integrated regeneration. DanielNagy, City Planning Architect for Pori, recalls:“Examples seen in partner cities demon-strated the beneficial results of cross-secto-rial cooperation and the contribution ofcreative ideas and voluntary activity. Studyvisits gave us better understanding of thechallenges we face in our own target area.The transnational learning we experienced inthe SURE process was exciting and can hope-fully go on in the future.”

Contributing to SURE’s Participatory PlanningToolkit, which was developed by externalexpert Anna Demeter with help from thepartner cities, was particularly productive forPori, who harvested a range of useful ideasto apply at home. As a result of the Irish part-ner’s 2011 presentation of its work on the

temporary use of vacant premises, Poriinvestigated the Dún Laoghaire example. Itthen organised – with help from volunteers– its own “Pop-Up Photo Exhibition” in along-empty office that has since been putback into use. Photos of Karjaranta weretaken by Media and Communication studentsof Satakunta University of Applied Sciences(SAMK). During the exhibition, a question-naire investigated attitudes towards thepremises’ future use. Pori also used citizenengagement practices from Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve. Daniel Nagy acknowl-edges the external expert: “Thanks to Anna’sexperience, encouragement, and high level ofcommitment to the participatory planningissue, we tried out new methods”.

Both Pori and Larnaca used local history andits documentation to strengthen local iden-tity, with different results in each city.Larnaca planned to establish a folkloremuseum. During a peer-review discussion inPori (2012), Pori’s URBACT Local SupportGroup suggested Larnaca could present localheritage to visitors using guided tours andsigns. As very few architectural elementsremain from Karjaranta’s old industrial period,here they concentrated on stories and otherimmaterial heritage with a “Memory Park andStory Path” (details below).


Pori’s Daniel Nagy describes URBACT’s LocalSupport Group (LSG) process as “a veryfruitful experience of how to establish anopen, interactive platform, where conven-tional officer-citizen relationships and polit-ical power relations did not play a dominant

role”. He added, “Of course, participatoryengagement is not unknown for us, butapproaching the planning task by integratingthe points of view of numerous local actorsand municipal offices is something completelynew.”

The group included people from KarjarantaHome Owners’ Association, assisted livingfacilities, and the Pori Blue RibbonRehabilitation Centre for former drug-addicts. Representatives of universities, suchas SAMK, contributed with a wealth ofstudies and research. On business develop-ment issues, Pori Entrepreneurs Association,Prizztech Ltd, and two entrepreneurs in alocal property, Karjapiha 2, were particularlyactive.

The LSG helped Pori focus on user-expertise,understanding that local residents or entre-preneurs know their own environment best.Pori set up user-oriented research with Socialand Health Care students from SAMKUniversity. One study focused on accessibilityassessment in Karjaranta by interviewingresidents. Another SAMK course assessedthe impact of future land-use changes on“vulnerable” user groups.

A particularly important outcome of thegroup’s work is that the LSG helped the PoriYouth Workshop carry out its planned reloca-tion to unused buildings in the privatelyowned former engine sheds in Karjaranta.

In a target area with relatively new housingand little interaction between residents withdiverse lifestyles, Pori’s city authoritiesparticularly appreciated the way the LocalSupport Group helped create a multifacetedview of the city district and anticipate futuretensions.



The Local Action Plan (LAP) addresses stra-tegic aspects of Karjaranta’s evolution fromindustrial to residential, encouraging futureresidential constructions to contribute to anurban environment that is even more resi-dent-friendly, multifunctional and sociallysustainable.

Daniel Nagy explains: “Our main task in theLocal Support Group was to draft a model ofprogress which tried to anticipate futurechanges and opportunities. Highlighting stra-tegic aspects was the result of fruitfuldiscussions with SURE Lead Expert HansSchlappa. During the project we managed toextend our scope of exploration to cover notonly traditional planning issues on physicalenvironment, but also social and economicaspects. The Finnish Land Use and BuildingAct already applies an integrated approach,but concrete tools for achieving larger partic-ipation or more socially and economicallysustainable solutions are not “taken forgranted”. In my view, in this sense, byproviding the SURE Toolkit and applicableexperiences, this URBACT network producedadded-value for our organisation as well.”

Following the URBACT method, the LocalSupport Group summarised its future imageof Karjaranta in two points that would shapethe Local Action Plan:− “A new, unique, unified and lively citydistrict that utilises its different areas, offersa wide range of services and the riversidearea of Kokemäenjoki to be enjoyed by allcitizens.”− “When constructing new buildings anddesigning the environment, the industrialhistory of the area should be brought out byharmonising various business activities andhousing.”

Karjaranta’s LAP covers four areas of plannedactions. The first boosts local businessactivity and diversifies neighbourhoodservices for residents and small enterprises.Here, the idea of a “pilot project for residen-tial construction” on partial industrial waste-land, envisaged for 2015-2020, led to the

preparation of Pori’s successful applica-tion to organise the Finnish Housing Fair in2018.

“Improving traffic connections” and “Makingthe recreational areas more varied” reflect onland-use, landscape and urban structure,including improving infrastructure with a newrailway-side recreational route. Other actionsanticipate and support significant long-termdevelopment investments, such as a newbridge to the islets, indicated in Pori CityMaster Plan 2025. Municipal funding hasbeen secured to research car-parking issueraised by certain residents.

During the SURE project, work started on the“Memory Park and Story Path”, and “MemoryWalks”, promoting Karjaranta’s history tostrengthen local identity, drawing on exper-tise from local universities. Students andteachers of media and communicationstudies at SAMK University produced ane-book exploring visual and emotionalaspects of Karjaranta’s industrial landscape(http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2011062112373). One Turku University masters thesisin Cultural Production and Landscape Studiesfocuses on the local history and collectivememory of Karjaranta.

Actions under “Strengthening the sense ofcommunity” animate the residential area andmake it a more attractive place to live,including diverse activities promoting socialinteraction. Events already organised includeSURE’s version of the Finnish throwing gameMölkky with wooden pins resembling build-ings in the target area (2012). A knittinggraffiti workshop brought locals togetherto embellish outdoor public places withdozens of knitted artworks, led by local

resident Sirkku Laine. The “Knitting Team”now plans further events. As well as rein-forcing the sense of community, these eventshelped citizens initiate informal discussionson local needs and develop new ideas fortackling them.

Prospects

As well as producing a coherent 2012-2015Local Action Plan for Karjaranta district, andstrong partnerships for implementingplanned actions, Pori’s involvement in theURBACT project SURE sparked a range offurther activities and lasting improvementsin participatory planning.

Cooperation with universities remains partic-ularly vibrant. In spring 2013 an AaltoUniversity masters course in Visual Cultureproduced alternative ideas for using urbanspace in Karjaranta. SAMK Media andCommunication students created ahomepage for the district (www.karjaranta.fi) in cooperation with the Karjaranta HomeOwners’ Association, who will maintain thesite.

Certain Local Support Group members aim torun an unofficial volunteers’ team to monitorthe Local Action Plan’s implementation,including the development of a new riversideresidential area.

Having modified its approach to publicdiscussions during the SURE project bycombining participative workshops with thegathering of ideas and feedback, city plan-ning expects to extend these participativemethods to other public forums.

Daniel Nagy, City Planning Architect for Pori: “Pori City Planningconsiders the URBACT Local Support Group model applicable andrelevant in preparing the planning of larger urban areas. What welearned in SURE we will promote, and try to apply in our future work.The fact that now we have a coherent vision of Karjaranta city districtis due to our participation in the SURE network.”



Ottignies-Louvain-La-Neuve (population - 30000), 30 km south-east of Brussels,consists of historic Ottignies and new town Louvain-La-Neuve (LLN). The SURE projectfocused on LLN, built in the 1970s to accommodate part of the Catholic University ofLeuven. The university owns most of the town’s land and property. LLN is predominantlypedestrian, with a car-free centre – popular with shoppers and families – and residentialareas designed to keep traffic impact to a minimum. It also has parklands, lakes, goodtransport links and a wide range of services. Some 8500 students make up LLN’s growingpopulation of 18500. The university, a large science park, and 350 retail outlets togetherprovide over 12000 jobs, many of them filled by people living outside the city. With21000 students, university staff and employees of international companies on the sciencepark, LLN’s community includes 128 nationalities.

ottignies-louvain-la-neuveBelgium


Local Challenges

Louvain-la-Neuve’s (LLN’s) designersfavoured functional and social diversity,walkability, and non-linear urban rhythms.Squares like Wallons Square – the new town’soriginal centre, and target area for this project– was designed to welcome new residentsand students, and combine residential,commercial and cultural roles. As LLN’sconstruction continued through the eighties,residents remained predominantly students.This changed during the 1990s as non-students finally gained the majority. A rela-tively good balance has since been main-tained during the city’s continued growth.

Despite plans for social diversity, differencesbetween neighbourhoods have widened.Single social groups dominate many areas,including central squares. Students tend tostay in older houses, while other residentsoccupy newer areas further from the pedes-trian axis with its strong university tradition.This provokes questions such as: “How tobuild urban citizenship?”; and “How cangroups coexist in certain town spaces, sharingcommon ground in spite of theirdifferences?”

These issues are especially pertinent in theonce bustling Wallons Square, LLN’s core inthe seventies and eighties. The commercialcentre has since shifted, non-students haveleft, and the weekly market has gone. In addi-tion, the area’s buildings, infrastructure andpublic spaces are deteriorating. Most shopsare let, but serve the less lucrative end of themarket, and the high turnover of retailers

makes them reluctant to invest in improvingthe area’s attractiveness.

Jean Christophe Echement of Ottignies-Louvain- la-Neuve’s Town CentreManagement Unit, explains: “The focus onLLN’s expansion meant developers tended tooverlook the fact that certain central areas,constructed at the beginning of the projectwith poor quality buildings, were starting toage, and in certain places had lost their func-tion and needed to be rethought. Analysisand enquiries showed these problems werebecoming more and more obvious to thepopulation. The target area aims to serve asan example of how things could work else-where in our city.”


“We were starting from scratch, so transna-tional exchanges through URBACT enabled usto approach work on Wallons Square fromangles we may not have otherwise used. Bycomparing the scope of problems encoun-tered by SURE project partners, we were ableto tackle our own case with a more “macro”view, and, above all, identify our own internalresources that could be used to solve localproblems,” recalls Jean Christophe. “Throughthe URBACT method – setting up a represen-tative, active URBACT Local Support Group,discovering local participation tools, andvisiting partner cities – we saw a range ofpractices in participatory planning”.

Transnational links also boosted progress athome. He says: “Following predefined workstages over the project’s three years createdan incentive for the Local Support Groups tofollow a planned schedule. Observing theother partners motivated Louvain-la-Neuve’slocal actors to complete each step on time.”

The problems – and solutions – of SURE’spartner cities varied enormously, so LLNcould not easily integrate new practicesdirectly into its own Local Action Plan (LAP)for the Wallons Square area. However, discus-sions with partner cities sparked certaincrucial aspects of the LAP. Jean ChristopheEchement highlights an example: “Where wetended to look at the problem of our ‘targetzone’ in isolation, the partners made theessential point that links must be recreatedwith other parts of the town.” This broadenedreflections to take into account the



university’s project to install the LLN museumin a science library near the Wallons Square,as well as plans for new street signs(2013-14).


An initial working group – a local private-public partnership – was broadened in 2012to form an URBACT Local Support Group(LSG) for Wallons Square. Open to all, the LSGmobilised the neighbourhood association,students, co-owners and property manage-ment agents, the Mayor and universityservices, who met every few months todefine the project’s strategic and operationalguidelines.

As a sign of the complexity of interestsinvolved, the square has almost as manyprivate landlords as houses. Jean Christophesays: “The URBACT LSG process enabled usto bring local actors into discussions togetherfor the first time to find solutions for WallonsSquare. The city authorities often handle thissort of renovation project, but private prop-erty owners rarely wish to engage with publicservices. The idea here that renovation wouldnot be an imposed project, but one built byall, was greatly appreciated in a town whoseinhabitants are fond of participatoryprocesses. Their enthusiasm enabled ourmeetings to gather isolated local people whowere initially persuaded their views would gounheard.”

For Louvain-la-Neuve the way this projectwas developed by the beneficiaries them-selves, bringing a sense of belonging andinvolvement for stakeholders of all sizes, wasmain added value of the LSG.


Current efforts to improve Wallons Squarewere sparked in 2010 when a surveyconfirmed the town centre’s strong commer-cial growth was not reaching the area. TheCity Council was convinced new actionscould be taken to restore a feeling of identityand centrality to Wallons Square.

Through the URBACT project SURE, Louvain-la-Neuve galvanised Wallons Square’s diver-gent interests into defining a clear vision oftheir area’s future function, and set out a jointLocal Action Plan (LAP).

Three key aspects were analysed during theLAP’s preparation.

1 use of space

Photos and videos showed people walkingalong one side of the square, leaving the restempty. People questioned by Ottignies-Louvain- la-Neuve’s Town CentreManagement Unit found the square dirty,shabby and monotonous, but appreciated itssize and central location, and believed it couldbe made more attractive.

2 “Student territory or urbanneighbourhood”?

Types of people in and around Wallons Squarechanged through day and night, revealingpotential sources of conflict such as noisefrom students. Views were gathered on thesquare’s future use.

3 “High-cost poor quality habitat?”

Aging infrastructure and problems with cold,noise and damp were found in the predomi-nantly student-occupied houses adjacent tothe square, despite high rents.

the LaP’s main aim was to define acoherent joint vision for the square andits users. It also covers the following actions:

1 renovate the urban fabric. Ratherthan making major renovations, the

LAP envisages improving Wallons Square’s

visibility and transforming its appearance sopeople want to “come and see”. Graffitiartists painted a wall of the square when LLNhosted the internationally renownedKosmopolite Art Tour festival (2012, CityCouncil funding and sponsors). A green wallis planned for 2013. Most modificationsfavour using the square to relax and socialise,so tables and chairs, games and newspaperswere put out (2013). Local landlords andtenants pledged to clean up their buildings– rooves have been repaired. Other actionsencourage new business investment, throughINESU, the limited company with a socialpurpose responsible for much of LLN’s urbandevelopment. Plans for 2015 includeimproving vehicle access, and renovating thesquare (city and regional funding).

2 renew the site’s image: events suchas music, games, expositions, organ-

ised by the Local Support Group.

3 regular monitoring by local actors,of new opportunities to maintain the

site’s attractiveness and evaluate actions asthey unfold.

4 Strategically develop and positiona “brand” for Wallons Square

(2013-14).

The LAP’s implementation will require newfunding. Jean Christophe Echement says:“We’re now trying to set out a plan of themost pertinent concrete actions taking intoaccount the SURE project’s results. A bigdifficulty is the absence of resources directlyavailable for making planned changes. We’vesecured some funding from our Town CentreManagement Unit to mark the area’s renewalsoon with an unexpected event, the plantingof mature trees, which will be publicisedthrough the media.”

Prospects

Work on reviving Wallons Square will continuewith a local group using the approach gener-ated through URBACT. Drawing on theexchange of ideas and good practices madepossible through SURE, Louvain-la-Neuveaims to make real local improvements, andcommunicate their results to other cities.

An URBACT Local Support Group member was surprised whenthe Chairman of the Association of Private Landlords phoned toask how he and other property owners could take part in theregeneration of the Wallons Square: “He said ‘I spoke to our membersand we decided we must start investing in the square…’. I had to pinchmyself, I thought I was dreaming. This phone call changed everything.”


tOGetHerterritories of co-responsibility

OVERVIEWproject durationNovember 2009 - January 2013

lead partnerMulhouse (France)


With Europe in economic crisis, unemployment and social exclusion areincreasinglycommon.EightcitiessetuptheURBACTprojectTOGETHERunder the conviction that such problems can only be tackled properly by

public authorities, citizens and economic stakeholders working better together,in an approach known as active citizenship, or “co-responsibility”. Sharing aresolve to reduce the distance between government and citizens, TOGETHER’spartnership of municipalities looked at how to improve social inclusion andwell-being through actions that involve people at grass-roots level – whetheras parents, service users, patients, tenants, residents or passengers. Drawingon the Council of Europe’s extensive work on co-responsibility, including thedraft European Charter for Shared Social Responsibilities (2011), TOGETHER’spartners investigated new ways for building productive relationships betweencouncils, civic associations and citizens, and – by analysing their variousexperiences – contributed to the development of new ideas in co-responsibility.


tOGetHerTerritories of Co-responsibility

Co-responsibility:An Open Method ofEngaging with CitizensThe URBACT project TOGETHER applied aparticularly open approach to helping citizensspeak for themselves and identify actions tobe taken in each city.

The process involved each of the URBACTLocal Support Groups organising a series oflocal focus groups throughout their munici-palities, 147 in total across the eight partnercities. All participants were asked three open-ended questions: “What do you understandby well-being?”, “What do you understand byill-being?” and “What do you do, and can youdo, as a citizen to ensure your own well-beingand the well-being of all?” Each answer wascoded in an indicator database developedover recent years by The Council of Europeto reflect the enormous range of responsesto questions on well-being and ill-being. TheTOGETHER project’s Lead Partner says thepartner cities “tested a consultative computertool for citizen engagement which, if simpli-fied, could be used widely by public authori-ties across Europe.”

To tackle the issues arising from focus groupdiscussions, pilot actions were then set up ineach city, starting in late 2011. They variedenormously in scope, but all involved new,active relationships between the munici-pality, civic associations and citizens. Oneexample is a Social Pharmacy set up in Kavalain 2012, prompted by the economic crisis.More than 150 volunteers help collectunused medicines from people’s homes,manage the shop and provide administrativesupport. The Council arranged for the use ofvacant premises in a shopping market.Doctors and pharmacists check the medi-cines, organise their storage, and give advice.The project has attracted interest from otherGreek cities. Another pilot project is theChildren’s Parliament in Braine l’Alleud, wherelocal school children make proposals onhealth, respect and solidarity, culture andleisure and environment. And in Botkyrka,council staff, police and local groups set upnight patrols (see “Zoom on Botkyrka”).

Inga Jekabsone from TOGETHER partner citySalaspils says: “The methodology has helpedthe Municipality to unite its community. Forthe first time people from different socialgroups came together to discuss differenttopical issues.”

TOGETHER’s partners found that the widerange of responses was not easy to code andcompute, precisely because their approachdid not pigeon-hole people and their answers.However, they state: “When utilised withgood policy discussion, the material from thefocus groups provides a rich seam of materialwhich can deepen the understanding of therange of issues, which are of concern to allsections of the local community. In particular,the focus groups show that people’s concernsare not just restricted to the bread and butterissues – work, health, housing and education.A whole range of ‘softer’ or ‘wicked’ issuesemerge – such as discrimination, loneliness,isolation, bureaucracy, police behaviour,personal relations, stress, self-esteem,exclusion, community and solidarity. Thisbroadens the traditional political and culturalagenda and requires new political skills andapproaches from local authorities.”

TOGETHER concludes: “For councils andpublic bodies across Europe who are keen to

listen more closely and engage more effec-tively with their citizens, here is a methodthat they could valuably use. They will needto fit the method to their circumstances. Butthere is no doubt that this approach can helppublicbodieswhoarecommittedtoextendingcitizens’ participation.”

A Seven Point Scale ofCitizen EngagementA number of the partners in TOGETHER hadalready experimented with approaches totesting citizen engagement. Building on this,and in light of other researchers’ work in thefield of citizen engagement, the seven pointscale developed under the TOGETHER projectgrouped various aspects of citizen engage-ment and suggested a ladder of attainment.During the project, each partner city usedthis new scale to identify the type and extentof participation in its pilot projects, as well asthe character of its Local Support Group, andthe wider ambition of its municipality.

TOGETHER presents the scale as an instru-ment that could enables citizens, non-governmental organisations and councilsacross Europe to measure the extent ofcitizen engagement on a project, programmeor strategic plan in their city.

1 Minimal engagement

The Municipality consults citizens orvoluntary organisations on a few topics or inan occasional survey, but appears to takelittle notice of the results. This is pejorativelyknown as tokenism.

2 Formal partnershipA formal relationship with a number of

organisations outside of the municipality isestablished. These partners sit around thetable but the local authority or the govern-ment agency chairs the meeting and takes allthe key decisions.

3 an engaged partnershipHas the feel of a much more equal

arrangement with the partners/voluntaryorganisations having some real influence onagenda and decision-making. However,

learn more about togetHer and download togetHer Final publication andpartners’ local action plans on www.urbact.eu/together


ultimately the Municipality retains the deci-sive influence.

4 co-governance

The strategic planning of a service or aproject or a programme. Actors from differentorganisations and sectors determine sharedpolicy priorities and may translate these intostrategic plans.

5 co-management

Different organisations work alongside eachother to coordinate the delivery of a serviceor project. Actors from different sectors andorganisations use their respective resourcesto contribute directly in practical ways to thedelivery of a specific project or service.

6 co-production

Citizens produce, at least in part, the servicesthey use themselves.

7 co-responsibility

The elements outlined in points 4-6 arecombined across a whole sector, for example,within the education system in a city, or itseconomic regeneration. The ultimate goalwould be to achieve this across an entireterritory, in other words, across all theservices within a neighbourhood or district.

Prospects

A range of small-scale, imaginative pilotactions have been generated across thepartner cities. Each Local Action Plan includesa variety of initiatives using co-responsibilitymethods, some with specific funding or staffresources. Partners have indicated importantshifts in service practice and process; movestowards greater citizen and civic engage-ment; and certain areas of the municipality’swork where new practices would beembedded.

However, by mid-2013, none of the LocalAction Plans had been able to chart aconvincing strategy for embedding new

approaches to co-responsibility within majorareas of their service, or territorial provisionin the immediate future. TOGETHERconcludes that the biggest obstacle remainshow to bridge the gap between runninglimited pilot actions and embedding theapproach in the mainstream, even for citieslike the Lead Partner Mulhouse that haverelatively strong histories of encouragingco-responsibility. Financial crisis and austeritymakes this challenge all the more daunting.

In terms of an ongoing international engage-ment, two of the partner cities, Brainel’Alleud and Kavala, have agreed to work witha third city, Lisbon, on sustaining theTerritories of Co-responsibility Network forthe period 2013-2015, together with theCouncil of Europe.

URBACT Lead Expert Jon Bloomfield: “The URBACT TOGETHERproject has focused on new ways by which public authorities can engagewith ordinary people and citizens. At its root lies a simple principle: it isbetter to involve and engage with people in the development of theirtown or city rather than just inform them once decisions have beenmade. This is a concept of active citizenship, or as it is termed in theproject, co-responsibility.”



Salaspils is in central Latvia, 18 km from the centre of the capital Riga. This proximity toRiga is attracting more and more young families – Salaspils’ population of 22500 isgrowing. The town is surrounded by forests, agricultural land, villages and farmsteads.Situated on the river Daugava, Salaspils includes the island of Dole, and nearly 16% of itsterritory is occupied by a water reservoir serving Riga Hydroelectric Station. Salaspils hasbeen hit hard by the economic crisis, and municipal budgets are severely squeezed. Whenthe social budget was doubled between 2008 and 2009, resulting reductions in otherexpenditures included a 15% cut in municipal salaries.

salaspilslatvia


Local Challenges

Salaspils’ main challenges are linked to theeconomic crisis and reductions in publicfinancial support. Some crucial programmeshave been delayed, such as the constructionof a new high school. Social housing is indemand, with only 200 houses available for486low-incomefamilies,buttheMunicipalitycannot afford to construct any more. The cityalso needs to reduce heating costs, andimprove links with its Russian community.

On joining the URBACT project “TOGETHER- for Territories of Co-responsibility”,Salaspils was facing low levels of local patrio-tism, as residents turned to nearby Riga forwork, schools, services and leisure activities.There was insufficient dialogue between theMunicipality, local groups and citizens, ahangover from the Soviet era, and people hadlittle faith in the administration. NGOs wererelatively weak, and citizens rarely set uptheir own local initiatives.

Through the TOGETHER project, Salaspilsengaged in an approach that would promotesocial inclusion and well-being for all,involving the whole population, especiallythose risking social exclusion such as theunemployed, poor families, the elderly, largefamilies and single mothers. In this way, thepeople of Salaspils would look for solutions tolocal problems.


Reflecting on URBACT’s transnationalnetworking, Inga Jēkabsone, ProjectManager of Salaspils Municipality Council,says: “It was a great experience exchange,especially with cities where co-responsibilityapproach has been used for years and wherecivil society is very strong, with great capacityof local community and NGOs. Especially thiswas a great experience for our URBACT LocalSupport Group members who went to alltransnational project meetings; they returnedmore confident and active.”

Participating in the TOGETHER project helpedSalaspils discover interesting new approachesfor encouraging co-responsibility. IngaJēkabsone explains: “There were manyconceptual and practical ideas, like involvingcitizens in the budget planning of theMunicipality, improving communicationchannels with citizens using social media –Facebook, Twitter, a non-official webpage, aninteractive map, etc. – and organising

different events. We included all these activi-ties in our Local Action Plan.”

Here is an example of transnational exchangein action: Braine-l’Alleud created a “Baby-Council” in the Municipality that meets regu-larly with the “Adult Council” to discuss localissues and develop projects. Salaspils inves-tigated this idea, and then set up their ownYouth Council. The result, says IngaJēkabsone, is “a very strong NGO for young-sters, full of initiatives. Practically no event inSalaspils has been organised without thoseyoungsters.”

Also, having seen how Pergine Valsugana hadorganised a successful youth centre in anabandoned building, Salaspils believe theytoo could breathe life back into a neglectedbuilding in a similar way.


In Salaspils, the URBACT Local Support Group(LSG) process boosted the involvement ofsocial groups previously “invisible” to the restof the Municipality, such as young people,scientists, young families, and people in ruralareas. For the first time, different groupscame together to discuss topical issues in theMunicipality.

The LSG involved council representatives anda wide range of associations. Initially, all majorcivic associations in Salaspils were invited.University of Latvia specialists then identifiedmissing sections, such as youth groups, whowere also invited to participate. This produceda broad Local Support Group representing theyoung and old, three churches, two associa-tions for people with disabilities, a number ofmajor institutes and a family association.

Providing a platform for improved relation-ships with citizens and civic associations, themain added-value of the LSG was a new,more open outlook from the Salaspils admin-istration. Inga Jēkabsone explains: “Municipalemployees realised they should take intoaccount society: it’s like in a business, citizensare your clients, so you should communicatewith them to satisfy their needs. There can’tbe any gap between citizens and munici-pality.” A youth specialist has been recruited,and staff are being trained in communicationskills.

Perceptions have changed among Salaspils’inhabitants too, thanks to local governmentparticipation in the URBACT Local SupportGroup and the 25 focus groups set up by LSGmembers across the Municipality. “Citizensare realising that employees of Municipality

are not so bad, they are working hard and tryto help people,” says Inga Jēkabsone.

As TOGETHER’s European partners remarkedafter meeting the Salaspils LSG in 2011, theproject has enabled “for the first time in asystematic way, the Municipality and its poli-ticians…to enter into dialogue with a widergroup of citizens outside of election times.”

The URBACT Local Support Group’s structureremains, holding regular meetings to discusscitizens’ everyday issues, as well as sportstournaments, city events and bigger planssuch as a new Science Centre and school.


The main actions of the Salaspils Local ActionPlan (LAP) are to improve communicationchannels with society and organise a varietyof events with citizens. In addition, theTOGETHER project helped the 25 spin-offfocus groups plan actions for solving theirown problems, launching new developmentsacross the Municipality.

The URBACT Local Support Group set up aseries of pilot actions to answer key concernsraised by 25 focus groups in the TOGETHERproject’s first phase. The LSG, as well asSalaspils’ partner cities, then monitored theimplementation of these actions, contrib-uting ideas. On its “scale of citizen engage-ment”, the TOGETHER project definedSalaspils’ actions as “engaged partnership”,with some “elements of co-production”. Hereare some highlights:

1 coordination centre for NGOs.Focus groups revealed a lack of local

meeting places for community groups andvoluntary organisations. In response, aworking group – involving associations forRussians, and retired people, a school formothers and babies and Salaspils Council–defined a plan for transforming an existingsocial centre (2011). The Council allocated abudget for renovation in January 2012.Renovation was finished a month later, andregular NGO meetings have taken place eversince. Future plans include organising acreative programme for NGOs.

2 Local newspaper. To improve infor-mation exchange, transparency and

communication between citizens and institu-tions. Focus groups said the Council news-paper was too formal and dry, and suggestedfeaturing more news stories, material fromthe NGO sector, room for small advertise-ments and greetings, and improving distribu-tion to rural areas. In response, the Council



increased the paper’s size, and circulationfrom 10,000 to 15,000 (2012). Future plansinclude encouraging more NGOs to submitnews; and appointing a journalist to improvethe publication’s attractiveness.

3 cooperation between science andeducation. The scientific and environ-

mental work of Salaspils’ five national scien-tific institutions is largely unknown within thecity. To change this and promote Salaspils asa science city, a working group was set up.Members included science institutes, studentcouncils, various civic groups, an associationof entrepreneurs, artists, science communi-cators, entertainers and the Council ofSalaspils. Together, these people organised anannual event – Science Week – with Councilfunding (April 2012 and 2013). The LocalAction Plan includes making Science Week aSalaspils tradition.

4 annual city festival. Designed tobring the Salaspils community

together (May 2012, June 2013, andbeyond). A broad range of organisationsprepared the 2012 event with SalaspilsCouncil – including the Dole Island InitiativeCitizens’ Group, a Russian Song Ensemble,an a Association for Large Families, theLutheran Church, Salaspils Board of RetiredPeople, and a Sports Club.

5 International Day for DisabledPeople (2011). Social services, the

Student Council, the Roman Catholic Church,and groups involving Russians, large families,and children and young people with disabili-ties, organised events with Salaspils Councilto improve dialogue, respect for others,engagement in civic life, collective organisa-tion and social inclusion.

Prospects

Taking part in URBACT has sparked numerouschanges in Salaspils. Improved communica-tion with the science community is just one,fully supported by Salaspils Council. ItsDevelopment Programme 2012-2018includes strengthening the “Salaspils –Science City” concept as a medium and long-term priority. The relevant work group helpedapply for financing for further research intocooperation between science, education andentrepreneurship.

Overall, the project has prepared a basis forimproving communications between societyand Salaspils’ Municipality, making way formore social, co-responsible government.Building on this, the city plans to join other EUprojects to strengthen the co-responsibilityapproach and citizens’ engagement, and isapplying for funding from the Nordic-BalticMobility Programme for Public Administrationtogether with Swedish partner city Botkyrka.

Raimonds Cudars, Mayor of Salaspils, said during a City Councilmeeting: “If URBACT people (members of LSG) are saying this, thenthis is serious and we should take it into account.”


botkyrkaSweden

Botkyrka (population 87 000) is the fifth largest municipality in the Greater StockholmRegion, and one of Sweden’s most international municipalities. Botkyrka includes morethan 160 nationalities, with many recent immigrants from Syria and Iraq. It is a youngmunicipality, both in terms of population, whose average age is 37, and its urban fabric.Botkyrka grew rapidly as part of Sweden’s “One Million Houses Programme” in the 1960sand early 70s, turning quiet countryside into the agglomerates of densely populatedsuburbs we see today, which are connected to Stockholm’s city centre by undergroundandcommutertrains.Themunicipality is inconstantsocial change,partlydueto internationalmigration, and partly due to its peripheral position within a growing metropolitan area.

©A

ndrz

ejM

arki

ewic

z



Local Challenges

Sweden’s local municipalities are relativelyindependent from central government, andhave relatively strong links with their citizens.Botkyrka is one of Sweden’s most progressivemunicipalities in conducting and developingparticipatory methods for democraticinvolvement of citizens.

Meanwhile, there is a growing consensus thatthe state might not be able to continueanswering citizens’ needs, such as care forchildren or the elderly. In light of the economicrecession and this weakening welfare state,more attention is turning to the co-respon-sibility approach.

When Botkyrka was invited to join theURBACT project TOGETHER, it welcomed theopportunity to gain insight from cities inother countries, and encouraged opendiscussions on needs and values locally. Astheir final report says, “If people are able tovoice their ideas and negotiate a commongood, this probably paves the way for asustainable balancing of equality anddiversity.”

For its work in the TOGETHER project,Botkyrka focused on Alby (population12000). This is the district in Botkyrka withthe highest percentage of inhabitants wishingto leave (in 2009 one in three inhabitants,compared with a municipal average of 20 percent). Alby is socially unstable, as manypeople have just arrived, or are planning tomove out. Insecurity is one of the neighbour-hood’s toughest issues, with 2009-2010figures showing increasing violence. Sincethen the situation has improved and Alby has

also seen substantial social mobilizationamong residents over the last few years.

Alby’s key problem of segregation has beentargeted by various national schemes, inparticular the “Urban initiative” (1999-2005). But over the years, the municipalityhas learnt that dealing with complex prob-lems demands long-term mainstreamingstrategies that involve the whole infrastruc-ture of the municipality. Still, not all issues canbe tackled on the local level alone.


TOGETHER’s partnership of European citiesbrought Botkyrka into contact with a richvariety of citizen involvement experiences,

past and present. “We gained insight into howlocal problems were tackled in other coun-tries,” says Ingrid Ramberg, from theMulticultural Centre, which representedBotkyrka in the TOGETHER project. “It wasinteresting to see political solutions in Latviaor the economic solutions in Greece andPortugal.”

For Botkyrka, another interesting feature ofTOGETHER was the involvement and supportof the Council of Europe, with their philos-ophy that the active participation of all citi-zens is necessary to evaluate a situation andchoose actions that can help improve well-being for all, and their development of criteriaand indicators. The Council of Europe meth-odology was tried out in all the TOGETHERproject partner cities, and the results fed intodefining local pilot projects.

Ingrid Ramberg sums up: “The transnationalexchanges opened up new perspectives,which was an added value. It openedwindows. And although at the end of theproject, there was no concrete transfer ofactions between partners, it may have stirredideas in the long term. For Botkyrka interna-tional exchange will definitely remain aninteresting source of inspiration.”


The URBACT Local Support Group (LSG) inAlby was a chance for Botkyrka to build onexisting citizen involvement, and contributeto a strategic development programmealready in progress. “In Botkyrka we werealready following the whole process of havinga systematic dialogue between citizens andpoliticians, focus groups with inhabitants, etc.URBACT had the same kind of approach,”explains Ingrid Ramberg.

©A

ndrz

ejM

arki

ewic

z

©A

ndrz

ejM

arki

ewic

z


The TOGETHER project’s LSG reinforcedexisting approaches by addressing citizenswith open questions, rather than simplyconsulting them on predefined topics. It alsobrought local groups into contact with theircounterparts in the other network cities.

As a result of their participation in the LSG,two local associations, The Alby Youth Cluband Fanzingo, formed focus groups. They alsotook part in a youth exchange projectarranged by TOGETHER’s Belgian partner,Braine l’Alleud.

In line with the TOGETHER experience, themunicipality has reinforced its emphasis onfacilitating arenas for discussions betweenlocal actors, rather than running the meetingsitself. This was the case for a series of meet-ings involving local entrepreneurs and NGOsin early 2013.


“URBACT was one piece in a big jigsaw,” saysIngrid Ramberg. “The Local Action Plan helpsto revitalise the development plan of Alby.Rather than adding new, parallel plans, it wasimportant to connect the actions in the LAPto ongoing processes.”

The district’s development programme,“Future for Alby”, was formulated in 2009. Itsfive key objectives, already developed withinhabitants and stakeholders, were furtherelaborated and tested within the frameworkof the TOGETHER project. They are:− Ensuring a decent setting for girls and boysto grow up in;− Improving the employment opportunitiesof women and men;− Renewing the urban environment;− Modernising Alby’s identity;− Trying out new working methods withinthe municipality.

Participation in the TOGETHER networkinfused new energy into certain localprocesses, opening them up to the perspec-tives of other European cities and URBACTLocal Support Group members. This, togetherwith dialogues with focus groups across themunicipality, was connected to the launch ofa number of pilot actions. These are not linkedto additional funding; the aim was rather toimprove the way existing resources are used.

action 1 – together for a more securealby, with night-patrols (since 2011)

City departments, Alby’s Council ofAssociations, the associations “Organisationfor poverty alleviation and development”

(OPAD) and X-cons, the Police department,and Alby Youth Club, joined forces to reduceviolence and improve neighbourhood secu-rity. Night Patrols became a central activity.The number of people patrolling rose from8-10 to 35-40, attracting interest fromother parts of Botkyrka. Difficulties havesince included tensions between stake-holders, and maintaining participants’ enthu-siasm. Still, there is broad support for theinitiative. Dennis Latifi, the DistrictDevelopment Officer explains: “People havebeen behind this initiative because they knowthat in our communities with such heteroge-neous communities, security becomes ashared concern.”

action 2 – Finding practical ways toimplement social economy at neighbour-hood level (since 2011)

The aim was to review the municipality’sprocurement process to increase the chancesfor civil society organisations to be hired bythe municipality, based on the idea that asense of community and a readiness to sharethe responsibility for managing commontasks can benefit all. Discussions betweenmunicipality departments, the Public HousingCompany and Alby’s Council of Associationshave focused on a redirection of the budgetfor cleaning and security within the municipalhousing company. But as the regeneration ofthe million programme block houses is likelyto take preference over social economy, thefuture of this action is unclear. If it does notgo to plan, it may be developed as a multi-organisation agreement without changingthe procurement rules.

action 3 – Intercultural alby (launched2011), an engaged partnership withelements of co-management, promotinginteraction and exchange between up to fiftyethnic groups in Alby. This action involves theDistrict Group, the local Anti-DiscriminationAgency, Alby’s Council of Associations, andlocal associations OPAD and Fanzingo. Whatbegan as an anti-discrimination seminardeveloped into a network for tolerance andfor an intercultural Alby, with activities likeworkshops, film productions with youngpeople about tolerance, as well as intercul-tural evenings, with strong local engagementand political support.

Prospects

Alby was Botkyrka’s first district to producea Strategic Programme for Development,whichwas launched in2009.ThisProgramme,with the experiences of co-responsibility asexpressed in the URBACT project TOGETHER,working to improve quality of life throughcitizens’ participation in initiating, planningand implementation of activities, will be asource of inspiration in other districts. Theneighbouring district of Fittja, for example,published its Strategic Programme in 2012.The District Group in Alby has proposed aworkshop evaluating its early experiences ofimplementing its Development Programme,together with the Mayor’s office, providingvaluable knowledge for Fittja and otherdistricts.

“It is not difficult to think in new ways. What is difficult is to stop fallingback into old ways of thinking...”, says Dennis Latifi, DistrictDevelopment Officer in Botkyrka. This notion is central to Botkyrka’swork on co-responsibility. “Taken as a whole, the TOGETHER projectopened new approaches for the promotion of a sustainable community.The open-ended questions about well-being and ill-being, theco-responsibility basis for groups’ formations, actions and activities,became complementing parts in existing structures.”

©A

ndrz

ejM

arki

ewic

z

www.urbact.euwww.blog.urbact.eu

urBact national dissemination point websites (in national languages)

Find us also on and

urBact Secretariat5, Rue Pleyel

93283 SAINT-DENIS cedex - FranceTel.: +33 (0)1 49 17 46 02Fax: +33 (0)1 49 17 45 55

urbact is a European exchange and learning programme promoting sustainable urban development.We enable cItIeS to work together to develop solutions to major urban challenges,

reaffirming the key role they play in facing increasingly complex societal changes.We help cites to develop pragmatic SOLutIONS that are new and sustainable,

and that integrate economic, social and environmental dimensions.We enable cities to SHare good practices and lessons learned with all professionals involved

in urban policy throughout Europe.urbact is 500 cities, 29 countries and 7,000 active participants.

Lead PartnersPartners

urbact project results, 2nd call projects, 2013

Presentations & Public Speaking