Organizado por el Punto Nacional URBACT y el Ayuntamiento de Manresa, el encuentro “Global Goals for Cities” se desarrolló en la Fundació Universitària del Bages de la ciudad catalana los días 22 y 23 de septiembre.
Coloquio: “¿Contamos realmente con la ciudadanía para decidir el futuro sostenible de nuestras ciudades?”
Sara Hoeflich, Directora de Aprendizaje de CGLU
Céline Ethuin, Responsable de proyectos de URBACT
Julian Shlach, Secretario de Eurotowns
Ana Tapia, Unidad de Agenda 2030 y ODS de la Diputación de Barcelona
Modera: Karma Peiró, periodista
Ponencia: Indicadores y ODS
Mon Culleré, Responsable del Observatorio del Ayuntamiento de Manresa. Link a presentación.
Mesa Redonda: “¿Basamos el desarrollo urbano sostenible en la ciencia o en la intuición?”
Alice Siragusa, Jefa de equipo de localización de ODS en el JRC
Ángela León Pizarro, Coordinadora Agenda 2030 e Innovación de la Diptuación de Badajoz
Ramon Canal, Director del Gabinete Técnico de Programación de la Agenda 2030 del Ayuntamiento de Barcelona
Modera: Karma Peiró, periodista
Presentación de la red URBACT GG4C de localización de los ODS. Link a presentación.
Maëva Dejuan, Council of European Municipalities and Regions
Céline Ethuin, Responsable de proyectos de URBACT
Stina Heikkila, experta líder de la red URBACT GG4C
Sònia Puyol, Ayuntamiento de Manresa
22 de septiembre. Tarde.
Por la tarde del primer día de jornada, se trabajó en grupo reducidos vinculados a los ejes de trabajo del evento, combinando diferentes tipos de espacios y formatos.
Los ejes que se trabajaron fueron:
Localización de las agendas globales
Sensibilización y participación ciudadana
Monitoreo e Informes de seguimiento de localización (Voluntary Local Reviews)
Indicadores y Alineación presupuestaria
Estos grupos de trabajo se plantearon como espacios para el intercambio y capacitación entre municipios e instituciones. Cada una de las sesiones se desarrolló en un taller de intercambio y capacitación mediante unas mesas de trabajo.
23 de septiembre. Mañana.
La segunda jornada estuvo enfocada en la planificación estratégica como instrumento esencial para la localización de las agendas globales, con especial énfasis en la Agenda Urbana y las diferentes escalas que abarca. En este sentido, se mostraron cómo las distintas Agendas Urbanas, desde la Nueva Agenda Urbana Europea a las Agendas Urbanas Locales, son instrumentos que permiten aterrizar y localizar los ODS en las ciudades.
A tal fin, se planteó un diálogo multinivel que vinculó las distintas escalas de aplicación, desde el global hasta el local, mostrando ejemplos prácticos y herramientas al respecto.
Tras estas sesiones, se presentaron las conclusiones de los talleres y sesiones de trabajo del día anterior.
Durante la jornada se reunieron diversas ciudades e instituciones nacionales e internacionales. Los participantes, a través de ponencias y coloquios, pudieron reflexionar sobre la localización de las agendas globales y de los ODS en ciudades, poniendo el foco también en la implementación de la Nueva Agenda Urbana (NUA) en diferentes escalas, abarcando las esferas global, europea, estatal, regional y local. Las jornadas contaron con un enfoque expositivo, de reflexión y de capacitación, permitiendo establecer un diálogo multinivel y multilateral, además de generar nuevas ideas, conocimientos y promover una transferencia entre los municipios participantes de herramientas y soluciones vinculadas a la localización específica de los ODS.
El encuentro se dividió en dos días; el primero estuvo dirigido a tratar cuestiones relativas a la Agenda 2030, mientras que el segundo se enfocó en exponer cómo la NUA, la Agenda Urbana Española (AUE) o las Agendas Urbanas Locales son herramientas adecuadas para aterrizar en la esfera local las grandes mentas mundiales fijadas por Naciones Unidas para la próxima década.
Los temas abordados se definieron en cuatro ejes principales:
Senioral policy in Dzierżoniów and the goals of sustainable development
The Sustainable Development Goals have been defined by the United Nations (UN) in the document Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This document lists 17 Sustainable Development Goals and related activities that are planned to be achieved by UN member states. The goals are achieved not only at the government level - the sectors of science, business, non-governmental organizations and ordinary citizens also have a great influence.
From Vision to Transformative Actions for the SDGs: co-creation of integrated actions in Manresa
Around one hour and a half from Barcelona by train, in a hilly area of the Bages county, is Manresa - a small-sized city with around 78 000 inhabitants - one of several partners of similar size in the Global Goals for Cities network. On 21 April, I had the chance to stop by and attend one of Manresa’s URBACT Local Group (ULG) meetings organised by the local coordination team. Here, I share a few highlights of how the ULG and the participatory process is helping to shape the priorities of the Manresa 2030 Agenda and the integrated action plan that is currently in the making.
A very nice and colorful short movie showcasing our three full workdays in Gävle.
#TransnationalMeeting7 Authors: partners from Mouscron, Christophe Deneve.
The city of Reggio Emilia (Italy) was the co-host of the 7th Transnational Meeting, which was held between 23-25 May 2022 in Sweden, along with the cities of Gävle (Sweden) and Dzierżoniów (Poland).
A short video of our first physical meeting in Solingen, Germany.
The meeting was dedicated to the next phase of action planning and implementation on governance, partnerships, and policy coherence levels.
Together with the cities of Tallinn and Heraklion the TM#6 was hosted by Solingen and was held from April, 6 to April, 8 in the Theater and Concert Hall in Solingen. After one year of work in the GG4C project participants from 14 different countries took the chance to meet in person.
The city of Heraklion was the co-host of the 6th Transnational Meeting which was held between 5-8 April 2022 in Solingen, Germany along with Solingen and Tallinn.
Gävle and the other 18 cities (from 19 countries) of the EU URBACT pilot network ”Global Goals in Cities” (GG4C) are already one year into the 20 months project on localising the SDGs.
Just halfway towards our goals following the marked route, the AGRI-URBAN Network (URBACT III Programme) held a transnational meeting in the Swedish city of Södertälje from 21 to 24 May 2017. A turning point in the agenda of this project, the meeting focused on the AGRI-URBAN topics linked to the experience of this city and also put the emphasis on shaping the Integrated Action Plans of all partners of the project with the participation of their respective URBACT Local Groups.
Watching this video, produced after the visit, you can discover how inspirational was this Swedish city in the project design and later, fostering innovative actions in other partner cities involved in the development of local food systems.
Reggio Emilia is renowned in educational circles, with the philosophy known as the “Reggio Emilia Approach”; for pre-school and primary school children developed in the city shortly after World War II. At the same time, contemporary art, ancient monuments, and exhibitions such as Fotografia Europea have made the city rich in culture and social change —supported by the business community, services and the university. The city is connected by high-speed train to Milan, Bologna and Florence, and is within 45 minutes’ reach to all those cities. Reggio is the city of relations with Africa, the city of cycle paths and of Parmigiano Reggiano.
The third newspaper of tomorrow is here and it's from Veliki Presav, Bulgaria.
Very inspirational article of how the city looks like beyond 2030, and as they declare - Veliki Preslav will be the most sustainable small city in their land.
In the visioning phase of our network, partners worked hard to co-create their visions for localizing the SDGs in their cities. The stories tell their vision for how to localise the SDGs in their cities. Here you can get a glimpse of Klaipėda - vibrant, smart, inclusive.
In the Visioning phase of our URBACT Global Goals for Cities network in the second half of 2021, partners worked hard to co-create their visions for localizing the sustainable development goals in their cities. We’re happy to launch our ,campaign showing the diversity and creativity of the 19 stories. First up: Newspaper of future Heraklion -smart, resilient and livable city.
The RFSC a relevant tool for the city partners of the GG4C network
In the course of the life of the Global Goals for Cities (GG4C) network, the 19 city partners used an existing self-assessment tool: the RFSC, or Reference Framework for Sustainable Cities. Based on European principles for sustainable and integrated urban development, the tool available online was used during the diagnosis and visioning phase of the network (as an analytical tool), and partners will use it again in the planning phase (as a planning tool). What is the RFSC? And what did it bring to the network?
The Citizen Committee of the La Rochelle Territory Zero Carbon project: How to build trust?
On January 25, La Rochelle Urban Community presented to the Global Goals for Cities partners its ‘La Rochelle Territory Zero Carbon’ (LRTZC) project towards 2040, highlighting the following main characteristics and innovations : a shared and multilevel governance, an evaluation and financing tool 'the Carbon Cooperative', and a citizen co-construction approach through the establishment of a Citizen Committee.
The future of the city of Schiedam is a recurring topic in the city council and the executive board and, of course, also in the city. These views and discussions have been reflected in the city vision for some time now.
Jihlava's successful collaboration with developers
Every new construction in the city burdens the surrounding area with growing demands on transportation, social and health infrastructure, and other needs for a functioning urban society. Such externalities can be relatively reliably quantified, predicted or simulated. However, cities often must develop and maintain the infrastructure themselves. Is there a method to share costs with private developers and collaborate to build more sustainably with the needs of the citizens in mind?
Manresa 2030 Agenda: localising the SDGs through meaningful participation
Since the end of 2018, Manresa is working on its local 2030 Agenda: an integrated sustainability strategy to respond to the environmental, social, and economic challenges of the current decade. A strategy whose design, implementation and monitoring must be shared with all the local stakeholders and citizens.
Awareness-raising around the SDGs – a practical example from La Rochelle Urban Community
On 25 November, Stina Heikkilä had the opportunity to participate in an exciting event organised by our Global Goals for Cities partner La Rochelle Urban Community: the bi-annual Participatory Forum for Actors for Transition (Forum Participatif des Acteurs de la Transition). For this Forum, the team from La Rochelle Urban Community had planned an “SDG edition” with the aim of raising awareness about the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs among local stakeholders.
The city of Ozalj was the co-host of the 4th Transnational Meeting which was held virtually between 24-26 November 2021 along with Manresa and Glasgow. Our main theme was Meaningful participation and co-creation and each co-host city shared best practices and introduced other cities to local customs.
The courthouse in Trim stands in the centre of the town, with the castle in the background, it is a reminder of the history and heritage of Trim. Both grey stone buildings have been here longer than us and could tell a story or two.
In Swedish: Gävle is developing urban sustainability
Nätverket Global Goals for Cities arbetar med Agenda 2030 och de globala målen. Gävle kommun ska tillsammans med 18 andra städer i nätverket under kommande två år skapa och dela kunskap för att utveckla den urbana hållbarheten.
Klaipeda Case Study: Virtual hackathon “Unlock SDGs”
To achieve Agenda 2030 and make sure that we leave no one behind, everyone needs to get involved in the work towards a more sustainable world. Youth continuously are an important factor in this work. The Klaipeda city has Forum of Youth Ambassadors, which is a new body put in place with the hope of creating lasting and strong youth engagement. The forum is designed to generate ideas for the Youth Affairs Council of Klaipėda, which consists of 7 youth representatives and 7 municipal representatives. This process is in progress according to national law.
On September 28th, the transnational meeting with the co-host cities of Trim, Mouscron and Klaipeda was held by videoconference (thanks to covid…). Nevertheless, it was an opportunity for us to practice our English. Through this activity, we were able to learn more and discover local traditions. We were therefore able to introduce other cities to our customs and to share with them our culture.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call of action to protect our planet, end poverty and ensure peace and prosperity for all by 2030. "Global Goals for Cities” is a pilot network and strategic partnership aimed at accelerating progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in 19 cities of the EU, through peer learning and integrated action planning. The partnership is funded through the European Regional Development Fund's URBACT III European Territorial Cooperation programme.
Strategic partnership for peer learning and planning to localise SDGs
Cities are urged to set ambitious ecological goals for climate and biodiversity while managing social and economic sustainability. No European city has yet achieved the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), although they are a great fit for cities to develop their governance. There is an “action
Regeneration practitioner and academic, Dr Hans Schlappa is the lead expert on Re-growCity. This network focuses on small and medium sized towns facing urban decline and shrinkage following Altena (DE)’s successes including starting an NGO such as the Stellwerk with minimal funding.
An increasing number of urban settlements in Europe and elsewhere is losing out in the fight for investment and growth, finding themselves on the sidelines of global shifts in production and consumption. Comparative assessments of urban shrinkage undertaken by the OECD and the UN show that large cities continue to grow, even in adverse economic conditions, while increasing numbers of smaller towns are beginning to shrink and quickly get locked in decline. By some estimates 40% of urban settlements in Europe are shrinking, with most of them being the small and medium sized urban areas where close to one third of the European population lives. In those towns and cites the control of decline, rather than the facilitation of economic growth, has become a strategic objective.
The dynamics of long term decline are characterised by complex interactions between demographic change, economic contraction, sub-urbanisation and migration. There is a hotly contested debate about what constitutes urban shrinkage: is it significant population loss, reductions in jobs, collapsing property prices, an ageing population? Which of these are the most important indicators and to what extent do they need to be present to signify long term decline? Local and national governments struggle to respond to urban shrinkage, in part because these dynamics point to a ‘wicked problem’ of urban development, but also because decision makers realise that established approaches to encourage economic development have failed in urban areas that struggle with shrinkage.
Altena’s expertise in tackling long term decline
The town of Altena (DE), which leads the Re-grow City network, has a track record of widely recognised good practices that facilitate the development of sustainable initiatives to tackle the causes and consequences of urban shrinkage. Many of these practices were created with a minimum of external resource input. This means that Altena provides examples where the response to decline is rooted in local resources and expertise. The experience of Altena shows that activating often dormant resources and opportunities requires a frank debate about the future direction of the town. Altena also shows how difficult this can be: a municipality that struggles for decades to reverse decline, closing nurseries, day centres, libraries, and sports facilities contributes, albeit unintentionally, to a discourse tainted by a sense of resignation about the state of affairs in the town. To initiate a debate about a sustainable future for the town, and to activate the resources a town holds, those in leadership roles need to initiate a conversation that builds a shared interest around the need to tackle problems with the limited resources that are available. Focusing on two specific practices, Altena supports Re-grow City partners in beginning such a dialogue with their URBACT Local Groups.
Partners of the Re-grow City network transfer practices in relation to two broad themes that are central to any strategy concerned with tackling long term decline, namely economic revitalisation and developing civil society. After analysing the needs and capacity of Re-grow City partners two thematic packages were identified for transfer: one concerned with utilising vacant premises in town centres and the other with harnessing the resources, skills and networks of the town’s inhabitants. Within the thematic package of utilising vacant premises the transfer will focus on practices concerned with pop-up shops. The other thematic package will focus on transferring practices associated with the establishment of an NGO platform.
Establishing a NGO Platform: first focus of the Good Practice transfer
Municipalities of towns struggling with long term decline tend to suffer from severe budgetary constraint due to falling tax revenues and lack of external investment. At the same time, the high proportion of older, unemployed and vulnerable people in the population requires increasing amounts of often costly services. Fostering the engagement of inhabitants who are not in paid employment but have access to skills and resources to help support those in need builds the capacity of civil society to engage with often complex social problems in a structured way. Altena founded its NGO platform in 2008 and called it Stellwerk, the title implying that its function is about co-ordinating and directing activity. The Stellwerk started without a budget. The municipality made available premises, paid the energy and cleaning bills, provided a minimum of administrative resources. Currently the Stellwerk has 8 volunteer workers who co-ordinate several hundred volunteers providing disability support, arts and music groups, home visiting and home care services, refugee integration and much more. The Stellwerk provides an essential channel of communication between civil society and municipality. Stellwerk does not have a representative function but it reflects the nature of local civil society and is independent from the municipality.
Establishing pop-up shops: second focus of the Good Practice transfer
Economic decline and outmigration of economically active populations result in an over-supply of retail premises. Town centres are especially affected by this because commercial rents tend to be higher than elsewhere and traders move to cheaper quarters in order to make ends meet. Pop-up shops provide an effective way to populate the town centre with new enterprises. The goal is to support entrepreneurs in testing the viability of their business in that particular location and then facilitate the transition into permanent rental agreement with the property owners. The municipality carries some costs and also risks during this period and needs to be prepared to overcome resistance from existing shops and also the owners of empty premises. Altena experimented with two models, succeeding the second time round in establishing 14 pop-ups of which 5 are now trading as permanent, regular businesses on the high street. Achieving this in a context of long term decline, financial austerity and without external subsidy is an achievement locals are rightly proud of.
Focus on small and medium size towns
Re-grow City deliberately focuses on small and medium sized towns, not only because they make up the majority of urban settlements dealing with decline in Europe, but also because they face distinctive challenges in terms of constrained resources and limited technical capabilities when compared to larger cities. These constraints offer opportunities, however, for example robust social networks with high levels of ‘social capital’ and short decision making routes that speed up the adoption of untested or controversial methods. Taken together with the resources and skills local people have, shrinking cities are places of opportunity and can demonstrate considerable resilience even where they face severe constraints. By initiating a process of critical reflection on the opportunities the town can create on its own, Re-grow City assists partners in the development of a strategic approach towards re-envisioning their future, where the complex task of re-growing smaller, and perhaps better, will be continued beyond the duration of the network.
Re-growCity Transfer network focuses on the development of interventions that built on local capabilities to arrest and reverse long term social, economic and environmental decline. Altena has a track record of recognised good practices that facilitate the development of sustainable initiatives with a minimum of external resource input. This network will support partners to revitalise public services and the economy, regenerate the urban fabric and develop civil society in a context of long term decline.
