• RU:RBAN

    LEAD PARTNER : Rome - Italy
    • Caen - France
    • Coruna - Spain
    • Krakow - Poland
    • Loures - Portugal
    • Thessaloniki - Greece
    • Vilnius - Lithuania

    Summary

    Timeline

    • Kick-off meeting

     

    • Transnational Meetings in Rome, Caen, Vilnius and Loures
    • Thessaloniki Transnational Meeting and Mid Term Reflection
       
    • Krakow Online Transnational Meeting
    • Bi-lateral online meetings between Rome and all Project Partners

     

     

     


     

     

    This Transfer network builds upon the "Management model of Urban gardens in Rome" Good Practice, in order to transfer to EU cities geographically distant from each other to ensure sharing of experiences to enhance the capacities of local governance. Transfer efforts will be given to 3 distinct, interlinked, thematic components/elements that the Good Practice is divided into: Capacity building in organizing urban gardens, Inspiring and training people to manage urban gardens (Gardeners) and urban gardens governance & regulations.

    RU:RBAN Transfer Network logo
    Urban agriculture for resilient cities
    Ref nid
    12133
  • A Table! Mouans-Sartoux Food Forum

    BioCanteens#2 A Table event

     

     

    The objective is to gather and create a common diaglogue between the European local authorities around the topic of food sovreignity and democracy. Cities are a major actor in the development and construction of sustainable food policies and their commitment is already a day-to-day reality with concrete actions that are beneficial for the climate, the environment and the health of people. This is why we believe it is essential that their voices are heard and that their experiences inspire European policies.  

     

    In addition to visits to present the Mouans Sartoux food project, we are planning numerous debates, exchanges and workshops on the following three key topics:

     

    • Building a European food sovereignty the protects people’s health and the planet

    • 100 % organic school canteens across the EU: it is achievable!

    • Let's mobilise! Let's join forces to make the voice of local and regional authorities in Europe heard

     

    Find more information about the forum here.

     

     

    test
    France
    • Organic
    • Sustainability
    • Urban food systems

    As final event of BioCanteens#2 Transfer Network, the city of Mouans-Sartoux is organising the first edition of the Mouans-Sartoux Food Forum << A Table!>>. 

    URBACT Network
    Copy linkFacebookXLinkedInEmail
    • Food
    Mouans-Sartoux
    Off
    Open to a wider public
  • Food and sustainable local systems

     

     

    Food systems activities produce greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. They are a primary cause of environmental degradation and significantly contribute to socio-economic and health inequalities. Only a food systems approach can identify effective actions to accelerate climate impacts and reduce inequalities.

    Food for thought

    The URBACT Knowledge Hub brings together good practices from across the EU, with the latest urban trends, to fill the gaps and make sure that the learning is within everyone's reach. URBACT has supported many working on topics linked to sustainable food and urban agriculture and pulled together their insights to help others take action -- some good food for thought!

     

    • Climate action
    • Local economy
    • Social cohesion
    • Urban food systems
    Urban agriculture (IStock)

    Food for thought - URBACT Knowledge Hub

    What's on the menu?

    Read below the latest stories and expert's contributions on the subject of food and sustainable local productions.

    See all the key ingredients

    Since 2013, URBACT has supported 11 networks to learn from each other on the topics of sustainable food and urban agriculture.

     

     

    Thanks to URBACT, more than 60 cities have led the transition towards more sustainable local food ecosystems. URBACT is pulling together the insights from these cities and beyond to help cities take action.

    Check out URBACT's recipe

    Below you can find out how cities are making the most with each ingredient, so better, more sustainable and organic cities can thrive.

    1. Policy-making

    Food policy meeting
    Why food policy is more important than ever?

     

     

    Food systems encompass the entire range of stakeholders and their interlinked activities from food production to distribution and consumption via transformation. These actors range from private to public, NGOs, as well as citizens, focusing on the types of food items, their quality, their integration into daily lives

     

    2. Food production

    Food production in Mouans Sartoux (FR)
    How to ensure local and sustainable food production?

     

    In order to support the transition to more sustainable local food ecosystems, many cities have sought to modify the way they produce their food - for example, by making it more local and reducing direct transport, by introducing new planning measures and land-use rules, transitioning to organic production, or diversifying their local food production (fruits, vegetables, meat, bee products). Food sovereignty is a key concept for many cities and reflexions upon the Commons has also been initiated. 

     

    3. Food distribution

    Food distribution in Vaslui (RO)
    How does your food get into your plate?

     

    The way food is distributed in a city reflects largely its relation to the food ecosystem. Cities can improve access to (sustainable) food to all its citizens by diversifying its selling points developing retail entities, markets, cooperatives and other forms of food provision. Short food supply chains can also be a way to empower actors and make territories (more) resilient.

     

     

     

    4. Jobs and skills

    Food jobs - Canteen ladies in Pays de Condruses (BE)
    How can cities promote educational and professional pathways and develop skills while developing sustainable food ecosystems?

     

    Focusing on food systems is both an end and a means to address jobs accessibility and skills development. Cities can use food to boost employability of job seekers and support the most disadvantaged people to develop new skills while socialising. They can support the development of business and entrepreneurial initiatives through business incubators and test farms.

     

     

    5. Food transformation

    Food transformation- Rosignano Marittimo (IT)
    From the raw products to the dishes in your plate, how to ensure a healthy and good quality food?

     

    In the conventional sector, food transformation is a key moment in the supply chain where food items are strongly modified with potentially negative effects on health, as well as on the environment. Cities can take action to ensure that the quality of the food is preserved - for example, by ensuring that products are both organic and local in school canteens meals.  Transformation can take place with the aim to sell and make profit in the private sector, or to be delivered and eaten in school canteens, to teach and raise awareness in NGOs, or to be preserved at home.

     

    6. Community-building

    Food community in Brussels (BE)
    How to raise awareness about sustainable food and use it to engage?

     

    Food has always been a binding ingredient for local communities. URBACT cities have developed specific approaches to engage with citizens, and more particularly with children in schools. Community engagement is an underlying component of many municipal programmes focusing on changing food behaviours through education and transitioning towards more sustainable food consumption.

     

    7. Solidarity

    Food solidarity
    How to make sure everyone gets access to (quality) food?

     

    The Covid-19 pandemic has made increasingly obvious the need to ensure that nobody is left behind when considering one of our core primary needs, food. Access to good, organic and local food shouldn't be a privilege for a selected few. Cities can take action to ensure that everybody gets access to the best available food – best for them, for the environment and for (local) economy – but also promoting healthy food as a key common good for all.

    8. Marketing and branding

    Food branding - honey from Portugal
    How to promote your city via its gastronomy and food products?

     

    Food has always been a key item not only to bring people together, but also to attract them. As such, many cities are using it as a token for touristic development, branding and marketing. Some have developed gastronomic strategies - with the creation of brands or producers’ clubs, or taking part in european competitions, others develop their own labels, or specific touristic paths.

    9. Education and awareness-raising

    Food education in Mouans Sartoux (FR)
     
    How to raise awareness and educate on food?

     

    Cities can play a role in raising awareness and educating citizens on good quality and healthy food - for example, by running activities for different types of publics and creating time and spaces for all to engage in these activities.

    10. Circular food systems

    Circular food systems
    How to transition towards a more circular and sustainable food system?

     

    Local food ecosystems are holistic approaches to address food from its production to its delivery and consumption via its transformation. A key remaining element, to ensure closing the loop, is to adopt a circular approach, notably in addressing foodwaste, seeking to reduce it at individual collective and private sector levels. The benefits can then not only be environmental but also economic.

    11. Bees and wild pollinators

    Bees and wild pollinators
    What bees have to do with cities?

     

    Bees and wild pollinators are natural biodiversity indicators in the urban jungle. Far beyond the sweet honey, bees can bring benefits related to education, jobs, skills, tourism and gatronomy. They can also create and strengthen exisitng communities. See how bee-friendly cities are paving the way towards change and join the movement!

  • BioCanteens#2

    Summary

    Partners

    LEAD PARTNER : Mouans-Sartoux - France
    • Liège - Belgium
    • Gava - Spain
    • Wroclaw - Poland

    Timeline

    • Kick-off meeting
    • A Table ! Mouans-Sartoux Food Forum

    BioCanteens#2 Transfer Network is about ensuring the distribution of sustainable school meals in participating cities as a key lever towards the development of an integrated local agri-food approach, protecting both citizens’ health and the environment. The project aims to transfer Mouans- Sartoux’s Good Practice in the field of collective school catering, to other highly committed cities across Europe.

    Education - Food - Environment - Local Economy - Governance
    Ref nid
    16388
  • BeePathNet Reloaded

    LEAD PARTNER : Ljubljana - Slovenia
    • Bergamo - Italy
    • Osijek - Croatia
    • Sosnowiec - Poland
    • Bansko - Bulgaria

     

    City of Ljubljana - Mestni trg 1 - 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

    CONTACT US

    Timeline

    • Kick-off meeting
    • Boot Camp in Ljubljana (SI)
    • Thematic Transfer meeting in Osijek (HR)

       
    • Thematic Transfer meeting in Bansko (BG)
    • Thematic Transfer meeting in Bergamo (IT)
    • Thematic Transfer meeting in Sosnowiec (PL)
    • Final Conference in Ljubljana (SI)

    Newsletter

    • Check the newsletter library here.

    BEE PATH good practice logic is very simple - bees are the best indicator of healthy environment! BeePathNet-Expanded project will widen the network of “bee-friendly cities” based on BeePathNet project transfer success. It will address urban environmental, biodiversity and food self-sufficiency challenges linked to urban beekeeping through integrated and participative approaches, build key stakeholders’ capacities to influence relevant policies, develop and implement efficient solutions.

    Enriching the Urban Jungle with Bees
    Ref nid
    16355
  • RU:RBAN Second Wave

    LEAD PARTNER : Rome - Italy
    • Alexandroupolis - Greece
    • Algeciras - Spain
    • Carlow - Ireland
    • Split - Croatia

    Summary

    Final Product

    Timeline

    • Kick off meeting
    • Algeciras Transnational Meeting
    • Transnational Meetings in Alexandroupolis, Carlow and Split 
    • RU:RBAN 2nd Wave Final Event in Rome

    RU:RBAN's Good Practice is the Management model of Urban gardens in Rome to be transferred to newcomer cities that are geographically, historically and socio-culturally distant from each other, to ensure sharing of experiences to enhance the capacities of local governance. Transfer efforts will be ensured on the 3 well known and successful components the GP is divided into: 1. Capacity building, 2. Inspiring and training people to manage urban gardens (Gardenisers), 3. Governance & Regulations

    RU:RBAN Transfer Network Second Wave logo
    Urban agriculture for resilient cities
    Ref nid
    16331
  • NEXT AGRI

    Summary

    Lead Partner : Milan - Italy
    • Stara Zagora - Bulgaria
    • Almere - Netherlands
    • Vila Nova de Gaia - Portugal

         

    Timeline

    • Kick off meeting online
    • Next Agri Bilateral meeting Almere - online
    • Next Agri Bilateral Meeting Vila Nova de Gaia - online
    • Next Agri Bilateral meeting Stara Zagora - online
    • First transnational meeting in Almere - online
    • Second transnational meeting in Stara Zagora - online
    • Third Transnational Meeting in Vila Nova de Gaia
    • Field visit to Milan
    • Transnational meeting and field visit in Almere



       
    • NEXT AGRI site visit

      Why the Transfer Mechanism does not work without sites visits

      URBACT

      See more
    • UTM capacity building meeting in Paris

      Capacity building and URBACT Method: updates from the Paris meeting

      The first meeting in person after 2 years of pandemic has been a very powerful tool to empower URBACT Transfer Mechanism pilots. Next Agri partners met in Paris at the URBACT capacity building meeting with the aim of exchanging experiences and estate of the art of the project

      URBACT

      See more
    • NEXT AGRI - visit to Vila Nova Gaia (PT)

      Vila Nova de Gaia's a step closer to more sustainable agriculture

      Written by Carla Pires and Sofia Morais, Gaiaurb from the Câmara Municipal de Gaia

      URBACT

      See more

    The NEXT AGRI UIA - URBACT Transfer Mechanism pilot network builds from the experience of Milan. The city decided to set up an urban coalition with a series of partners to scale up this positioning in the peri-urban agricultural industry, setting up a stable growth and creating new jobs and skills. The project is mainly an urban policy experimentation that follows the place-based approach, focusing on new skills for new jobs in peri-urban agriculture. The project area can be defined as an “urban fringe”, representing the transition zone between the consolidated part of the city and the agricultural lands.This project aims at transfer to other 3 cities the processes and strategies implemented to create a favourable environment to develop new opportunities in the food system transformation in the urban and per urban agriculture sector.

     

    Innovative approaches in periurban agriculture territories
    Ref nid
    15639
  • FOOD CORRIDORS

    LEAD PARTNER : Region of Coimbra - Portugal
    • Alba Iulia - Romania
    • BSC Kranj and Gorenjska - Slovenia
    • Larissa - Greece
    • Union of Bassa Romagna Municipalities - Italy
    • Szecseny - Hungary
    • Tartu - Estonia

    Timeline

    Kick-Off Meeting - Phase I

    Kick-Off Meeting - Phase 2

    Webinar "Culture, Gastronomy and Territorial Food Brands"

    Integrated Action Plans

    IAP Region of Coimbria
    Da natureza para a sua mesa - Coimbra region food strategy

    Read more here!

    Region of Coimbra - Italy
    Integrated Action Plan Gorenjska Region

    Read more here !

    Gorenjska Region - Slovenia
    Empowering rural & urban food connections within European regions

    Read more here!

    Union of Municipalities of Bassa Romagna - Italy
    Integrated Action Plan Alba Iulia

    Read more here!

    Alba Iulia - Romania
    ‘FROM FARM TO FORK AND BACK AGAIN’ BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN METROPOLITAN GASTRONOMY AND SMALL SCALE FARMS OF THE PERIPHERY

     

    Read more here!

    Szécsény - Hungary
    Tarty County Food Strategy

    Read more here

    Tartu - Estonia

    Recent experience suggests that it is necessary to promote a transition towards regional food systems. FOOD CORRIDORS encourages the creation of a network of cities committed to the design of food plans that extend from the urban and peri-urban areas through a corridor that facilitates an urban-rural connection. This approach enhances the generation of production and consumption environments founded on a base of economic, social and environmental sustainability.

    Empowering rural & urban food connections within European regions
    Ref nid
    13482
  • BioCanteens

    LEAD PARTNER : Mouans-Sartoux - France
    • LAG Pays des Condruses - Belgium
    • Rosignano Marittimo - Italy
    • Vaslui - Romania
    • Torres Vedras - Portugal
    • Troyan - Bulgaria
    • Trikala - Greece

    Summary

    Timeline

    Kick-off meeting

    Transfer Period

    End of Transfer Period + Sharing Period

    BioCanteens Transfer Network is about ensuring the distribution of sustainable school meals in participating cities as a key lever towards the development of an integrated local agri-food approach, protecting both citizens’ health and the environment. The project aims to transfer Mouans-Sartoux’s Good Practice in the field of collective school catering, to other highly committed cities across Europe. Mouans-Sartoux’s Good Practice is based on the daily distribution of meals that are 100% organic and mostly composed of local products, the drastic reduction of food waste thereby fully compensating the higher cost of switching to organic products, and the organisation of dedicated educational activities to raise children’s awareness about sustainable food.

    BioCanteens
    Education - Food - Environment - Local Economy - Governance
    Ref nid
    12120
  • Diet for a Green Planet

    Lead Partner : Södertälje - Sweden
    • Mollet del Vallès - Spain
    • Łomża - Poland
    • Molétai - Lithuania

     

     

    The Diet Unit of Södertälje municipality has had a key role in the development of this practice by successfully implementing the ideas broadly in the public kitchens under strict budget conditions.

    A key part of the practice is that it has challenged attitudes around food and shown a potential to be a powerful tool for combating climate change and other global ecological challenges – and at the same time raise the general quality of the food served, promote health and empower personnel – within the same strict food budget. This makes public meals a driver for sustainable development.

    Through the projects the Diet Unit has been involved in and through the continuous close cooperation with the BERAS Secretariat the development of the practice has had a continuous connection to research and global network resources and especially Baltic Sea Region. Thanks to this the Diet for a Green Planet concept stands on a solid ground.

    The basic principles of Diet for a Green Planet are:

    • Good and healthy food
    • Organically grown and ideally from Ecological Recycling Agriculture farms
    • Less meat, more vegetables and wholegrain
    • Seasonal food
    • Locally produced
    • Reduced waste

    Timeline

    Project launch

    Project completed

    A few questions to Sara Jervfors, head of the Diet Unit in Södertälje and a driving forces behind the implementation of Diet for a Green Planet in Södertälje.

    Sara Jervfors, Head of the Diet Unit in Södertälje Municipality

     

    What motivates you to be part of the URBACT adventure?

    "I am proud of the concept that we have developed in Södertälje. It promotes - and implements - sustainable development and it engages people that normally do not get the possibility to make a real difference through their trade, like kitchen staff in our public schools.

    The simple fact that it is a good concept makes me want to spread it to other parts of Europe. But the URBACT project also gives us possibilities to evaluate and develop the concept even further."

     

    Who would you like to benefit from the work achieved in your project?

    "Ideally everyone! More concretely I hope that kitchen staff will benefit from getting more possibilitites, more creativity and more freedom.

    I hope that students and teachers will benefit from getting healthier food together with great pedagogical tolls, that politicians will benefit by contributing to their cities taking a stand on issues like farming and food production, and that local farmers and businesses will benefit from an increased focus on local, organic and seasonal food."

    Food and agriculture accounts for a key part of global environmental challenges including climate change, biodiversity, nitrogen and phosphorus. Diet for a Green Planet is a way for every person who eats food to engage and become part of the solution.

    Diet for a Green Planet TN logo
    Ref nid
    970