URBACT is a European programme that promotes integrated and sustainable urban development through transnational city networks. It facilitates exchange and learning between cities, draws lessons from their experiences, and supports policymakers in improving urban policies. The key activities are transnational city networks of 8-12 partners that work together for 33 months, with the goal of developing local action plans. Over 50 networks involving 400 European cities have participated to date. URBACT aims to strengthen exchange and learning, build urban policy capacity, and consolidate knowledge sharing going forward.
2. URBACT II
European Programme of Territorial Cooperation 2007-2013
(jointly financed by ERDF and Member States – budget 69 M€ )
Main objective
To promote Integrated & Sustainable Urban Development
Operational objectives
To facilitate exchange and learning among EU cities
To draw lessons, build knowledge based on cities' experience
(capitalization) & disseminate good practices and lessons learnt
To support policy-makers and practitioners to improve
policies for sustainable urban development (capacity building)
Main tool: Transnational City Networks (8-12 partners – 33 months)
URBACT = the ETC programme dedicated to transnational
cooperation & capitalisation on urban issues
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3. Fostering the impact of the programme on
urban policies:
the « URBACT method » in transnational exchange
Sharing experience, learning, drawing lessons for
« the outside world »
A strict balance between Comp and Conv partners
Involving Managing Authorities
Action-oriented: Local Action Plans
Involving local stakeholders: URBACT Local Support
Groups
Ongoing support to networks & community of work
(experts, Secretariat)
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4. Achievements to date
Exchange and learning
More than 50 networks involving 400 European cities: Predominance of small
& medium size cities
5000 persons involved in Local support groups which have fostered the
integrated approach and participative approach.
350 Local Action Plans delivered (calls 1/2) and most of them at least partially
implemented two years after completion (call 1)
Capacity building
2 Summer Universities for URBACT Local Support Groups (2011/2013)
Pilot trainings for elected people
National Training Seminars for local stakeholders and urban practitioners
on « integrated and sustainable urban policies »
Capitalisation
Rooted in exchange and learning networks – Evidence based
4 Annual conferences
City labs on the crisis, migrant integration and on metropolitan
governance
Thematic outputs: Cities responses to the crisis 2010, URBACT results 2011,
Cities of Tomorrow - Action Today 2013
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5.
6. … and drafting orientations for URBACT III
Strengthening exchange and learning activities through
networking for action planning and implementation of
integrated urban projects and strategies
Developing capacity-building on integrated and sustainable
urban policies (for urban practitioners, policy-makers and
decision-makers)
Reinforcing linkages with Cohesion Policy and its instruments
(Operational programmes, ITIs, CLLD, Innovative actions,
etc.)
Consolidating capitalisation and dissemination of knowledge
and expertise: stronger links with local, regional, national and
EU level key players on urban matters
This is a look on the second and last URBACT Summer University, which took place at the end of August 2013 at the Trinity College of Dublin.
We have welcomed 300 participants from more than 100 cities involved in our network.
We developed a training on urban action planning, based on the example of a city suffering from economic crisis, social divisions, environmental risks. We have looked together for integrated and sustainable urban solutions.
Participants designed local action plans for their cities, based on participatory approach of all actors. This is part of the URBACT method we have developed in our projects.
URBACT is about PEOPLE:
We do not invest on bridges, roads, metres of office space; we invest on local practicioners and decision makers, elected people in cities. We want to improve through exchange, through the transfer of evidence-based knowledge, their capacities to deliver integrated and sustainable urban strategies and actions in their cities.
URBACT is dedicated to transnational cooperation and capitalisation on urban issues
It is about building knowledge through exchanges for policy makers and practicioners, to improve policies for sustainable urban development
We use the URBACT method developed during the last ten years. Each participating city is involved for three years in our networks and has to prepare a Local Action Plan
Local stakeholders have to be involved in its preparation within a Local Support Group
5000 people from all size European Cities have been involved through the URBACT Local Support Groups in our networks.
Most of the Local Action Plans delivered in the cities are at least partially implemented 2 years after completion.
We are developing capacity building for our URBACT Local Support Groups through Summer Universities and National Training Seminars in national languages
We have launched also a pilot training for elected people
We capitalise our results for all cities, not only the ones which had the chance to be involved in our projects
Some of you were there in Brussels, on June 18th 2013, when we presented our publication « Cities of tomorrow, action today », a capitalisation on some of our results around key messages and six thematic areas
For 2014-2020
We want to be even more result-oriented, with networks not only on action planning but also on implementation of urban projects and strategies
We want to reinforce our linkages to the cohesion policy and it’s new urban instruments
We want to develop capacity building, because local capacities in cities are the keys for success
We want to foster collaboration at city, regional and EU level, for effective integrated and sustainable urban development
We will particularly strenghten our activities with member states and managing authorities for cities
To finish I would like to say, as a slogan, that
URBACT was and is committed for next programming period 2014-2020, to build a quality urban dimension in the EU and especially in the operational programmes.