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TARAN Stanislav
In Bridges of Trust, Local Insights, Projects and Programmes

Municipal partnerships

Solidarity with Ukraine - News 2022

Slovakia’s Sol’ and Ukraine’s Solotvyno show how municipal partnerships can drive reconstruction

Josef Berta, mayor of Sol’ in Slovakia, knew right away that he wanted to partner up with Solotvyno in the neighbouring Zakarpattia region of Ukraine. Both municipalities share a history connected to the salt deposits present in both territories. The partners first met online in the fall of 2021 and decided to cooperate and set up joint activities to exchange best practices and develop local officials’ capacities.

After the Russian attack on Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the spring visit to Sol’ was postponed and the focus was shifted to emergency needs. Firefighters from this Slovak village, together with some local officials, were among the first to arrive on the border to meet and provide help to the thousands of Ukrainians who were fleeing the war. At this time, Solotvyno was also welcoming internally displaced people who were arriving from other regions of Ukraine that were under attack.

The opportunity to meet in person came in September. Sol’ has a very impressive record of winning EU funding and is number two in the region in terms of the number of EU grants received per capita. Mayor Berta and his team presented the details behind the projects to the Ukrainian delegation and showcased results with visits to the school, a renovated historical building, the volunteer firefighters brigade and more.

The delegation also visited a local business that received funding from the EU for a project that aimed to boost entrepreneurship and create job opportunities in the area. The partners also discussed the possibility of applying for funding to implement joint projects under cross-border cooperation or other EU programmes.

“We are extremely impressed with the visit to Sol’”, said Bohdan Makusii, Head of Affairs of the Solotvyno Village Council. “We hope for the establishment of close and long-term cooperation between our communities and the implementation of joint projects that will improve the lives of the population of the two communities and quickly integrate Ukraine into the European Union.”

Solotvyno representatives learned about the surrounding Prešov region and the current drivers of economic development in the area. The delegation was also invited by the mayor of Vranov nad Topľou to take part in a ceremony recognising locals’ professional and personal contributions. On this occasion, the Director of the Cultural House also presented cultural projects that were funded from the EU grants.

Taken together, the cooperation between Sol’ and Solotvyno shows how municipal partnerships can be a driver of reconstruction in Ukraine: by sharing local expertise, capitalising on EU opportunities and bringing people closer together across borders.

Bridges of Trust is implemented by the Council of European Municipalities and Regions and PLATFORMA, and is supported by the U-LEAD with Europe programme, a multi-donor action of the European Union and its member states Germany, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and Slovenia.

Video of visit highlights.

GRIFFON Axelle
In Energy, Impact community Climate, Local Insights

Normandy – free jackets

Normandie - News 2022

A small town in Normandy offers fleece jackets to school children as the heating temperature lowers to 19 ºC

While French local governments step up efforts to combat the energy crisis amid skyrocketing prices, some municipalities have adopted energy restraint measures.
 
In Périers, a small town in the Manche department with a population of over 2,000 inhabitants, its mayor Gabriel Daube has decided to cut costs by turning down the heating to 19 degrees in all municipal buildings, including its school. To compensate, each of the 350 school children will be offered a fleece jacket.
 
With a total budget of €6000, this initiative should be seen as an investment, explains Gabriel Daube. Périers is indeed expected to reduce its energy bill by €20,000 this winter. Additionally, those jackets will be produced in France to contribute to the local economy and production industry while reducing the town’s energy consumption costs.
 
This initiative complements a series of other long-term measures to decrease the town’s environmental footprint and energy bill, including in the field of public lighting and thermal insulation.

GRIFFON Axelle
In Impact community Climate, Local Insights, Sustainable mobility

Mobility Week

Mobility Week - News 2022

​How cities are turning their streets over to cyclists

Did you know? Each year, buses, trams and metros carry 50 billion passengers in cities, saving 100 million car trips every day.

But bicycles are also a convenient and environmentally friendly way to travel. Copenhagen, for example, is known for being a city of cyclists. Its residents ride because it’s safe, fast and easy to get around by bike. They also do it because Copenhagen is designed and built for cycling. By 2025, 50 per cent of all trips to work and education in the city are expected to be made by bike. 

So what is the recipe for turning cities around bicycles? Some say it all starts with the creation of segregated bike lanes and ‘slow streets’. Others claim making public transport compatible with cyclists is key. 

All around the world, cities are taking steps to drive sustainable mobility, including by widening pavements, closing streets to cars and setting up traffic light signalling that prioritises people travelling by foot or bike. 

But as the European Commission states, the worst enemies of the bicycle in urban areas are not cars, but longheld prejudices connected with the use of the bicycle as a regular mode of transport. For example, few car owners are really aware of what their car costs them and of the considerable savings to be made by cycling. Awareness-raising campaigns are therefore key to informing the population on the objective qualities and advantages of cycling.

On their own, all those local initiatives led by cities can make a difference, but together they can transform our urban future and make mobility less environmentally and socially harmful, more efficient and cleaner.

To find out more about how cities are tackling the challenge of mobility, visit the European Mobility Week website. Also, take a look at the infographic produced by the CEMR on this occasion.

THOMAS Carol
In Impact community Society, Local democracy, Local Insights

MENTOR Programme

MENTOR Programme - News 2022

How the Marmara Municipalities Union is boosting local expertise by partnering up with towns

From pandemic management to sustainable development, local governments need to share expertise if they are to successfully tackle the challenges of today.

That’s why the Marmara Municipalities Union (MMU) in Turkey created the MENTOR Programme in July 2020. The initiative enables inter-municipal cooperation and the development of municipalities’ capacities and municipal employees’ competencies. 

The MENTOR Programme provides municipalities with an opportunity to learn from the experiences of others within their own limits in terms of financial and human resources. Municipal staff who need expertise in a particular topic are matched with staff from another municipality that is already experienced in that area.

Municipalities seeking and offering indicate their interest by filling out online forms. The MMU then matches municipalities and sets up online or face-to-face meetings between municipal staff.

Following the first meetings, municipalities can either keep up the communication on their own or ask MMU to maintain its coordinating role. The municipalities can also request staff exchange with their counterparts if useful.

The MENTOR programme gathers and shares expertise in all thematic areas relevant to municipalities, including planning, transportation, disaster management, financial affairs, migration, environmental management, localisation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), institutional procedures, human resources and so on.

As part of this, MMU is thus building a pool of experts who can be consulted whenever needed.

Having started among MMU member municipalities, the programme has expanded to enable international cooperation. Members of MMU can now be matched with their peers in Turkey or foreign countries.

As of August 2022, 24 meetings have been held as part of the MENTOR Programme. These meetings have increased municipal staff’s knowledge on different subjects, contributed to capacity building and fostered inter-municipal relationships.

The programme has also resulted in concrete outcomes. For instance, two mentee municipalities, who sought expertise on Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) on the localisation of the SDGs, have since begun preparing their VLRs.

The programme contributes primarily to SDG 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities” by empowering the local governments to build more sustainable cities by increasing the capacities of their staff and SDG 17 “Partnerships for the Goals” by encouraging the exchange of knowledge and experience as well as cooperation between local governments. 

BORDELOT Federica
In Impact community Society, Local democracy, Local Insights

Boost Migration Integration

Inclusion Europe - News 2022

European towns exchange good practices to boost migrants’ integration

Cooperation and knowledge exchanges between European towns can play a key role in integrating newcomers, experts say, adding that their inclusion strategies can also serve as a model for larger
European cities.

“The local communities are where integration happens, through working and studying,” said Katerina Dimitrakopoulou from the Commission’s directorate-general for migration, pointing to the key role of local authorities in integrating newcomers.

Around 8.4% of the EU population are people born outside the bloc and between two and three million third-country nationals settle in the EU for work or study every year, according to the Commission.

To support European cities and regions facing new arrivals, in March 2021 the EU executive and the Committee of the Regions launched a partnership aimed at increasing capacity and fostering know-how exchanges between local communities.

“Our role is to connect people, states, regions and cities and make sure that all the good practices […] are properly disseminated,” Dimitrakopoulou said.

Sharing good practices

Knowledge exchanges are particularly important for smaller towns, which often do not have the same capacity and means to welcome migrants as large cities, according to experts.

“We have cities that already know how to live with migration,” Barbara Kuznik from the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) told EURACTIV, adding that these can serve as a model for other EU towns managing new arrivals.

Kuznik is currently working on the IncluCities project, which allows medium-sized cities to mentor smaller towns on integration practices.

“Sharing our own experiences helps us reflect on the way we promote our services and improve them,” said Juan Carlos Hernández Navas, technical director for city projects in Fuenlabrada, which is mentoring the Greek town of Livadia on employment opportunities for newcomers.

This article was first published by EurActiv. Read the whole text.

GRIFFON Axelle
In Environment, Impact community Climate, Local Insights

Parks and green spaces 

Green Spaces - News 2022

Podgorica: one of Europe’s greenest cities

Green spaces are a great way to have cleaner, healthier cities and encourage people to get out and about. That’s why Podgorica has been renovating old parks, building new ones and creating children’s playgrounds.
 
So far, 16 new parks and 51 children’s playgrounds have been created by the city administration. That’s 230,000 square meters of public green space created and 10,000 tree seedlings planted.
 
The city is proud that in February 2022, the European Environment Agency ranked Podgorica among the five greenest cities in Europe in the category of “urban green areas.”
 
Podgorica’s parks are varied. One features pine trees as a backdrop, with fields for football and other sports, as well as the 2.5-kilometer-long fitness track, the longest in Montenegro. Another, the forest park of Tolosi, hosts a recreational trail for all ages.
 
The development of parks and increased funds for green areas continue to be high on the city’s list of priorities.

GRIFFON Axelle
In Environment, Impact community Climate, Local Insights

Noise pollution 

Noise pollution - News 2022

​French cities deploy ‘Medusa’ sound sensors to tackle noise pollution

Nantes, Nice, Toulouse, Paris: many French cities and towns are setting to trial noise cameras called ‘Medusa’.

Their role? To crack down on vehicles breaking noise limits. The Medusa sound sensors are equipped with a camera and several microphones detecting vehicles such as cars, motorbikes and lorries making noises over a certain decibel level.

The sound radars are expected to be officially approved by the French Ministry of the Interior by the end of 2022 and are currently in the test phase.

The significant noise pollution’s health effects on Europeans

According to the European Environment Agency, at least one in five Europeans are currently exposed to harmful levels of noise pollution. And more than half of Europeans living in urban areas are exposed to road noise levels of 55 decibels or more.

Just as alarming, the EEA estimates that long-term exposure to environmental noise causes 12.000 premature deaths every year.

Further measures to reduce noise pollution in cities

Against this backdrop, mayors and local leaders have been deploying a wide range of other measures to reduce noise pollution in cities. These include replacing old cobbled roads with smoother asphalt, better managing traffic flows, introducing 30 km/h speed limits, or encouraging as much walking, cycling and public transport use as possible.

While reducing noise pollution to “zero” is a lost cause, many towns and cities across Europe have made noise pollution a top priority. As the EEA puts it, many EU Member States will need to do more in the future to reduce noise pollution, including by implementing the EU Environmental Noise Directive.

THOMAS Carol
In Impact community Labour, Local Insights, Skills

Elderly Support Line

Elderly Support Line - News 2022

Turkey’s Serdivan municipality develops comprehensive system for seniors’ emergency and daily care

Like many territories across Europe, the city of Serdivan in northwest Turkey is facing the challenges of caring for an aging population.
 
That is why the municipality has developed the Elderly Support Line. Seniors can apply to have the device and emergency support system installed in their home.
 
Once set up, the senior can call municipal assistance 24/7 by pressing an emergency button worn on a necklace. Thus, elderly people can call for help whether because of falling, heart attack, blood pressure, diabetese or any other problem.
 
The button can also be used on the move as the wireless device enjoys a certain range. The municipality’s call centre can be reached without even the hassle of dialing a phone.
 
With the aid alarm, the municipality’s response team takes action quickly and reaches the needy, if necessary transporting the patient to the hospital by patient transport or ambulance.
 
If the person cannot reach the municipal call centre for any reason, the call is automatically transferred to the 112 Emergency Call Centre.
 
Caring for seniors
 
Serdivan municipality also provides other services to the elderly, such as house cleaning once a month, food according to demand, personal care, bathing once a week and changing the clothes of bedridden people.
 
The municipal support team also makes doctor’s appointments for seniors and takes them to the hospital for examination or routine controls.
 
The project especially supports seniors who may lack nearby relatives. It aims not only to meet seniors’ urgent health and household tasks, but also to accompany them and show them they are not alone.
 
Thanks to the Elderly Support Line, Serdivan’s seniors can live longer, happier lives as valued members of the community.

BORDELOT Federica
In Gender equality, Impact community Society, Local Insights

Urban Planning

Urban Planning Sweden - News 2022

Gender-sensitive urban planning enables safer, more inclusive streets in Umeå, Sweden

As women are still underrepresented in the world of urban planning, we are often confronted with cities that are planned by men and so informed by their experience of the public space. Spotlighting gender equality when developing and planning our municipalities can enable to create safer and more inclusive urban spaces for all.

One success story comes from the Swedish city of Umeå (population 130,224) which has been working to integrate gender equality in urban planning since the late 70s. Signatory of the CEMR European Charter for Equality since 2008, the city was selected as the lead partner in the EU-funded 2019 programme Gendered Landscape network organised by URBACT.

In 2009, Umeå launched an innovative and ongoing initiative: “The Gendered Landscape” bus tour throughout 25 stops representing municipal initiatives that integrate gender considerations and urban planning. It raises awareness of the importance of a gendered and long-term perspective on urban planning, showcases successful work on gender equality and draws attention to issues that still need to be addressed. In constant adaptation, in this article, you can find some of the highlights of Umeå’s innovative action.

The municipal parking company Upab has worked to transform the Nanna parking garage into a safe and accessible-to-everyone environment: it was repainted, new and better lighting and more easily opened doors were introduced, and the brick walls in the stairwells were replaced with glass walls for better visibility.

Umeå Municipality has built the Free Zone in Årstidernas Park in close collaboration with a group of young girls who have shared their experiences of the public space and their sense of safety or unsafety. This led the municipality to work on visibility, lighting and proximity to the road with other people, in an attempt to make the Free Zone a safe and convivial meeting place for socialising, with seating areas, electrical outlets, Wi-Fi and the possibility to listen to music on speakers.

A dark and narrow station tunnel was transformed into a safe and accessible place, with a large light intake and rounded corners for better visibility. Moreover, the tunnel is animated by a work of art that offers a cosy and sheltered feeling: the artistic creation is a tribute to local author Sara Lidman, whose quotes, reads and talks – along with a loop of environmental sounds – can be activated by pressing buttons.

These are only some of the many examples that Umeå can showcase. As the city has experienced, the benefits of having a gendered landscape are multiple: and designing for women contributes to the creation of a sense of belonging, welcome and safety for people of different generations and different backgrounds.

Having inspired her work from other cities’ realities, Umeå gender equality officer Linda Gustafsson argues that is crucial for cities to compare and exchange on each other’s work. In this way, each city can find solutions, suited to the local context, on how to approach gender equality and integrate it into urban planning.

THOMAS Carol
In Impact community Society, Local democracy, Local Insights

Spatial development

Spatial Development - Turkey News

Multi-level cooperation in practice: How Marmara Region, Türkiye, pioneered a participatory approach

The Marmara Region in Türkiye is home to astonishing cultural treasures and diverse landscapes. But it is also a territory of great risks in terms of earthquakes, droughts, flooding and other natural disasters. As a result, disaster planning and resilience are essential to people’s safety. Cities in the region must find more interactive, comprehensive, responsive and innovative solutions to these challenges.

To meet these challenges and broader development goals, the Marmara Municipalities Union (MMU) partnered with Istanbul Technical University and initiated the Marmara Region Spatial Development Strategic Framework Research Project in June 2020. The project, funded by the MMU, aimed to identify problems with the participation of all stakeholders at the provincial and regional levels and to find solutions in harmony with the projects and activities of the various organisations in the region.

Specific objectives included:

  • Strengthening the integration of sub-regional plans, which have been prepared by sub-regional development agencies and which have not been adequately integrated so far
  • Creating a dialogue platform and a road map for local governments and other relevant stakeholders
  • Minimising the side effects and externalities of big infrastructure projects such as airports, bridges, etc
  • Creating a regional approach to maximise the common interests of all cities
  • Raising awareness of inter-city and interregional planning
  • Contributing to regional development in line with the New Urban Agenda and SDGs

Staff collected data from governorships, provincial special institutions, local governments, trade associations and NGOs located in the 14 cities covered by the project. This enabled the identification of the cities’ and region’s problems. A series of workshops with the participation of relevant stakeholders were also held to get their recommendations and ideas on the earliest results of the analysis.

The project identified themes requiring cooperation between cities in the region and prepared sectoral programmes, short-term action plans and spatial development schemes.

The conclusions were outlighted in a three-volume Marmara Region Spatial Development Strategic Framework presented in October 2021. This action-oriented, flexible and participatory strategic document seeks to reduce territorial disparities, increase global competitiveness and local cooperation, and respect climate and ecological sensitivities in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With this future-oriented strategic framework and the creation of an effective platform for exchange, all the players in the Marmara Region are now working together for a prosperous, sustainable and safe territory.

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