Just, Productive, Creative and Climate-Neutral cities: R&I approaches towards sustainable urban transformation

The session (1.5h) focuses on how novel R&I approaches can help cities in developing new urban, economic, social, cultural, and industrial models that relocalise production to the city and its bioregional context, promoting decarbonisation, reduction of emissions, healthy lifestyles and contributing to climate neutrality. The challenge is to transform how we produce and consume, increasing urban resilience to treats including climate events and pandemics.

The event will host three EU R&I projects funded by Horizon 2020 Programme. These projects focus on the regeneration of urban places through hubs or ‘creative space’ that hold a potential as cultural, social, economic, and environmental innovation drivers, facilitating bottom-up and top-down action.

Stemming from the Fab City Full Stack strategy for cities, – Fab City being a global initiative and cities network of 41 cities and regions that aim to produce (almost) everything they consume by 2050 – the session is organised in cooperation with both DGR&I and REA.

The first Session focuses on urban regeneration and will be structured around 3 main questions:

1. How can we use the ‘meanwhile’ of urban regeneration to create Just and sustainable Cities? led by T-Factor project, focusing on the key role that temporary and creative uses can play in unleashing inclusive and thriving urban areas that promote the right to cities while supporting the SDGs targets.

2. How can we guide collective action towards circular and productive cities? led by CENTRINNO project that focuses on leveraging the potential of underutilised historic spaces to become creative production and manufacturing human-centred hubs, part of a new industrial revolution that puts citizens at the core of a sustainable transformation.

3. How can we foster creative and heritage driven cities balancing forward-moving innovation and preservation of cultural heritage? led by HUB-IN project that promotes the regeneration of historic urban areas (HUA) using as main catalyst innovation and entrepreneurship, while preserving the unique identity of historic areas and their cultural and social values.

More info at : WORLD URBAN FORUM