URBACT launches new website to raise public awareness of major urban challenges
The European exchange programme for sustainable urban development is launching a new benchmark website www.urbact.eu
[UKPRwire, Wed Sep 30 2009] URBACT launches new website to raise public awareness
of major urban challenges
The European exchange programme for sustainable urban development
is launching a new benchmark website www.urbact.eu
The aim of this European exchange programme, is to enable cities to work together to develop responses to major urban challenges. Targeted at all city stakeholders, including experts and researchers, elected politicians and citizens, the objective of www.urbact.eu is to provide a communal space which sets the benchmark in terms of sustainable urban development.
Accessible, well-structured and friendly, the website introduces URBACT and its team, provides expert advice and details on latest developments.
This bilingual website offers collaborative and individually tailored tools with the aim of enhancing coordination between the URBACT community of cities. A blog has also been created to facilitate discussion and to bring these subjects to life. All of this will allow internet users to follow the latest news from URBACT, keep up to date with its projects and participate in online discussions.
European cities, at the core of URBACT's mission
Since cities play a crucial role in terms of the major changes which are currently taking place, URBACT assists them in coming together and developing and sharing sustainable solutions. The URBACT programme, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), currently encompasses 185 cities, 29 countries and 5,000 active participants.
URBACT funds 28 thematic pan-European projects, designed by the local stakeholders themselves. They go to the heart of present urban challenges: the promotion of innovative small and medium-sized business and of the local economy, women and employment, health care in urban areas, sustainable towns and housing, integration of ethnic minorities into town life, etc.
‘Our new website seeks to integrate this rich expertise and synthesize it into a coherent whole, placing the information at the disposal of all European cities. Brought together in a single tool, it will be accessible and helpful to everyone, from the experts to the citizens,’ Jean-Loup Drubigny, Director of the URBACT Secretariat, explained.
The website contains six different sections: About URBACT, Integrated urban development, Our projects, Get involved, News and Events, Documents and Resources. Thanks to this structure visitors will be able to easily navigate this wealth of information, developing methodologies and practical solutions.
www.urbact.eu, the cities of Europe accessible at the click of a mouse
In the ‘Integrated urban development’ space visitors will find an overview of the expert knowledge which URBACT has acquired over the course of the programme. Broken down into several thematic clusters (innovation and creativity, human capital and entrepreneurship, port cities, culture heritage and city development, etc.), this space highlights URBACT's commitment to the sustainable development of cities on economic, social and environmental levels.
With this in mind, a special dossier entitled URBACT cities responding to the crisis has been launched. It details the solutions which URBACT has explored with a view to reducing the impact of the financial crisis on cities, both for their citizens and for their businesses. It is a dynamic, informative space, which will be regularly enriched with contributions from member cities.
Lastly, to get the latest news about the programme and to keep up to date with the most recent events and debates, a ‘News and Events’ space can be accessed through the homepage.
About URBACT
URBACT is a European exchange and learning programme promoting sustainable urban development.
It enables CITIES to work together to develop solutions to major urban challenges, reaffirming the key role they play in facing increasingly complex societal changes.
URBACT helps cites to develop pragmatic SOLUTIONS that are new and sustainable, and that integrate economic, social and environmental dimensions.
It enables cities to SHARE good practices and lessons learned with all professionals involved in urban policy throughout Europe.
URBACT is 185 cities, 29 countries and 5,000 active participants.
URBACT is jointly financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) and the Member States.
Press contact:
Meriem Djazouli
Hopscotch Europe In One
Tel: +44 (0)208 133 3140
mdjazouli@hopscotch.eu
