European Urban Initiative

The European Urban Initiative is the initiative inspired by the current Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) and the URBACT III project, funded by the ERDF. The overall objective is to strengthen integrated and participatory approach to sustainable urban development and provide a stronger link to EU policies and cohesion policy in particular.

Objectives

• To improve capacities of cities in the design of sustainable urban policies and practices in an integrated and participative way
• To improve the design and implementation of sustainable urban strategies and action plans in cities
• To develop transferable and scalable innovative solutions to urban challenges
• To develop knowledge base in support of better policy design, implementation and urban mainstreaming
• To ensure easier access to thematic knowledge and share know-how on sustainable urban development

Structure

Three strands:

• Support for capacity-building
• Support for innovative actions
• Support for knowledge, policy development and communication

Priorities

• Improve the governance of urban development under cohesion policy
• Encourage cooperation networks of cities
• Deploy networks and investment on transferability of innovative solutions
• Come up with innovative solutions mainstreamed in sustainable urban development
• Confront and combine evidence from other EU programmes and initiatives to adapt

Financed actions

• Peer-to-peer exchange
• E-learning solutions and active learning solutions
• Pilot initiatives on governance
• Methodological support for capacity building networks
• Targeted support by experts deployed through the networks
• Benchmark for integrated development
• Urban data mining and classification
• Screening of Impact assesment and evaluation studies
• Urban research coordination and streamlining
• Communication and information dissemination at EUI level
• Ensuring link between innovation, capacity building and policy development