Examples and Lessons from the EUROCITIES Network

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Examples and Lessons from the EUROCITIES Network Policy-related transnational learning – examples and lessons from the EUROCITIES network affordable housing and homelessness Presentation at the SUITE meeting Hamburg, 26 May 2010 Simon Guentner Hamburg University of Applied Sciences Neil Munslow Newcastle City Council Transnational city networks in the EU Type purpose duration funding examples project Mutual Temporary (1-3 EU co-funding URBACT networks learning, local years) networks, policy INTERREG development networks Single purpose lobbying, Long-term Membership Cities for networks campaigning, (with peaks fees, other cohesion, mutual and lows of ICLEI, Energy learning, activity) Cities, QenC European local Lobbying, Long-term Membership EUROCITIES, Authority campaigning, fees, other METREX networks mutual learning European Lobbying, Long-term Membership CEMR associations of campaigning, fees, other national mutual organisations learning Channels for cities to influence EU policies Decisions on EU policies (sectoral, cross-cutting, strategic) European Commission European Parliament European Council Commission Services (DGs) Committees, (Inter)Groups Member States Project Lobbying Committee of Sectoral networks organisations the Regions Dialogue EUROCITIES PROGRESS CEMR URBACT Interreg National Local/Regional Government Associations Cities EUROCITIES – an example for policy-oriented learning • 134 large cities in over 30 European countries • Lobbying, networking, campaigning • Dialogue with the European Institutions • 6 thematic Forums, 37 Working Groups, projects, activities and events • Exchange between practitioners (social workers, planners...) • Political leadership • Cooperation with research ad hoc or via projects … how does it work in practice? EUROCITIES Members (Cities) Specialists Councillors/ Generalists Mayors Vice-Mayors EU Institutions EU Thematic Working Groups Thematic Forum (ca Executive projects (long-term, 10-30 30-50 members) Committee (temporary) members) Learning Debate/Policy Position Paper exercise Development EUROCITIES Brussels Office (ca 30 staff) EU policies on housing Policy Instruments Financial Instruments Community Method Intergovernmental (hard law) Coordination (soft law) ERDF Social OMC Anti Discrimination Reference Transnational Investment (combating Framework learning Services Directive housing for European Housing exclusion, Sustainable URBACT interventions for State Aid Regulation fuel Cities Interreg marginalised poverty…) people (since Directive of Energy 4/2010) Performance of Buildings Investments in energy efficiency and renewable Charter of energy in Fundamental Rights housing (since 2009) EUROCITIES activities in the field of housing – recent examples • Working Group on Housing • Working Group on Homelessness • Working Group on Urban Regeneration • Working Group on Cohesion Policy • Working Group on Climate Change - Air Quality – Energy Efficiency • CONNECTIONS project on social inclusion • EUROCITIES Network of Local Authority Observatories on Active Inclusion EUROCITIES Working Group on Housing I • Who? – Chair: Vienna – Vice Chair: Leeds – contributing members: Amsterdam, Berlin, Brno, Copenhagen, Ljubljana, Munich, Rotterdam, The Hague, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Zurich • Why? – Inform EU Institutions about instruments to achieve affordable housing, based on good practices • EU Social Inclusion Process • Debate about the future of Cohesion Policy • EU budget reform – Mutual learning • When? – Since 2008 • How? – Position paper – joint production, shared responsibilities, backed by case studies EUROCITIES Working Group on Housing II • What? – The case for affordable housing – counteract segregation, promote social cohesion – reduce financial stress for low income households – Tools • Planning – Land use planning, strategic planning – Partnerships, participation • Financial – focused vs collective – Supply-side / demand side • Quality improvement and standards – Legislation vs financial incentives/subsidies – Recommendations • Communication with EU Institutions • Direct delivery to members of EU Institutions • Basis for presentations EUROCITIES Working Group on Homelessness I • Who? – Working Group Homelessness • Chair: Vienna • contributing cities: Barcelona, Bergen, Malmo, Newcastle, Munich, Oslo, Riga, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Utrecht, Vienna, Warsaw • Why? • Mutual Learning: How does it work in other cities • Contribute to EU debate: Housing first vs housing ladder • Position vis a vis FEANTSA • Gain EU funding for cities • When? • Since 2004 • How? – Systematic information exchange – Local peer reviews – Bi-annual comparative report EUROCITIES Working Group on Homelessness II What? • Chain Approach Model • Local examples Communication with EU Institutions • Meetings with Commission staff • Feed into CoR reports • Presentations at EU events Applications of OMC • Tested practice of theoretical models • Copenhagen: Housing First • Bergen: Specialist drugs accommodation • Munich: Family • Vienna: Integrated Chain and procurement proforma • Rotterdam: Matrix • Newcastle: influenced by models to develop: • Places of Change, Pathways, Prevention from eviction, transitional tenancies, case management, pre-tenancy training Flows: New Rough Entrenched People at risk of rough sleeping Sleepers Rough Sleepers Transitions: (from care, custody, Rapid diversion forces, prison, NASS, and sign-posting to hospital…) mainstream services High Risk + Low for people with low needs Resilience: (1 – 3 months) (loss of job, home, Longer term/ complex needs relationship, drugs/ Assessed alcohol use, excluded accommodation from school + low skills and support and self esteem, limited pathways Assertive social support networks, for people with outreach and poor mental health) higher needs enforcement, (1 – 6 months) Crises: assessment and (loss of relationship, job, personalised home, breakdown of Outreach, assessment, budgets, migration plans) enforcement, reconnection, drugs and alcohol, accommodation and support mental health and services, independence, complex needs Prevention and early employment and training services intervention services Independent Living 48 Transitional Bevans Building (BBHA) (29 flats) YHN – (19 units) Tenancies spaces HOMELESS SUBSTANCE OFFENDING YOUNG DOMESTIC REFUGEES MENTAL LEARNING MISUSE HISTORY PEOPLE VIOLENCE HEALTH DISABILITY 673 spaces which are made up of: 20 spaces 1064 floating 115 spaces for generic support 204 (inc 2 LGBT 49 spaces 92 spaces (RSL tenants 26 spaces 478 ASW outreach – across tenure specialist) domestic specifically only) specifically for spaces young violence for refugees learning support spaces 18 spaces for RSL tenants only specifically people for mental difficulties 47 spaces specifically for substance misusers health 15 spaces specifically for offenders 105 beds (inc 8 320 beds which are mad up of: LGBT specialist, 10 6 beds for 20 beds 6 beds 457 non 237 beds generic support for care leavers) women and specifically specifically young people under children / emergency 30 beds specifically for single men 16+ for for mental 35 beds specifically for single women 16+ age 25 domestic refugees health violence access beds up 18 beds specifically for substance misusers to 2 years 10 beds 10 beds 140 beds which are made up of: specifically domestic 160 emergency 66 beds generic support for Young violence, 56 beds specifically for men aged 18+ people aged women 16+ access beds 18 beds specifically for women aged 16+ 16 – 21 5 day / night Joseph Peoples Ron Crisis Byker centres Cowen Kitchen Eager Health Skylight Bridge Statutory provision 47 mixed use self contained units plus 3 for 16 – 25yr olds Housing Advice Centre – ACE rough sleepers’ outreach team Conclusions • Mutual Learning “plus” • Housing policy beyond ERDF • Make use of all channels for upstream information • Be proactive • Clear messages • Screen policy windows, targets, opportunities • join up with other initiatives Further housing related activities of the EUROCITIES network • Integrated Local Development • Make the case for ILD funding mechanism post 2013 • Cohesion policy, budget reform • Work closely with EU Presidencies • Active Inclusion • Make the case for involvement of cities in social OMC • EUROCITIES NLAO: local employment and housing services in Active Inclusion • Climate Change – Climate Change Declaration – Covenant of Mayors Thank You for your attention! Contact: Prof. Dr. Simon Guentner Hamburg University of Applied Sciences [email protected] Neil Munslow Housing Services Manager Newcastle City Council [email protected].
Recommended publications
  • Social Affairs Forum Strategy for 2021-2022
    Social Affairs Forum strategy for 2021-2022 Chair Utrecht Politician: Maarten van Ooijen Officer: Imara Antonius E-mail: [email protected] Vice-chair Glasgow Politician: Baillie Annette Christie Officer: Joe Brady E-mail: [email protected] Aarhus • Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropole • Amiens Metropole • Amsterdam Members (145) • Angers Loire Métropole • Antwerp • Athens • Banja Luka • Barcelona • Belfast • Belgrade • Bergen • Berlin • Beylikdüzü • Bialystok • Bilbao • Birmingham • Bologna • Bonn • Borlange • Bordeaux • BrabantStad • Braga • Bratislava • Bremen • Brighton & Hove • Bristol • Brno • Brussels • Brussels Capital Region • Budapest • Burgas • Bydgoszcz • Cardiff • Cluj-Napoca • Cologne • Constanta • Copenhagen • Dortmund • Dresden • Dublin • Dusseldorf • Edinburgh • Eindhoven • Espoo • Essen • Florence • Frankfurt • Gaziantep • Gdansk • Genoa • Ghent • Gijon • Glasgow • Gothenburg • Grand Paris Sud • Grenoble Alpes Métropole • Hamburg • Helsinki • Istanbul • Izmir • Karlsruhe • Karlstad • Katowice • Kharkiv • Kiel • Kyiv • Leeds • Leipzig • Lisbon • Ljubljana • London • Lublin • Luxembourg • Lviv • Lyon • Madrid • Malmö • Manchester • Mannheim • Metropole Europeenne de Lille • Milan • Munich • Munster • Murcia • Nantes • Netwerkstad Twente • Newcastle- Gateshead • Nice Côte d’Azur • Nicosia • Novi Sad • Nuremberg • Odessa • Oslo • Osmangazi • Ostend • Oulu • Palermo • Paris • Pendik • Pilsen • Porto • Poznan • Prague • Rennes Métropole • Reykjavik • Riga • Rome • Rotterdam • Sarajevo • Seville • Sheffield • Sofia •
    [Show full text]
  • Eurostars and Eurocities: Towards a Sociology of Free Moving Professionals in Western Europe
    The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies CCIS University of California, San Diego Eurostars and Eurocities: Towards a Sociology of Free Moving Professionals in Western Europe By Adrian Favell University of California, Los Angeles Working Paper 71 February 2003 Eurostars and Eurocities: Towards a Sociology of Free Moving Professionals in Western Europe Adrian Favell University of California, Los Angeles ********* Abstract. Despite an economic union premised on free movement across Europe, population statistics consistently show that a very low percentage of Western Europeans migrate and settle permanently in other European countries. Middle class Europeans show a remarkable propensity to stay put in their native countries. One can only conclude that the European economic and social system functions in ways that scarcely resemble its founding principle of the free movement of peoples. This presentation reports on qualitative research in Brussels and Amsterdam which has sought to understand the choices, career trajectories, and personal problems faced by professionals who have chosen the path of free movement within Europe. The study reveals the deep-seated national organization of life in even the most internationalized-or Europeanized-of cities, particularly concerning housing, child education, and political participation. Favell focuses on the difficult struggle for "quality life" that is and always has given the advantage to a rooted "bourgeois" conception of accumulation and social power. In a Europe where the declining welfare state and the all-powerful international economic system would seem to be overwhelming the nation-state, Favell suggests that these hidden barriers to free movement in Europe lie at the heart of the resilience of the national as the dominant form of social organization on the continent.
    [Show full text]
  • EUROCITIES Annual Report 2016-2017 MAKING CITIES
    EUROCITIES annual report 2016-2017 MAKING CITIES. VISIONS FOR AN URBAN FUTURE To mark 30 years of EUROCITIES, we published a collection of essays by young urban professionals. Our book ‘Making cities. Visions for an urban future’ comprises 30 thought-provoking essays by architects, urbanists, journalists and academics aged between 25 and 35. The book was presented at EUROCITIES 2016 Milan in November 2016, and is available to order from the EUROCITIES office. Visit http://bit.ly/2jqp6t8 to see the book online, or contact [email protected] to order your copy. 31 30 YEARS OF EUROCITIES EUROCITIES MEMBERS AND PARTNERS on 31 December 2016 In 2016, EUROCITIES welcomed four new members: Braga, Kiel, Leeds and Stuttgart; cohesion policy regulations and four new partners: Guimaraes, Klaipeda, Kungsbacka and Lisburn and Castlereagh. for 2014-2020 include new EUROCITIES celebrates its EUROCITIES secretariat is th provision obliging member 30 anniversary, the network MEMBERS ASSOCIATED PARTNERS established in Brussels and states to invest a minimum now comprises 137 member AL Tirana GR Athens BE Kortrijk, Ostend opened by Commissioner European Commission member cities from enlargement of 5% in integrated actions cities, 47 associated partners and AM Yerevan HR Zagreb BG Kardzhali Milan, responsible for holds first major urban countries are integrated in EUROCITIES membership for sustainable urban 7 business partners, representing AT Vienna* HU Budapest CH Lausanne regional policy conference in Vienna rises to over 130 cities development 130 million citizens in 39 countries BA Banja Luka, Sarajevo IE Dublin CY Turkish Cypriot Community of Nicosia EUROCITIES membership BE Antwerp, Brussels Capital Region, Brussels City, IS Reykjavik DE Bremen, Hagen Ghent* IT Bologna, Florence*, Genoa, Milan*, Palermo, ES Fuenlabrada, San Sebastian BG Burgas, Sofia, Varna Rome, Turin, Venice FI Sipoo 1992 1998 2002-2004 2008 2013 2016 CH Geneva, Zurich LT Vilnius FR Amiens Metropole, Brest Metropole Oceane, CY Nicosia LU Luxembourg Grand Reims, St.
    [Show full text]
  • D1.2 Adapted User-Centricity Principles Localised Tallinn Declaration User-Centricity Principles
    D1.2 ADAPTED USER-CENTRICITY PRINCIPLES LOCALISED TALLINN DECLARATION USER-CENTRICITY PRINCIPLES Grant agreement number: 101004603 Project acronym: UCCs Project title: Towards digital government indicators and support for European Cities Deliverable details Adapted and operational version of the Tallinn Declaration according to local authorities. This will include a list of key services delivered at the local level, and a set of user-centricity criteria based on the original Tallinn Declaration principles Title: Adapted user-centricity principles WP: 1 Version: V1.0 Contractual delivery date: M5 (30/04/2021) Actual delivery date: Dissemination level: Public Lead partner: Eurocities Contributing partner: Lisbon Council Reviewers: Lisbon Council History of cHanges: V0.1 Eurocities V0.2 Eurocities (internal review)/Lisbon Council V0.3 Eurocities (added comments made by Lisbon Council and suggestions sent by other UCCs partners) V0.4 Eurocities (added comments from the Making Speeches Talk platform) q V0.5 Eurocities (internal review) This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement n. 101004603 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of figures ........................................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 6 2. Iterative approach and co-creation ..........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Social Affairs Forum Strategy for 2019-2020
    Social Affairs Forum strategy for 2019-2020 Adopted by the Social Affairs Forum members at meeting in Stuttgart | 23-24 October 2018 Chair Malmö Politician: Andreas Schönström Officer: Nashab Farhikhtah E-mail: [email protected] Vice-chair Utrecht Politician: Maarten van Ooijen Officer: Imara Antonius E-mail: [email protected] Aarhus • Acharnes • Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropole • Amiens Metropole • Members (145) Amsterdam • Angers Loire Métropole • Antwerp • Athens • Banja Luka • Barcelona • Belfast • Belgrade • Bergen • Berlin • Besiktas • Beylikdüzü • Bialystok • Bilbao • Birmingham • Bologna • Bonn • Bordeaux • BrabantStad • Braga • Bratislava • Bremen • Brighton & Hove • Bristol • Brno • Brussels • Brussels Capital Region • Budapest • Burgas • Bydgoszcz • Cardiff • Cluj- Napoca • Cologne • Constanta • Copenhagen • Dortmund • Dresden • Dublin • Dusseldorf • Edinburgh • Eindhoven • Espoo • Essen • Florence • Frankfurt • Gaziantep • Gdansk • Genoa • Ghent • Gijon • Glasgow • Gothenburg • Grenoble Alpes Métropole • Hamburg • Helsinki • Istanbul • Izmir • Karlsruhe • Katowice • Kharkiv • Kiel • Konya • Kyiv • Leeds • Leipzig • Lisbon • Ljubljana • London • Lublin • Luxembourg • Lviv • Lyon • Madrid • Malmö • Manchester • Mannheim • Metropole Europeenne de Lille • Milan • Munich • Munster • Murcia • Nantes • Netwerkstad Twente • Newcastle-Gateshead • Nice Côte d’Azur • Nicosia • Novi Sad • Nuremberg • Odessa • Oslo • Osmangazi • Ostend • Oulu • Palermo • Paris • Pendik • Pilsen • Porto • Poznan • Prague • Rennes Métropole
    [Show full text]
  • What Is Eurocities ?
    What is Eurocities ? Eurocities is a non-profit making Association of 87 Metropolitan Cities from 26 European countries. The associations’ main aim is to improve the quality of life for the 80% of Europeans living in cities and urban areas by: • influencing the European agenda, • increasing the transfer of knowledge, • facilitating the implementation of practical projects between cities across Europe. Membership of Eurocities is open to democratically elected city governments, and to their economic and scientific partners (Chambers of Commerce and Universities), in cities which: • have a minimum population of 250.000 • have an international dimension • are an important regional centre Aims • to influence the European agenda to ensure that the views of the major cities are taken into account in policy development • to lobby for the involvement of local authorities in European Union programmes • to increase the transfer of knowledge, experience and best practice between city governments • to support the cities of Central and Eastern Europe and the NIS in their progress towards democratic government and a market economy Committees To enable Eurocities to contribute effectively to the European policy debate and develop practical co-operation projects between cities, Eurocities has established the following committees: • Culture (chaired by Helsinki) • East/ West (chaired by Budapest) • Economic Development and Urban Regeneration (chaired by Lille) • Environment (chaired by Stockholm) • Social Welfare (chaired by Antwerp) • Transport (chaired
    [Show full text]
  • LOCAL AUTHORITY OBSERVATORY STOCKHOLM Cities
    LOCAL AUTHORITY OBSERVATORY STOCKHOLM LOCAL AUTHORITY OBSERVATORY STOCKHOLM Cities and Active Inclusion: Employment & Training Active inclusion on the labour market / Christina Groenberg / Social Welfare- and Labour Market Administration, City of Stockholm Acknowledgements With a special thanks to our reference group Cover design by: fuel. - www.fueldesign.be §§ Active inclusion on the labour market National report on the role of labour services for the active inclusion of people furthest away from the labour market Local Authority Observatory on Active Inclusion Stockholm Foreword The European Forum and Labour Market Unit at the Social Welfare and Labour Market Administration in the city of Stockholm is taking part in the EUROCITIES-Network of Local Authority Observatories on Active Inclusion (EUROCITIES-NLAO) project from March 2009 to August 2010. This project is being managed by EUROCITIES, the European network of major European cities (more than 250 000 inhabitants). Four other cities, Bologna (Italy), Prague (Czech Republic), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Southampton (United Kingdom), are taking part in the project and have each set up a Local Authority Observatory on Active Inclusion (LAO). The aim of the project is to use local studies to examine how the EU’s active inclusion strategy is being implemented and working at local level. Two studies are being carried out within this project. The first report dealt with housing issues, and this one examines employment and active inclusion on the labour market. The purpose of these reports is to describe how policy at local level affects people at risk of social exclusion. The aim is to bring about mutual learning and use comparisons and good examples to attempt to influence future policy.
    [Show full text]
  • Cross-Border Projects : Stimulate Sustainable Cultural Exchanges
    : Cross-border projects : stimulate sustainable cultural exchanges © Timetravelturtle • Access to culture • Internationalisation • Tourism • Well-being • Intercultural dialogue • Civic participation Context The greater region is a cross-border area encompassing political and administrative entities from four different states: the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the French Lorraine region, the German federal states of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, and the Belgian Wallonia region, Wallonia-Brussels Federation and the German-speaking Community. Approximately 11.2 million people live on this territory stretched over 65,401 square kilometres, and more than 200,000 regional workers cross borders every day within the greater region. This transborder space features a dense urban, industrial and rural fabric. Continuous economic and cultural exchanges emanating from such an intersection of trade routes and transport networks represent a source of wealth and a basis for sustainable relationships between regions. Crucially, this geographical peculiarity provides the greater region with a cultural richness based on the diversity of nationalities, languages, and traditions and a shared heritage of mixed Latin and Germanic influences. Transborder cooperation is pivotal in this regard, for its economic and institutional development but also for the development of civil society in a cohesive way. In 1995 the city of Luxembourg was granted the title of European Capital of Culture (ECoC) which gave a dynamic impulse to the cultural landscape of the Grand Duchy, stimulating artistic training, heritage conservation and new ways of cultural participation. Approximately 1.1 million visitors came to Luxembourg throughout the year. In addition, the event contributed to raising awareness about the need to engage in a meaningful debate on culture and society and the benefits of culture for local development.
    [Show full text]
  • Cities of Tomorrow Challenges, Visions, Ways Forward
    EN Cities of tomorrow Challenges, visions, ways forward October 2011 Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. Copyrights: Cover: © ZAC DE BONNE - AKTIS ARCHITECTURE - Chapter 1: © iStockphoto Page 6: © EC - Page 9: © PHOTOGRAPHIEDEPOT Frank-Heinrich Müller - Chapter 2: © Tova Svanfeldt Page 15: © Corinne Hermant - Page 17: © iStockphoto - Page 20: © Krisztina Keresztely Page 23: © Carmen Vossen - Chapter 3: © Iván Tosics - Page 36: © iStockphoto - Page 37: © iStockphoto Page 41: © Henrik Johansson - Page 42: © La Citta Vita - Page 46: © EC - Page 47: © iStockphoto Page 53: © Anja Schlamann - Page 54: © Marie Schmerkova - Page 59: © iStockphoto - Chapter 4: © Iván Tosics Page 67: © Iván Tosics - Page 73: © iStockphoto - Page 77: © Bernard_in_va Page 82: © "Fragment de Tags" http://fragmentdetags.net/ - Page 83: © W. Vainqueur Conclusions: © City of Växjö © European Union, 2011 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. ISBN: 978-92-79-21307-6 doi:10.2776/41803 European Commission, Directorate General for Regional Policy Unit C.2 - Urban Development, Territorial Cohesion Wladyslaw Piskorz E-mail: [email protected] Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/citiesoftomorrow/index_en.cfm Unit B.1 – Communication, Information, Relations with Third Countries Raphaël Goulet Avenue de Tervuren 41 B - 1040 Brussels Fax: +32 22966003 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/index_en.htm The opinion expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
    [Show full text]
  • TACKLING LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT at LOCAL LEVEL’ 5-6 OCTOBER 2016, MADRID December 2016 2 CONTENTS
    EUROCITIES STUDY VISIT ON INCLUSIVE LABOUR MARKET ‘TACKLING LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT AT LOCAL LEVEL’ 5-6 OCTOBER 2016, MADRID December 2016 2 CONTENTS 1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................................4 1.1. EUROCITIES work on long-term unemployment...................................................4 1.2. Objectives of the study visit................................................................................5 2. The Madrid Neighbourhood Employment Plans in brief.......................................................................6 3. Main results of the peer review session...............................................................................................7 4. A holistic approach to tackling long-term unemployment: exchanging views between city participants and OECD-LEED...............................................................9 5. The lessons learned from the study visit..............................................................................................11 6. Conclusions.....................................................................................................................................12 7. Annexes...........................................................................................................................................13 7.1. Madrid Neighbourhood Employment Plans.........................................................13 7.2. Guidelines for a critical peer review.....................................................................16
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction
    INTRODUCTION Unemployment continues to be Europe’s major challenge. As EUROCITIES Declaration on Work3 underlines, the The crisis has led to budget cuts and it has made the right mix of demand and supply side policy interventions socio-economic integration of people who have low is needed to connect disadvantaged and vulnerable educational attainment, low skills, a history of long- people to employment opportunities. This mix needs to term unemployment and who are vulnerable even more make sense in the context of our local labour markets at difficult. At the same time, environmental degradation, the city and metropolitan area level. Specific measures climate change and unsustainable development are are needed to promote access of vulnerable groups amongst the most serious threats that our society has to the green economy; activation policies and skills to address; the environmental and health costs often development need to be linked to local job opportunities outweighing the gains from economic activity.1 and local economic development initiatives. Addressing all aspects of the labour market comprehensively will In tackling these threats we must also seize the ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of these opportunities they can offer. The green sector is among interventions and can eventually create inclusive labour the most promising for Europe’s economic development; markets. it has grown even during the crisis and is estimated to generate 20 million jobs by 2020.2 Local governments contribute directly to achieving the Europe 2020 targets. In this particular area, by focusing The job creation potential of the green economy also on green jobs for social inclusion cities contribute to 4 brings with it opportunities to help reduce poverty.
    [Show full text]
  • Commission Culture
    About EUROCITIES What is EUROCITIES? EUROCITIES Activities EUROCITIES is the network of major European EUROCITIES works along 3 complementary strands of VISIBILITY cities. activities: Created in 1986, EUROCITIES brings together the EUROCITIES brings forward its policy priorities by democratically elected local governments of 134 NETWORKING developing Europe-wide campaigns on issues of cities including cities in the European Union (Full common concern, such as sustainable mobility and Members) and cities in other European countries EUROCITIES members benefit from taking part in responsible consumption. These campaigns are (Associate Members). Membership is open to the trans-national projects, research activities, policy aimed at raising awareness and changing behaviour municipal governments of cities which are seminars and workshops with regard to a wide range both within municipal authorities and also among recognised as important regional centres with an of urban issues and challenges. Through networking citizens, whose active support and cooperation is international dimension, and normally having at cities can learn from each other by sharing often essential for achieving policy objectives, least 250 000 inhabitants. knowledge, exchanging experiences, comparing especially at the local level. different approaches, testing innovative solutions The city of Warsaw is currently the president of and analysing best practices. Alongside the EUROCITIES. advantages for the participating cities, these thematic activities also provide a sound and
    [Show full text]