Arctik and the City: Locating today’s changemakers for cities of tomorrow
Skyscrapers outfitted with green roofs. Public transport powered by renewables. It sounds appealing, doesn’t it? Alas, with climate change looming large on the horizon, the fabric of our cities is weakened by the realities of extreme weather events. On top of the predicted urbanisation surge, our metropolises must brace for escalating hazards, notably from flooding and extreme heat.
As 31 October marks World Cities Day, Arctik is taking a moment to reflect on the threats and breakthroughs in today’s urban landscapes. Let’s meet some of the architects of change who are creating a blueprint for the cities of tomorrow. Who are these city dwellers charting new trails? What drives them to turn bold ideas into visionary cityscapes?
Through our work with urban sustainable development policy experts, climate researchers, knowledge-sharing and youth networks, Arctik has seen the multifaced profiles of inspiring changemakers who are driving cities of the future.
Paving the way to greener classrooms
Credits: © Getty Images
Professors joining the Bubble community are making the grade! This public service initiative, launched by Bruxelles Environnement, nudges teachers in Brussels, Belgium, to become environmental champions within their own school playground by using education as a vehicle for environmental progress. Who better than teachers can be catalysts for change, leave a mark and pass on an environmental conscience to the next generation of leaders?
Since Arctik took over social media, school staff have displayed positive engagement with Bruxelles Environnement-powered content sponsoring tailored trainings, as well as additional teaching material bound to integrate environmental education into school curricula.
The Bubble community has already drawn in over 1000 members!
The science of empowerment
Advanced data and cutting-edge climate models are becoming more important in city operations and plans for a sustainable future. But so is breaking silos in research to achieve a unified vision of urban resilience to climate change. Under the European Commission’s Horizon Europe research and innovation funding programme, a host of multi-year, country and disciplinary projects are approaching this from different angles and stages.
MYRIAD-EU is a Horizon Europe-funded project where top scientists across Europe are coming together to create a unified framework for managing multi-hazard, multi-sector, systemic risks. Effectively communicating localised climate risks is no small feat. Thus, presenting nuanced research clearly ensures it doesn’t get lost in translation.
The project has launched a database for urban vulnerability research. The MYRIAD-EU VulneraCity Database is one output of project efforts to collect and assess thousands of unique drivers of urban vulnerability. Researchers and policymakers can use these resources to improve their risk management strategies and, ultimately, protect citizens. For MYRIAD-EU, we produced a video to explain the VulneraCity Database and inspire relevant stakeholder groups to consult and use it.
Impetus4Change is also leveraging cross-border synergies to empower people to initiate action against climate change in their cities. The concepts of co-production and open data are the focus of I4C; namely, making climate information more accessible to different city actors and communities.
In pursuit of this, Arctik contributed to the setup of Climate Adaptalabs, a hackathon-style event covering multiple days and involved different stakeholders in urban climate resilience.
Adaptalab #1 took place is Paris last year. In this one-of-a-kind, hands-on collaborative workshop, experts across disciplines brainstormed and cultivated ideas which resulted in the development of 8 climate solution concepts. Participants took these solutions back to their respective cities to test them out, and we look forward to gauging the progress.
I4C has released a whole article over Adaptalabs. Explore the full story here.
Looking to next year, arrangements are already underway for Adaptalab #2 in Barcelona in March.
Sharing a road map for the green and digital transition
For the green and digital transition to work in tandem, interregional dialogue and optimised data-driven spatial planning keep being key items of discussion on the docket.
Arctik went the extra mile to develop a one-hour course on EU Academy that expands upon the work of the European Commission’s Intelligent Cities Challenge. Designed for local authorities and business stakeholders, the course aims at turning theory into practice, by transposing the European Green Deal goals to the regional level.
Related to the course, Tech4Good Marketplace is a conveyor belt of technological solutions operating across a spectrum of industries, from urban logistics to smart infrastructure. This wide trading space is open to more than just the communities behind the Intelligent Cities Challenge.
Urban planning at a crossroads
When it comes to trialling solutions, there’s strength in numbers! Local authorities, urban planners, community organisations and citizens all making up the URBACT environment have increased the amount of intelligence gathered through exchanging experience but also modelled urban policies reviewed by experts and peers.
One of the Interreg programmes, URBACT works toward sustainable urban development objectives and subscribes to the principles of the EU’s Cohesion Policy by binding together 40 networks of cities. Each Network comprises a host of European cities, of different sizes and addressing different thematic areas (e.g. gender equality, digital inclusion, green transition, etc.).
In the context of European Mobility Week 2024, Arctik worked with city experts to raise awareness around a reimagined vision of shared public spaces. A thematic article explored how transforming traffic-heavy zones near schools into car-free areas has effectively improved these environments. Here, the benefits were twofold – for the kids and the earth alike!
As little ones reclaim the streets, social and ecological priorities favourably merge, calling for more initiatives like this one to put down roots.
The solutions are out there! Arctik is turning them into common currency through the URBACT Knowledge Hub, a one-stop shop for successful stories, city case studies and events.
Glancing at cities with a game-changing mindset
All in all, a sustainable future is not just a far-flung dream!
By fostering creativity and inclusivity, tomorrow’s urban spaces will be the beating heart of our societies.
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