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What happens when residents rewild their own street? The City of Ghent found out. In this podcast episode, we return to Ghent and the European Urban Initiative project Rewild the City. The project is not simply about removing asphalt or adding more greenery. It is an attempt to change the rules, routines and relationships that have made soil sealing the default way of building cities. We speak with members of the REWILD project about the project’s first year of experimentation. They discuss working with residents and businesses, creating space for nature on public and private land, and addressing the institutional barriers hidden beneath Ghent’s ambitions. Do you want to know more? Read the full article here. Listen to the previous Ghent episode In Reimagining Ghent: De-sealing the City, Linde Vertriest from the City of Ghent and Annelies Sevenant from the Ghent Environmental Front introduce REWILD and explore what it takes to rewild an entire city. Read more about REWILD on Portico Building belonging through climate adaptation: The story of Ghent’s Buurtpark HãmHow the temporary use of a former industrial site is helping Ghent build community and shape the identity of a future neighbourhood park.A blueprint to overcome institutional desealing barriersA practical look at how Ghent identified the regulations, standards and competing interests that stand in the way of desealing.REWILDing by doing… and undoing: Urban Diary #1The experiences, achievements and lessons from REWILD’s first year in Ghent.Explore the full REWILD collection on Portico More information Visit the REWILD project website

What happens when a city looks beneath its streets for answers to the climate crisis? Bruges may be famous for its canals, but water did much more than create the city’s postcard views. It helped turn medieval Bruges into one of Europe’s largest and most internationally connected cities. Beneath today’s streets, parts of that historic water system still survive. Ancient pipes continue to carry water. Medieval wells are rediscovered during construction work. One was found when the city tried to plant a tree. Could this forgotten infrastructure help Bruges prepare for drought, heavy rainfall and a changing climate? In this episode, Johannes Riegler sat beside the canals with landscape architect Ilse Vansevenant and city archaeologist Frederic Roelens from the City of Bruges. Tourist boats pass as we explore a water story spanning more than 700 years. We talk about the network that once supplied “medieval Manhattan” with fresh water, why residents knew exactly which well provided the best water for peas or tea, and how one of these wells could soon help people water their plants again. But this is not only a story about the past. Ilse explains how sensors are helping the city understand groundwater, water quality and the needs of individual trees. Together, we explore what happens when archaeology, climate adaptation and new technology meet. If you would like to find out more follow ⁠Blue4Green on Portico⁠. More information and materials mentioned in the podcast: ⁠European Urban Initiative⁠ ⁠Portico - The EU gateway to urban learning⁠

What does it take to transform a former industrial dock into a place where people can safely swim? In this episode of Cities Reimagined, Johannes visits the Keerdok in Mechelen, Belgium. Once dominated by warehouses, parking and industrial activity, the area is being transformed into a new urban neighbourhood that opens the city towards the water as part of the 'Water as the Source of Urban Public Space' Innovative Actions funded by the European Urban Initiative.  He speaks with Sander Belmans from De Vlaamse Waterweg and An Schepers and Barbara Enckels from the City of Mechelen about the long process behind the city’s open-water swimming zone. After five years of temporary experiments, Mechelen is now preparing a permanent swimming facility at the Keerdok. The new design will combine swimming infrastructure, public space, shade, greenery and floating habitats for animals and plants. In this episode: How can cities make open-water swimming possible when the rules are not yet ready? How can swimming, shipping, biodiversity and public space coexist in the same waterway? What does it take to transform an industrial dock into a place where people want to swim? How can cities build a culture of safe and inclusive open-water swimming? How can cities overcome cultural barriers to open-water swimming? How can swimming areas work for different ages, abilities and user groups? Previous Cities Reimagined episodes from Mechelen Reimagining Mechelen, Parts 1 and 2Explore how Mechelen is reconnecting people, public space and nature along the River Dijle, including how the city is experimenting with giving nature a voice in urban development.Nature’s comeback to MechelenA conversation with city ecologist Michiel Van Mele and Maarten De Jonge about biodiversity, water quality and the return of nature to the Binnendijle. Learn more Discover WATSUPS on PorticoFind articles, podcast episodes, project stories and lessons from Mechelen’s journey to reconnect people, animals and plants with the river. Visit the WATSUPS project page on the European Urban Initiative websiteLearn more about the project, its partnership and its ambition to develop water as an accessible and inclusive form of public space. WATSUPS, Water as the Source of Urban Public Space, is an Innovative Action supported by the European Urban Initiative and a New European Bauhaus demonstrator.

First output for the EUI' s NEW EPOCH project by IA expert Simone d'Antonio. Read more on Portico (⁠⁠portico.urban-initiative.eu⁠⁠). Background information: The NEW EPOCH project focuses on transforming school buildings into Positive Energy Educational Buildings through deep energy retrofitting, innovative construction methods, and community engagement. Using biobased circular material prefabrication, its original, energy-based renovation methodology will be piloted in three schools in Kifissia. Providing improved thermal comfort and air quality for students, and reduced energy consumption, the renovated schools will also serve as shared innovation hubs for the municipality, students, educators and local stakeholders, promoting sustainability, waste reduction and environmental responsibility. Find out more about the project led by Kifissia, Greece on our website: ⁠⁠NEW EPOCH - eNErgy Waste solutions through development of POsitive sChool buildings as sustainable, innovative Hubs for community engagement

If you have ever been to Bruges, or seen it in films or photos, chances are you have noticed at least one of the following: canals, swans, water, tourist boats. What often goes unnoticed is that Bruges, and the wider region of Flanders in Belgium, regularly suffers from droughts. In this episode of the Urban Voices and Cities Reimagined Podcast, we meet Astrid Stroobandt from the City of Bruges and Simon Thys from the non-profit organisation Waterland, who are currently running the Blue4Green, an Innovative Actions project funded by the European Urban Initiative. Astrid and Simon explain how the project aims to change the city’s relationship with water in multiple ways, and how children’s dreams can inspire change just as much as data and technological innovation. We also hear how the city is experimenting with medieval infrastructure as water buffers, and how green and blue algae are cutting summer fun short. If you would like to find out more, have a look at the links below, connect with Astrid, Simon and Johannes on LinkedIn and follow Blue4Green on Portico. More information and materials mentioned in the podcast: European Urban Initiative Portico - The EU gateway to urban learning Article: From smart sensors to medieval cultural heritage: A new chapter in Bruges' water identity with Blue4Green Article: A hot summer’s wake-up call to the City of Bruges: A blue-green algae crisis and what comes next

Second part of the podcast series for the EUI' s project Affordable Housing for All (AHA) by IA expert Martha Giannakopoulou. Read more on Portico (⁠⁠⁠portico.urban-initiative.eu⁠⁠⁠). In the second episode, we turn our focus to Flexible Housing Options in Budapest, examining how housing innovation can respond to real community needs and better support vulnerable populations. We explore how alternative housing models can provide stability, dignity, and long-term solutions for groups often excluded from the conventional housing market. We speak with representatives from From the Streets to Homes Association, an organization at the forefront of affordable housing and support for vulnerable groups, including people experiencing homelessness and migrants. Our guests include Tibor Kiszely, Project Coordinator of the AHA Budapest project, and Eszter Váradi, a social policy professional working on the design of social services within the AHA project, with a particular focus on developing an affordable, intergenerational room rental service. Find out more about the project led by Municipality of Budapest, Hungary on our website: ⁠AHA Budapest - Affordable Housing for All⁠⁠

First part of the podcast series for the EUI' s project Affordable Housing for All (AHA) by IA expert Martha Giannakopoulou. Read more on Portico (⁠⁠portico.urban-initiative.eu⁠⁠). In the first episode of our two-part podcast series for the AHA project, we zoom in on the Demo Hub and explore why community involvement and neighborhood integration are essential for affordable housing initiatives to succeed.KÉK has been leading the effort to open up the Demo Hub to the neighborhood, build trust, and ensure that local residents have a real voice in shaping the future of this space. We speak with Eszter Dávida, an urbanist specializing in inclusive and sustainable cities through strategy and community engagement, and Krisztina Kovács, Project Manager at KÉK for the AHA – Affordable Housing for All project. Together, they reflect on participatory design processes, placemaking, and how the Demo Hub can become a shared neighborhood asset rather than just a building. Find out more about the project led by Municipality of Budapest, Hungary on our website: AHA Budapest - Affordable Housing for All⁠

Second output for the EUI' s project S4T - Station for Transformation by IA expert Simone d'Antonio. Read more on Portico (⁠portico.urban-initiative.eu⁠). Background information: Rovereto and its surrounding area face the challenge of adapting to climate change and mitigating biodiversity loss, closely tied to local cultural heritage. To tackle this, the town is transforming its train station into a public-civic hub for joint actions on climate, biodiversity, and heritage regeneration. As a key mobility hub for over 135,000 inhabitants, the station is being reimagined as a catalyst for community-driven solutions. New spaces such as a Biodiversity Kiosk, Climate Co-creation Space, and the mobile outreach unit "S4T on Wheels" will foster training, co-design, and knowledge transfer. This innovative model can be replicated in other communities. Find out more about the project led by Rovereto, Italy on our website: ⁠S4T - Station for Transformation⁠

The focus of the ‘EPIC’ project is to boost sustainable industrial tourism in the city of Prato, Italy by valorising the local industrial heritage to attract and retain visitors, thereby promoting fair, productive, and green growth for all citizens. The first Zoom-In of EPIC focuses on the design of travel itineraries through textile factories that are at the core of the vision on industrial tourism developed by the city. These itineraries guide visitors through the active production sites of Prato, while the EPIC project is working on enhancing the overall visitors’ experience through the development of immersive solutions that will bring visitors closer to the manufacturing process and the local industrial heritage of the city.In this episode, the Innovative Action Expert of the project Simone d’Antonio interviews Filippo Guarini, director of the Textile Museum of Prato, and Rosanna Censabella, technical director of the tour operator of Cooperativa Cristoforo. Together with the guests representing two partners of the EPIC project, the podcast explores the journey of Prato toward developing an industrial tourism offer, the role played by local cultural infrastructures in supporting this action and how the guided tours organized in local textile factories are helping Prato to enrich its tourism offer, while collaboratively redefining a key part of its urban identity. More information: · ⁠European Urban Initiative⁠ · ⁠Portico⁠ - The gateway to urban learning

Urban rewilding is more than planting trees - it’s about reshaping cities by de-sealing land and inviting nature back in. In this episode, we head to Ghent to explore REWILD, a bold project funded by the European Urban Initiative that breaks up concrete, engages residents, and creates space for ecosystems. 🎙️ With Linde Vertriest and Annelies Sevenant, we talk about the barriers and challenges and touch upon the million dollar question: what does it take to rewild a city? Read more: 🔗 www.rewildthecity.eu 🔗 Rewild is an EUI Innovative Actions project: https://www.urban-initiative.eu

Have you ever wondered how to give nature a voice in urban development? The City of Mechelen in Belgium does exactly that while reimagining the connection between water, public spaces, animals, plants and people. In these two episodes of the Cities Reimagined Podcast we zoom in to reshape your understanding of how the interests of more-than-human inhabitants can be taken up in urban transformation projects. This is part one out of two exploring the work done by the WATSUPS project.  For part one where we look at the background of the City of Mechelen’s ambition to reconnect to the water. In this episode: Why a river should be understood as an actor/stakeholder in urban transformationHow empathy towards nature is essential for co-creating urban biodiversityHow to organise a citizen panel that ensures that the voices of nature are heard in urban transformation projectsHow taking into account the voices of nature requires empathy, knowledge and “mildness”How Mechelen’s Citizen Assembly developed over 120 recommendations for enhancing nature along the river Dijle More and more cities are reimagining their connection to their rivers, ponds and other water bodies. Whereas historically, cities have turned their back to the water as it was used primarily for economic purposes, in the 21st century, this perception has significantly shifted: Water in cities is a source of livability and sustainability. The City of Mechelen has been taking a groundbreaking approach to reconnect its inhabitants (humans, animals and plants) to the water. As part of the “Water as the Source of Urban Public Spaces” (in short: WATSUPS - funded by the European Urban Initiative and running from 2024 to 2027) Mechelen is going to radically reshape the face of the city along the River Dijle while ensuring everyone has access to the water while making the more-than-human perspective a leading principle of the transformation. WATSUPS demonstrates how the spirit and principles of the New European Bauhaus can be translated into local, innovative actions. Listen in to the two Cities Reimagined episodes where we explore how Mechelen is giving back the river Dijle to all inhabitants: human and more-than-human. More information and materials mentioned in the podcast: · European Urban Initiative · Portico - The gateway to urban learning · WATSUPS article

Water as the source of urban public space: have you ever wondered how to give nature a voice in urban development? The City of Mechelen in Belgium does exactly that while reimagining the connection between water, public spaces, animals, plants and people. In two episodes of the Cities Reimagined Podcast we zoom in to reshape your understanding of how the interests of more-than-human inhabitants can be taken up in urban transformation projects. This is part one out of two exploring the work done by the WATSUPS project. Click here for part two, where we talk about the voices of nature and the experiences of the citizen panel in WATSUPS. More and more cities are reimagining their connection to their rivers, ponds and other water bodies. Whereas historically, cities have turned their back to the water as it was used primarily for economic purposes, in the 21st century, this perception has significantly shifted: Water in cities is a source of livability and sustainability. The City of Mechelen has been taking a groundbreaking approach to reconnect its inhabitants (humans, animals and plants) to the water. As part of the “Water as the Source of Urban Public Spaces” (in short: WATSUPS - funded by the European Urban Initiative and running from 2024 to 2027) Mechelen is going to radically reshape the face of the city along the River Dijle while ensuring everyone has access to the water while making the more-than-human perspective a leading principle of the transformation. WATSUPS demonstrates how the spirit and principles of the New European Bauhaus can be translated into local, innovative actions. Listen in to the two Cities Reimagined episodes where we explore how Mechelen is giving back the River Dijle to all inhabitants: human and more-than-human. In this episode: How the City of Mechelen is giving back the River Dijle to its inhabitants...How public administration needs to seek compromises between interests...Why being a civil servant is the most difficult job there is...How including artists in co-creation/participation processes might lead to a cultural shift...How fun and a positive energy are key to innovation... More information and materials mentioned in the podcast: European Urban InitiativePortico - The gateway to urban learningWATSUPS article

This episode showcases the WATSUPS project, a New European Bauhaus demonstrator funded by the European Urban Initiative (EUI). WATSUPS is one of the many EUI Innovation Actions helping cities across Europe test bold solutions for sustainable urban futures.In this episode of the Cities Reimagined Podcast, we go back to the City of Mechelen, to find out how nature is making a comeback in Mechelen’s old town, why that is not only good for house sparrow, eels, and otters but for everyone living and working in the city and how residents are part of the journey for cleaner water, more biodiversity and green in the city.Healthy rivers and rich ecosystems cool our cities, filter our air, and offer places for both people and wildlife to thrive. Yet, for decades, urban waterways have been neglected, covered, or polluted, breaking the vital link between cities and nature.We have Michiel van Mele who is the City Ecologiest of Mechelen and Marteen de Jonge who is the head of the lab department of the Flanders Environmental Agency on the show. Tune in to find out more...

First output for the EUI' s project S4T - Station for Transformation by IA expertSimone d'Antonio. Read more on Portico (portico.urban-initiative.eu).Background information: Rovereto and its surrounding area face the challenge of adapting to climate change and mitigating biodiversity loss, closely tied to local cultural heritage. To tackle this, the town is transforming its train station into a public-civic hub for joint actions on climate, biodiversity, and heritage regeneration. As a key mobility hub for over 135,000 inhabitants, the station is being reimagined as a catalyst for community-driven solutions. New spaces such as a Biodiversity Kiosk, Climate Co-creation Space, and the mobile outreach unit "S4T on Wheels" will foster training, co-design, and knowledge transfer. This innovative model can be replicated in other communities. Find out more about the project led by Rovereto, Italy on our website:S4T - Station for Transformation Photo credits: Veronica Martini

In this episode of the UIA - Just Urban Transitions - Making the Transitions Affordable for all, we explore the challenges that some cities face in delivering green transitions that is accessible by all social groups. We also hear from cities of Barcelona, Prato and Getafe about their innovative solutions in making the green transitions affordable to all. The expert, Marcelline Bonneau, also gives her insights and provides a roadmap to a greener and a more socially just EU for all.