Innovative sustainable & carbon neutral ecosystems and strategic sectors

The IURC-China initiative achieved success in enhancing partnerships and facilitating the exchange of knowledge among European and Chinese cities and regions. It developed 9 city and regional cooperation partners in 3 thematic networks, bridging over 40 cities and regions across China and Europe. During 2021-2023, participants engaged in 78 thematic events, resulting in the creation and dissemination of more than 50 knowledge products.

This repository lists organisations providing funding for sustainable urban projects, providing details on sectors, budget, eligibility, application timelines, case studies, with potential applicability to cities, states, national governments, non-government organisations, private sector, etc. While the primary focus is India, the information may apply to various other countries.

In May 2023, the collaboration between Gwalior, India, and Leuven, Belgium, reached new heights as three representatives from Gwalior start-ups and a representative from G.Incube joined forces at the And& Connect event in Leuven from 2-5 May 2023 to promote innovation, connectiveness and inspiration, bringing together professionals and experts from diverse fields.

Turin and Nagoya aim to be vibrant hubs for industrial and social innovation. Turin learnt of Nagoya’s entrepreneurial education for children. In return, Nagoya learnt how to develop demonstration projects using public spaces from Turin.

European Union regions and Japanese prefectures have launched diverse initiatives and programs dedicated to nurturing startups and cultivating open innovation. EU-Japan cooperation will bring mutual benefits: it opens up opportunities for EU startups to enter the Japanese market and access various technologies, while Japan can encourage its startups to adopt a global mindset and provide support for international expansion.

Hydrogen projects in EU regions and Japanese prefectures represent significant steps toward achieving carbon neutrality and advancing sustainable energy solutions. Both are actively developing policies and infrastructures to promote hydrogen use, with a focus on green hydrogen. Their collaboration on hydrogen projects offers substantial mutual benefits, including economic growth and environmental improvements.

Initiatives in EU Regions and Japanese prefectures are Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, Val d’Oise (France), Basque Country, Catalonia (Spain), Emilia Romania (Italy), Ljubljana Urban Region (Slovenia), Aichi, Osaka and Oita (Japan).

The Alentejo Region integrates natural resources with strategic logistics and transport infrastructures, supported by strong educational and research institutions. This strategic approach is reflected  through Alentejo Region’s cooperationwith Dalian on Green Port development and cultural tourism, further enriching its economic and cultural diversification.

Region Lazio integrates sustainable agriculture and agri-food supply, focusing on safety, sustainability, and enhancing tourist attractions. It promotes local produce through various gastronomic experiences, establishing a distinct local identity for international markets. Lazio’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (RIS3) targets development, employment, and regional competitiveness, supported by innovation in diverse sectors like agri-food, circular economy, life sciences, and more. Its cooperation with Zhengzhou focuses on sustainable agriculture, focusing on sustainable urban agriculture, agri-food systems, and climate change.

The Western Greece Region, with its dynamic innovation ecosystem and diverse cultural & economic fabric, is committed to cooperative development in key sectors like agro-food,  digital sciences, renewable energy, and cultural tourism, especially in Ancient Olympia. Western Greece collaborates with Hangzhou (China), focusing on internationalization and digitalization of local products and services, particularly in e-commerce education and vocational training.

Bari, a key economic and educational center in Southern Italy, owns wide array of academic and research institutions and a dynamic tertiary sector. The city’s urban development strategy focues on revitalizing its waterfront, transforming brownfields, and enhancing cultural landmarks, with a strong focus on community-led governance and active citizen participation. The city´s expertise in urban regeneration, with initiatives that prioritize neighborhood development, public space revitalisation, and community engagement, has many synergies with developmental strategies in the Chinese city of Guangzhou.

Both Lazio Region and Zhengzhou prioritize sustainable agri-food supply, integrating urban-rural development and encouraging innovation in agriculture. Lazio region’s agri-food production, intertwined with its natural and cultural heritage, promotes local food networks. Zhengzhou, confronting challenges in peri-urban agriculture like economic viability and biodiversity conservation, can learn from Lazio’s experience in sustainable farming and the Slow Food movement. The cooperation between Lazio and Zhengzhou fosters regional dialogue, knowledge sharing, and innovative practices in sustainable agri-food supply.

Sisak-Moslavina County initiated a climate-friendly economic transformation with the “Sisak Moslavina County – A Center of Gaming Industry” project. Meanwhile, Zhongxian (Chongqing) developed “Zhongxian E-sports” town as a new economic driver. Both sides cooperate to establish a gaming industry platform, enhancing education and training, organizing e-games and e-sport events, operating gaming incubators, and facilitating cultural exchanges.

European cities and regions are committed to digitalizing their economies, aligning with the digital agenda. Hangzhou cooperate with several European cities and regions on E-commerce ecosystem and advancing in education and vocational training.

Over three years, European cities and regions have had the opportunity to cooperate with colleagues across the world in order to develop their capacity in ecological transition and the Green Deal; urban & regional renewal and social cohesion; and innovative sustainable & carbon neutral ecosystems and strategic sectors. These are the takeaways of the programme’s final event 2023.

IURC Annual Event 2021 visual takeaways

Takeaways from IURC’s EU Week of Regions and Cities 2023 event.

A selection of thematic posters from the IURC 2022 annual event.

Program attached: Turku-Nagano & Obuse Workshop 2023-09-14_as of 0913 Language: English and Japanese, Simultaneous Interpretation Service available

PMRDA and Karlsruhe’s key area of cooperation is to develop a concept for the establishment of a “Center of Excellence for Urban Planning” and support for the creation of an Eco-Industrial Township (EIT) within the framework of IURC Asia & Australasia.

Urban transformation through the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Brisbane will host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, an event Barcelona hosted in 1992. Through the IURC, experts from both sides engaged in several activities to gain a deeper understanding of how global events can create tangible benefits for their citizens and strengthen sustainable urban development.

Sofia Municipality is working with Sejong City from the Republic of Korea to conduct a joint business venture on solar panels. This pilot project is expected to develop a partnership between Bulgarian and Korean companies on renewable energy.

The City of Rotterdam is working with Busan Metropolitan City from the Republic of Korea to conduct a joint policy study on urban mobility. This pilot project is expected to help policy makers in both cities to create greener urban mobility ecosystems.

In the framework of IURC Asia and Australasia, Leuven is working with Gwalior to strengthen the capacity of start-ups inspiring them to become a genuine force of change and economic development for the city and India, while promoting the development of partnerships with businesses in Europe.

Companies (large, middle-sized or SME) from our IURC partner cities of Essen (Germany), Grenoble-Alpes Metropole (France), Toyota or Koriyama (Japan), looking for solutions on new energy technologies and/or hydrogen to address climate change challenges, are eligible to participate in the Joint Open Innovation Online Pitches.

IURC NA, in partnership with the Baltimore Development Corporation, held on May 10th to 12th, 2023, the Urban Regeneration and Economic Development for Social Inclusion event in Baltimore, USA. Twenty-one cities from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Mexico, the US, and Canada gathered to work on key urban regeneration & economic development challenges, economic inclusion & community impact, public-private partnerships, sustainable waterfront development, adaptive reuse & neighborhood regeneration, and innovation economy & social inclusion. These are the takeaways.

The EVENTSOST system is transforming the tourism and events sector in Zaragoza, while Ottawa is analysing its adoption as another step to ensure that economic growth is accompanied by sustainability, a smaller carbon footprint, and a positive social impact.

The online Capacity Building on Regenerative Design by ACCIONA, organised by the IURC Central Coordination Services in coordination with the Geographical Areas in two sessions (morning for Asia & Australasia and China; afternoon for Latin America and North America) aimed to support worldwide pairings and clusters to path the way of their ongoing projects during the last year of the programme. The training was conducted on March 7th 2023 and welcomed more than 75 participants from all around the globe.

The training session was held on the new approach to smart specialization for the 2021-2027 programming period but starting with main approach to S3, learning about good practices in defining and implementing the Smart Specialization strategy following the methodology recommended by the European Commission.

5 case studies:

Case study 1 – Climate & Food (Umeå) 

Case study 2 – Over-tourism and sustainable promotion of territories (Metropolitan City of Venice) 

Case study 3 – Citizen-led sustainable urban development (Kamakura) 

Case study 4 – Station of Being (Umeå) 

Case study 5 – Over-tourism (Kamakura) 

For each of the case studies, there is an executive summary, special features, results and impact, key figures and lessons learned.

 

Genoa and Mar del Plata exchange best practices on Tourism and Culture, to develop an action plan to achieve balanced and sustainable tourism, while meeting the needs of local communities. Mar del Plata’s strategy is focused on attracting tourism during the whole year, not only the summer season, while Genoa seeks to diversify tourists’ profiles. As a result, the pairing built a series of guidelines to share their learnings with other cities facing similar challenges.

The online Capacity Building on Regenerative Design by ACCIONA, organised by the IURC Central Coordination Services in coordination with the Geographical Areas in two sessions (morning for Asia & Australasia and China; afternoon for Latin America and North America) aimed to support our worldwide pairings and clusters to path the way of their ongoing projects during the last year of the programme. The training was conducted on March 7th 2023 and welcomed more than 75 participants from all around the...

The webinar "Costal Cities & Blue Economy: Local experiences from Piraeus, Barranquilla and Genoa” organized by the International Urban and Regional Cooperation Latin America (IURC-LAC) Programme sougth to explore different perspectives on the Blue Economy concept and reflect on the importance of the sea and coastal borders as a platform to generate social benefits, economic development, and environmental sustainability. Space The full agenda of the event is available here Space Download the takeaways here Space Download the presentations here Space Read...

The "Mobility Behaviour Change: Promoting Sustainable Travel Choices in Cities" webinar sought to highlight the importance of mobility behaviour change for a transition towards greener transportation patterns. Reviewing different strategies and case studies can inspire urban practitioners to develop and adopt nudging strategies and to involve local communities in their green transition.  Space The full agenda of the event is available here Space Download the presentations here Space Read the highlights from the event here

Takeaways of IURC China Education, Jobs and Skills Webinar

Takeaways of the IURC China Regional Innovation and RIS3 Webinar

BACKGROUND   Both the European Union and China are in a time of transition. The transition towards a green, circular, digital economy significantly changed the way we live and work.  The distribution of smart technologies generated new jobs while some jobs have been changed or disappeared. The demographic change will draw on all diverse talents. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transition and also considerably changed the career path of many people.   In July 2020, the European Commission published the Skills...

Takeaways of the IURC China Tourism and Culture Webinar

Experiences with Solid Waste Fee in Essen and Fortaleza: Important & transferable lessons

Experiences with Urban Regeneration Projects: Milan – São Paulo

Discover the takeaways of the IURC Side Event at the Eurocities Annual Conference 2022.

BACKGROUND   In the past two decades, regional innovation development policies have been widely discussed and implemented throughout the world. It is essential for the national and local governments to develop a strong innovation ecosystem, and react to the growing challenges of societies. Nowadays active circulation of know-how and innovation significantly contributes to the regional development and quality of life of the people.   The EU has implemented the Regional Innovation Strategy (RIS) since 2002 to enable sustainable, inclusive, and...

IURC-China Programme promotes the inter-city and regional cooperation, learning and innovation between the EU and China, as well as supports cities and regions in implementing the United Nations´ Sustainable Development Goals, the New Urban Agenda, the Paris Agreement, and the local development agenda, bringing together 44 cities and regions to collaborate in an inclusive and win-win approach towards sustainable urban development and regional innovation.

This booklet provides information of their general socio-economic profiles, good practices and preferred areas of cooperation.

The role of development banks and private financing

China’s Regional Development Strategies and Regional Policies (2021-11)

Review and Prospect of Smart Cities in China (2021-11)

China’s Regional Innovation and China-EU Cooperation (2021-11)

China – Tourism Trends, Prospects, Challenges and Opportunities (2022-03)

Boost Culture’s All-round Presence in Rural Revitalisation (2022-03)

Development Strategies for Culture and Tourism Industry in China (2022-03)

BACKGROUND In recent years, China has made significant efforts to promote sustainable development and environment-friendly technologies. From 2016 to 2020, the country doubled its investment in clean energy research, and strongly promoted a human-centred, smart approach of ‘new-type urbanisation’. In China, many industries and sectors are developing very rapidly, including digital technologies, green technologies for sustainable cities, green energy, smart transport and services, financial services, medical technologies, and elderly care. In 2020, China finally pledged to reach carbon emissions by...

Thursday, 17 March 2022, 08:00AM – 09:30AM (CET) / 18:00 – 19:30 (AEDT) Moderation: Professor Bruce Wilson at RMIT & Country Coordinator IURC Australia   This thematic cluster webinar is a part of International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) Asia & Australasia, which aims to further urban and regional cooperation in the fields of sustainable urban development and innovation between EU and non-EU cities. The activity is in addition to the ongoing bilateral discussions amongst cities. Within the IURC thematic network n°2...

Please join us for our second webinar presented as part of the IURC-NA Jobs, Education & Skills Cluster on March 17th. This session will focus on Innovative Local Economic Development Programmes & Strategies for Post-covid Recovery featuring presentations from the following IURC-NA cities: - Valentina Ridolfi, Coordinator of Rimini Strategic Plan with the City of Rimini (Italy), will present the comprehensive “Villages of Rimini” initiative that has been developed in the region to reactivate the economy with a focus on tourism. - Ben Seigel, Opportunity Zone and Impact Investment Coordinator with the Baltimore Development...

BACKGROUND   Tourism is one of the major economic sectors in many cities and regions in the EU and China, with high potential for employment generation. It is one of the major sources of public revenue and for local communities, including local residents and SMEs. However, tourism, converging with the culture sector, has been hard-hit by the pandemic.   At the EU and national level, action plans have been launched to overcome the challenges for the green and digital transition,...

BACKGROUND According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), before COVID-19, the contribution of China's tourism industry to the national economy was 9.3%, which was similar to the EU average (9.5%). The Chinese outbound travel market is notable for its large volume and rapid growth. Tourism from China to the EU has tripled in ten years. China has already become an important force in the global tourism economy. With its rich cultural heritage and natural resources, China offered unique tourism destinations....

The webinar "Rehabilitation strategies for Historic Centres: case studies from Naples, Manaus, and Cienfuegos", organized by the International Urban and Regional Cooperation Latin America (IURC LAC) Programme, presented multisectoral strategies and lessons learned in the rehabilitation of historic city centres, as a way for integral territorial recovery and revitalization. Space The full agenda of the event is available here Space Download the presentations here Space Read the highlights from the event here

Visual Takeaways of the Innovative sustainable & carbon neutral ecosystems and strategic sectors parallel session at the IURC Annual Event 2021 (24 November).

Visual Takeaways of the Innovative sustainable & carbon neutral ecosystems and strategic sectors parallel session at the IURC Annual Event 2021 (23 November).

The webinar "Smart Strategies for Equality and Social Inclusion" organized by the International Urban and Regional Cooperation Latin America (IURC-LAC) Programme sought to introduce smart strategies and analyse how innovation and digitalization can promote more inclusive policies. Space The full agenda of the event is available here Space Download the presentations here Space Read the highlights from the event here

In this first session, we will bring together a cohort of IURC cities to share solutions and learn from one another on innovative, sustainable ecosystems & strategic sectors mostly as they relate to urban/neighborhood regeneration and social inclusion. The City Leader for the Cluster is the City of Baltimore (Baltimore Development Corporation). The 1.5-hour session will include: « A presentation from Colin Tarbert, President & CEO of the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC), on Baltimore Together: A Platform for Inclusive Prosperity...

BACKGROUND Since the fundamental reforms in 1980s, China has experience remarkable transition through a combined process of industrialization and urbanization. The urban population has grown from about 200 million or 20% in 1980 to nearly 800 million or 60% in 2020. That is about 1.5 times the total population of the EU. The growth was largely relying on labor, land, raw materials, and other cost-effective resources to participate in global supply chain. To transform to a sustainable pathway, Chinese government...