Over 250 people participated in the projects work meetings in the EU and non-EU cities (see section activities for details).
Part 1: EU cities cooperation with South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Overview of the 16 cities involved and the pairing relations
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European Cities |
South African Cities |
South East Asian Cities |
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Belfast |
eThekwini |
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Bilbao |
Cape Town |
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Graz |
Ekurhuleni |
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Málaga |
Nelson Mandela Bay |
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Zagreb |
Semarang |
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Seville |
Makassar |
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Milan |
Hanoi |
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Kosice |
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Ho Chi Minh City |
It should be mentioned that these city pairs were not treated as close shops, but rather as focus cities for cooperation. Moreover, based on previous experiences, the team implemented an innovative open pairing scheme. This network approach encouraged all involved cities to interact with each other not only within the focus country. In fact, in the case of Vietnam and Indonesia, all 4 European cities paired were able to establish working relations with all 4 South East Asian cities. In the case of South Africa, European cities visited and established relations with at least 3 South African cities.
From March 2017 until May 2018, a total of nine events was carried out, three with each non-country. It should be stated that the events in Europe were scheduled back-to-back to key thematic conferences, including the EU Week of Cities and Regions (October 2017), the IUC Global Event (November 2017) and the Smart City Expo in Barcelona (November 2017). Additional activities included:
- The support to additional missions from the Vietnamese cities of Hanoi and HCMC to Milan (October 2017 and June 2018)
- The mission of Indonesian city representatives (Semarang and Makassar) to the Mayors Forum in Seville (November 2018)
- The World Cities team’s participation at the Jornada Ciudades Sostenibles in Málaga (November 2017) and the Connected Smart Cities Conference (Brussels, January 2018).
- The participation of Milan and Durban representatives at the World Urban Forum in Kuala Lumpur (February 2018), where experts presented progress of the city-to-city cooperation to a wider audience.
- A business mission to Europe (Brussels and Graz) from The Green Cape – a green tech cluster based in Cape Town (October 2017)
On the policy side, thanks to close coordination with the European Union Delegations, the World Cities team was also able to strongly support the EU – South Africa Dialogue Facility (May- October 2018) and the EU-Delegation’s Roadshow in Indonesia (January 2018). With South Africa, support included coordination meetings with the European Union and the South African authorities in order to identify areas for joint proposals – between European and South African cities – to the Dialogue Facility as well as the support to both sides during the application process. In Indonesia, the team was able to present results of cooperation with Semarang to representatives of EU Member States in during a field visit to the Rainbow Village.
The World Cities team also looked to reach the wider audience in several external events like the Smart City Expo 2017 in Barcelona and the World Urban Forum 2018 in Kuala Lumpur. Throughout all activities, the project ensured a triple-helix cooperation including representatives from local and regional governments, business and research institutions. This leaded to projects results in diverse areas.
The results of the World Cities cooperation with South Africa include the policy support to urban master planning in Ekurhuleni, the exchange of technologies in water management with Nelson Mandela Bay and Cape Town as well as the cooperation in post-conflict communities between Belfast and eThekwini. Moreover, as above mentioned, the World Cities team also facilitated the elaboration of joint proposals for cities’ collaboration in Manufacturing, Cultural Mapping and Green Technologies for the EU-South Africa Policy Dialogue Facility.
Cooperation with Indonesia included the preparation of joint action plans in several areas, especially in the circular economy and the promotion of local skills. European cities cooperating with Vietnam focused on innovation and smart city programmes to improve the liveability of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Part 2: EU cities cooperation with the Republic of Korea and Australia
Overview of the 16 cities involved and the pairing relations
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European Cities |
Korean Cities |
Australian Cities |
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Manchester (UK) |
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Adelaide |
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Katowice (PL) |
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Hobart |
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Hamburg (DE) |
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Melbourne |
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Prague (CZ) |
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Canberra |
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Barcelona (ES) |
Busan |
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Tampere (FI) |
Gwangju |
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Scottish Cities Alliance / Scotland Europa (UK) |
Suwon |
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Eindhoven (NL) |
Seoul |
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From March 2017 until May 2018, a total of seven events were carried out, two launch events with each non-EU country (Republic of Korea and Australia), three follow-up events in Europe (the delegation from Canberra in August and the rest of Australian cities in October, plus the Korean cities in November), and two closing meetings in the non-EU countries (with previous bilateral meetings respectively). It should be stated that the events in Europe were scheduled back-to-back to key thematic conferences, including the European Week of Regions and Cities – EWRC (October 2017), the IUC Global Event (November 2017) and the Smart City Expo in Barcelona (November 2017).
Results
After bilateral meetings in Australia and Europe during 2017, cities representatives have – for example – developed Letters of Intentions (LoIs) to ensure long-term cooperation. Adelaide and Manchester’s LoI focuses on sharing expertise on green infrastructure, engaging citizens in city planning through 3D city modelling and data visualisation as well as testing new ideas and initiatives to support Low and Zero Carbon Campus initiatives. They also seek to commercialise new ventures in partnership between City Verve and Triangulum in Manchester and Tonsley Innovation Park in Adelaide.
Hamburg and Melbourne have agreed to work on urban data management, crowd-management for large city events, all of which enhances citizens participation in city planning and development. Cooperation with the Cities Science Labs from both sides includes the districts / neighbourhoods branding through digital story-telling, in cooperation with the local business.
Canberra and Prague have already signed a LoI. Within this framework, they agreed to work together on innovation, climate change, urban renewal with a specific focus on housing affordability. These topics might be explored through the promotion of start-ups and joint activities between their incubators and accelerators in areas relevant to urban development. This could all be done with an approach of community involvement, an area in which Canberra has developed inspiring solutions.
The Hobart and Katowice city representatives, for their part, are focusing also on climate change initiatives; this is appropriate particularly because Katowice will host COP24 in November this year. The cities are planning to make a joint presentation on their initiatives to date. Exchange on music and cultural collaboration is also planned, as is sharing of their experience with start-ups.
Cooperation between Korean and European cities covered a wide range of areas. Seoul and Eindhoven agreed on signing a Memorandum of Understanding focusing on intelligent urban lighting and interoperability of urban lighting infrastructure as well as launching a global living lab on smart urban lighting. They also seek to work together on social innovation and e-voting for citizens engagement.
Busan and Barcelona have agreed to work on smart city and smart transportation. Moreover, Busan seeks to co-host the Smart City Expo, the world’s flagship event in this area that takes place annually in Barcelona. Cooperation with the universities and business communities from both sides includes focuses on the areas of renewable energy, ICT smart-city solutions and public transportation.
Gwangju and Tampere are working together on urban innovation including the promotion of start-ups and joint activities between their incubators and accelerators in areas relevant to green mobility, energy efficiency and air quality. They also seek to establish a collaboration office to coordinate activities with shared interests between subprograms. The office should act as central contact point for all stakeholders and could seek continuously new interesting collaboration areas and effective collaboration methods.
The Suwon and Scottish cities representatives, for their part, are focusing collaboration on the urban regeneration (including brownfield-sites) and the development of cultural heritage. Senior experts from Suwon City and Suwon Research Institute have been inspired by Engine Shed, a building conservation centre in Stirling, which houses teams of science conservation and digital documentation. Cooperation would include the creation of a science lab in charge of digital storytelling of relevance for Suwon’s Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Additional activities included:
- The support to an additional mission from the Korean city of Gwangju to Brussels for participation at the IUC Global Event (November 2017 and June 2018)
- The World Cities team’s participation at the Connected Smart Cities Conference (Brussels, January 2018).
- Elaboration of a brochure of the World Cities activities with all non-EU countries since 2015. This was achieved in collaboration with GIZ.
On the policy side, thanks to close coordination with the European Union Delegations, the World Cities team was also able to strongly support the EU – Korea Low Carbon Action project and the EU – Australia cooperation on environmental policy.
Overview of Pilot Projects