4th Sub-Urban meeting

12.10.17 | Subject: International Relations

Social inclusion as the central topic of the European network's transnational meeting

AMB took part in the fourth transnational meeting from 9 to 11 October. It was co-organised in Düsseldorf by the German city's metropolitan government and the Municipal Council of Badia del Vallès , within the framework of the Sub>Urban network, in the European URBACT programme.

The topic discussed on this occasion was social inclusion. Lectures and work sessions took place on four main subject areas covering this topic, in order to define the main challenges and the tools and mechanisms for addressing them: Empowering citizens, Social economy, Affordable housing and Mixing strategies in public space.

The three previous meetings of the network had focused on the transformation of planning, the transformation of private spaces and transformation for intensive uses. A fifth and final meeting on financing these initiatives is planned.

Other cities at the meeting were Antwerp, Oslo, Casoria, Solin, Vienna, Brno and Baia Mare. Daniel Legault, head of the Department of Housing Policies and Strategies of Montreal City Council, Quebec, also took part, and discussed his city's experience in creating affordable housing.

The metropolitan experience: Badia del Vallès

At the latest event, AMB and Badia Municipal Council presented the progress made in the Imagina Badia Local Action Plan. This process is part of the Sub>Urban network, which fosters public participation in the transformation of cities in order to improve their quality of life.

This Action Plan aims to identify situations that require improvement as a priority, the strategy to be adopted, the parties that will have to be involved, and the specific initiatives that must be implemented by 2020.

Since its inception, the drafting of the local Action Plan has been driven by the Central Discussion Group, a group of residents, and by people associated with public institutions and associations interested in contributing to the improvement of the city. AMB is also part of this group, and has offered technical support with the drafting of the document.