Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona

On September 17 and 18, 2018, it was held in Oslo-Akersus the opening meeting of the SmartEdge project of the Interreg Europe program. The project focuses on the medium-sized and small metropolitan cities role (edge cities) in the transition to a low carbon economy.

A first workshop about tools and methodologies for multi level governance and participatory planning has been carried out, where edge cities and stakeholders interested in metropolitan territory have actively participated to develop policy recommendations. During the workshop, all the partners explained their presentations on good practices. On behalf of AMB, the environment department and some technical energy experts from Sant Climent de Llobregat and Sant Just Desvern have participated in it.

Edge cities to create a low-carbon society

Edge cities—medium-sized and small municipalities located on the periphery of other cities with a high urban density—play a very important role in the development of metropolitan areas. These municipalities are an integral part of the existing urban fabric, and they can be used as pilot cities for smart, green and economic solutions. They also have the opportunity to play a key role in the new metropolitan economy. The development and transformation of edge cities—from peripheral cities to multifunctional urban areas—is key to accomplish the goal of achieving a low-carbon society.

To achieve so, eight partners from the metropolitan areas of Akershus, Barcelona, Brandenburg, Ilfov, Krakow, Milan and Stockholm and the Romanian Ministry of Environment will share experiences, share good practices and promote  learning among partners on innovative tools for urban planning.