Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona

Barcelona Metropolitan Area, MedCities and the Municipality of Sfax, in collaboration with the Sfax-MedCities KTC, held an international seminar entitled Urban Strategies, Tools and Technologies in the Sustainability Age in Sfax (Tunisia) on 17 and 18 October, 2017. The seminar was attended by more than a hundred representatives from thirty Moroccan, Tunisian, Libyan and Lebanese cities, as well as local and international organisations participating in the consolidation of strategic urban development processes, who are key players in accompanying sustainable planning in Mediterranean cities.

The seminar considered the practical application of urban planning from the perspective of social, economic and territorial sustainability, the design of city development strategies (CDS), and the tools and technologies to implement them by means of concrete and tangible projects. This seminar took place in a context of consolidation of decentralisation in Tunisia, where municipal elections scheduled for March 2018 will soon take place. This will lead to a new level of local development and governance as a result of the assumption of new powers by cities.

This seminar complements the Nicosia Initiative, promoted by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) and ARLEM, to foster decentralised cooperation in Libyan cities with the aim of strengthening their public services. The seminar is also complemented by the programme to reinforce urban strategies in Libya, promoted by the German cooperation agency GIZ. This is one of the few activities on a regional scale that is working to enhance the capacities of Libyan local government bodies.
The introduction of new urban management tools is necessary to optimise resources and achieve the goals set by the CDS, to adapt them to the socio-economic context, and to design new scenarios with innovative solutions. Without an assessment of the basic principles established by the Smart City model in recent years, the important role that technology plays in the improvement of governance procedures at the local level must be emphasised.

In this context, the seminars were designed in various formats. The first day took place in a conference format, based on three subject areas: CDS, Energy Transition and Urban management of water and waste systems; on the second day, participatory workshops were held to identify potential synergies among the participating cities, as well as a series of visits to innovative projects in the city of Sfax.

Enhancing the capacities of local government bodies is a crucial tool for the development of Mediterranean societies, which use local solutions to find the means to work and cooperation necessary to improve their citizens' quality of life. This depends to a large extent on the provision of quality urban services, while respecting the principles of good governance.

List of cities
TUNISIA: Sfax / Djerba Midoun / Gabès / Kairouan / Mahdia / M'saken / Monastir/ Nabeul / Sidi Bou Said / Sousse / Tunis / Menzel Bourguiba / Tataouine / Bizerta / Sakiet Ezzit / Agareb / Sidi Bouzid / Kasserine. MOROCCO: Chefchaouen/Tangier/Tétouan. LIBYA: Msallata / Hay Al Andalus / Zintan / Sabha / Gharyan / Tobruk / Benghazi / Sirte. LEBANON: Batroun. SPAIN: Barcelona / Manresa.