As the world enters a new year, the Covid-19 pandemic is still upsetting our daily lives. And as 75% of EU citizens live in urban areas, cities are the most prominent stage both for responding to the health crisis, and for seizing opportunities to recover and move forward. Meanwhile, in 2020, EU countries agreed to Next Generation EU, a €750 billion recovery package that represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
This report, produced in collaboration between ISPI and Eurocities, argues that cities should be given more say over how post-pandemic national recovery plans pan out between here and 2026, when all projects are supposed to be wrapping up. Indeed, the success of the EU recovery plans will hinge upon what cities do, or they don’t do over the next five years. How are cities rethinking their role within the “twin” green and digital transitions? How can they achieve gender parity, reduce inequalities, and preserve a vibrant cultural life?
Table of Contents
Introduction, Paolo Magri
Part I – Rethinking EU Cities / The Future of Cities
1. A Recipe for Post-Covid Cities,
Anna Lisa Boni (EUROCITIES), Andrea Tobia Zevi (ISPI)
2. Accelerating Urban Climate Neutrality Through National
Multi-Stakeholder Platforms: The Case of Spain
Valentina Oquendo-Di Cosola (UPM), Julio Lumbreras (UPM), Jaime Moreno-Serna (UPM)
3. A Fork in the Road: European Cities and Widening Inequalities
Eddy Adams (European Commission)
4. Financing the Low-Carbon Transition in Cities
Grant Aaron, Steve Turner (Connected Places Catapult)
Part II – Cities at Work
5. Towards a Just Digital Transition:
Urban Digital Policy in Europe After Covid-19
Laia Bonet Rull (City of Barcelona)
6. The City of the Future for Women – The City of the Future for All
Marina Hanke (City of Vienna)
7. Culture and Public Space
Stephan Hoffman (Theater an der Parkaue), Susanna Tommila (City of Espoo)
