Indeed, COVID-19 is not only a threat to public health but also to the socio-economic fabric of society. Cities are on the front line in coping with its lasting impacts on jobs, access to public services, housing, infrastructure and transport, all of which are affecting poor people hardest. COVID-19 also highlights the crucial role of local governments not only addressing the crisis immediate effects on urban areas and citizens but also thinking about the recovery to build back better the urban fabric -leaving no one behind.
In this reading list, you will discover inspiring practices from EU cities fully endorsing their role in innovative service delivery, economic and social development, tackling jobs and skills (Urban Growth-GSIP Vantaa), urban poverty (Home Silk Road, Tast’in Fives) and inclusion challenges (CURANT), all of which are and will be even more critical in the years to come.
Find inspiration in UIA experts’ articles to build back better the urban fabric.
This final Zoom-in looks into the intercultural approach of the Integration of Migrants and Refugees project. It sheds light on the necessary commitment to integrating the principles of the intercultural approach as the way forward “not only for reception policies but for all municipal policies” says Daniel De Torres (UIA Expert), “to build a more inclusive, dynamic and creative city”.
In his 1st Zoom-in, GSIP expert Gabriel Amitsis, focuses on the role and the contribution of European cities towards a solid active inclusion model through inclusive labour markets for unemployed persons.
Gabriel sheds light on the EU and the Finnish approach to active inclusion, discusses the models that the GSIP Vantaa Project has applied so far to develop a sound local active inclusion agenda for unemployed persons.
In this Zoom-in, Ruth Owens (UIA Expert) takes a close look at how the Home Silk Road UIA Project fits into the broader Housing First strategy of the Metropole of Lyon. Housing First is a way of addressing homelessness that implies radically rethinking well-established policies and services.
In this article, Marcelline Bonneau walks us through Fives neighbourhood, in Lille (France), where UIA TAST’in FIVES project, is testing food as a concept (from growing, picking up, preparing, cooking, and eating) to propose a systemic model to fight against urban poverty, including social and economic inclusion, health, education, and empowerment.
