Irish Regions Office Website

December 03, 2009

Sustainable urban development research: cities' viewpoint

Representatives of the recently concluded Sixth Framework project URBAN MATRIX have presented their recommendations on how to ensure that future EU research policies correspond with the challenges of sustainable urban development (SUD). The 'Shaping future EU research funding for Sustainable Urban Development' paper outlines areas that the project partners feel the European Commission should consider addressing when designing future EU research funding programmes as well as including suggestions on encouraging cities to become more actively involved in both SUD information exchange and in EU-funded research projects.

Urban Matrix involved a four-year knowledge exchange among 8 cities to support local authority engagement with SUD issues including by improving dissemination and implementation/use of current and future EU legislation and of EU project outputs. A key output was the compilation of case studies of practical local urban planning initiatives from across Europe. These include examples of eco-support for municipal organizations (Helsinki), renewable energy and energy efficiency clustering (San Sebastian), and community air pollution monitoring (Sheffield) as well as gasworks redevelopment (Belfast), and integrated waste, water and energy systems (Stockholm).

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Posted by iroronan at December 3, 2009 10:17 AM