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Eutropian’s Levente Polyak and Sophie Bod travelled to Tartu, Estonia at the end of May for the Good Cities Kick-Off! The timing of the meeting was perfect as this lively university town is crowned as 2024 European Capital of Culture. So what is our new project “Good Cities” about? Good Cities is a transnational project, funded by Interreg Europe, that aims to stimulate new shared economy services for consumer goods in urban environments. While (often extractive, so-called) sharing economy initiatives have been emerging in mobility and housing, goods receive low political priority, despite their significant impact. This is where GOOD CITIES makes a difference.
The three-day event gave us ample time and opportunity to meet the partners in person and build a common understanding and vision for the sharing economy. The project’s Lead Partner, the Association of Muncipalities of Tartu County hosted the workshops and showed us around the beautiful, historical university town of Tartu, with support in coordination by Bax.
The participating six pilot cities and Eutropian explored the interconnectedness of economic, social, and environmental factors in urban planning for the sharing economy. The team was buzzing with ideas during the “Imagine your sharing city in 2050” session, as we visualised our cities with innovative sharing facilities and opportunities in every corner!
One of the most inspiring sessions held by BAX was on Good Practices where each partner presented and examined a sharing practice or organisation from Europe to learn from, and explore their strengths and innovations.
Eutropian, responsible for the project’s knowledge transfer and communication and dissemination activities, held a communication workshop with the partners collectively defining the overall goals of the project as well as the different goals of the partner cities, along the messages we wish to amplify for the target groups: citizens, students, NGOs, government institutions, and the media.
The project partners are: Association of Muncipalities of Tartu County, City of Malmö, Tilburg Municipality, City of Jyväskylä, Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia, Municipality of Újbuda (District XI of Budapest) and Eutropian.
Through coordinating efforts with local stakeholders and leveraging policy instruments, the project partners aim to significantly reduce the volume of goods and negative consumption-related ecological impacts while improving wellbeing and social cohesion. GOOD CITIES’ public authorities will define their role in the sharing economy, establish effective governance mechanisms, learn from and develop good practices, and foster a culture of cooperation. The initiative will empower them to develop comprehensive policies and tools that create trust and space for sharing.
By increasing the visibility of sharing and proactive leadership, GOOD CITIES will demonstrate alternatives for a sustainable and efficient approach to consuming goods, ultimately creating a prosperous and resource-conscious future for our cities within planetary boundaries boosting the implementation of EU and local environmental policies.