AGORA is an exchange project that will deploy and adopt creative governance instruments for public administrations in the Danube region. These instruments will be used to effectively involve, connect and empower a wide range of stakeholders in the reintegration of vacant buildings and land, whether it be public or private.
The project aims to develop a policy instrument platform that empowers ten cities in the Danube region to become drivers, catalysts, and mediators for the reintroduction of vacant or underused land and buildings into the productive urban value chain.
Numerous initiatives have aimed to reuse under-valued physical spaces and integrate skilled youth into circular economies, but replicating these have often proven to be difficult. AGORA aims to fill the gap, and provide public administrations with the tools to support initiatives, citizens and various stakeholders, and provide them with support so they can find new uses out of underused spaces and contribute to social and economic inclusiveness.
The Danube is Europe’s second largest river, flowing through Eastern and Central Europe, connecting many European countries and numerous urban centers. It is a source of life, trade, exchange, and connection.
The economic crisis of 2008 created an opportunity for public administrations in the region to enact efficient and meaningful change in planning policies. The need to harness local potential is tantamount for the region, and this can be accomplished through the utilization of inclusive and creative instruments for physical and social regeneration.
As Eutropian, we pride ourselves in having the capacity and capability of connecting various stakeholders and initiatives with public administrations: we’ve had success in voicing the concerns of initiatives and connecting them with policy makers in the food markets project as well as others such as gE.CO, Open Heritage and PlaceCity.
Creating dialogue and joint projects that will benefit social inclusiveness and promote the utilization of untapped potential is something we’re passionate about, and fits right within our motto: Urban Justice.
As such, we’re excited to be on board as a project partner and communications manager. We are enthusiastic about how this project will help shape the reuse and reintegration of vacant spaces in urban centers along the Danube. We’ll be contributing to it’s success through unique strategies such as webinars, city walk through videos, newsletters as well as actively utilizing the social media page to ensure the proper dissemination of information and developments to a larger audience.
The second episode of the Cooperative City Dialogues series focused on urban regeneration and the drivers of governance models in connecting and empowering stakeholders in urban regeneration processes. The panel featured AGORA partners, and was moderated by Bahanur Nasya.
The discussion focused on methods and instruments for the revitalization of urban vacancies.
We hope Agora will serve as a pilot project that promotes and enacts policies that truly offer options and solutions for the re-use of underused and undervalued spaces in urban sprawls across the Danube region.
We are aware that each location has it’s own set of rules, regulations, challenges and issues: and we’re ecstatic to hit the ground running; to research and communicate with stakeholders in ensuring our cities harness their full potential and create inclusive environments that benefit society as a whole.
More tangibly however, The project aims to deliver a Capacity Building Program and a Toolkit containing innovative policy instruments that promote knowledge on urban regeneration.
It will also unlock local potential through community activation and digital platforms providing networking activities and project solutions, and finally, with Urban Regeneration Agendas strengthening institutional capacities.
Partner cities will also apply the knowledge and experience developed within AGORA on 10 different pilot projects. The Transnational Capacity Building and Transfer Program results will be exchanged among project partners and the Danube Region to produce Guidelines and Policy Recommendations for a Better Governance of Urban Regeneration in the Danube Region
Project co-funded by European Union funds (ERDF, IPA, ENI) with the financial contribution of partner states and institutions.
Overall budget: 2396870.05 EUR ; ERDF Contribution: 1892131.33 EUR ; IPA Contribution: 74580.64 EUR ; ENI Contribution: 70627.55 EUR
Project partners in Agora are the cities of Chisinau, Cluj-Napoca, Koprivnica, Kranj, Neckar-Alb Regional Association, Prague9 Distrit, Slavonski Brod, Sofia, Szarvas and Zenica.
Agora Scientific partners are: The Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slonevia (UIRS); pakora.net; Urbasofia; Metropolitan Research Institute (MRI); Eutropian.
For more information on the project, don’t be shy, reach out to Jorge Mosquera.
