City Initiatives - Urban climate action
Istanbul: Ayamama Life Valley
Istanbul’s Ayamama Life Valley Project has transformed a 1,500,000 m² degraded, flood-prone stream corridor into a thriving ecological park using nature-based solutions. Over the past four and a half years, the planting of 8,000 mature trees has enabled the sequestration of 161.7 tonnes of CO₂ annually and a 40% increase in pollinator biodiversity, while eliminating the chronic flood risk that once threatened thousands of residents. Drawing inspiration from urban river restoration models in Seoul, Madrid and Utrecht, the project adapts these approaches to Istanbul’s dense urban fabric through hydroseeding, native planting, permeable surfaces and flood retention basins. Continuous cycling and walking paths now connect densely populated neighbourhoods to open green space, creating a civic focal point that strengthens community bonds and supports public health for people of all backgrounds.
Manchester: In Our Nature
Manchester’s In Our Nature programme has been making climate action relevant to everyday life since 2022. Designed for one of England’s most deprived cities, the initiative delivers climate action through community priorities rather than carbon targets, demonstrating that sustainability can be fashionable, affordable and delicious. Over three years, 87 projects have engaged over 4,800 people across 121 community groups, saving 67 tonnes of carbon while helping 1,570 residents save money and 851 report improved mental wellbeing. Working through trusted local partners, faith groups and sports clubs, the programme targets Manchester’s most deprived neighbourhoods and has informed the city’s climate strategy 2025-2030 through a dedicated Citizens Panel. Over 200 practical guides co-created with residents are publicly available in multiple languages, supporting replication across nine European cities.
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Paris: Oasis Schoolyards
Paris’s Oasis Schoolyards Programme has been transforming school playgrounds into green, climate-resilient spaces open to local communities since 2018. With 203 schoolyards already redesigned and an ambition to cover all 770 Paris schools by 2050, the initiative creates vital cooling islands across one of Europe’s most densely populated cities. Developed within the European CoolSchools project alongside other European cities like Barcelona, Rotterdam and Brussels, the programme addresses urban heat, biodiversity loss and children’s wellbeing through participatory co-design processes involving teachers, families and residents. The complementary ‘rues aux écoles’ initiative extends this approach by pedestrianising streets around schools, improving air quality and safety. Through the ‘Graine d’Oasis’ programme, transformed schoolyards become living classrooms, embedding climate awareness and outdoor learning into daily school life while strengthening community bonds.
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Oulu: Sustainable Future Learning Stream
Oulu’s Sustainable Future Learning Stream is a city-wide lifelong learning model that transforms climate strategy into everyday action, from early childhood education through to upper secondary level. Developed over five years and integrated as a binding annex to local curricula, the initiative combines climate literacy, circular economy and nature-based learning through practical activities including outdoor education, food councils and school-level climate projects. Inspired by the international Eco-Schools approach, Oulu adapted the framework to local needs, developing tools such as the School Repair Guide, which helps students measure and reduce emissions in their own school communities. Seven partner municipalities co-developed and adapted the model to their own contexts through joint projects and peer learning networks. The initiative has been shared internationally at URBACT events, a UNICEF conference in China, and European Erasmus+ seminars.
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Rotterdam: Circular Textile Fibre Recycling Ecosystem
Rotterdam’s Circular Textile Fibre Recycling Ecosystem is a regional initiative connecting cities across the West Netherlands through the Kansen for West programme to reduce textile waste and lower carbon footprint of textile production. The initiative has built a coherent circular textile ecosystem covering the full value chain: sorting, recycling, repair, reuse and circular product design. By simultaneously addressing technological, economic, social and regulatory barriers, it connects SMEs, municipalities, waste collectors, social enterprises, designers, repair networks and policy actors to move from innovation to real urban implementation. The initiative creates inclusive local employment, particularly for people facing barriers to enter the labour market, linking climate action with social and economic benefits at neighbourhood level. Its modular, scalable model and European co-financing make it readily transferable to other cities seeking circular textile solutions.
City Initiatives - Breaking gendered poverty cycles
Dusseldorf: Ariadne
Dusseldorf’s Ariadne initiative supports women and mothers experiencing homelessness. Ariadne takes an integrated approach combining a 24/7 women’s only emergency shelter, a specialised accommodation for mothers with children Little Ariadne, and the low-threshold Café Ariadne, a safe daytime space offering counselling, health support and social connection. The initiative addresses not only the women’s immediate needs but also the specific causes and consequences of women’s homelessness, including violence, hidden homelessness and poverty. By providing protection, early intervention and tailored support, Ariadne stabilises women in crisis and connects them to housing, healthcare and social services. The initiative strengthens access to support systems and improves long-term stability for women and their families in Dusseldorf.
Stockholm: Neighbourhood Mothers
Stockholm’s Neighbourhood Mothers initiative employs women who have firsthand experience of migrating to Sweden to support newly arrived mothers in their own communities. The initiative is reducing isolation, strengthening trust, and supporting migrant women’s path to employment and education. Trained in navigating public institutions, Swedish working life, health, social services, democracy, gender equality and domestic violence, these women then use their language skills and lived experience to pass that knowledge on. By working closely with the target group and building trust, the initiative has been able to meet needs in ways that traditional public‑sector contact often cannot. Since 2018, the City of Stockholm has employed 98 Neighbourhood Mothers, collectively reaching around 3,000 women every year.
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Glasgow: Period Dignity Project
Glasgow’s Period Dignity Project ensures free, accessible period products for anyone who needs them. Over the past eight years, the initiative has reduced stigma and tackled period poverty across the city. Vulnerable groups, including those experiencing homelessness, often have no means to buy products to maintain period hygiene. Though Scotland is the first country in the world to protect in law the right to access free period products, many are unaware of how to access these resources. Through partnerships with schools, community organisations, libraries, leisure centres, and third‑sector groups, the initiative is expanding product availability in hundreds of public locations and boosting public awareness. It has delivered education and awareness campaigns, supported sustainable product choices, and helped normalise conversations about menstruation. The initiative is already inspiring other cities from Belfast to Bilbao.
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City Heroes
Alessandro Ghinelli, Mayor of Arezzo, Italy
Alessandro Ghinelli has served as Mayor of Arezzo, Italy since 2015. His holistic vision of urban policy pairs social inclusion with environmental and climate resilience, contributing to shared European climate adaptation goals. Under his leadership, Arezzo has elevated its role in European and global urban governance through active engagement in Eurocities and URBACT networks, twinning agreements with cities across Europe and internationally, and participation as speaker at UN Forums and COP summits. A champion of intercultural dialogue and peace education, Ghinelli has led humanitarian support for Ukraine through the “Generators of Hope” and “Sustainable Rebuilding of Ukrainian Cities” initiatives and supported the internationally recognised Rondine Citadel of Peace initiative, cementing Arezzo’s reputation as a model for city diplomacy and societal resilience. In support of local democracy, Mayor Ghinelli joined a Eurocities delegation of Mayors to Türkiye to advocate for Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu who has been jailed.
Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul, Turkey
Ekrem İmamoğlu has served as Mayor of Istanbul, Turkey since 2019, working toward a fair, green and creative city. His commitment to strengthening local democratic governance and peace through city-to-city cooperation led him to found the B40 Balkan Cities Network in 2021. Now at 76 members, the network fosters regional cooperation and has united approximately 800 young people across the Balkans through its Youth Summits. He organised the world’s first Megacities Summit in Istanbul in 2023, and convened a Meeting of Mayors for Peace and Cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa in 2024. A speaker at COP Summits and the Munich Security Conference, he has consistently positioned cities as agenda-shapers in climate, peace and democratic governance. In March 2025, he was unjustly sent to jail following politically motivated charges against him. For his resilience and commitment to democracy, he has earned a special recognition during the annual conference Eurocities 2025 Braga and the Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Award in 2026.
Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, Mayor of Malmo, Sweden
Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh has served as Mayor of Malmo, Sweden, since 2013. As President of ICLEI, she has elevated Malmo’s role in European and global climate and inclusion agendas, promoting international cooperation rooted in social equity and climate justice. She is also active across Eurocities, UBC, G-Nets, ICLEI and Procura+. She has advocated directly to the European Commission for a stronger urban agenda and represented cities as a speaker at multiple COP summits. In 2022, she launched the Malmo Commitment, a just, inclusive and equitable climate transition initiative. It now unites 12 pioneer cities and 10 supporting cities in exchanging best practices on mobility, food, housing, energy, and equitable economy. Her leadership has made Malmo a globally recognised model for inclusive climate action.
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