Netherlands
Utrecht
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Utrecht: from car to boat
20 years ago, a referendum sparked the demolition of a 12-lane highway to bring back the canal to the centre of the city. Today, the water is now flowing through the heart of the city again.
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Utrecht focus on women to welcome and include refugees
The Dutch city of Utrecht is focusing on gender equality to include and integrate refugees with the help of the local community.
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Why gender equality?
“When I think back to how I felt before I started here, I saw no light” – Gothenburg is tailoring its integration policies to fit the needs of migrant women.
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Healthy urban park
Utrecht's Máximapark brings communities together and is a model of good citizen engagement.
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A path to wheel urban development
When cycling is the most popular method of getting around, it promotes healthy urban living.
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Urban mobility is about autonomy and connection
The Eurocities Mobility Forum in Utrecht spotlighted the essence of inclusivity and empowerment in urban mobility, urging cities to design with everyone in mind.
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Better mobility starts in cities
Cities gather to discuss how to radically reshape urban space and present their demands for the next EU mobility policy agenda.
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Teaming up for climate neutrality
Knowledge and best practice sharing is a key enabling factor for cities that are on the way to becoming climate-neutral. The NetZeroCities Twinning Programme allows cities at the early stages of becoming climate neutral to learn from other pilots and their innovative solutions.
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It all starts with the resident
Utrecht joined the UCC project to exchange practices and learn from other peer municipalities. The city is currently optimising its website following a user-friendly approach and working on an open-source solution such as a virtual assistant developed with 22 municipalities within the Netherlands.
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In Utrecht, sowing the seeds of Ukraine’s future
To strengthen local governments in Ukraine and lay out solid reconstruction plans, Utrecht drew up a project offering Ukrainian civil servants temporary employment in Dutch municipalities.
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Cities gather in Istanbul for democracy
Eurocities Mayors flew to Istanbul last week, rallying behind Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul, after his sentencing by a Turkish court.
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Cooperation and funding opportunities for cities welcoming refugees
How can cities make better use of funding and partnership opportunities, and what more needs to be achieved between levels of government when it comes to better welcoming and integrating migrants and refugees? The recent influx of Ukrainians to cities throughout Europe offers many learning points.
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COP 27: Local governments must be empowered to deliver climate agreement
On the occasion of the Solutions Day at COP27, the European Committee of the Regions, Eurocities, ICLEI, and others, call on national governments, the Parties and international organisations to fully support local and regional authorities in delivering climate action on the ground
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Cities step up to mitigate energy poverty
Many cities are already embarking on innovative local projects to mitigate the present and future energy poverty effects, which mainly concerns economically vulnerable groups.
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Interview with the Deputy Mayor of Utrecht on the integration of refugees
The city of Utrecht is hosting Eurocities' 10th Integrating Cities Conference and has a lot to say on best practices to welcome and integrate refugees.
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How to thrive in cities? Re-think public spaces
This year, European Mobility Week puts a spotlight on public urban spaces, how to make them more livable and welcoming to residents.
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Solving local migration funding
Tips and solutions from cities on securing European funding for migration-related initiatives. This is the second and final part of our series.
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Cities seek to fund migration
Cities discuss the challenges they face to secure European funding for migration-related initiatives
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Short term rentals: cities ask Europe’s help
With the summer holidays starting, cities worry once more about the impact of short term holiday rentals, and Europe seems to turn a blind eye on the issue.
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Cities discuss solutions to welcome Ukrainian refugees
Several European cities shared past and recent experiences to discuss how to better welcome, host and integrate Ukrainian refugees
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How to eradicate homelessness by 2030
Cities are playing a key role in combatting homelessness and they should be further included in national and EU plans to tackle housing problems, says Rachel Streefland , Deputy Mayor for Wellbeing, Asylum and Integration in Utrecht.
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COP26: More than ‘blah blah blah’?
Cities represented at COP26 demonstrated that any transformative action on the path to climate neutrality needs to firmly involve the local level.
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Top city prizes at Eurocities Awards 2021
Nice Cote d’Azur, Copenhagen and Ghent have scooped the top prizes at the Eurocities Awards 2021.
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A Green Deal that works for people
Mayors across Europe recognise that climate action and social progress are two sides of the same coin. This COP26 'host zone' session will be livestreamed direct from Glasgow on Wednesday 10 November 13:30-15:30 GMT (starts 14:30 CEST).
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People’s power to improve cities
People collect data in their neighbourhood, to create a better living for all – the new European project CitiMeasure wants to support citizen science initiatives.
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10 ways to make integration gender-sensitive
About half of all migrants in the EU are women, but integration policies often leave women behind. Here are ten cities where things are different.
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What can cities do to fight homelessness?
Everyone has a right to shelter and housing. Yet even before the pandemic, homelessness was on the rise in Europe. What actions can cities take, and what more is needed?
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Cities call for new EU pact for just and sustainable recovery
City leaders from around 70 cities, meeting today, one day ahead of the EU Social Summit, have called for a new pact between all levels of government to foster a just, sustainable and inclusive recovery.
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“We need each other more than ever before”
How are social rights affected by the Covid-19 pandemic? What steps can cities take to alleviate a worsening situation of job losses, and the risk of poverty, for so many people? Maarten van Ooijen, Deputy Mayor of Utrecht, shares some thoughts.
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Cities: “Talk with us!”
Cities have so far not been sufficiently involved in the national recovery plans to respond to the corona crisis, shows a survey of Eurocities. President Nardella urges governments to ensure that EU funds arrive where they are needed most: in cities.
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Cities and migrants – what’s happening at local level?
When migrants move, it is overwhelmingly to cities that they come. This fourth Integrating Cities Report gives a direct insight into how cities are integrating migrants today.
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Housing affordability: A European crisis
A new Eurocities report on housing and homelessness shows that a lack of access to affordable and social housing was already putting new groups of Europeans at risk of poverty and social exclusion before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Access to affordable and social housing and support to homeless people
This report is the third in a series of surveys to collect evidence from cities on the implementation of the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
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Putting people first in the green energy transition
How do we put people first when moving to a green and digital economy in times of crisis recovery? Bringing together social and environmental goals is a key task for many cities now focussing on recovery efforts.
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Government for the people – with the people
A good government works for the people – or, even better, with the people. In a new publication, presented at the Nantes Innovation Forum, cities share stories of direct democracy in action.
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Cities pledge over €14 billion to fight poverty and social exclusion
44 cities, representing more than 51 million citizens, have jointly pledged €14.2 billion in social investment measures towards creating a fairer, more equal and inclusive Europe.
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Opportunities and challenges in a digital era – Cities meeting with Margrethe Vestager
Ahead of the announced Digital Services Act, mayors and leaders from 12 European cities met with European Commission Executive Vice-President, Margrethe Vestager.
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Short Term Holiday Rentals: large European cities seek EU cooperation
Mayors and representatives of cities want stronger regulations on the Short Term Holiday Rental market in order to counter the harmful impact of STHR on the housing market and make neighbourhoods more liveable.
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City letter on refugee children relocation gains traction
The city of Bruges is the most recent signatory to the letter, which seeks to bring together cities that support relocating refugee children from the Greek islands.
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Cities respond to social implications of COVID-19 crisis
Deputy mayors from Athens, Barcelona, Leipzig, Malmo, Utrecht, Vienna and Zagreb engaged in a direct dialogue with the European Commission Director for Social Affairs, Katarina Ivankovic.
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Cities ready to take in refugee children
Cities across Europe are ready to welcome children from overcrowded refugee camps on the Greek islands.
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22 cities call for stronger European regulation of holiday rental platforms
European cities call for tougher laws on short-term tourist accommodation.
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Cities commit to invest €4.3 billion to fight poverty and social exclusion over 5 years
21 cities, representing more than 20 million citizens have so far pledged €4.32 billion towards a fairer, more equal and inclusive Europe.
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