URBACT

What if your city’s biggest economic challenge is the one you have not fully noticed yet?

Brain drain. Empty shop fronts. Demographic decline. Exclusion from local job sectors. Changing work patterns. City centres that switch off after sunset.

These challenges rarely arrive as sudden crises. More often, they build slowly, until the room for action has already narrowed.

A new URBACT article looks at how six Networks, involving more than 50 European cities, have worked on local economic development from different angles:

🔸 C4TALENT
🔸 Cities@Heart
🔸 Cities After Dark
🔸 Residents of the Future
🔸 Remote-IT
🔸 TechDiversity

Their experiences show why early action matters, and how cities can test practical responses before slow-moving change becomes harder to reverse.

Read the article by Béla Kézy: https://urbact.eu/whats-new/articles/uncovering-local-economic-changes-cities

🔔 Happening today!

Our next online info session on how can strengthen your application for the URBACT Action Networks call starts soon. 🎥

Discover how to present your project idea clearly, avoid common mistakes, and build a stronger application narrative.

🕙 Today | 10:00–11:30 CEST
📍 Online (Zoom)

There’s still time to register!

Secure your spot now: https://urbact.eu/events/how-write-good-applications-using-storytelling-techniques

🏘️ What’s on the agenda for the URBACT and European Urban Initiative EU City Lab on Housing?

Over two days in Brussels, cities, experts and EU representatives will exchange on concrete solutions for affordable housing across Europe.

Highlights include:

✏️ A keynote on the European Affordable Housing Plan
🏙️ Discussions on local housing delivery and Brussels’ regulatory tools
🛠️ Workshops on renovation, urban transformation and housing finance
🏘️ A session on regulating short-term rentals and market pressures
🚶 City visits and exchanges with peers from across Europe

Check the programme & register now: https://urbact.eu/events/eu-city-lab-housing

More ideas, more ways to act. 💡

The URBACT Partner Search Tool keeps growing, with fresh ideas from cities across Europe.

From urban-rural food links and revived city centres to climate resilience, access, participation and public space, the latest proposals show new ways cities are preparing to move from strategy to action.

Looking for inspiration, a partner or a topic to join for the next URBACT Action Network?

👀 See what cities are bringing to the table and start building your partnership.

⏰ Apply by 17 June 2026, 15:00 CEST.
🔗 Read the article: https://urbact.eu/whats-new/articles/more-ways-to-act-partner-search-tool