Safer cities for all, with all. How European initiatives and projects are fostering innovative participatory schemes for security of public spaces

Simone D'Antonio

Moderator

June 29, 2022 | 15:30 - 17:00

ICC: Voices from Cities Room B

National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI)

Italy

Polish, Spanish, English, French + CART

Reference:

VC-B 11

Voices from Cities

Summary

Making cities safer is a priority for local authorities in different areas of the world. Italian and European cities are testing innovative schemes aimed at making public spaces safer with the active collaboration of residents and local stakeholders.

The event will compare different experiences carried out by cities participating in EU programs, such as URBACT and Urban Innovative Actions, or implementing specific local policies, with the objective of capitalizing the knowledge emerged from the participatory process at local level but also by the exchange among European cities.

The cases of Turin, which led the Urban Innovative Actions project ToNite, the case of Madrid, involved in the URBACT Network UrbSecurity and the case of Mannheim with the "Nachtschicht" project will provide useful indications on how urban security can be governed in an innovative way and be at the core of the public debate when connected to social, economic and environmental dimensions of urban sustainability. The projects presented by the cities in the framework of the event are focused on the provision of new services at night-time for reviving public spaces, such as it is happening in Turin, or on integrated strategies for regenerating public spaces, such as in Madrid and Mannheim.

The active collaboration between local authorities and residents is the common element of these experiences, which will foster the dialogue with the participants of the event and the representatives of national and European organizations, such as the Italian Association of Cities acting as National URBACT Point for Italy (ANCI) and EFUS (European Forum for Urban Security), which are particularly active in the debate on urban security, innovation and public spaces.

The event will be structured with an introduction on the participatory schemes for urban security in European cities, followed by the presentation of the cases of Turin, Madrid and Mannheim, and a final round of questions to representatives of cities and networks (ANCI and EFUS) involved in the panel.

Objectives

The main objective of the event is to raise awareness on the shared need of involving local communities for the creation of safer urban spaces, which may serve as accelerators of active inclusion and economic growth for all. The solutions presented in the framework of the panel aim at inspiring different types of audience, from elected representatives to urban practitioners and experts, in order to enhance the potential in terms of replicability of the practices showcased.

The event also aims at reinforcing the connection between the actions carried out at urban level and the implementation of global frameworks such as the New Urban Agenda and SDGs (in particular, SDG11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities, but also SDG16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions), focusing on the innovative models of collaborative governance implemented by the cities involved in the dialogue.

The objective is to provide useful elements to cities of different areas of the world which are undertaking similar actions and strategies, providing interesting inputs on how the collaboration with residents and active stakeholders may be crucial for planning innovative forms of urban security leaving no one behind.