Tirana, the city for children

In Albania, children are the greatest value for the people. Taking this into account, the local government of Tirana considers the importance of future generations as a priority issue. First of all, they have changed the narrative of the city administration. Usually, in politics, they always worry about the next election. So they could take the conversation to the next level – how do we worry about the next generation, rather than just the next election?

Urban Data School

The Urban Data School is an initiative to bring data literacy education to primary and secondary schools. The Urban data school worked with schools in Milton Keynes to enable pupils to critically analyse complex Smart City data sets, and to use data literacy skills to investigate critical urban issues. Data literacy – the ability to use data as part of complex reasoning and to accurately critique and interpret data to ask and answer meaningful questions – is an important civic skill that forms the foundation of an innovative knowledge economy.

CAPE - Community Action Platform for Energy

CAPE, Community Action Platform for  Energy project will develop an interactive website designed to assess energy use for individuals and communities in Milton Keynes. It will provide data and therefore information for its users. The website will be made available free of charge to residents, community groups, landlords and local businesses. It will give them a ready-to-use tool to jump-start and scale-up energy projects, and to access opportunities for rapidly growing market for energy efficiency and renewable energy systems.

Bee Path - Ljubljana Urban Beekeeping

The Bee Path was opened in 2015 by the city of Ljubljana (SI), a municipality aware of the importance of pollinators for the sustainability of cities. The path is designed in such a way that visitors can comprehend the importance of bees for our survival and our food safety, discover the necessity of honey in our daily diet, but also find out more about the city's beekeeping culture. Various stakeholders are involved in the initiative: educational, cultural and health institutions, businesses, NGOs, and of course, beekeepers.

I give you food

The idea of the food boxes is not the idea of the association, it has been present in the country for years, but they would have liked to make this initiative available to local people as well. The boxes are 65x59x39 cm cabinets made of plastic with reinforced metal. The cabinet is made of waterproof and UV-protected material. Each box belongs to a volunteer team. The team visits the box several times a day in hot weather or at least once a day, checking the food in it. Volunteers also clean the boxes daily.

Finding opportunities in declining cities

The overarching theme of this good practice is strategic management in the context of long-term decline and stagnation. After local industries closed, the population of Altena (DE) shrank by 43% between 1975 and 2014. Facing diminishing resources and increasingly complex problems, Altena shifted its strategic objectives to focus on controlling decline rather than growth. The municipality adjusted its priorities, working more closely with citizens.

Kolorcity Kazincbarcika

The Municipality of Kazincbarcika realizes a local community building and community development program in partnership with local NGOs, businesses and local governmental organizations, with the support of the European Union and the Government of Hungary.

With the slogan "Color City", the Kolorcity concept started in 2011, resulting in the creative painting of more than 30 facades of buildings; a number of new statues, street art works, and the yearly COLORFESTIVAL, sports and recreational events colored the city's everyday life.

Bathroom Scout (public toilets search)

Need to find a restroom really quick? Install “Bathroom Scout” today and never be short of a restroom close to you! The database contains over 700.000 toilets worldwide and is maintained by an active user base.  The app displays those restrooms near to you on a map and let’s you make your choice. Of course you can leave comments for facilities you visited or add new ones!