2024 retrospective: a year of growth and collaboration
It has indeed been a transformative year in terms of consolidation and the scale-up of our achievements in support of sustainable urban development for all sizes of cities in Europe. Through continued cooperation with URBACT IV and European partners, EUI has expanded its role in supporting cities to tackle urban challenges and implement effective sustainable urban practices with Cohesion policy funds. Over time, the EUI capacity-building offer has grown to provide more holistic and targeted solutions through City-to-City Exchanges, Peer Reviews, and initiatives such as the first EUI-focused Policy Lab in Chalandri, Greece, on the role of culture and cultural heritage in urban development.
2024 was all about...
Scaling up Innovative Actions
This has been an important year to further develop our Innovative Actions support with:
• continuous care and implementation of the first call projects, bringing really transformational outputs in the cities.
• the kick-off of projects from second call for Innovative Actions under themes like greening cities, sustainable tourism, talent harnessing in shrinking cities.
• the launch of the third call for Innovative Actions focused on energy transition and technology in cities opened for the cities to propose breakthrough solutions for urban challenges.
• The initiation of the Transfer Partners, enabling cities to learn from and adapt proven solutions to their contexts.
-> Learn more about Innovative Actions
Expanding our Capacity Building offer
In 2024, we implemented new formats to support and strengthen urban stakeholders’ capacities. Highlights include:
• four peer reviews hosted in Kalisz (Poland), Petrila (Romania), Athienou (Cyprus), Jesolo and San Donà di Piave (Italy) fostering collaboration and shared learning
• four capacity building events involving cities such as Tampere (Finland), Limerick (Ireland), Prague (Czechia), Gothenburg (Sweden), and further online training sessions and workshops
• a permanent call for City-to-City Exchanges
-> Discover our Capacity Building offer and all CB events in 2024
-> Apply for City-to-City Exchanges
Enhancing sharing of knowledge through Portico and Labs
Portico, the EU’s one-stop-shop for urban knowledge and exchange has grown! With a knowledge hub, featuring over 1,500 resources, a thriving community of more than 3,000 members, and tools like the Urban Matchmaker that support exchanges and visits between EU cities, Portico has become a vital resource for urban practitioners.
Get inspired by the urban practices from EUI, UIA, URBACT and INTERREG Europe and find the most relevant opportunities through the Urban Panorama, which brings together 30 EU initiatives and organisations supporting sustainable urban development.
Capitalising and sharing urban knowledge was also a key highlight of 2024, with strong coordination with URBACT for the implementation of 4 EU City Labs on energy transition and food, as well as the first focused policy lab organised by EUI together with the City of Chalandri on culture and heritage.
-> Explore Portico and its new features
All the energy transition, food and culture and cultural heritage related knowledge
In the making of the Cities Forum 2025
In 2024, EUI launched a call to host the Cities Forum 2025, the European Commission’s flagship event for urban stakeholders across Europe. After a competitive selection process, Kraków, Poland, was chosen as the host city.
If you haven't already, be sure to save the date -17-19 June 2025- for an inspiring event in Kraków! Expect high-level debates, interactive workshops, and inspiring on-site visits.
Co-organised by the EC Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy and the European Urban Initiative, the Cities Forum is open to policymakers, city officials, and urban advocates.
-> Read more about Cities Forum 2025 and remember to subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest updates
Launching the Forward-Looking Survey
The Forward-Looking Survey, presented at EURegionsWeek, highlighted key urban challenges, knowledge gaps, and support needs of cities across Europe. These insights will help shape future activities, ensuring they address cities’ evolving priorities. The full report will be published in early 2025. Stay tuned!
-> Read more here
Supporting cities with the Urban Contact Points network
EUI’s Urban Contact Points network continued offering tailored support to urban practitioners in the national languages, raising awareness of all EUI activities and assisting beneficiaries in accessing them. In December, we held the second annual in-person meeting with Urban Contact Points in Ljubljana (Slovenia), enhancing collaboration and refining our approaches to better meet cities’ needs.
-> Find your Urban Contact Point
-> All the knowledge and opportunities in your country
New Urban Agenda for the EU partnerships and insights
Following the Green Cities and Sustainable Tourism partnerships in 2023, EUI supported the implementation of two new partnerships on Food and Cities of Equality. Additionally, 2024 saw the launch of two new Partnership on Water Sensitivity & Building Decarbonisation that are aimed to kick off their activities in 2025.
-> Read about the Urban Agenda for the EU updates
Our EUI team and community is growing
The EUI Permanent Secretariat continued to grow this year, with 9 new colleagues joining in 2024 to enhance our support to cities. We also welcomed many new experts into the EUI expert pool, that will be engaged alongside the Initiative to deliver activities that support cities in their capacity to innovate, develop their skills and access relevant knowledge. We have also strengthened our day-to-day cooperation with URBACT and expanded our network of partnerships to ensure a coherent and coordinated support framework for urban practitioners.
-> Meet our team
-> Meet our experts