Vinnytsia is a city with a population of about 400,000 people, located in the central part of Ukraine on both banks of the Southern Bug River. It is a regional center, a multinational intercultural city, open to innovative ideas, and known for its cultural and scientific life. It has a Strategy for the Development of Vinnytsia Urban Territorial Community until 2030 of the European model, which indicates the key priorities of the city’s development in the near term. Vision of the Strategy: “Vinnytsia is a magnet city, a modern and comfortable city, a community where you want to live and work; space of great opportunities and prospects”. The city is one of the most attractive regions for investment in Ukraine, thanks to its strong industrial and scientific potential and favorable investment climate. Vinnytsia is one of the leaders in the development of innovations and IT industry in Ukraine. Vinnytsia is known far beyond our country as a city of students. We are proud of outstanding higher education institutions, such as Stus Donetsk National University.

Faced with the growing demands of an urban-rural population, Famalicão intends to distinguish itself in a different way, based on the enhancement of its identity, values, networks and connections, promoting the strengthening of the quality of life in and of its territory, making it “the place where there are challenges, the place where dreams come true, the place where things happen”. We accept the challenge that we want to be a global techno-industrial community, in a multifunctional green territory.

Wroclaw is located in the heart of Europe and very well connected with the rest of the world. The city of Wroclaw is the third largest academic centre in Poland with 28 universities, including over 100.000 students in various field. Wroclaw is an innovation and creativity centre: knowledge and rapid growth drive its creativity. IT, biotechnology, engineering, chemistry and pharmaceutical sectors are represented as well as locally established start-ups. R&D facilities, incubators, co-working spaces, networking, business friendly support and over 200 start-ups makes Wroclaw interesting place to create and launch modern idea and solutions. The rich history and diverse cultural offer will allow everybody to find the sustainable place to live, work and study in Wroclaw. Within over 40 parks, aquaparks, swimming pools, theatres, an rich offer of entertainment the city gives limitless possibilities to spend fantastic time and to keep work-life balance. The city is called the meeting place, loved for being green, smart, multicultural and innovative.

Trenčín is located in the West of Slovakia at the river Váh under the medieval castle cca 120 km from the capital of Bratislava. With its 55k inhabitants it is the 8th largest city in the country. In the 19th century it became an important commercial and military centre with textile, food processing and machinery industries. The city experiences the post-industrial shift and it bets on regeneration by culture. Trenčín won the title of European Cultural Capital 2026 and one of the goals of the project is to make its public spaces more liveable and inclusive.

Rotterdam is a major port city in the Dutch province of South Holland. The Maritime Museum’s vintage ships and exhibits trace the city’s seafaring history. The 17th-century Delfshaven neighborhood is home to canalside shopping and Pilgrim Fathers Church, where pilgrims worshiped before sailing to America. After being almost completely reconstructed following WWII, the city is now known for bold, modern architecture. But Architecture is more than just the buildings: from architecture, urban design, interior and landscape architecture to the design of public space. Together they shape our living environment and influence how the city is perceived and experienced. Architecture is a matter for all Rotterdammers.

Located in the Emilia-Romagna Region, in Northern Italy. Reggio Emilia is at the top of the rankings as one of the most prosperous and liveable territory in Italy. It’s particularly renowned for the quality of its public services, food sector, industry and civic participation. The Reggio Emilia Approach in educational philosophy has been developed since seventies and today it is internationally recognized thanks to “Reggio Children and the Loris Malaguzzi International Center”. In addition, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia has more than 8000 students, offering high quality “student-friendly” services, also promoting new courses and degree courses linked to the new Digital District. Reggio was one of the founder members of the Intercultural Cities Network in 2008. It was also the founder, and the coordinator, of the Italian Network of Intercultural Cities “Le città del dialogo”. Finally, Reggio is the city of the First Italian Tricolour flag.

Helsinki is a place of growth. In our city, children can grow into healthy adults, people can all the good things that already surround us can continue to grow even better. All this is supported by long-term sustainable economic growth. Helsinki is a place where people can realise themselves and create and seize opportunities. It’s a peaceful ecosystem that evolved by the open sea, hidden from view. Helsinki is opening up to the world without losing its kind heart, its emotional core of safety and hominess. Everyone is free to be a part of Helsinki just as you are, Helsinki is built on trust. Designated as City of Design by UNESCO, Helsinki is a city of distinctive urban arts and culture, uniting professionals from local, national and international communities with well-established independent actors. Helsinki harnesses design to help better understand city residents’ everyday life and needs. This effort utilises the expertise of people working in the creative industry in many ways. Design is a major factor in the development of the built environment.

Helsingborg is one of the oldest cities in the Nordic region and people have been living here since the 10th century. The city is located in Northwest Skåne, where the Öresund strait is at its narrowest and where Denmark and Helsingör are 20 minutes away by ferry. In Helsingborg the sea is very important to our wellbeing, we like to go bathing all year round. In the summer, we head off to one of the beaches found in the heart of the city, and in the winter, we visit one of our three cold water bathhouses. In 2019, a decision was made to accelerate the City of Helsingborg’s innovation work. The initiative was kicked off with H22 – a long term investment to improve quality of life for those living and working in the city. The path to achieving the goals has involved challenges, but also inspiring opportunities. The vision states that Helsingborg in 2035 should be a creative, vibrant, shared, global and balanced city for both people and businesses. As urban planners, we implement that vision through co-creative processes and placemaking together with engaged residents to develop successful public places.

The Hague is the largest Dutch city on the North Sea in the Netherlands and forms the centre of the Greater The Hague urban area. It has been described as the country’s de facto capital. The Hague is also the capital of the province of South Holland, and the city hosts both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. After the separation of Belgium in 1830, Amsterdam remained the capital of the Netherlands, while the government was situated in The Hague. When the government started to play a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. The city sustained heavy damage during World War II and the bombardment wreaked widespread destruction in the area and many fatalities. After the war, The Hague became at one time the largest building site in Europe. The city expanded massively to the south-west, and the destroyed areas were quickly rebuilt. The population peaked at 600,000 inhabitants around 1965.

Cork is Ireland’s second city and it is a proud river city with an industrial history and a rich trading heritage. Cork City is notable for its hilly landscape, deep harbour and a temperate
climate. Among the municipal body of Cork and the City Council there is a strong practise of inter-agency, multi-stakeholder cooperation, particularly on social inclusion, community development and policy development work. Cork is a UNESCO Learning City, a WHO Healthy City and is engaged with UNICEF Child Friendly Cities programme. All of these have driven the increased interest in using Placemaking as an innovative tool to drive cross sectoral work as our city grows. National planning policy also envisages the following enablers of growth for Cork City by 2040- large scale regeneration projects for provision of new employment, housing and supporting infrastructure in Cork Docklands, identifying opportunities to intensify housing development in inner city and suburban areas, supported
by public realm and amenities, and in ‘greenfield’ areas with good transport links.

Józsefváros is the 8th District of Budapest, a centrally located, high-density area. With its 77.000 residents spread only in 11 skm, it is a medium sized district within the capital. It has been the most disadvantaged area of the city both socially and spatially for the past decades, yet, it is also the fastest changing one in the past 15-20 years. The municipality’s current vision adresses the themes of respect, trust, solidarity, equity, openness, sustainability, freedom, justice and equal rights. The main quests the city embarks on are affordable and social housing, sustainable and healthy public spaces and participation.

Bradford is one of the biggest and fastest growing cities in the UK. Over half a million people live here and, with more than a fifth of the population under the age of 15, it is one of the youngest cities in the country. It is a very diverse place, home to people of many different backgrounds and cultures and there is a wide variety of different landscapes and settlements. Bradford has a strong physical identity, due in part to its natural landscapes and dramatic topography (it is built across a series of valleys) and also to its wealth of built heritage, largely a legacy of its time as the wool capital of the world during the industrial era. Since the decline of the woollen industry in the latter 20th Century, the local economy has had the potential to grow rapidly thanks to a strong culture of entrepreneurship and new business start-ups in the local population.

Bergen is Norway’s second largest city, located on the west coast in the heart of the fjords. As a UNESCO World Heritage City and a European City of Culture, the Bergen region has the ideal combination of nature, culture and exciting urban life.
The City Council’s vision is for Bergen to be active, attractive, climate-smart, green, pedestrian-friendly and compact. The city has nearly 300 000 inhabitants and functions as one of the regional centres on the west coast of Norway. Leading business and industry clusters are finance, energy (renewables, oil and gas, ), maritime industries, tourism, creative (media, design film and music) and the marine sector.