TheMayor.EU logo 
The big highlights of the project are two cycling highways, one leading to Lower Austria in the south and another leading to Donaustadt
Sântana has only 11,000 residents, yet several municipal buildings will get connected to a renewable geothermal reservoir deep underground
With a decline in passengers due to Covid-19 and the energy crisis, among other factors, the city will focus on increasing the quality of service
The idea dates back even to Antiquity, but how feasible is it?
While the new health policy will fund the morning-after pill and various progesterone treatments, it will not cover condoms
The cultural and victim remembrance facility will be located in Rome
The city wants new approaches to developing the urban environment and is willing to fund the best solutions
Around 75% of German CO2 emissions come from the private sector, yet less than 1% of businesses are considered fully sustainable
City officials found that simple messages about respecting residents’ sleep were most effective if coupled with the right presentation
The city has a strategy of putting 10,000 human-controlled and autonomous shuttles on the streets by 2030
The city has learned a lot from an ongoing project for a solar roof on the Altonaer Museum
Sântana has only 11,000 residents, yet several municipal buildings will get connected to a renewable geothermal reservoir deep underground
With a decline in passengers due to Covid-19 and the energy crisis, among other factors, the city will focus on increasing the quality of service
The big highlights of the project are two cycling highways, one leading to Lower Austria in the south and another leading to Donaustadt
It will open its doors in 2024 and offer cremations and burials
The building will be on the site of Plato’s Ancient Academy
The city has learned a lot from an ongoing project for a solar roof on the Altonaer Museum
The city has arranged four tailor-made programmes for the different residences as a way to reconnect with patients’ life and memories
The city has developed its own way to teach young people how to react when they witness unjust treatments
The city will supply and maintain 138 dispensers in public buildings
While the new health policy will fund the morning-after pill and various progesterone treatments, it will not cover condoms
City officials found that simple messages about respecting residents’ sleep were most effective if coupled with the right presentation
City authorities claim that the climate crisis is already a factor in planning, with long droughts, interrupted by heavy rainfalls, becoming commonplace
Last week, Budapest was battered by a wave of heavy rain that caused a flash flood in the city. With the effects of climate change becoming more pronounced, the Hungarian capital is experiencing extreme weather shifts more frequently.
According to a statement by city authorities, the climate crisis manifests itself in the Budapest region with long periods of droughts, which are only cut by flash floods and heavy rainfalls. This, they say, is quite similar to the situation in Vienna, which has inspired officials to copy much from the Austrian capital’s sponge city model.
Recently, the city sent a team of experts on a fact-finding mission to Vienna, where they visited the city’s climate adaptability infrastructure projects. Now, Budapest is preparing its own answer to the changing climate.
In Budapest, this project is called ‘LIFE - Urban Rain’ (LIFE – Városi Eső) and it aims to change the way the city handles rain. The standard idea for many drainage systems involves moving water away from the urban area as quickly as possible through a system of drains and sewers and feeding it to rivers.
The sponge city concept, however, aims to reframe that into retaining as much water as possible within the city limits. This can be done through systems of dykes, park ponds, wetlands, green, unsealed spaces and underground reservoirs.
A plan of Seestadt Aspern in Vienna, where all regions drain into a central lake,
Source: City of Budapest
This is why, at the end of May, the Budapest government sent a team of experts to Vienna, so that they can learn from their neighbour’s experience. One of their key findings is the fact that many of Vienna’s sponge city concepts have been implemented in the new district they are constructing, Seestadt Aspern, but there are still a number of measures that the Hungarian team can implement without having to rebuild Budapest from the ground up.
The partially finished Seestadt Aspern almost looks dreamy, Source: City of Budapest
The key features of Budapest’s sponge city concept include installing rain reservoirs in the Seventh and Twelfth districts. The reservoirs will be set up in public buildings, while the retained water would be used for irrigation, cleaning roads and even for toilet flushing.
On the other hand, in the 18th district, authorities are constructing a gravel-turf parking lot, which will unseal the soil, increase biodiversity and help with rainwater retention.
This is evident from the Regional Competitive Index (RCI) published by the European Commission
It’s unclear when it will reopen
While the new health policy will fund the morning-after pill and various progesterone treatments, it will not cover condoms
City officials found that simple messages about respecting residents’ sleep were most effective if coupled with the right presentation
The city has a strategy of putting 10,000 human-controlled and autonomous shuttles on the streets by 2030
Last week, the Chinese app was banned for Belgian federal employees for an initial period of six months
These were the original carriages used when the Polish capital’s subway was launched in 1995
The heritage district has four times less verdant spaces per person than the rest of the Basque capital
The city has learned a lot from an ongoing project for a solar roof on the Altonaer Museum
These were the original carriages used when the Polish capital’s subway was launched in 1995
Social inclusion through gastronomy in one of Italy’s most dangerous neighbourhoods
It’s unclear when it will reopen
The new itineraries are part of the DiscoverEU programme, which lets 18-year-olds travel by train between important European sites
The European Commission has published its first progress report charting the achievements of the socio-cultural movement that combines beauty, inclusion and sustainability
The 2023 edition of the creative initiative promises to be bigger, bolder and more inclusive
A talk with the head of Mission Zero Academy on the benefits for municipalities if they go the zero waste way
A talk with Nicolae Urs, one of the key figures behind the city's new data platforms and online services strategy
Veni Markovski’s take on dealing with disinformation in the European Union's poorest country – Bulgaria
