How do we make Amsterdam’s bike tunnels less scary?
It involves all the five senses, apparently
Netherlands / Amsterdam / Development / Public Spaces
Netherlands / Amsterdam / Development / Public Spaces
How do we make Amsterdam’s bike tunnels less scary?
It involves all the five senses, apparently
France / Lyon / Public Spaces / Social City
Lyon makes parking fees socially fair and environmentally just
What you pay for having your car resting in the city will now depend on several different factors
Germany / Mobility / Politics and Reforms
10 million people have bought the Deutschland ticket in a month
Germany’s new approach has convinced hundreds of thousands of people to start using public transport for the first time
Denmark / Mobility / Social City
Danish town to lend families cargo bikes so they can experience car-less life
Fredensborg Municipality is inviting residents to take the bikes for a spin…lasting up to 3 months
Culture and Tourism / Mobility
Night train tester: Europe’s newest profession
After all, sleeping carriages are basically hotels on wheels
Bulgaria / Sofia / Mobility / Politics and Reforms
Sofia cracks down on e-scooters with fines of up to 500 euros for companies
Drivers will be legally required to push their scooters manually in pedestrian areas and parks
Spain / Culture and Tourism / Economy and Finance
Spanish domestic flights tickets can be paid in up to 12 installments
Iberia will be the first company to introduce this option in the country
Bulgaria / Greece / Athens / Sofia / Thessaloniki / Digital transformation / Mobility
Sofia – Thessaloniki highway to support autonomous vehicles by 2025
Greece and Bulgaria are set to build one of the first 5G cross-border corridors in Europe
France / Development / Economy and Finance
France starts building its Battery Valley with opening of new gigafactory
The facility located near Lens is the first step in the grand re-industrialization of the North along modern tech lines
Luxembourg / Portugal / Energy efficiency / Politics and Reforms
Luxembourg and Portugal to develop a hydrogen corridor
Portugal is growing its renewable energy sector and will soon have a large hydrogen electrolyser in the port of Sines
Finland / Digital transformation / Welfare and Health
After dogs, Finland wants to register all cats on its territory, too
The feline registry is expected to start operating in 2026
Germany / Berlin / Development / Social City
Berlin will build social housing for lesbian and queer women in the city centre
The development will offer 70 rental apartments at 6.90 euros per square metre
Finland / Culture and Tourism / Economy and Finance
Finnish cities to require permits for Airbnb hosts not living on their properties
The aim is to curb the ‘professionalization’ of short-term rentals
France / Green City / Mobility
Ahead of generalization, French society opposes low-emission zones in cities
But also, 60% of the people in the country do not know what a ‘low-emission zone’ is
Denmark / Copenhagen / Mobility / Public Spaces
Copenhagen creates parking lots only for e-car sharing services
1,000 such spaces, strategically placed near public transit hubs, will help rethink the place of the car in the city
Luxembourg / Culture and Tourism / Innovation and Research
Esch2022 – the benefits and aftermath of European Capital of Culture
The team presented the final report about a year, which was supposed to put the Luxembourgish city on the cultural map of Europe
Belgium / Brussels / Development / Growing City
Brussels Urban Summit 2023 will confront challenges common to all cities
Reps from 300 cities worldwide will head to the Belgian capital, 12-15 June
Germany / Economy and Finance / Energy efficiency
BMW will expand green car plant in Leipzig
The city has signed a new lease deal for an area of 12 hectares which will include production facilities and renewable energy generation
Spain / Politics and Reforms
Conservative tide takes over Spain’s main cities after elections
The results are also seen as a litmus test for the upcoming national vote later this year
Lithuania / Vilnius / Digital transformation / Green City
Smart system will detect how thirsty Vilnius trees are
Special sensors will measure the moisture content in the soil near the roots
Denmark / Copenhagen / Culture and Tourism / Green City
Copenhagen Pride will be first in the world to use only e-vehicles
This year, green will be the most prominent of the rainbow flag colours
Bulgaria / Culture and Tourism
This Bulgarian town unveiled a museum for one painting
It’s the first of its kind in the country and it’s quite unique even in a global context
Netherlands / Utrecht / Development / Green City
A vertical forest skyscraper will grow in Utrecht
It is designed by the same architect that came up with Milan’s iconic Bosco Verticale
Bulgaria / Culture and Tourism / Digital transformation
You can talk to Bulgarian communist camp survivors thanks to AI
An innovative project shows how history can be made vibrant with the help of cutting-edge tech
Belgium / Germany / Berlin / Brussels / Development / Mobility
First direct night train between Berlin and Brussels since 2008 departs today
An Amsterdam-Barcelona route is also in the works, with a potential stopover in Paris
Bulgaria / Read Twice
Youngsters trained other youngsters in Sofia to deal with disinformation
The workshop phase of the Read Twice project in Bulgaria has ended. See what's next.
Finland / Development / Digital transformation
Finnish dating-app-like service matches rural homes with occupants
Pay no rent and help revive the countryside
Estonia / Tallinn / Green City / New European Bauhaus
Tallinn’s Pollinator Highway is enriched with interspecies installations
The practical art objects are competing for one of the 2023 New European Bauhaus Prizes
Innovation and Research
Museums and police in Europe join forces to fight illicit trade in artefacts
European projects are developing new ways to clamp down on international trafficking of cultural goods
Netherlands / Innovation and Research / Public Spaces
Meet the new Rotterdam rapid response anti-litter team
It will also respond to alarms from citizens in real-time
Germany / Berlin / Politics and Reforms / Welfare and Health
Berlin will treat wounded Ukrainian soldiers for free
With the ramp-up of the summer offensive, authorities estimate up to 500 wounded soldiers per month
Portugal / Porto / Culture and Tourism / Development
Porto metropolis might receive cruise ships in two years
While some cities are looking to turn away from that type of tourism, others seem to be priming themselves for it
France / Paris / Green City / Social City
Paris initiates a solidarity used phones collection drive to fight digital poverty
This is the first initiative of this kind in the French capital
Belgium / Development / Innovation and Research
Ghent needs to invest in housing or risk wealth displacement
The study showed that households with multiple people are growing much faster than regional rates, putting pressure on the housing market
Italy / Rome / Culture and Tourism / Green City
Trevi fountain activists made their point, but was that smart?
The entire fountain has to be emptied and cleaned, in a year when the country is gripped by drought anxiety
Germany / Hamburg / Culture and Tourism / Digital transformation
Hamburg shines a light on troubled heritage with new app
The app is based on the book “Hamburg: Germany's gateway to the colonial world”
Austria / Green City / Innovation and Research
400 baby deer saved with heat-seeking drone in Tyrol
Around 25,000 newborn fawns fall victim to mowing in May and June in Austria
Czechia / Prague / Culture and Tourism / Politics and Reforms
Navalny’s isolation jail cell travels to European cities
The replica prison unit brings attention to the suffering of the Russian democracy activist
France / Culture and Tourism / Mobility
Ride a French train for only 1 euro
Oigo Classique is offering 10,000 tickets for its routes, but you only have 24 hours to get in on the deal
Austria / Vienna / Development / Energy efficiency
Vienna starts drilling for geothermal heat in residential districts
The pilot project is part of the city’s plans to exit natural gas dependency as soon as possible
Italy / Culture and Tourism
Italy opens up more than 400 castles and villas to the public on 21 May
This is part of the National Day of the Italian Historic Houses Association giving the public the chance to access some privately held heritage sites
Belgium / Public Spaces / Social City
Belgian town celebrates pride with LGBT+ traffic lights
Hemiksem wants to take a page out of London’s book
Sweden / Stockholm / Mobility
Stockholmers left without city bikes, at least for a year
The Stockholm eBikes service was supposed to be revolutionary in its affordability
Germany / Politics and Reforms
Mainz - first in line to have cannabis coffee shops in Germany
The city voted to become a cannabis model region despite no such mechanism existing in German law
EU funding updates / Green City
Horizon Europe offers a pathway to 100 cities and regions to become climate resilient
The programme invites authorities to sign up and help achieve EU's Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change
Portugal / Energy efficiency
More than half of Portuguese electricity now comes from solar and wind
And the summer hasn’t even begun so that share is likely to go up even more
Austria / Development / Green City
Arnold Schwarzenegger inaugurates climate solutions hub in Austria
It will share good regional environmental practices from Lower Austria with the rest of the world
Spain / Economy and Finance / Green City
Catalonia’s 2.5 bln euro plan to make the region more drought-resistant
The aim is to lessen the region’s exclusive dependence on rains
Ireland / Cork / Public Spaces
Cork City to co-create urban spaces with help from local communities
The authorities have just launched the 2023 Placemaking Fund and are looking for ideas to make Ireland’s second city greener
Portugal / Politics and Reforms / Welfare and Health
Portugal legalizes euthanasia
This makes it the sixth country in the European Union to allow the end-of-life procedure