Municipalities have to play a substantial role for urban resilience and sustainable development not only as local administrators, but also as strategists for integrated territorial planning, enablers by generating the urban activity and growth, servants by providing public quality-of-life amenities, and investors (public investments, infrastructures, and soft projects). Cities need further specialization to deal with complexities of the modern challenges, including pandemics, climate change, resources depletion, and socio-economic issues. They need to become more responsive and effective to emergencies as well as the long-term sustainability. They have to keep up with social and technological innovation and transit to a new model of operation. In order to achieve these, municipalities have to be organized like the contemporary companies; plan intelligent policies regarding resources, social capital, and economic growth, with respect to SDGs; apply smart and healthy city projects; involve cities to the international programmes, initiatives, and networks; and be familiar with the new era funding tools.
TopBackground
There is no doubt that the human settlements (cities, towns, villages) and their administrators are in the threshold of some significant and fast changes regarding their status and sustainable development.
These changes are:
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Challenges, like the climate change, the urban shrinkage, the rural depopulation, the housing, the social inclusion, etc.
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Opportunities, like the Smart Cities applications, the Energy Transition, the participatory governance, the greening, etc.
The sooner the municipal structures be aware of this critical threshold and adapt properly their priorities and function, the more effective policies are going to plan and implement, for the cities and towns transition towards to sustainability.
TopMethodology
This chapter aims to:
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Underline the critical position of the cities and towns regarding the strategic planning and the implementation of the European policies.
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Explore the average duties and competencies of the local administrative structures, both as authorities and development engines.
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Expose the current significant and complicated challenges, and the need for the cities to be ready not only to face them, but also to grab the development opportunities.
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Encourage the administrative authorities to transform themselves, in order to be able to lead their cities to a thriving future that includes all the citizens.
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Refers the contemporary Agenda and the Tools that are available to support the efforts for the creation of some more sustainable urban models
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Suggest some useful Guidelines as a Roadmap overview, in order to set some steps which are necessary in this municipal transformation and urban transition procedure
TopIntroduction
With Europe being one of the most urbanised continents in the world, the development of cities will determine the future economic, social and territorial development of the European Union (European Union. European Comission. Directorate-General for Regional Policy, 2011). The green and digital transition has to be driven by the municipalities – especially the urban ones.
The same stands for combating climate change, building communities resilient to crises, such as Covid-19 pandemic. Municipalities have to play a substantial role regarding urban resilience - sustainable development.
This central role is recognized across a number of EU and global initiatives and policy documents, i.e., the EU Green Deal (“A european green deal”, n.d.) and the concept of local Green Deals (European Commission, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Durieux, Hidson, 2021), Fit for 55 (Plan, 2011) the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) (“Recovery and resilience facility”, 2022), the EU Urban Agenda (“The urban agenda for the EU, n.d.), the EU plans of circular economy, sustainable urban mobility, the UN-backed campaign “Cities Race to Zero” (C40) (“Race to Zero Campaing”, n.d.), etc.
Moreover, urban municipalities are in the center of “100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission” (European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Larsson, Boni, 2020), one of the five ambitious EC Missions.