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EU Cohesion Policy: Urban Issues

URBAN I
URBAN II
URBAN AUDIT

The majority of European citizens live in urban areas. Cities are centres of economic growth, but can at the same time face concentrations of social, environmental and economic problems. The URBAN Community Initiative is an instrument within EU Cohesion Policy, dedicated to the regeneration of urban areas and neighbourhoods in crisis.

URBAN I (1994- 1999)
The Urban I programme funded programmes in a total of 118 urban areas. It was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). Cities lying within Objective 1 areas were given priority for funding, in view of the particularly acute problems faced by these regions. 57% of programmes are located in Objective 1 areas and a further 27% are located in Objective 2 areas, presenting an opportunity for enhancing social cohesion in cities within these disadvantaged regions.
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URBAN II (2000-2006)
As a follow-up to Urban I in 1994-99, Urban II aims more precisely to promote the design and implementation of innovative models of development for the economic and social regeneration of troubled urban areas. It will also strengthen information and experience-sharing on sustainable urban development in the European Union.

Between 2001 and 2006, the European Union will invest more than Euro 728 million of European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) money in these areas. Funding concentrates on physical and environmental regeneration, social inclusion, training, entrepreneurship and employment.

A particular feature of the URBAN initiative is the high degree of involvement of the local level. In most cases the local authority is responsible for day to day implementation, advised by local community groups and in partnership with the national / regional authorities and the European Commission.

Another interesting feature is that there will be a network of the URBAN II programmes (Urbact) to exchange information and experience on sustainable urban development across the European Union.

Key links:

URBAN II website
Urban II : context
Cities & programmes
Financing

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URBAN AUDIT

In June 1999, the Commission conducted a data collection of comparable indicators in European cities. In the course of this "Urban Audit Pilot Project" 450 variables were collected for the 58 largest cities.

The first full-scale European Urban Audit took place in 2003 and 2004, following an evaluation of this pilot project. It led to a more focussed list of variables and a significant expansion of participating cities, covering over 250 cities in the EU27.

The State of European Cities Report

Based on the first full-scale Urban Audit, a study has been contracted to add value to the data collection. It was started in January 2006 and finalised in April 2007.

The State of European Cities Report builds on a unique collection of urban statistics. It provides in-depth analysis of gathered demographic, economic and social statistics. It exploits other available data, for example on education level, civic involvement and environment. It also provides a typology of European cities, which allows urban audit cities to find other cities with which to compare themselves . Read report>>

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