Urban Voices Podcast

Urban Voices

Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) is an Initiative of the European Union that provides urban areas throughout Europe with resources to test new and unproven solutions to address urban challenges.

  1. Reimagining Bruges: Blue4Green project

    Jan 23

    Reimagining Bruges: Blue4Green project

    If you have ever been to Bruges, or seen it in films or photos, chances are you have noticed at least one of the following: canals, swans, water, tourist boats. What often goes unnoticed is that Bruges, and the wider region of Flanders in Belgium, regularly suffers from droughts. In this episode of the Urban Voices and Cities Reimagined Podcast, we meet Astrid Stroobandt from the City of Bruges and Simon Thys from the non-profit organisation Waterland, who are currently running the Blue4Green, an Innovative Actions project funded by the European Urban Initiative. Astrid and Simon explain how the project aims to change the city’s relationship with water in multiple ways, and how children’s dreams can inspire change just as much as data and technological innovation. We also hear how the city is experimenting with medieval infrastructure as water buffers, and how green and blue algae are cutting summer fun short. If you would like to find out more, have a look at the links below, connect with Astrid, Simon and Johannes on LinkedIn and follow Blue4Green on Portico. More information and materials mentioned in the podcast: European Urban Initiative Portico - The EU gateway to urban learning Article: From smart sensors to medieval cultural heritage: A new chapter in Bruges' water identity with Blue4Green Article: A hot summer’s wake-up call to the City of Bruges: A blue-green algae crisis and what comes next

    40 min
  2. AHA podcast series – part 2: Flexible Housing Options and social innovation

    Jan 14

    AHA podcast series – part 2: Flexible Housing Options and social innovation

    Second part of the podcast series for the EUI' s project Affordable Housing for All (AHA) by IA expert Martha Giannakopoulou. Read more on Portico (⁠⁠⁠portico.urban-initiative.eu⁠⁠⁠). In the second episode, we turn our focus to Flexible Housing Options in Budapest, examining how housing innovation can respond to real community needs and better support vulnerable populations. We explore how alternative housing models can provide stability, dignity, and long-term solutions for groups often excluded from the conventional housing market. We speak with representatives from From the Streets to Homes Association, an organization at the forefront of affordable housing and support for vulnerable groups, including people experiencing homelessness and migrants. Our guests include Tibor Kiszely, Project Coordinator of the AHA Budapest project, and Eszter Váradi, a social policy professional working on the design of social services within the AHA project, with a particular focus on developing an affordable, intergenerational room rental service. Find out more about the project led by Municipality of Budapest, Hungary on our website: ⁠AHA Budapest - Affordable Housing for All⁠⁠

    32 min
  3. AHA podcast series – part 1: The Demo Hub and community involvement

    Jan 14

    AHA podcast series – part 1: The Demo Hub and community involvement

    First part of the podcast series for the EUI' s project Affordable Housing for All (AHA) by IA expert Martha Giannakopoulou. Read more on Portico (⁠⁠portico.urban-initiative.eu⁠⁠). In the first episode of our two-part podcast series for the AHA project, we zoom in on the Demo Hub and explore why community involvement and neighborhood integration are essential for affordable housing initiatives to succeed.KÉK has been leading the effort to open up the Demo Hub to the neighborhood, build trust, and ensure that local residents have a real voice in shaping the future of this space. We speak with Eszter Dávida, an urbanist specializing in inclusive and sustainable cities through strategy and community engagement, and Krisztina Kovács, Project Manager at KÉK for the AHA – Affordable Housing for All project. Together, they reflect on participatory design processes, placemaking, and how the Demo Hub can become a shared neighborhood asset rather than just a building. Find out more about the project led by Municipality of Budapest, Hungary on our website: AHA Budapest - Affordable Housing for All⁠

    45 min
  4. S4T - Station for Tranformation - Zoom-In n.2

    Jan 13

    S4T - Station for Tranformation - Zoom-In n.2

    Second output for the EUI' s project S4T - Station for Transformation by IA expert Simone d'Antonio. Read more on Portico (⁠portico.urban-initiative.eu⁠). Background information: Rovereto and its surrounding area face the challenge of adapting to climate change and mitigating biodiversity loss, closely tied to local cultural heritage. To tackle this, the town is transforming its train station into a public-civic hub for joint actions on climate, biodiversity, and heritage regeneration. As a key mobility hub for over 135,000 inhabitants, the station is being reimagined as a catalyst for community-driven solutions. New spaces such as a Biodiversity Kiosk, Climate Co-creation Space, and the mobile outreach unit "S4T on Wheels" will foster training, co-design, and knowledge transfer. This innovative model can be replicated in other communities. Find out more about the project led by Rovereto, Italy on our website: ⁠S4T - Station for Transformation⁠

    18 min
  5. EPIC – Zoom-in 1

    10/31/2025

    EPIC – Zoom-in 1

    The focus of the ‘EPIC’ project is to boost sustainable industrial tourism in the city of Prato, Italy by valorising the local industrial heritage to attract and retain visitors, thereby promoting fair, productive, and green growth for all citizens. The first Zoom-In of EPIC focuses on the design of travel itineraries through textile factories that are at the core of the vision on industrial tourism developed by the city. These itineraries guide visitors through the active production sites of Prato, while the EPIC project is working on enhancing the overall visitors’ experience through the development of immersive solutions that will bring visitors closer to the manufacturing process and the local industrial heritage of the city.In this episode, the Innovative Action Expert of the project Simone d’Antonio interviews Filippo Guarini, director of the Textile Museum of Prato, and Rosanna Censabella, technical director of the tour operator of Cooperativa Cristoforo. Together with the guests representing two partners of the EPIC project, the podcast explores the journey of Prato toward developing an industrial tourism offer, the role played by local cultural infrastructures in supporting this action and how the guided tours organized in local textile factories are helping Prato to enrich its tourism offer, while collaboratively redefining a key part of its urban identity. More information: · ⁠European Urban Initiative⁠ · ⁠Portico⁠ - The gateway to urban learning

    26 min
  6. Reimagining Ghent: De-sealing the city

    09/30/2025

    Reimagining Ghent: De-sealing the city

    Urban rewilding is more than planting trees - it’s about reshaping cities by de-sealing land and inviting nature back in. In this episode, we head to Ghent to explore REWILD, a bold project funded by the European Urban Initiative that breaks up concrete, engages residents, and creates space for ecosystems. 🎙️ With Linde Vertriest and Annelies Sevenant, we talk about the barriers and challenges and touch upon the million dollar question: what does it take to rewild a city? Read more: 🔗 www.rewildthecity.eu 🔗 Rewild is an EUI Innovative Actions project: https://www.urban-initiative.eu

    51 min
  7. Reimagining Mechelen Pt. 2: Nature as a stakeholder in the revival of the river Dijle with Mark Van der Veken

    08/29/2025

    Reimagining Mechelen Pt. 2: Nature as a stakeholder in the revival of the river Dijle with Mark Van der Veken

    Have you ever wondered how to give nature a voice in urban development? The City of Mechelen in Belgium does exactly that while reimagining the connection between water, public spaces, animals, plants and people. In these two episodes of the Cities Reimagined Podcast we zoom in to reshape your understanding of how the interests of more-than-human inhabitants can be taken up in urban transformation projects. This is part one out of two exploring the work done by the WATSUPS project.  For part one where we look at the background of the City of Mechelen’s ambition to reconnect to the water. In this episode: Why a river should be understood as an actor/stakeholder in urban transformationHow empathy towards nature is essential for co-creating urban biodiversityHow to organise a citizen panel that ensures that the voices of nature are heard in urban transformation projectsHow taking into account the voices of nature requires empathy, knowledge and “mildness”How Mechelen’s Citizen Assembly developed over 120 recommendations for enhancing nature along the river Dijle More and more cities are reimagining their connection to their rivers, ponds and other water bodies. Whereas historically, cities have turned their back to the water as it was used primarily for economic purposes, in the 21st century, this perception has significantly shifted: Water in cities is a source of livability and sustainability. The City of Mechelen has been taking a groundbreaking approach to reconnect its inhabitants (humans, animals and plants) to the water. As part of the “Water as the Source of Urban Public Spaces” (in short: WATSUPS - funded by the European Urban Initiative and running from 2024 to 2027) Mechelen is going to radically reshape the face of the city along the River Dijle while ensuring everyone has access to the water while making the more-than-human perspective a leading principle of the transformation. WATSUPS demonstrates how the spirit and principles of the New European Bauhaus can be translated into local, innovative actions. Listen in to the two Cities Reimagined episodes where we explore how Mechelen is giving back the river Dijle to all inhabitants: human and more-than-human. More information and materials mentioned in the podcast: · European Urban Initiative · Portico - The gateway to urban learning · WATSUPS article

    32 min
  8. Reimagining Mechelen Pt. 1: Water as the source of urban public space with Nicole La Iacona

    08/29/2025

    Reimagining Mechelen Pt. 1: Water as the source of urban public space with Nicole La Iacona

    Water as the source of urban public space: have you ever wondered how to give nature a voice in urban development? The City of Mechelen in Belgium does exactly that while reimagining the connection between water, public spaces, animals, plants and people. In two episodes of the Cities Reimagined Podcast we zoom in to reshape your understanding of how the interests of more-than-human inhabitants can be taken up in urban transformation projects. This is part one out of two exploring the work done by the WATSUPS project. Click here for part two, where we talk about the voices of nature and the experiences of the citizen panel in WATSUPS. More and more cities are reimagining their connection to their rivers, ponds and other water bodies. Whereas historically, cities have turned their back to the water as it was used primarily for economic purposes, in the 21st century, this perception has significantly shifted: Water in cities is a source of livability and sustainability. The City of Mechelen has been taking a groundbreaking approach to reconnect its inhabitants (humans, animals and plants) to the water. As part of the “Water as the Source of Urban Public Spaces” (in short: WATSUPS - funded by the European Urban Initiative and running from 2024 to 2027) Mechelen is going to radically reshape the face of the city along the River Dijle while ensuring everyone has access to the water while making the more-than-human perspective a leading principle of the transformation. WATSUPS demonstrates how the spirit and principles of the New European Bauhaus can be translated into local, innovative actions. Listen in to the two Cities Reimagined episodes where we explore how Mechelen is giving back the River Dijle to all inhabitants: human and more-than-human. In this episode: How the City of Mechelen is giving back the River Dijle to its inhabitants...How public administration needs to seek compromises between interests...Why being a civil servant is the most difficult job there is...How including artists in co-creation/participation processes might lead to a cultural shift...How fun and a positive energy are key to innovation... More information and materials mentioned in the podcast: European Urban InitiativePortico - The gateway to urban learningWATSUPS article

    27 min
See All (29)

About

Urban Innovative Actions (UIA) is an Initiative of the European Union that provides urban areas throughout Europe with resources to test new and unproven solutions to address urban challenges.

Information

  • Creator
    Urban Voices
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Urban Voices
  • Show Website
    Urban Voices Podcast