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PhD Summer School ‘Urban Metabolism and Water Management’
From 10 to 15 July 2016, the second phase of the PhD Summer School della Climate-KIC 2016 ‘Urban Metabolism and Water System Management’, was held in Bologna after an initial week in Amsterdam.
Twenty doctoral students and several PhDs from 10 different countries in Europe, Asia, and America participated in the 2016 programme on the topic ‘Smart solutions for the Urban Metropole’.
The students’ projects were to particularly address urban metabolism and water management in a sustainable and innovative key, starting from concrete cases in the two cities: the Buiksloterham neighbourhood in the northern zone of Amsterdam and the university district around Via Zamboni in the historical centre of Bologna.
This ambitious challenge consisted in rethinking urban metabolism to improve the quality of life and create a sustainable cultural campus based on the principles of the circular economy.
During the week in Bologna, the students followed an intense programme of lessons, meetings with stakeholders, visits in the field, and working groups, up to the final presentation and awards for the projects.
Climathon 2016
The Fondazione per l’Innovazione Urbana (formerly Urban Center Bologna), in collaboration with the City of Bologna, organized the Bologna edition of Climathon (27–28 October), the largest worldwide marathon for the climate held simultaneously in major cities around the world.
Participants worked for 24 hours to create a project to contribute to fighting the impacts of climate change in Bologna, with particular focus on community involvement.
PhD Summer School “Urban Transition: Reshaping Urban District”
From 24 to 28 July 2017, the second phase of the PhD Summer School della Climate-KIC 2017 ‘Urban transitions: reshaping urban districts’, was held in Bologna after an initial week in Amsterdam. Fourteen doctoral students and several PhDs participated in the 2017 programme as fruit of the collaboration between Dutch partners and the University of Bologna, the City of Bologna, and Urban Center Bologna.
During the two weeks of the course, participants worked in groups guided by international experts to study two cases of urban transition addressed by the cities of Amsterdam and Bologna, for which the students had to also find the possible solutions:
- The project for Amsterdam regarded the energy efficiency of some public housing in the multiethnic neighbourhood of Overtoomse Veld with the involvement of residents in adopting virtuous behaviours.
- The project for Bologna regarded the reduction of energy consumption and emissions in the area of Sant’Orsola Hospital and improving the quality of services and the conditions of workers and users.
During the week in Bologna, the students followed an intense programme of lessons, meetings with stakeholders, visits in the field, and working groups, up to the final presentation and awards for the projects.
EUCANET Project
The project, financed within the programme Europe for Citizens, was inspired by the Pact of Amsterdam for the European Urban Agenda. The main objective was to spread greater civic involvement in urban discussions and decision-making processes, as well as strengthening the ties between public authorities, civil society, local institutions, and social and economic actors.
EUCANET has explored the means through which European citizens, even through urban agencies such as Urban Center, can actively contribute to defining priorities when it comes to developing the cities and communities in which we live, concentrating in particular on the role that processes of territorial planning and government can play.
In addition to the Fondazione per l’Innovazione Urbana and Urban Center Metropolitano in Turin – project leader – the consortium is composed of the city of with the Faculty of Architecture of SS Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Euromediterranée, Cluj Urban Center, the Biennale di ArchitetturaIABR, the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, ICLEI, and Eurocities WG Urban Agenda.
