?? Imagining the cities of tomorrow

Hello,

With over 55% of the world’s population living in urban areas - a number that is only set to increase - city governments are more important now than ever before. Yet, faced with new and emerging challenges all the time, cities must be able to innovate and reimagine their ways of working to effectively respond to a rapidly changing world.?

That’s why we’re excited to be partnering with the?United Nations Development Programme?on?Urban Imaginaries, a new ten-month initiative that will support cities to develop solutions to their most pressing challenges. The programme is designed to strengthen the innovation capabilities of mayors and city leaders in nine cities across Armenia, Georgia and Moldova, equipping them with the innovative skills needed to develop initiatives that reimagine or reinvent vital aspects of local living. The city learning journey combines workshops on design thinking, inspirational sessions to expose cities to complexity-informed approaches, and collective learning sessions that encourage peer learning.

A working session bringing together city departments, organised by the team in C?l?ra?i, Moldova. The city is exploring how to improve the current waste management system.

Urban Imaginaries is part of the wider?Mayors for Economic Growth?(M4EG) Facility, an EU funded initiative that promotes inclusive economic growth and innovation in the Eastern Partnership countries, and counts more than 300 Mayors as members.?

We’ve already kicked off the first phase of the programme, where we’ve been helping cities define their challenges and start to think about potential solutions. The challenges they have chosen to focus on are varied. One city is exploring how to reinvent local cultural life to make it more dynamic, another wants to transform its central park to make it more inclusive and accessible, while others are focussing on youth unemployment and inter-community transportation systems. We’re keen to shine a light on this work and will be sharing the challenges, breakthroughs, and insights that we’re gaining as we support them to reimagine the cities of tomorrow. Watch this space!

Best wishes,

Bea & Shaheen

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