At the final ecoRIS3 conference in Riga, the Atlantic Cities network was able to take some key learnings and insights to rethink cities in this context of crisis.
The final conference of the ecoRIS3 project, hosted by the Latvian partner, Vidzeme Planning Region, in Riga on 7 and 8 June 2022, provided an exchange of experiences between all partners, whose focus was on the escalation of current crises, namely Brexit, COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the resulting sanctions.
It was of great interest to Atlantic Cities as partners who represent the European Cities of the Atlantic Arc to share with the other project partners, the main good practices identified in the framework of the work carried out, which contributed to regional economic growth and employment in the context of current crises.
During the meeting, the French partners highlighted once again the good practices of Viana do Castelo (“Work in Viana” portal) and Lisbon (“Lisboa Empreende +” programme), which have been deepened in the article “Atlantic Cities Best Practices: Portuguese Cities”, available in full through this link.
The main reflection taken from this event by the Atlantic Cities network concerns mainly how to rethink cities in this context of crisis, making them more pleasant, safer, greener, more resilient and more innovative. In this context, the idea that immediately emerges is that in order to rethink our cities, it is important to evaluate the measures already implemented in cooperation, in order to draw optimal long-term solutions for the sustainable development of cities.
The French partners pointed out that Cities have already been working to mitigate and adapt to the global health and economic crisis, mainly through the digital and ecological transition, taking advantage of local resources to generate services closer to citizens, but they can continue to work together to share and monitor local “Recovery” solutions because to establish forms of cooperation, we need to know each city’s position and good practices.
In conclusion, the final conference of the ecoRIS3 project was undoubtedly a good example of how to apply this exchange of ideas and experiences between potential players, to discuss how to bring innovation to our territories and foster entrepreneurship in a recovery context.
For more information on ecoRIS3 and Atlantic Cities’ best practices in response to recovery from the crisis, please contact, the Atlantic Cities Secretariat by email at atbrand@atlanticcities.eu.
