Lisbon was selected as the European City of the Year 2012, competing with Oslo and Gothenburg. The winner’s selection was made by vote of about 500 University experts. For the evaluation of Lisbon, Lisbon City Council hosted a delegation from The Academy of Urbanism on 22 and 23 August. The program of the visit included the presentation of projects for the participatory budget, BIP Program / ZIP, requalification and rehabilitation of Mouraria surrounding, as well as the urban development of the waterfront of Lisbon.
The criteria underlying the appointment of Lisbon were based on four guiding principles in implementing the policies of the municipality:
• A new practice: Cumulativeness on Lisbon public policies
• A resumed centrality: Lisbon capital of the Republic and the Citizenship and open to the world
• An administrative reform to multiply choices: Lisbon a city of neighborhoods, efficient and cosmopolitan
• New pathways and generation of opportunity: Lisbon, town of discovery
The Academy of Urbanism is an autonomous organization, politically independent, consisting of a multidisciplinary group of thinkers and decision makers of the social spectrum, economic, political and environmental impacts of various cities in the United Kingdom and Ireland, whose purpose is the recognition, learning and fostering best practice in urbanism.