Descripción del proyecto
European cities face many significant challenges, including the current economic crisis, urban sprawl, and the longer-term implications of climate change and resource scarcity. To face up to and overcome these challenges, it has become urgent for all concerned stakeholders to collaborate.
URBAN-NEXUS, a coordination action, will develop and use structured dialogues to encourage communication, exchange knowledge and experiences, and build partnerships to promote joint research. The dialogues will involve a wide range of public, private, and civil society organisations from across the EU27; that are involved with urban research.
URBAN-NEXUS has 3 main objectives:
• Firstly, it aims to identify innovative ways for urban policy makers and researchers to collaborate to solve the complex and interrelated problems that confront sustainable urban development.
• Secondly, it will increase awareness among relevant stakeholders in 5 thematic areas, and allow them to exchange knowledge, collaborate and cooperate.
• Thirdly, it will make possible partnerships between relevant stakeholders, in particular researchers and those who apply knowledge, for long-term strategic cooperation across scales and disciplines.
The 5 themes that frame the URBAN-NEXUS project are:
• adapting to climate change;
• increasing health and quality of life;
• using land sustainably;
• integrating urban management;
• integrating information and monitoring.
The URBAN-NEXUS consortium, which is led by the Nicis Institute, brings together leading knowledge institutes, research organisations, government agencies and large European-wide networks representing urban interests. Most of the partners participated in URBAN-NET, the European Research Area (ERA) network on urban sustainability formed in 2006. This ERA-Net aimed to strengthen the pan-European approach to urban research, forge links between the Member States’ urban research, and develop a common framework for policy orientated research and understanding. URBAN-NEXUS builds directly upon the success and efforts of URBAN-NET and will further develop its results and strengthen its partnerships, thereby making a valuable contribution to urban strategic research.