Author: erik

Call for participants: Urban Labs – Tried and Trusted

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Urban Labs have emerged globally as a valuable public policy tool, enabling regular collaboration among diverse stakeholders to co-create innovative solutions for complex urban challenges. These platforms emphasize participatory, cross-sectoral, and inclusive approaches. However, the implementation and experiences of Urban Labs vary significantly from city to city.

This event aims to bring together urban practitioners and city representatives from Southeast Europe and Germany, along with experts from multiple sectors, to explore and discuss the transformative role of Urban Labs in shaping sustainable and resilient cities.

The gathering will promote knowledge exchange, foster new partnerships, and inspire actionable strategies among key stakeholders in urban planning, sustainability, and innovation.

In addition, the GIZ Georgia bilateral project Sustainable Urban Development (SUD) has produced a publication titled “Urban Labs: Tried and Trusted”. This publication offers an in-depth overview of the Urban Lab concept, highlighting their practical impact across different cities. It outlines how Urban Labs operate, showcases real-world examples, and explores the key phases, internal processes, and external factors critical to their success.

Target Audience

  • City representatives and urban practitioners  

from Southeast Europe, Germany and other European countries engaged in urban transformation and policy development.

  • Non-Governmental Organizations:  

Organizations involved in urban development, community engagement, climate action, sustainability, and social innovation.

  • Academic Institutions 

Researchers, scholars, and students focusing on urban studies, innovation, sustainability, and public policy.

  • Urban Planning and development Experts:

Urban planners, and municipal representatives from Georgia and other SEE countries with an interest in urban innovation and sustainable city development.

  • International Experts:  

Representatives from international organizations and professionals with practical experience in designing, implementing, or supporting Urban Labs around the world.

Participation and contact

We herewith kindly invite you to participate in the upcoming Insight Session taking place on Thursday, 17th July 2025, 13:30 – 15:30 CEST. The event is addressed to urban practitioners from local governments as well as from academia, the private sector and civil society. The conference language is English with simultaneous translation in Georgian.

Further information and enrolment here: https://community.connective-cities.net/en/insightsession-urbanlabs

If you have any further questions about the programme or your participation, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Ketevan Papashvili – Regional Coordinator in Southeast European Region: Ketevan.papashvili@giz.de

Jimmy Yoedsel – Junior Advisor Connective Cities: jimmy.yoedsel@giz.de

Date:    Thursday, 17th July 2025, 13:30 – 15:30 (CEST, Berlin time)
Location:    Virtual Event on Connective Cities Community
Enrolment: https://community.connective-cities.net/en/insightsession-urbanlabs

Conference Tool:            Big Blue Button (best operated with Chrome or Firefox)
Conference language:    English/Georgian

Risk informed urban development in Western Africa and the ECOWAS region

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The Resilience Initiative Africa (RIA), in partnership with Connective Cities is implementing a series of workshops aimed at bolstering urban resilience.

Workshop Timeline:

  1. Workshop 1: Introduction to Risk-Informed Urban Development (February 2025, Togo)
  2. Workshop 2: Participatory Risk Analysis and Financing Preparedness (April/May 2025)
  3. Workshop 3: Action Plan Development for Inclusive Disaster Risk Management (September/October 2025)

Building on the success and outcomes of the first workshop in the series on strengthening risk-informed urban development in West Africa and the ECOWAS region—held in Lomé, Togo from March 18 to 20, 2025—the second installment will take place in Accra, Ghana from July 2 to 4, 2025.

The workshop in Lomé focused on establishing an exchange network by bringing together peers from 12 cities across the region, along with representatives from the ECOWAS Secretariat and the African Union Commission, to engage in in-depth technical discussions on strengthening risk-informed urban development and identifying project ideas to address resilience challenges.

Building on the foundations of the peer exchange platform established in Lomé, the upcoming workshop in Accra will continue the technical exchanges on project idea development, with a particular emphasis on inclusion and participatory risk analysis to ensure a whole-of-society approach where no one is left behind.

We look forward to a successful workshop in Ghana, and will share the updates on our Connective Cities platform.

From the Open Municipality to the Smart City

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Connective Cities regional network in the Middle East and North Africa organized a virtual insight session on how municipalities can utilise open governance models and harness the power of digitalisation for better urban planning and service delivery. The major potential of employing this approach lies in improved strategies for dynamic urban resource management, devising strategies for urban engagement and civic participation, as well as innovations in urban management, and policy analysis.

The insight session showcased municipal experiences on how open government principles can be localized to enhance transparency and citizen engagement and ultimately promote good governance. The role of digital transformation in increasing transparency and public participation was underscored. Furthermore, the insight session delved into application of digital tools, in particular AI-powered Geographic Information Systems (GIS), for supporting data-driven decision-making for infrastructure development and livability improvements. By showcasing good practice examples from Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Ras el-Matn (Lebanon), participants learned about successful experiences in integrating open government principles as well as urban informatics for sustainable urban growth and making municipalities more inclusive, efficient, and resilient.

On the importance of correctly assessing quality of life | Photo: Connective Cities
GIS-supported planning to improve the quality of life | Photo: Connective Cities

The first showcased good practice discussed geospatial solutions to empower governments and municipalities with AI-powered, user-friendly GIS platforms via automation, smart analytics, and seamless decision-making tools. Examples of these tools that are employed by the municipality of Abu Dhabi to achieve higher livability standards are custom GIS applications, smart city dashboards, spatial data infrastructure systems, real-time monitoring solutions, and geospatial decision support tools. These tools are customizable and scalable, and can be adapted to the municipal needs that include spatial analysis, infrastructure planning, data integration for engineering projects, and urban design visualization.

Principles of the open government | Photo: Connective Cities

In Ras el-Matn municipality, the principles of the open government were recently adopted to promote transparency and cooperation between municipalities and citizens. These principles were locally-adapted to form a framework for transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in local governance, particularly via increasing transparency and accountability, promoting citizen participation and collaborative governance, deploying technology, innovation and open data, improving access to information , and mainstreaming rule of law , ensuring fiscal transparency and public integrity, and optimizing responsiveness  by listening to public feedback and adapting policies accordingly. It was highlighted that the smart municipality complements the open government but does not replace it. Technology is a tool to support transparency and participation, but it is not the ultimate solution to improving livability in cities.

Steps towards setting up a municipal database | Photo: Connective Cities

By localizing transparency, citizen engagement, and data-driven decision-making—as demonstrated in Abu Dhabi’s geospatial solutions and Ras el-Matn’s participatory governance—cities can enhance livability and infrastructure planning. While technology enables efficiency, the foundation remains good governance: collaboration, accountability, and citizen-centric policies. The key takeaway: A “smart city” is not just about technology but about leveraging it to strengthen open, equitable, and sustainable urban development.

Recording of the session on Connective Cities platform (in Arabic).

Towards Affordable and Sustainable Housing

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As urban populations grow and climate risks intensify, cities across regions face increasing pressure to provide housing that is both affordable and sustainable. In response to these intersecting challenges, Connective Cities launched a thematic dialogue on 28 May 2025, bringing together city officials, technical experts and urban practitioners from Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe.

Participants from Windhoek, Kitengela, Kisumu, Nairobi, Lusaka, Mazabuka, Huye, Bloemfontein, Zanzibar, Nelson Mandela Bay, Hebron, Tbilisi and Berlin engaged in a structured exchange of ideas and approaches, exploring practical solutions for inclusive and resilient urban housing systems. The event marked the beginning of a broader exchange process, which will continue with topic-specific deep-dive sessions beginning on 17 July 2025.

Shared Challenges, Context-Specific Solutions

The discussion underscored that while urban housing challenges are shared across many cities, solutions must be context-sensitive. High construction costs, limited access to finance, and land scarcity were common constraints. However, cities are responding with innovative strategies:

  • Huye presented its experience with a revolving housing fund, which supports incremental housing development and actively involves local communities.
  • Nairobi stressed the importance of improving the quality and availability of housing data to support evidence-based planning and investment decisions.
  • Berlin offered insights on the role of public land management and social rental models to maintain long-term housing affordability.

These inputs highlighted the importance of designing housing policies that reflect both local governance realities and broader social priorities.

Circular Materials and Building Reuse as Cost-Saving and Climate Strategies

The reuse of existing buildings and the application of circular construction principles were central to the discussion. Participants shared examples of how:

  • Traditional building materials such as mud and straw can offer significant cost and environmental advantages when combined with engineering improvements and clear construction standards
  • Adaptive reuse of buildings contributes to both resource efficiency and urban revitalisation
  • Circular strategies also open new opportunities for local employment and innovation in the housing sector

The discussion emphasised that promoting material reuse requires an enabling policy environment and technical support at city level. Circularity is not only a technical approach but also a governance challenge, tied to regulation, planning practices, and land use policies.

Making Housing Finance More Inclusive

Financing remains a significant barrier to the delivery of affordable housing. Participants explored how to improve access to housing finance through:

  • Microcredit schemes and community savings models, adapted to informal or low-income contexts
  • More inclusive rent-to-own mechanisms and cooperatives
  • Capacity building for local governments to structure and manage housing finance, including pre-feasibility support and institutional partnerships

Throughout the discussion, participants underlined the need for financing models that are inclusive and flexible, particularly for groups who are often excluded from formal housing markets—such as women, tenants, and people in informal settlements.

Next Steps: Deep-Dive Tracks Starting 17 July 2025

To build on the outcomes of the initial exchange, Connective Cities will facilitate a series of thematic deep-dive sessions launching on 17 July 2025, offering a space for collaborative learning, peer support and project development. These tracks will focus on:

  1. Finance & Microcredit for Housing
  2. Reuse & Circular Materials
  3. City Partnerships & Pilot Platforms

Participants will be invited to work in smaller groups, explore tailored solutions, and develop practical ideas for implementation, replication, or upscaling.

Moving from Dialogue to Action

The exchange clearly demonstrated that affordable housing is not just a construction issue. It is a multidimensional challenge that touches on urban resilience, social equity, and environmental sustainability. While no one-size-fits-all solution exists, platforms like Connective Cities can help accelerate progress by connecting cities, facilitating technical exchange, and supporting municipal capacity.

The discussion also reaffirmed that locally grounded innovation—backed by peer learning and international cooperation—can unlock new pathways for action. By drawing on shared experiences and contextual knowledge, cities can co-develop housing models that are inclusive, financially viable, and climate-responsive.

Next session: 17 July 2025

For further information or to join a thematic track, please contact:
jelena.karamatijevic@giz.de

Resilient Cities in Times of Multiple Crises – Strategies for Resilient Municipalities

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In times of multiple crises, cities must become increasingly resilient. They are increasingly under pressure due to war, the climate crisis, and economic uncertainties. At the seventh German-Ukrainian Municipal Partnership Conference on 18 June 2025, Connective Cities will host an expert forum on the topic of ‘Resilient cities in times of multiple crises – strategies for resilient municipalities’.

The expert forum will examine and classify aspects of resilient urban development in Ukrainian and German municipalities. Christian Rauch from the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) will present the concept of urban resilience and report on the ‘city stress test’ with German municipalities. How does urban resilience manifest itself in practice? Invited panelists from German and Ukrainian municipalities will use visual material to present their strategies for sustainable urban development on a wide range of aspects of urban resilience. Led by the moderator, the audience will also be involved in the subsequent panel discussion.

The seventh German-Ukrainian municipal partnership conference will take place in Münster from 16 to 18 June 2025. It is directed at local government representatives and other committed individuals from the German-Ukrainian municipal partnership network and offers space for professional and personal exchange, insights into support services, as well as expert forums and panel discussions on pressing current issues. More information on the partnership conference can be found here.

For more information, please contact Sibylle Loyeau sibylle.loyeau@engagement.global.de

 

International municipal cooperation to mitigate heat in cities

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On 12 June 2025, the working group of the Deep Dive “Heat in the City” gathered online to wrap up their two years long collaboration on the topic of heat islands in the cities. Each city presented their pilot projects in depth to an audience of experts from Germany and the Global South.

The format

The Deep Dive format enables medium-term, intensive collaboration among a small group of municipalities over two years to develop concrete urban solutions through expert exchange and co-creation. Learn more about the format here.

Deep Dive “Heat in the city”

In this first edition of Connective Cities Deep Dive, the cities of Aswan (Egypt), Heidelberg (Germany), Lüdenscheid (Germany), Lviv (Ukraine), Nairobi (Kenya) and Mombasa (Kenya) worked together online and in person, in order to understand their respective challenges, exchange ideas, and scientific procedures. The group was supported by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in the assessment of urban heat islands (UHI) in the city and development of locally-adapted solutions. Through the involvement of their local administrations, they implemented their pilot projects that incorporated procedural and organizational measures to mitigate heat in their cities. Learn more about each step of the Deep Dive here.

The six pilot projects

Each city piloted heat mitigation solutions tailored to their local contexts, focusing on data-driven, community-based, and cross-sectoral approaches. Nairobi planted shade fruit trees in schools and trained staff and students in thermal monitoring, while planning an open-access heat map for community awareness raising about the UHI. Lviv created pocket-parks and monitored their cooling effects, despite facing implementation challenges like martial law and funding gaps. In Lüdenscheid, a heat action plan was developed through interdepartmental collaboration, including initiatives like refill stations, awareness brochures, and a city cooling map. Aswan developed a comprehensive heat action framework using both local knowledge and international practices, selecting a pilot area for pedestrian-friendly, shaded public space transformation. Mombasa focused on stakeholder awareness and urban heat mapping, while Heidelberg introduced a high-precision urban climate analysis and a climate scanner to make urban planning more climate-friendly, better account for local microclimates, and thereby sustainably enhance quality of life and climate resilience. Learn more about the projects here.

Conclusions

All members of the working group agreed that the Deep Dive “Heat in the City” contributed with a broader impact in the six cities, not only by the development of climate mitigation strategies, but also in the perspective of tighter collaboration among local institutions and a strong feeling of global affiliation.

The municipal experts exchange has led to a stronger sense of community, co-creation, leadership skills, and ownership. As they explored how green activities could be linked to green jobs, international exchanges helped emphasize the urgency of finding solutions. These exchanges made decision-makers and the public more aware and underscored the need for immediate action.

The Deep Dive required a readjustment of their thinking and viewpoints, prompting them to reassess their own methods. They often had to justify working internationally while operations were still local, which helped them adopt a broader perspective on issues such as UHI. The exchange platform gave them also visibility and recognition, which in turn helped influence decision-makers. Despite challenging circumstances such as the war in Ukraine, people became more sensitised—highlighting that the right moment for action is now.

Finally, the working group noticed a growing sense of long-term awareness. There was a shift from seeking immediate results to focusing on long-term planning for resilience and achieving environmental goals. By learning from international successes and failures, they could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our local processes.

Even if the Deep Dive has ended, the implemented projects are still ongoing and the six cities are better prepared to face heat waves now.

For more information, please contact:

Sibylle Loyeau, Sibylle.loxeau@engagement-global.de

Dr. Ing. Muna Shalan, muna.shalan@giz.de

From the open municipality to the smart city

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Join us for an insight session exploring how municipalities can utilise open governance models and harness the power of digitalisation for better urban planning and service delivery.

This insight session showcases municipal experiences on how open government principles can be localized to enhance transparency and citizen engagement and ultimately promote good governance. The role of digital transformation in increasing transparency and public participation will also be discussed. Furthermore, the insight session delves into application of digital tools, in particular Geographic Information Systems (GIS), for supporting data-driven decision-making for infrastructure development and liveability improvements. Participants will explore good practice examples of cities successfully integrating smart governance and spatial planning for sustainable urban growth and engage with experts and peers on strategies to make municipalities more inclusive, efficient, and resilient.

Date: 17 June 2025

Time: 9:30 – 10:30 CEST

Language: Arabic (English interpretation)

Enrollment: https://community.connective-cities.net/en/node/1569

Questions? muna.shalan@giz.de

The state of digitalisation in waste management: experiences from Germany and Lebanon

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On 28 May 2025, the Connective Cities team held the online Ad-Hoc event “Waste Management and Digitalisation”. The Ad-Hoc events are online meetings, in which experts from Germany and the Global South come together in order to discuss a specific topic of common interest.

By the last event, experts discussed the state of the digitalisation in the waste management sector – and the prerequisites for the development of municipal waste management. During the event, two experts presented their experience in Germany and Lebanon. It was particularly interesting to see that in Lebanon the private social enterprise Nadeera serves as a cutting-edge example, while in Germany waste managed is bedded into a clear legal framework, which strictly regulates the collaboration between relevant stakeholders: ministries, municipalities, private companies, and the public.

Mr. Michel Mokbel explained how Nadeera manages to recycle plastic waste in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates with the support of digital tools. Using their phones, citizens have access to an app, which they can use to identify recyclable plastic waste and get informed about the correct deposit. The application recognizes e.g. bottles using artificial intelligence. Smart bins, reverse vending machines or deposit centers receive the categorized waste. For waste recycled correctly, citizens receive rewards. The playful interaction with citizens promotes their engagement and loyalty, while driving up recycling rates. More than 100 communities in the MENA region yet engage in the platform.

In contrast, PD Dr.-Ing. habil. Abdallah Nassour, who has researched the waste management sector in Germany and the MENA region for over thirty years, emphasized that sustainable waste management is driven more by policy, responsibility, and organization than by technical solutions. According to him, Germany demonstrates a successful model where municipalities play a central role, supported by a clear legal framework and a well-structured financing system. Waste fees, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and private sector involvement ensure cost recovery and operational sustainability. The country operates thousands of treatment facilities and has developed a strong workforce and educational foundation for circular economy practices. The MENA region faces challenges such as weak regulations, insufficient funding, and limited technical expertise. Landfilling remains the cheapest option, and sustainable waste strategies are often lacking. However, there is significant potential for composting, energy recovery, and refuse-derived fuel (a type of fuel produced from non-recyclable waste materials use) especially in collaboration with the cement industry. Implementing EPR systems and optimized waste collection are essential next steps. Municipalities should lead the transition, with support from the private sector and international partners. Ultimately, education, financing, and cooperation form the backbone of a functioning circular economy.

The subsequent questions and discussion revealed a great interest in Nadeera’s innovative approach. Also, many aspects of Professor Nassour’s presentation were commented and furthered. An interest in exchanging on solutions for organic waste and composting became apparent. Following the presentations, the Connective Cities team also offered two peer-to-peer consultations in which individual challenges in ongoing digitalisation projects were discussed among the participating experts. The peer-to-peer consultations highlighted two crucial challenges of the digitalisation of the waste management sector: in municipalities where decisions are centralised to the mayor, advocacy for the digital transformation plays an increasing role; when the digital transformation is ongoing, new challenges may occur and shall be overcome with the participation of every member of the team.

For more information, please contact us at connective-cities@engagement-global.de

Renewable energy options at the local level

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From 16 to 18 June 2025, Connective Cities is inviting municipal experts, specialists from administration, science and business to Podgorica, Montenegro. Together, we will take a practical look at specific project ideas from the Southeast Europe/Caucasus region, discuss success factors for their implementation and promote the international exchange of experience.

Experts with expertise in the following areas in particular are invited to attend:

  • Renewable energies and municipal energy planning
  • Energy-efficient refurbishment and building management
  • Financing municipal infrastructure
  • Development and implementation of sustainable urban projects

The aim of the event is to strengthen the dialogue between municipalities, financial institutions and experts, to make good practice visible and to further develop concrete, implementable project ideas.

You can find more information in the Call for Participation. If you are interested in participating, please send a brief expression of interest by e-mail to the relevant contact person by 26 May 2025:

For Southeast Europe / Caucasus:
Ketevan Papashvili
✉️ ketevan.papashvili@giz.de

For Germany and other international participants:
Paulina Koschmieder
✉️ paulina.koschmieder@giz.de