Category: Good Urban Governance

When Facts Come Under Pressure: Strengthening Municipalities Against Disinformation

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Українська версія [pdf]

How can municipalities effectively counter disinformation, build trust and communicate reliably, even in times of crisis?

Disinformation and polarising narratives are posing increasing challenges for municipalities. False information can undermine trust in local institutions, intensify social tensions and spread rapidly, particularly in times of crisis. It is therefore all the more important for municipalities to be prepared and able to communicate quickly, credibly and effectively.

These questions are at the heart of the Connective Cities expert forum “When Facts Come Under Pressure: Strengthening Municipalities Against Disinformation”, taking place on 8 October 2026 from 14:00 to 16:30 in Berlin.

The expert forum is part of the 8th German-Ukrainian Municipal Partnership Conference, taking place from 7 to 9 October 2026. The conference brings together German and Ukrainian municipal representatives and other actors engaged in the partnership network to exchange experiences and successful approaches, discuss current challenges in their cooperation, and further strengthen municipal resilience and German-Ukrainian partnerships.

Learning from municipal practice

The expert forum focuses on the concrete challenges faced by cities and municipalities: How can a local administration recognise when disinformation is spreading? When and how should it respond? What roles do mayors, communication teams, local media and civil society play? And how can municipalities build trust so that citizens turn to reliable municipal information, particularly in times of crisis?

The forum brings together German and Ukrainian perspectives and experiences. Ukrainian municipalities face particularly intense information pressure under the conditions of Russia’s war of aggression. Their experience in crisis communication, responding to rumours and false information, and establishing reliable information channels provide important insights for mutual learning and exchange.

Alongside expert inputs and examples from municipal practice, the forum will place a strong emphasis on joint learning. In an interactive crisis scenario, German and Ukrainian participants will work together to explore how a municipality can respond when false information spreads rapidly and creates immediate pressure to act and communicate.

Participants will gain practical insights and concrete approaches to prevention, monitoring and crisis communication and exchange strategies for making municipalities and their partnerships more resilient to disinformation and societal polarisation.

Further information on the contributors and the detailed programme of the expert forum will be published shortly.

At a glance

  • Date: 8 October 2026
  • Time: 14:00–16:30
  • Location: Berlin
  • Languages: German and Ukrainian with interpretation
  • Target group: Mayors, municipal staff and local elected representatives, as well as other actors involved in German-Ukrainian municipal partnerships

 

The expert forum is part of the 8th German-Ukrainian Municipal Partnership Conference.

Further information about the conference: https://skew.engagement-global.de/german-ukrainian-municipal-partnership-conference-2026.html

Call for Applications: Goerdeler Award 2027

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Connective Cities is pleased to once again support the call for applications for the Municipal Award 2027 of the Carl and Anneliese Goerdeler Foundation Fund (CAG), following its integration into the Leipzig Foundation. The award recognises outstanding achievements in local governance and administration.

The 2027 edition focuses on “Resilient Municipalities: Municipal Partnerships for Civil Protection, Critical Infrastructure and Crisis Preparedness.” It highlights innovative and transferable good practices developed through cooperation between municipalities—particularly in an international context.

A prerequisite for application is the involvement of a German municipality or a municipal alliance.

Across the world, municipalities are facing increasing challenges, from natural disasters and infrastructure disruptions to cyber risks and geopolitical tensions. Strengthening resilience at the local level requires not only technical solutions, but also strong collaboration between administrations, municipal services, civil society, and other local actors.

The award therefore seeks cross-border municipal partnerships that demonstrate practical and innovative approaches in areas such as:

  • civil protection and disaster preparedness
  • protection and development of critical infrastructure
  • digital security
  • crisis communication

 

Special attention is given to inclusive and participatory approaches that address the needs of different population groups, especially women, children, and other vulnerable groups.

The award includes a prize of EUR 2,000 and public recognition.

Application deadline: 18 September 2026

As part of its mission to foster international municipal exchange, Connective Cities encourages municipalities and municipal alliances within its network and beyond to apply and share their experiences.

Find out more about the call and application process here: CAG-Announcement [pdf, 3 pages, in German]

Applications and/or enquiries by email to:

Ricarda Meissner Ricarda.meissner@giz.de

Jelena Karamatijevic Jelena.karamatijevic@giz.de

Connective Cities at the 19th Federal Congress on German National Urban Development Policy

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From 14 to 16 September 2026, the 19th Federal Congress on National Urban Development Policy will take place in Cologne. The theme is “Act together, act faster, think further: shaping cities for everyone”. This event will bring together stakeholders from local governments, politics, public administration, academia and civil society to discuss innovative approaches to sustainable, resilient and forward-looking urban development.

For the first time this year, Connective Cities will have a stand at the event run by the Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW). The congress offers an excellent opportunity to raise the profile of the international city network and its services for facilitating professional exchanges between local authorities. We will be focusing on discussions with local authority experts from the fields of urban development, mobility, climate adaptation and sustainable transformation.

At the SKEW stand, we particularly want to show experts what Connective Cities has to offer and discuss potential opportunities for participation and cooperation. We will also present selected examples of good practice from the relevant specialist areas, as well as the Connective Cities Media Centre as a knowledge platform. We warmly invite network members attending the Federal Congress to take this opportunity to speak to the team at the stand. We look forward to exchanging ideas, making new contacts, and generating new impetus for municipal development cooperation.

Further information: 19th Federal Congress on National Urban Development Policy

Municipal Resilience: Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure

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When electricity fails, water pumps stop working. When communication networks are disrupted, emergency response slows down. Critical infrastructure is interconnected—and so are the risks municipalities face.

Across South Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, municipalities are increasingly confronted with complex and interconnected risks. Climate change, ageing infrastructure, cyber threats and geopolitical instability are placing growing pressure on the systems that provide essential public services.

To support municipalities in addressing these challenges, Connective Cities launched the regional learning process Planning for Municipal Resilience: Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure through Risk-Informed Development.

At the kick-off of the regional Connective Cities Learning Process in Tirana, 30 experts from 13 municipalities and nine countries worked together to identify local vulnerabilities and develop practical solutions. The result: eleven municipal action plans – ranging from backup power and digital infrastructure monitoring to flood prevention, crisis communication and new approaches to municipal coordination.

What challenges do municipalities share, what solutions are they developing – and what can other local governments learn from them? Read more in this full documentation.

 

The Digital Twin Platform of Bağcilar, Türkiye

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Bağcılar is one of Istanbul’s most densely populated districts, with approximately 710,000 inhabitants. Located on the coast of the Sea of Marmara, it covers an area of about 22 square kilometers. As a municipality in a region with a high risk of earthquakes, Bağcılar faces the urgent task of taking precautions to protect its population and urban systems in the event of a crisis. To this end, the municipal administration has been driving digital transformation since the 2000s and has conducted a comprehensive inventory of existing building structures – information that has been incorporated as data into a digital 3D model of the municipality.

With this ‘Digital Urban Twin Platform’, the administration aims to enable faster assessment of situations in emergencies and disasters. Digital simulation of risk scenarios – such as tsunamis following earthquakes – allows for improved civil protection measures and necessary adjustments to urban systems. Furthermore, continuous digital monitoring of the building stock enables targeted on-site inspections of building regulations, thereby increasing administrative efficiency. Citizens can access the platform via an app to book various municipal services.

According to Cüneyt Yilmaz, head of the IT Department at Bağcılar, the central criterion for the applicability of the platform is the creation of a sustainable data foundation.

The documentation describes in detail the development process, activities and future application areas of the continuously evolving digital twin platform.

Author: Lennart Kreuzfeld

Copyright: Connective Cities

From Challenge to Practice: How Municipalities Turn Local Plans into Public Services

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Connective Cities participated in the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) World Congress 2026, held from 22–25 June in Tangier, Morocco. Under the overarching theme “A New Generation of Universal Local Public Services,” the Congress brought together more than 3,000 local and regional leaders, municipal practitioners, city networks and development partners from around the world.

As part of the Local4Action Track, Connective Cities, together with the Association of German Cities, organised the 90-minute Lab “From Challenge to Practice: How Municipalities Turn Local Plans into Public Services.”

From Planning to Implementation

The Lab addressed a challenge shared by municipalities worldwide: while local strategies and development plans are often well designed, translating them into effective, inclusive and sustainable public services remains a complex task. Rather than focusing solely on success stories, the session encouraged municipalities to share real implementation experiences, discuss practical challenges and learn from one another.

Gabi Schock from the City of Krefeld (Germany) opened the session with insights into strategic municipal waste management, demonstrating how citizen participation can become a key success factor in planning and implementing public services. Using Krefeld’s waste management strategy as an example, she illustrated how local government, political representatives, businesses and citizens were involved at an early stage of the planning process. The presentation showed that participation not only increases public acceptance of new measures but also helps integrate local knowledge into decision-making, identify potential conflicts early on and develop sustainable long-term solutions. Krefeld’s experience highlighted that successful municipal service delivery is built on transparent governance, continuous dialogue and trust-based cooperation with citizens.

The second case was presented by H.E. Governor Issa Timamy of Lamu County (Kenya), who introduced the Kiunga Solar-Powered Desalination Initiative. The project addresses the challenge of providing reliable access to clean drinking water in a remote border region. By using solar-powered desalination technology, Lamu County has not only improved water supply but also reduced dependence on fossil fuels and strengthened resilience to climate change. Governor Timamy emphasised that the initiative’s success was made possible through close cooperation between the County Government, local communities and development partners. The project demonstrates how integrated municipal planning can simultaneously contribute to improved public services, better health outcomes, social cohesion and local economic development. In recognition of these achievements, Lamu County received the UCLG Peace Prize, accompanied by prize money of €20,000.

The two presentations highlighted a common message: effective public service delivery is achieved where technical solutions are combined with good governance, active citizen participation and strong local partnerships.

Peer-to-Peer Consultation: Developing Solutions Together

The second half of the Lab shifted from presentations to collaborative problem-solving.

Ein Redner steht neben einem großen bildschirm und erklärt den an runden Tischen sitzenden Teilnehmenden die Methodik.
An Introduction to the Peer-to-Peer Consultation Methodology | Photo: Connective Cities

A representative of the Municipality of Pékine (Senegal) presented a real implementation challenge: complex procurement procedures, lengthy administrative processes and staff turnover were delaying infrastructure projects and slowing down municipal service delivery.

Participants jointly analysed the challenge during a facilitated Peer-to-Peer Consultation and developed a range of practical recommendations. Proposed solutions included:

  • strengthening knowledge management to preserve institutional memory;
  • developing clearer procurement roadmaps and process guidelines;
  • improving coordination across municipal departments;
  • establishing clear responsibilities and accountability mechanisms;
  • promoting knowledge exchange with neighbouring municipalities;
  • investing in continuous capacity development for municipal staff;
  • creating databases of qualified service providers;
  • introducing minimum quality standards for contractors and service providers; and
  • assessing the political and institutional context at an early stage to identify opportunities for implementation.

 

The discussion demonstrated that municipalities across different regions often face remarkably similar implementation challenges. This is precisely where the Connective Cities approach creates value: structured municipal exchange enables practitioners to jointly develop practical solutions that can be adapted to their respective local contexts.

The Lab also illustrated how international municipal exchange can move beyond traditional good practice presentations. By openly discussing implementation challenges and working together to identify solutions, peer learning becomes a practical instrument for strengthening local public service delivery.

 

The Connective Cities team and participants in the Lab | Photo: Connective Cities

See also: Highlights of the UCLG World Congress

From Challenge to Practice – How Municipalities Turn Local Plans into Public Services

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How can municipalities translate strategies and local development plans into effective public services? This question lies at the heart of the Connective Cities Lab “From Challenge to Practice: How Municipalities Turn Local Plans into Public Services”, organised in cooperation with the Association of German Cities.

Municipalities around the world face similar challenges when implementing local development plans. In this Lab, municipal representatives from different regions will share practical experiences: What obstacles had to be overcome? Which approaches proved successful? And what lessons can be adapted to other local contexts?

Following a series of short case presentations, participants will engage in a moderated peer-to-peer exchange to discuss challenges and jointly explore practical solutions for effective local public service delivery.

Objectives of the Lab

  • Exchange experiences on challenges related to local public service delivery
  • Share practical and transferable implementation approaches
  • Promote international networking and peer learning

 

We look forward to welcoming municipal practitioners, experts, and partner organisations from around the world.

Participation: The Lab will take place exclusively in person as part of the UCLG World Congress 2026. All participants and speakers must register through the official Congress registration system: https://registration.uclgcongresstangier2026.com/