Category: Good Urban Governance

Building mental health resilience during times of COVID-19

Posted on by erik

Since the outbreak of the global pandemic, municipalities have faced a multitude of challenges. Following prolonged lockdowns, travel restrictions, financial losses and job cuts, mental health problems have been on the rise.

Municipalities have been key players in fighting the spread of the virus and in managing the overall situation. As a result of these complex responsibilities, mental health issues, including burn out, have been observed among municipal employees, social workers, teachers, and civil society activists. Citizens have also been psychologically affected by the pandemic and are in need of support.

Connective Cities cordially invites you to participate in the virtual Public Health Cluster kick-off on “Building Mental Health Resilience during times of COVID-19” on  29 September 2021, from 15:30 to 17:30 CEST (Berlin Time).

The event will cover the following issues:

  • What are municipal challenges in the field of mental health, and why is the topic relevant?
  • What are the recommended actions to promote mental health in municipalities, also considering limited financial resources?
  • What can municipalities do to mitigate the mental health impacts of the pandemic?
  • How can different target groups be reached, including those for whom mental health is considered taboo?

The event is aimed at international municipal actors from local governments, civil society, business and academia who wish to share their challenges and good practices in the field of public health.

The aim is to present municipal challenges and practical examples and to develop new solution approaches through a joint exchange. The kick-off event lays the foundation for the formation of working groups that will further develop these solutions through collective consultation and with the support of regional and international experts.

In order to learn more about your experiences and wishes for the workshop, we kindly ask you to fill out this short questionnaire (5-7 min): Survey Mental Health | Connective Cities Network (also available in Arabic, German & Spanish). The results will be presented anonymously during the event.

To register for the workshop and stay updated on the agenda, the announcement of speakers and further details of the session, please visit our Connective Cities Community.

Please also visit our COVID 19 topic pages. Here you will find more event information, videos, good practices and publications, including on public health.

We are looking forward to your participation!

Public Health Cluster kick-off “Building mental health resilient during times of COVID-19”

Date: 29 September 2021

Time: 15:30 – 17:30 CEST (Berlin time)

Event Language: English. Translation into German, Arabic and Spanish (tbc)

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Contact: Paulina.koschmieder@giz.de

Thinking and acting beyond disasters

Posted on by erik

The COVID-19 pandemic and the occurrence of natural disasters in many parts of the world have profound implications for human lives, infrastructures, and communities. Municipalities are usually the first to respond to disasters, so adequate crisis management at the local level is urgently needed.

Connective Cities cordially invites you to participate in the virtual Crisis Management Cluster kick-off on “Thinking and Acting beyond Disasters” on 28 September 2021, from 15:30 to 17:30 CEST (Berlin Time).

The event has been designed together with urban practitioners and for the practical work in the municipalities. The following topics have been initially identified in the area of Disaster Management:

  1. Setting up systems for disaster management (measures, roles, structure, use of IT etc.)
  2. Public sensitization and communication
  3. Involvement of volunteers and civil society
  4. Creation of risk culture at the municipal and public level
  5. Disaster management in specific action areas, such as the breakdown of critical infrastructure, floods, or fire.

On this basis, the following questions will be discussed in the kick-off workshop:

  • What are typical challenges on a municipal level concerning disaster management?
  • How to prepare for disasters?
  • How to set up disaster management, even with low (human and financial) resources?

Contents & Speakers:

  • Mr. Henning Schulz, former mayor of the German city of Gütersloh, who will provide an overview of disaster management from a municipal viewpoint and report about his experiences on disaster management during the COVID-19 pandemic and innovative solutions.
  • Mr. Felix Richter, CEO of Kompetus Consulting, who has more than 20 years of project experience in management consulting for the public sector and is a former trainer for the Academy for International Cooperation (AIZ) for experts travelling to fragile countries. He will provide an overview of crises management planning and execution for municipalities – from a practical perspective.

The event is aimed at international municipal actors from local governments, civil society, business and academia who wish to share their challenges and good practices in the field of crisis management.

The aim is to present municipal challenges and practical examples and to develop new solution approaches through a joint exchange. The kick-off event lays the foundation for the formation of working groups that will further develop these solutions through collective consultation and with the support of regional and international experts.

In order to learn more about your experiences and needs concerning disaster management, we kindly ask you to fill out the following short questionnaire (5-7 min):

Disaster Managment Questionnaire (also available in German, Spanish and Arabic). The results will be presented anonymously during the event. 

To register for the workshop and stay updated on the agenda and further details of the session, please visit our Connective Cities Community.

Please also visit our COVID 19 topic pages. Here you will find more event information, videos, good practices and publications, including on crisis management.

We are looking forward to your active participation!

Crisis Management Cluster kick-off “Thinking and acting beyond disasters”

Date: 28 September 2021

Time: 15:30 – 17:30 CEST (Berlin time)

Event language: English. Translation into German, Spanish, Arabic

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Contact: Paulina.koschmieder@giz.de

Good Practice from Landshut, Germany: Assisted Learning

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We visited Landshut, where we talked with various actors involved in and crucial for the successful running of the project project Betreutes Lernen. “Betreutes Lernen” translates to “Assisted Learning” in English and offers children overwhelmed by the challenges of digital learning, a possibility to catch up on their curriculum and regain an urgently needed daily structure. Since the beginning of the project, it has been perceived as big success by pupils, teachers and staff hence ensuring the learning progress of children during the lockdown when schools are closed.

Watch video at YouTube: https://youtu.be/1uDJCkrC-ok

More videos, interviews and podcasts at our COVID-19-topical page

The importance of disaster preparedness in cities and municipalities – experiences and lessons learned

Posted on by erik

The event series “Insight Sessions: Post-COVID Urban Futures” is part of this year’s Connective Cities Corona programme and facilitates a regular, open exchange on relevant topics of the post-COVID-19 era for municipal practitioners and relevant experts worldwide. Different topics of sustainable urban development during and after the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed and innovative approaches in this regard will be shared in brief and concise virtual exchange formats. The aim of these events is to provide impulses that encourage participants to reflect on their progress so far and think about innovative solutions. The open discussion rounds will take place on Wednesdays once every three weeks. 

We are pleased to invite you to the third event in the series on „The importance of disaster preparedness in cities and municipalities: experiences and lessons learned“ on Wednesday August 25th, 2021 from 10:00 – 11:30 CEST.

European cities have experienced flooding many times in history, however, the scale and numbers of losses of life from the flooding in July 2021 have been devastating. Hitting the long safely imagined temperate zone, the events reveal the importance and urgency of discussing measures to enhance disaster preparedness and strengthen resilience in cities around the globe. The need of cities worldwide to adapt to a changing climate and an increasing number of extreme weather events is more prominent than ever to save lives, reduce economic losses and protect critical infrastructure.

In this session we will reflect on the experienced challenges and lessons learned from devastating flood events around the globe and discuss how we can better prepare for extreme weather events, improve multi-hazard early warning systems and strengthen public awareness of disaster risks with urban practitioners and experts from the field.

A detailed agenda will be provided shortly. The event will take place virtually in the Connective Cities Community.

Date: Wednesday, August 25th

Time: 10:00-11:30 CEST

Event language: English (translation tba)

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Contact: paulina.koschmieder@giz.de

Digital literacy and digital municipal service design in Post-COVID-19 Cities

Posted on by erik

The event series “Insight Sessions: Post-COVID Urban Futures” is part of this year’s Connective Cities Corona programme and facilitates a regular, open exchange on relevant topics of the post-COVID-19 era for municipal practitioners and relevant experts worldwide. Different topics of sustainable urban development during and after the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed and innovative approaches in this regard will be shared in brief and concise virtual exchange formats. The aim of these events is to provide impulses that encourage participants to reflect on their progress so far and think about innovative solutions. The open discussion rounds will take place on Wednesdays once every three weeks. 

We are pleased to invite you to the second event in the series on “Digital literacy and digital municipal service design in Post-COVID-19 Cities” on Wednesday August 18, 2021 from 10:00 – 11:30 CEST.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of public services. With the establishment of pandemic response measurements like contact tracking or remote work there was the sudden need for the immediate digital implementation of municipal services.  Now that we are living with the pandemic for more than one year, the new digital reality has become the new normality for many, but not for all of us. 

Through the rapid digitalisation process many have been left out who either are missing in digital literacy or don´t have the access to technology to participate. This problem is especially relevant for municipalities as they have the responsibility to include all citizens in their activities and allow them to participate in the society. The (new?) digital divide becomes apparent in the fields of education, communication and many more.  In this session, we will exchange on and discuss the challenges municipalities are facing to overcome the digital divide while still enhancing their digital services and good examples in that regard.

A detailed agenda will be provided shortly. The event will take place virtually in the Connective Cities Community:

Insight Session: Digital literacy and digital municipal service design | Connective Cities Network (connective-cities.net)

Date: Wednesday, 18.08.2021

Time: 10:00-11:30 CEST

Event language: English (translation tba)

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Contact: paulina.koschmieder@giz.de

Research of good practices on the subject of health, business, and governance at municipal level during the COVID-19 pandemic

Posted on by erik

The report aims to explore municipal initiatives and measures taken to address health, governance, and business sector challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report is structured as follows:
The first part reviews the methodology of country identification for further investigation of good practices at national and city level.
The second, third, and fourth parts consist of good practices in the areas of health, governance, and business during the COVID-19 pandemic, including data analysis in selected countries and a brief overview of municipal practices in response to COVID-19. Good practices were selected from low and medium income countries from Africa, Asia and Southeast Europe.
In the final section, the cities’ challenges and recommendations for Connective Cities are reviewed and conclusions regarding the research findings are also presented.

Municipal response to COVID-19 in the health sector

Posted on by erik

Focusing on exploring tools and protocols that cities have been employing to control and monitor the spread of infection and reviewing the efficiency and effectiveness of such tools and protocols.

More: https://youtu.be/iy9Zb3HL2GQ

More good practices, articles, videos, podcasts and interviews on our COVID-19 page.

‘Digital Shop Window’, Darmstadt

Posted on by erik

The Covid-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for retailers and restaurants. During the lockdown, also small local shops in Germany had to close temporarily. In the south of Hesse, the City Darmstadt responded successfully with the “Digital Shop Window” project. Retailers and restaurateurs can offer their goods and services on the city’s central shopping platform. 

The project was already launched in 2019 with around 25 participating shops and restaurants. After the pandemic began, the German city intensified its efforts to expand the platform because interest increased significantly. Currently, over 500 local restaurants and shops are represented, and the platform registers around 700 hits per day. Interested citizens have access to the businesses’ contact details, opening hours, social media channels, and the online shop on the platform.

What led to the success of the “Digital Shop Window”? A key component was the networking of other city projects with the platform. For example, the so-called “Darmstadt City Voucher” has been integrated online. Moreover, Darmstadt offers free delivery of products.  Local events, such as an art market or the city’s wine festival, are also advertised on the website. Since the traders themselves are responsible for their contributions and data, the “Digital Shop Window” always remains up to date.  

Another success factor was that Darmstadt photographed the traders free of charge to personalise online shopping. The pictures make the “Digital Shop Window” much more personal than other online shopping sites, such as Amazon. The personalisation also increased solidarity with the traders within the population. “Digital Shop Window” will certainly have its raison d’être even after the pandemic and make local shopping attractive. 

Further Information:

Good Practice “Digitales Schaufenster” Digitised shopping windows (pdf)

Event Recording (Presentation on Darmstadt starts min. 83): The role of digitalised public services as reactions to the COVID 19-pandemic (Only for those registered on the Connective Cities Platform)

Digital Shop Window: https://www.darmstadt-citymarketing.de/digitales-schaufenster/

Contact:

Agnes Allig, City and tourism marketing
Wissenschaftsstadt Darmstadt Marketing GmbH
Elisabethenstraße 20-22
64283 Darmstadt
Germany
+49-(0)6151-134510
touristikmarketing@darmstadt.de

Streets for all – Glasgow’s new avenues

Posted on by erik

The pandemic has fundamentally changed all our daily lives. Instead of meeting indoors, we meet outside and instead of taking the bus or train, we use the bicycle or sometimes the car. Cities need to respond to this change in population behavior. Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, whose central streets have long been reserved for car traffic, has met this challenge by taking extensive measures to create more space for cyclists and pedestrians and new central green spaces.

During the pandemic, space for cyclists and pedestrians in Glasgow was provisionally separated from the streets with plastic elements, giving them more space. By doing so, the city successfully responded to the new needs of its residents.

But in the long term the streetscapes suffer from the unsightly plastic elements. However, for the quality of life in a city and the well-being of its residents not only the functionality but also the beauty of the city is important. That’s why the long-term avenue strategy in Glasgow’s city center calls for the creation of 21 streets with continuous bicycle and pedestrian paths in combination with extensive greening by 2027. The new avenues will link central locations and better connect adjacent neighborhoods. The greening will beautify the streets, which were often completely concreted before, and more space for pedestrians and cyclists will significantly reduce motorized traffic.

Thus, not only does the functionality of the street adapt to the new needs of the population, but the new avenues are also visually much more attractive. This increases the attractiveness of the location for retailers and the quality of stay in the public space. Combined with new technologies, such as individually controllable LED lighting, the center of Glasgow is thus made fit for the future.

More Information

Glasgows Avenue Strategy & the Role of Beauty in Public Spaces (PDF)

Event Recording (Presentation on Glasgow starts min. 78): COVID-19 – A chance for urban green recovery? (Only for those registered on the Connective Cities Platform)

Contact:

Jamie Shields, Development and Regeneration Services, Glasgow City Council, UK  jamie.shields@glasgow.gov.uk

Paola Pasino, Development and Regeneration Services, Glasgow City Council, UK paola.pasino@glasgow.gov.uk

Municipal Response to COVID-19: Driving Smart City Development

Posted on by erik

On 29th of April a virtual workshop on Smart City Development took place as part of the ongoing applied research project “Research of good practices and moderation of virtual events on the subject of health, business and governance at municipal level in times of COVID-19”. 

Workshop centered on overviewing the EU Green Deal Agenda, smart cities models and concepts, as well as advantages of accelerating digitalization processes and financial attraction possibilities in the period of a pandemic.

Approximately 15 participants from Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Philippines, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia took part in the workshop.

The event focused on

  • Presenting the concept of European Green Deal
  • Introducing Smart cities development models and concepts
  • Providing digitalization solutions for municipalities in the pandemic period
  • Highlighting possible sources of financing
  • Providing conclusions and possible next step suggestions

After the event all attendees were given certificates of completion of the workshop.

Program

This virtual event was opened by welcoming remarks made by Dr. Piotr Żuber, Project Team Leader, PMCG. Dr. Żuber provided background information of the workshop and briefly overviewed the agenda. Following the introduction, Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant, advanced into the core sessions.

Two main topics of the sessions were:

  • Smart city development: innovations and key drivers
  • Acceleration of digitalization processes in the pandemic period

After each session, active discussions were held on relevant topics, where participants were given floor to present their practices and share challenges in the Smart City Development processes from their municipalities.

Presentations

European Green Deal and Smart City Development
Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant

Improvement of local actors, project management in Lithuania
Mr. Arunas Grazulis, Expert of Public Policy and European Union programmes

Smart cities development models and concepts
Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant

Digitalization- the future is today
Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant

“ALL-IN-ONE” solution suite for smart municipalities
Mr. Edgaras Engelmanas, Head of Export, IRTC

International practices of the deposit refund system
Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant

Financial attraction possibilities
Ms. Daiva Matonienė, International Consultant

Results

During this online workshop representatives from multitudes of municipalities exchanged their experiences and insights in the field of smart city development.

Participants were introduced to topics such as: development of green recovery plan, innovative tools for digitalization and public-private partnership. At the same time attendees were given some recommendations on atracting potential donors and funds as well as tips on steps forward. Contact information of field experts, as well as companies experienced in the field of smart development were given to municipal representatives to support further collaboration opportunities.