Category: The social city

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

Posted on by burkhard

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

Skilled Immigration and Migrant Entrepreneurship for Local Economic Development

Posted on by burkhard

Migration policy may be a national matter – however, its success or failure is also determined at the local level. Convinced by this, around 50 local government professionals came together for a virtual Insight Session organised by Connective Cities. The focus was on the question of what role municipalities can play in the immigration of skilled workers and in supporting migrant entrepreneurship.

In addition to a study by the German Institute for Employment Research IAB, practical examples from the German Pinneberg District, Mersin (Türkiye) and Oberhausen (Germany), Munich (Germany) and Gharb Irbid (Jordan) formed the basis of in-depth working group discussions. These clearly demonstrated that local governments can play a crucial role in realising the economic potential of migration at the local level.

The key findings are documented here.

Toolkit for Gender Inclusive Mobility Planning

Posted on by burkhard

Author: Lea Gerber

Publisher: German Institute for Urban Studies (Difu)

Women and gender minorities make up more than half the world’s population, yet transportation systems have historically been planned around a default male user. Research indicates that women and gender minorities navigate mobility networks differently, yet their travel patterns and needs remain underserved by conventional planning models. By prioritizing the needs of women and gender minorities, planners can design safer and more accessible transportation systems that enhance the experience for every user. This toolkit offers practical resources and guidance for designers, planners, and policymakers looking to integrate gender-inclusive practices into mobility and transportation planning. Mirroring the key phases of the urban planning process, the toolkit features chapters on topics such as data collection and public participation, each illustrated by a case study from local government projects. The toolkit also includes a Practitioner’s Guide that highlights key points and recommendations, allowing readers to quickly grasp and apply key guidance without reading the entire toolkit. While the toolkit is not comprehensive, it offers a starting point for re-examining and improving transportation and mobility systems at the local level.

Year of publication: 2026

48 pages

External link (Difu): https://difu.de/publikationen/2026/toolkit-for-gender-inclusive-mobility-planning

Local Economic Development through Skilled Immigration and Migrant Entrepreneurship

Posted on by burkhard

How can local governments take an active role in shaping skilled labour immigration and support migrant entrepreneurship in their municipalities?

This interactive online session by Connective Cities, on 25 March 2026, from 10:00 to 12:30 CET , will bring together German and international municipal practitioners to exchange experiences, learn from practical examples, and discuss innovative approaches to promoting local economic development through skilled labour immigration and migrant entrepreneurship.

Participants will benefit from good practice presentations and discussions, which will:

  • showcase effective municipal strategies for fostering successful and fair skilled labour immigration and migrant entrepreneurship
  • raise awareness of local governance challenges and opportunities
  • highlight transferable solutions for different local context
  • Strengthen local governments’ capacity to leverage their scope of action to support skilled worker immigration and migrant entrepreneurship as drivers of local economic development.

 

Event language is English.

Free of charge. Registration is necessary:

Event registration

Contact:

Nikola Krause
+49 228 20 717-2922
nikola.krause@engagement-global.de

Strengthening the voice of cities and accelerating the implementation of the SDGs

Posted on by burkhard

On a voluntary basis, more and more municipalities are reporting on the implementation status of the 2030 Agenda‘s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level in so-called Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR) or Voluntary Sub-National  Reviews (VSR) at the regional level. These serve as a supplement to the national reports (VNRs) of governments and are presented each year at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York. This leads to greater visibility for the local level regarding the international level and highlights its central role in implementing the SDGs. However, in many countries, there is more talk about local governments at the national level than with them when it comes to developing national sustainability strategies. Yet it is at the local level that over 65% of the SDGs are implemented (or not).

At the beginning of December 2024, Connective Cities therefore launched a learning process on sustainable reporting at the local and regional level. The aim was to improve the preparation of VLRs and VSRs through an international exchange of experiences, accelerate the implementation of the SDGs, and ultimately promote dialogue between the local, regional, and national levels. For the first time,  representatives of municipal associations consulted with their colleagues from city administrations in a dialogue event organized by Connective Cities. Regional diversity, with perspectives and practical examples from South America, sub-Saharan Africa, Germany, Southeast Europe, and Asia, vividly fuelled the discussion and contributed to the success of the process.

Autor: Burkhard Vielhaber

Towards Affordable and Sustainable Housing

Posted on by erik

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

Empowering Communities: The Ripple Effect of Women’s Leadership

Posted on by erik

The initiative “Making My School More Beautiful,” led by five women elected for the municipal council of Yarmouk al-Jadida municipality in Jordan, showcases a successful model for promoting democracy and empowering girls through school parliaments. By collaborating closely with local communities, schools, and mothers, the project not only enhanced school environments but also fostered civic awareness and active participation among young women. Its structured approach offers a replicable framework for similar initiatives in other communities.

Avoiding vacancy by opening buildings to interim use

Posted on by erik

During the process of redefining a building’s purpose and outlining the procedure and financing of the venture, constructions might fall vacant. A vacant building is wasted potential in many ways, for both the community and the cities’ urban development.

Moreover, an unused building often leads to an increase in visual and atmospheric pollution due to the accumulation of waste, water infiltration and possible growth of mold or toxic materials. Besides these ecological consequences, vandalism may increase as well as insecurity in the surroundings. Hence, the revitalisation of vacant buildings can come costly to municipalities and possible investors.

How can vacancy be avoided? Opening public buildings to interim use was one of the topics that participants of the learning process “2nd Hands on Public Buildings” wanted to focus on during the one-year-long learning process on reusing public buildings from the 1960s and 1970s. Therefore, experts from Germany, Kenya, Palestine and Montenegro came together virtually on March 12, 2025.

During the meeting, the German guests Oliver Hasemann, ZwischenZeitZentrale Bremen, and Moritz Tonn, Transiträume e.V., elaborated on the facilitation of interim use in Bremen and Berlin. With years of experience and quite some examples of moderating agreements between the buildings’ owners and users, the inputs allowed for a general understanding of the opportunities and challenges related to intermediate tenants. Given the vibrant cultural scene in Berlin, Transiträume e.V. has successfully allowed artist to transform vacant halls to impressive exhibition spaces, attracting large numbers of visitors. Among other, ZZZBremen showcased its “Wurst Case” (translates into “Sausage Case”), in which a sausage factory was reused involving the public in an extended participation process. The factory was then rented in a small scale to local entrepreneurs, artists, and for social initiatives and artisans testing of various kinds of use (offices, workshops, studios).

Giving the buildings a temporary use helps their protection, reduce the operational and maintenance costs for public vacancy and can support the cultural and creative industry. Through the participation of neighbourhoods, the interim use of vacant buildings also helps revitalizing disadvantaged areas. The main challenges consisted in setting a frame for interested users, which means to create the basic infrastructure and the legal framework for working in the abandoned buildings as well as finding sponsorships and raising awareness for the new project.

Based on these inputs, the group of experts discussed their project examples and ideas regarding a possible temporary use. Twenty floors of the former Hilton Hotel in Nairobi are currently vacant and the participants were interested in how interim use might lead to the attraction of possible investors. Although in one case an investor who had visited an exhibition in Berlin had finally bought the complex, the guests stated that this was not the main objective of interim utilisation. Financing was also a concern of a participants from Montenegro and Regensburg.

The consense was that those who profit most from the interim use should also be hold financially responsible. In most cases, tenants only pay a symbolic rent, but their conservation of the building presents an economic advantage for the owner. Cases are very individual. In Regensburg, the activation of central heating in the concerned building would have caused high costs. While the guest suggested house in house solutions, Regensburg had yet found creative forms of interim use and offered the fireguard and police to use the building for training purposes. Asked from Hebron, questions concerned the public participation process and best practices. The ongoing Connective Cities learning process will offer another follow-up activity on the involvement of the public, soon.

„Think about your interim project from the end. How is it guaranteed that the project ends in everybody’s consent?” Oliver Hasemann, ZweischenZeitZentrale Bremen

Manizales: Foundation stone laid for the localization of the SDGs

Posted on by erik

For the Colombian city of Manizales, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2020 were more than just a list of targets for a better future. The city had just adopted its urban development plan “Manizales + Grande” and the administration now wanted to bring the SDGs into society and bring them to life in the everyday lives of the population. The SDGs are being implemented as global goals in municipalities around the world. So what could be more obvious than exchanging ideas with committed municipalities and giving each other tips and suggestions?

The virtual dialogue event “Strengthening local implementation of the SDGs through reporting and monitoring” in April 2021 – organized by Connective Cities in cooperation with the City of Bonn, among others – came at just the right time for Manizales. Almost 60 municipal practitioners from 19 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America shared their approaches and experiences in localizing the SDGs – an important milestone for Manizales.