09.01.2006
City-wide wireless internet rolls out in UK
A UK company is planning to launch city-wide wi-fi this spring. The company will bring wireless broadband to nine cities including London, Manchester and Birmingham. Hundreds of so called hot zones will be rolled out across the cities, giving access ...read more

05.01.2006
Stockholm introduces congestion charge for motorists
Starting from 3 January 2006 Swedish motorists have to pay a charge to take their vehicles into the centre of Stockholm on weekdays. A journey to the inner city of the Swedish capital costs between €1.00 and €2.00, depending on the time of day. Charg...read more

04.01.2006
Several member states to lose 50% of regional state aid coverage
On 21 December 2005, the European Commission adopted a new set of regional aid guidelines for the period 2007-2013. It gives member states latitude in determining which regions should receive assistance and contains provisions designed to ensure a sm...read more

02.01.2006
Cohesion policy: cities are motors for growth and jobs
During the informal meeting of ministers responsible for regional policy on 6 December 2005 in Bristol, United Kingdom, Commissioner Danuta Hübner presented a paper on “Cohesion Policy and cities: the urban contribution to growth and jobs in the regi...read more

02.01.2006
Austria takes up EU presidency
As of 1 January 2006, Austria is the new president of the European Union. The EU presidency rotates every six months between the EU member states. Austria takes over from the United Kingdom. The next EU president will be Finland, as of 1 July 2006. O...read more

29.12.2005
New Urban Audit in 2006
In 2006, data will be gathered for the third Urban Audit. The number of participating cities has now increased from 258 to more than 300. In the Netherlands the number of member cities will rise from 10 to 15. Eurostat will invite statisticians from ...read more

22.12.2005
European Commission draws-up policy options on public-private partnerships
The European Commission has adopted an official Communication on public private partnerships and Community law. The Communication sets out the main policy options available and proposes further steps to be taken.read more

16.12.2005
EU compares quality of life in European cities
The European Commission has published a comparison of the quality of life between cities in the old and new member states aimed at promoting successful urban living as an engine for growth in Europe. Regional policy commissioner Danuta Hubner launche...read more

15.12.2005
Dutch cities and government departments join forces for urban research
The Netherlands Institute for City Innovation Studies (NICIS) was set up in The Hague on 7 December 2005. The NICIS has received the status of urban studies Centre of Excellence. Together with other centres of excellence, it will play an important ro...read more

15.12.2005
European Prize for Urban Public Space: Call for entries
The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial competition organised to highlight the importance of public space as a catalyst of urban life. One of the aims of the prize is to foster investment by public administrations for the creation, co...read more

13.12.2005
European Crime Prevention Award for Utrecht Station Area
The Utrecht project Tackling Safety and Quality of Life in shopping mall Hoog Catharijne and surrounding Station Area has won the European Crime Prevention Award, ECPA. The ECPA is a contest in which the best European crime prevention project is rewa...read more

12.12.2005
FUTURE calls for research proposals on Urban Governance
The EU-Fellowship Programme Future Urban Research in Europe, FUTURE, calls for applications in order to encourage young scientists to apply and to participate in the programme. FUTURE aims at the integration of different disciplines such as urban pla...read more

08.12.2005
Bristol Accord on Sustainable Communities
EU ministers involved in Urban Policy agreed upon the common goal of creating sustainable communities in Europe. This agreement was announced yesterday by the British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott at the EU Informal Meeting of Ministers in Bris...read more

07.12.2005
Native Dutch move away from large cities – cost 194 million euros
Research by the University of Amsterdam and the Dutch statistics office suggests the Netherlands' major cities have become poorer as native Dutch people have moved away. The departure of relatively prosperous Dutch residents from the four largest cit...read more

06.12.2005
Awards for the Best of e-Europe
Projects from Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland have carried off the EU e-government awards. The awards ceremony formed part of the EU Ministerial e-Government Conference in Manchester on 24 November 2005. There were organised by the Europ...read more

02.12.2005
EUROCITIES members adopt Lyon Declaration
From 19 to 22 November, more than 500 delegates from across Europe and around the world, including 40 Mayors and other representatives from 150 cities in 50 different countries, gathered together in the French city of Lyon to participate in the Annua...read more

29.11.2005
"Washed air" makes cities cleaner
Engineering firm Arcadis has developed a method for using sewers to filter away particulate matter in car exhaust fumes. The method involves equipping the sewer system with an air purification installation and replacing manhole covers by extractors. ...read more

28.11.2005
Commission unveils register of expert groups
The European Commission has opened a register of expert groups. The register makes it easy to identify the advisory bodies that assist the Commission in preparing policy initiatives and legislation. The list contains approximately 1300 working partie...read more

28.11.2005
More European funding for international municipal cooperation
The European Commission intends to launch a new development programme for the 2007-2013 period in which non-state actors like local authorities will be able to participate. The programme, called "Support to non-state actors in development", will foll...read more

24.11.2005
EUKN and KCGS win XML Award: ´most innovative website´
The European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN) and the Dutch Knowledge Centre for Larger Towns and Cities (KCGS) have been awarded the "XML Award" for their websites. The prize is presented annually to organisations that have displayed innovative initia...read more