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Old Cities New Ambitions: the future of urban Europe

Europe’s cities have long been at the cutting edge of civic innovation. But the challenges they are facing – climate crisis, pandemics, growing inequalities, migration, populism, new technologies – can feel increasingly daunting.

Over the last two years, LSE Cities has been working on a new initiative to support Europe’s urban governments as they navigate the complex challenges ahead. The European Cities Programme, a research, engagement and capacity building programme supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, brings together city leaders, policy makers and civil society movements from across the continent to plan pathways towards more just, sustainable and democratic futures.

This new publication represents the culmination of our first phase of work. Our findings are brought into dialogue with essays from urbanists and city leaders in Europe and beyond. The publication shares:

  • The first findings from our European Cities Knowledge Hub, a live database on European city government and its priorities and challenges.
  • Research into the policy and politics of post-growth, one of the key policy agendas keeping Europe’s leading thinkers up at night.
  • Discussion of the role universities and their partners can play in helping Europe’s city leaders deliver bold solutions to the critical challenges of our times.

We hope this marks the beginning of an essential new conversation on the role of European cities on the world stage and invite readers – city leaders, researchers, policy makers and citizens – to continue to connect with us through our events, policy briefs, blogs and academic articles. Read more about the European Cities Programme and explore its other outputs and get in touch with us directly to join discussions shaping the future of Europe’s cities.

 Read the publication