European Cities Programme

A new sense of power and purpose

In recent years, Europe’s urban centres have gained a new sense of power and purpose – a development aided by the transition to an urbanised, post-industrial economy, a growing expert policy consensus in favour of cities, and, within the European Union, supranational funding, and policy support. 

Though the picture varies across the continent, on the whole Europe’s cities have gained new agency, become better networked and developed an increasingly confident sense of shared identity. Many cities have seen sustained investment in public transport, walking and cycling, public spaces, green infrastructure, cultural and visitor amenities, higher education and, at least in some cases, affordable housing and sustainable urban extensions.

It’s become common to hear European city leaders and commentator draw a contrast between the civic, green, cosmopolitan and forward-thinking outlook of their voters and the conservatism of national politics.

Challenges, ambitions and expectations

But there is another side to the story. Even as European cities appear to have gained in influence and confidence, the challenges they face seem to mount. Many city governments have set ambitious decarbonisation targets, with an increasing number promising to be carbon-neutral by 2030. 

But alongside the radical actions that they will need to take to get  on a sustainable footing and adapt to climate change, residents – and national governments – are looking to them to tackle stubborn and often growing inequalities, increase the supply of affordable housing, accommodate and integrate migrant communities, respond to the needs of an aging population, create healthier more resilient food systems, manage disruptive technologies, boost skills and economic opportunity – the list could go on.  

And all this against a background of limited and often diminishing city budgets, political polarisation and heightened political mobilisation enabled by social media, and the prospect of further health, climate, and other emergencies for which they are on the frontlines.

• Roundtable summary 
  Understanding prosperity without growth: an emerging agenda for European cities? | 
  2 November 2022
  Read the event summary and view a presentation on the evolution of post-growth thinking in Europe and its influence at the level of the city. 

• Roundtable summary
  Europe's cities in the 2020s: Change, challenges, and governance capacities 
  4 May 2022
  Read the event summary and view a presentation on the recent past, current challenges and possible futures of European cities, as they grapple with climate change, covid recovery, inequalities, migration pressures, polarisation, and other issues.

• Journal Article
  'Prosperity Beyond Growth: An Emerging Agenda for European Cities'
  Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy. University of Toronto Press.
  08 May 2023
  Ben Rogers, Nuno F. da Cruz, Francesco Ripa and Imogen Hamilton-Jones investigate the dissemination of post-growth ideas and policies across European cities.
• Blog
  

  Europe is increasingly more diverse – when will city leadership follow suit?
  12 January 2023
  Francesco Ripa explores the findings of a new survey of 166 European mayors which reveals a striking lack of diversity in terms of gender, age, and ethnic background.

• Commentary  
  The (Slowly) Changing Face of Europe's Mayors (Bloomberg CityLab) 
  19 December 2022

  Despite some high-profile exceptions, most mayors across European cities do not reflect the increasing diversity of urban populations, a new survey finds.

• Blog
  Hey Big Spenders: pandemic recovery funding in Europe and the US 
  26 July 2022
  Catarina Heeckt argues that the EU may have missed a golden opportunity to empower cities post pandemic, and that there is a lot to learn from the bolder approach taken by in the United States.