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Urban Development Forum 2022 - Integration for sustainability

In order to achieve sustainability, it is necessary to work in an integrated manner. When planning an investment in transport, it is necessary to aim for environmental and social effects as well. When preparing a project to repair a street, we must have thought carefully about how it will affect economic activity and the appearance of the city. When introducing a new waste collection system, it is imperative that we take into account the habits of people on the ground and think about how this system will become part of the larger concept of a circular economy. Even if this is not the mass practice, there are examples of an integrated approach in Bulgaria.

At this year's edition of the Urban Development Forum, organized by the City Media Group in a strategic partnership with the European Investment Bank, we will focus on the best practices of integrated planning, procedure and implementation of projects in different spheres and in different Bulgarian cities. We will show how the integration of stakeholders, financial instruments, organizational and resource capacity leads to more sustainable results.

The program of the forum has 4 main thematic focuses - ecology, economy, social relations and aesthetics. These focuses reflect the priorities on which the European institutions work and are widely accepted as fundamental to achieving sustainability. In discussing each of the four focuses, we will also show its connections with the others to show the importance of cross-sectoral action.

Urban Development Forum 2022 is realized in partnership with the Bulgarian Green Building Council as part of World Green Building Week.

Major accent

Cities and the integrated transition - capital programs, financial instruments and models for sustainable urban transformation.
From 2021, the European Union, including Bulgaria, entered a new 7-year program period. What did we learn from the previous period and what should we focus on in the current one? How will European funding work until 2027? And how do we reduce our reliance on gratuitous financial instruments while involving more stakeholders in each investment?

Environment and economy - territorial renewal (revitalization)
Sustainable development of the urban territory - financial and organizational models. How to achieve both high environmental performance and financial return on investment?
New approaches in urban development that place environmental and economic sustainability on a par.

People and aesthetics - public spaces and local identity
The aesthetic qualities of our cities are often neglected.

At the same time, the efforts we make to preserve a lot of buildings and spaces show that aesthetics is also a component of sustainability. A good-looking urban environment is more attractive to residents, leads to a higher quality of life, and is often used as a competitive advantage in economic competition between cities.

The new European Bauhaus - how the European Commission's new initiatives link aesthetics and heritage with investments and sustainable development?