We are pleased to share with you the Publication "EU Research and Innovation for and with Cities" – Yearly mapping report September 2017, a document from DG Research and Innovation related to cities and urban development. This report provides an overview of the main EU Research and Innovation (R&I) actions for and with cities, promoted both at the European and international level to foster sustainable urban development.
In particular, we encourage you to have a closer look at the multiple large scale demonstration projects which are launched in the framework of the cross-cutting Focus Area on 'Smart and Sustainable Cities. The innovation actions "Demonstrating innovative nature based solutions in cities" are aiming by 2020 to healthier and greener European cities, with a focus in 2017 on social cohesion and urban regeneration and in 2016 on enhancing water and climate resilience.
One of the key objectives of the 7th Environmental Action Programme is to help cities become
more sustainable. Cities often share a common set of problems such as poor air quality, high levels of noise, greenhouse gas emissions, water scarcity, and waste. Addressing these problems means working together. This is why the EAP aims to promote and expand initiatives that support innovation and best practice sharing in cities. Some initiatives:
Efforts are also made to map urban green infrastructure and ecosystem services, with a view to ease their inclusion in policy setting, by pointing out data and indicators that can be used to develop green infrastructure policy in cities. For example, "En Route" (Enhancing Resilience of urban ecosystems through green infrastructure) is a project of the European Commission in the framework of the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the Green Infrastructure Strategy. EnRoute provides scientific knowledge of how urban ecosystems can support urban planning.
The Action Plan for Nature, People & Economy, aims to implement the 2020 Habitats and Birds Directive. The Sendai Framework commits countries to substantially reduce disaster risk and losses by 2030. By improve the understanding of green infrastructure development in cities and urban areas through the development of guidance material, the EU offers an opportunity to advance disaster risk reduction.