Three experts from the IUC Asia team and city representatives from Rome (Italy) shared experiences from IUC cooperation at the EU-China "Smart, Sustainable Cities" workshop, organised by the EU Project Urban EU-China.

The event was hosted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Brussels (Belgium) and gathered about 40 actors from China and Europe involved in EU-China cooperation on sustainable urban development.

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) was represented by Ms. ZHOU Nan, Deputy Director-General from the Department of Planning and Strategy, who explained the importance of balanced urban-rural development. Chinese delegates included several experts from China’s Centre for Urban Development, while representatives from the European side included EU institutions (such as the European Commission’s Directorates-General for Research and Innovation, and for Regional and Urban Policy), the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, the Joint Programming Initiative on Urban Europe, and the City of Utrecht.

Several projects and city best practices were showcased. Pablo Gándara from the IUC Asia team joined Prof. Flavio Rosa and Dr. Patrick Maurelli from La Sapienza University in Rome (Italy) to share concrete experiences of forging smart and sustainable cities through city-to-city cooperation.

In later meetings, experts discussed recommendations for future implementation schemes. Professor Rossa was invited to join the project’s debriefing meeting, in which he described the IUC's cooperation approach in-depth, and highlighted expected results.

For more information, please visit the Urban EU-China website, here.

Header image by IUC Asia.