INTERREG/SportUrban: Sport and Leisure for Local Development
24 partners from the
EU have joined efforts to address a common issue: how to make Sports
facilities a lever to economic development, urban regeneration, social
inclusion and improved image of towns and cities. New trends in the
practice of sport are calling into question the spatial status quo: new
and more individualistic sports are developing outside established
sports institutions; new territorial spaces are opening up to the
practice of sports, in particular on public spaces in urban areas. The
appearance of new sporting places and the requalification of traditional
urban spaces have helped many games to develop into full-fledged
sports. These new sporting areas, or areas where the public can enjoy
sports events, have created the need for new transport and facilities,
and often the creation of new services. This, in turn, has changed the
townscape. Faced with these trends, local authorities have a key role to
play in defining the use of public space and in regulating the public
service and social functions of sport. The project was supported by the
INTERREGIIIC programme of the EU.
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EU-Asia Sustainable Waste Management Cycle: Integrating Best Practices
of Solid Waste Management Policies (EA-SWMC) is a project co-funded by
the Asia Pro-Eco Programme of the European Commission (EC) and jointly
promoted by the National Solid Waste Management Department (Malaysia),
Perak State Government (Malaysia), The Association of Environmental
Consultants and Companies of Malaysia (AECCOM), INTA; ICLEI European
Secretariat GmbH (Germany); Danish Topic Centre on Waste and Resources
(DTC/WR) and Shropshire County Council (United Kingdom). The conference
serves as an information-sharing forum amongst the participants to
exchange ideas and search for best practices of waste management between
the EU and Asia. Participants were exposed to technology innovations
for future solid waste management, EU policy and regulatory framework on
solid waste management, findings of international projects, economic
instrument and financing methods, best practices/case studies and
know-how various EU/Asia countries.
From 2005 to 2007 INTA has been partner in an EU funded INTERREG IIIC
project: ‘Intelligent Cities – Innovative and Competitive Cities for
Sustainable Development.’ The project was linked to the need for a
strategy for innovative, competitive cities that will function on a
national and international level. Cities are undergoing a renaissance as
scenes for economic development and as driving forces behind regional
competitiveness. National matters such as economic competitiveness,
quality of life, social equilibrium, innovation and environmental
sustainability depend on the capacity for governance of cities and city
regions. The project aims were to draw up a strategy for a city policy
based on interregional cooperation, and to define one of its specific
tools focusing on knowledge and innovation – the “innovation hub”. An
“innovation hub” is an area of excellence in which science, technology
and innovation are used to galvanize cities and achieve sustainable
urban development. The project launched a set of political guidelines
for creating innovative, competitive towns.
