Originally posted in Atlantic Cities’ blog (August 2014) Cooperation has become, in EU jargon, an unavoidable word. At the same time, together with the progression made by cohesion policy, the urban dimension has turned the hottest point in the European agenda. So even if the crisis makes individual strategies more tempting, the time has come …
Category: Insights
City Branding: The French Revolution
Originally published at Atlantic Cities’ blog (July 2014) July 14th marks the anniversary of the capture of La Bastille by the people of Paris. Because traditional celebrations are a significant component of branding, today we will focus on how city branding has been tackled by some French cities. As a pioneer, the OnlyLyon trademark cannot be dismissed when …
What is the city but the people?
Initially published at CAAC blog An article written for the Urban Solutions Seminar, Birmingham May 2012. Amazing cities. Social constructions, where the best and the worst of humanity live together. From the first fortifications in the Middle Ages to the megapolis of Tokio or Mexico, cities have developed and now seem the most …
Some ideas on city storytelling
Initially published at CAAC blog Explained by Zideate, “as a marketing tactic, storytelling is based on the premise that people remember information better when it is told as a story rather than presented as a list of facts. This is largely because stories are more relatable and inspire an emotional reaction in an audience. Any marketing …
4 P’s for Placemaking
Initially published at CAAC blog Several definitions tackle the concept of Place Making. The description of Wikipedia cannot be dismissed, as it enounces that “Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. Placemaking capitalizes on a local community’s assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating …
Participatory Budgeting: Lisbon
A notorious pioneer in social innovation, Lisbon was the first European Capital in implementing the participatory budgeting. Up to an amount equivalent to 5% of the investment budget (which until this issue has been of five million euros) the Lisbon Participatory Budget (PB) runs along a cycle with several phases. As it is completely based …
What is a macro-region?
Originally posted at Atlantic Cities’ blog (March 2014) Since the approval of the Baltic Strategy in 2009, the term macroregion has become fashionable. The different EC communications on the implementation of this initiative, as well as for the Danube have been completed by scientific articles and policy positions from European territories. In a nutshell, we …
Going abroad: The sooner, the better
Through the Erasmus + program, and others like EU Volunteers or UN simulations, you will have the opportunity to gain international experience, do intense training and start establishing your own network. And yet, in many cases, there is no age limit. The Erasmus + has several types of measures, not limited to study or do …
Julia Cameron: Is creativity for everybody? (II)
One of the most visible consequences of self-rejection is procrastination. For Cameron, procrastination haunts the artist because s/he prefers to leave everything for later than to face a sure failure. The blocked artist believes that in a better future, with more time, money, age, position or life experience would be easier to create …