News of European City Centers

Bucharest, Romania, is gaining popularity among tourists, earning the nickname “new Berlin” due to its beautiful architecture and vibrant city center. With a bustling nightlife and affordable options, it’s becoming a top choice for city breaks. The city’s thriving cafe culture, with its array of specialty coffee shops, adds to its charm. The Old Town, with its blend of architectural…

The European Observatory for City Center, launched by Centre-Ville en Mouvement in February 2024 at the European Parliament, held its first online conference on April 3rd, focusing on governance and financing models for downtowns and commercial arteries, with examples from Canada and Italy. Discussions highlighted practices such as Commercial Development Corporations (CDCs) in Canada, which establish public-private partnerships to manage…

In this town in eastern Slovenia, after years of renovations to the city center financed by national, local, and European funds, culture has been restored as the central element of urban policy. The municipality aims to further revitalize the historical district by proposing additional cultural spaces and intergenerational meetings, resulting in a diverse lineup of cultural events throughout the year….

Inside the Czech capital, authorities have made the decision to limit the automobile traffic for all vehicles (except for residents, taxis, and all other vehicles that possess an authorization). Prague’s first district will then be closed for access between 10pm and 6am. The goal? Reduce noise pollution which has been affecting the city center’s residents for decades. This initiative was…

Milan, the capital of fashion, is at a crossroad concerning pollution. As we are facing more and more issues having to do with climate change, a decision has to be made to reduce emissions. The mayor is choosing to target private traffic within the confines of the city center in order to reduce the pollution from car exhausts. To go…

In this municipality, the initiative consists in gathering several little businesses within the same commercial premises. The main goal is to encourage small businesses to take a chance to open their shops and test out the profitability while enjoying a lower rent. This comes after the realization that there needs to be a change of strategy in order to revitalize…

As it is the case in most city centers across Europe, there is a need to adapt to the changes following the pandemic which fueled the development of e-commerce amongst other things. Germany has understood the challenge, the main take-away being that we need to rethink city centers as an ensemble. It is the whole public space that has to…

Located in Brittany, Saint-Brieuc is a mid-sized city with more than 45 000 inhabitants.Music boxes installed in the streets of Saint-Brieuc surprise passersby! They are the work of the multidisciplinary art collective “The Anomik Nation” which “offers music to passersby”. Since 2018, the concept seduced plenty of European cities while installing more than 250 music boxes in France, Portugal, and…

The Municipality of Coimbra is developing and implementing a strategy to revitalize the historic city center, organizing dynamic and attractive cultural events for all age groups and different audiences. The aim is to attract the city’s inhabitants and visitors to the “heart of the city”, creating new economic, social, and cultural dynamics in a unique area of Coimbra, full of…

What solution to face the scarcity of urban space and climate change? To this question, the city of Rotterdam answered with the Rooftop Walk: a promenade on several rooftops of the city center connected by a 30-meter-long aerial bridge.  This interesting yellow path is a short-lived installation created by the association “Dakendagen.” The course showcases various solutions that use rooftops…