European projects for urban change: Tallinn's experience
How can a city receive EU funding and effectively implement sustainable development projects? We were looking for an answer to this question during the case study “EU Projects: Strategy and Implementation in the City Context” as part of the Community Recovery Academy.
Speakers from the Tallinn Office of Strategic Management and the Center for International Projects - Aado Altmets, Mariliis Niinemägi, Markus Toompere - shared their experience in implementing EU-supported urban initiatives.
They described how the capital of Estonia uses the resources of the European Union to implement innovative urban solutions, create smart infrastructure, and develop urban spaces.
Tallinn is a city with ambitious goals. It is actively implementing digital services, modernizing residential areas, improving mobility, and developing environmental initiatives
Special attention was paid to financial aspects during the lecture. Tallinn uses various European funds, including the Cohesion Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, Horizon Europe, Interreg, URBACT, and others.
An example of a successful project: SOFTacademy is an initiative aimed at renovating residential areas through the involvement of residents, cooperation with universities, city authorities, and international partners.
This is not just a repair of buildings, but a comprehensive transformation of urban space:
- modernization of panel houses
- creation of comfortable public areas
- development of local communities
The lecture provided valuable insights for Ukrainian cities seeking to innovate and attract resources for recovery.
The Community Recovery Academy, founded by the Association of Ukrainian Cities and the NGO Mariupol.Reborn, aims to train municipal managers for the recovery period. The project is being implemented with the support of the UK Government under the UK International Development program and the International Republican Institute (IRI Ukraine) in partnership with Metinvest and SCM. The educational partners of the project are Metinvest Polytechnic and the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
