LIVEBALTIC: PROJECT
CONCEPT AND POSSIBLE
DIRECTIONS
Emils Rode
Expert, Riga Planning Region
25 March 2014
AGENDA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Project application
Liveability indexes
Overview of related projects
Local stakeholders
Possible project focus
Next steps
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AGENDA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Project application
Liveability indexes
Overview of related projects
Local stakeholders
Possible project focus
Next steps
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SEED MONEY PROJECT
PARTNERSHIP
Lead Partner: Uusimaa Regional Council FI
Partner: Riga Planning Region LV
Partner: Cleantech Estonia EE
Partner: Turku Science Park FI
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Issue addressed and contribution
to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea
Region and EU 2020 Strategy.
The issue addressed by this project is the
quality of living in Baltic Sea cities. While
Scandinavian capitals Copenhagen, Helsinki,
Stockholm, and Oslo are ranked among the
world's 'most liveable cities', other Baltic cities
are far behind. Quality of living is one of the key
factors for attracting international talents and
increasing the competitiveness of the local
economy. By sharing the knowledge and
practice of planning for liveability, cities on
both Western and Eastern shores of the Baltic
Sea can benefit.
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PROJECT FOCUS (1)
Quality of life or 'liveability' of a place is an
important factor when international talents
decide on a location to study or work.
Increasing a place's reputation for quality of
living directly translates into economic
competitiveness.
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PROJECT FOCUS (2)
Could other Baltic Sea cities learn from
these Scandinavian champions of quality
living? Many factors measured by 'liveability'
indicators - such as public safety,
healthcare, quality of schools, let alone
climate - are beyond policy makers' reach in
the short term.
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PROJECT FOCUS (3)
However, there are ways to improve quality
of life in our cities by applying smart tools
from the areas of service design, social
innovation, and participatory planning.
(Indeed, "pro-active policy developments" is
itself one of the criteria used in calculating
Monocle magazine's Most Liveable Cities
Index.)
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PROJECT FOCUS (4)
The project would create a platform for
discussing policy objectives, exchanging
best practices and conducting pilot projects
aimed at improving the quality of life
indicators in Baltic Sea cities. Project
stakeholders would be municipalities,
government agencies, and NGOs.
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Work Package 1: Project
management and communication
Managing the project consortium and
communication
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Work Package 2: Promoting liveable
and transforming Baltic cities
• Analysing best practices of city promotion
to the target group of 'knowledge workers'
focusing on the liveability factors.
• Activities: analytical research, discussion
forums, production of promotional
materials.
• Results: promotional materials focusing on
quality of living in the city targeted at
international knowledge workers.
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Work Package 3:
Making cities for people
• Analysis and application of best practices and
expertise available in making the physical
public spaces of cities more liveable.
• Activities: workshops, training courses for
municipal employees, pilot project in one of
the cities.
• Results: pilot project to transform the public
environment implemented in one of the cities
(Jūrmala).
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Work Package 4: Policy-making
and citizen participation
• Focusing on methods of involving citizens in
city planning and decision making, including
analysis of best practices.
• Activities: workshops, training courses for
municipal employees, interviews with citizens
and townhall meetings, development of
innovative interactive citizen participation
tools.
• Results: report, case study, analysis of best
practice, toolbook for municipal employees.
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PROJECT OUTCOMES:
• an established network or policy makers
and planners focused on liveability issues;
• a set of policy recommendations for
participating cities/regions on improving
planning for their liveability;
• case studies of successful implementation
of policies and practices aimed at
improving the quality of living in cities and
regions.
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AGENDA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Project application
Liveability indexes
Overview of related projects
Local stakeholders
Possible project focus
Next steps
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NORDIC CAPITALS REMAIN HIGH IN
GLOBAL LIVEABILITY RANKINGS
The Economist Intelligence Unit's Liveability
Ranking 2013: #8 Helsinki
Mercer Quality of Living Survey 2014:
#9 Copenhagen
Monocle magazine's Most Liveable Cities Index
2013: #1 Copenhagen, #3 Helsinki, #7
Stockholm
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WHAT ARE THOSE INDEXES
COMPOSED OF?
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The Economist Intelligence Unit's
Liveability Ranking and Overview
This index values widespread availability of goods
and services, low personal risk, and an effective
infrastructure.
It does not take into account the cost of living as a
factor in ‘liveability’.
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The EIU Liveability Ranking (1)
Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit
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The EIU Liveability Ranking (2)
Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit
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The EIU Liveability Ranking (3)
Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit
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Mercer Quality of Living Survey
Important criteria in this index are:
safety,
education,
hygiene,
health care,
culture,
environment,
recreation,
political-economic stability, and
public transportation.
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Monocle's Most Liveable Cities Index
Important criteria in this survey are:
safety/crime,
international connectivity,
climate/sunshine,
quality of architecture,
public transportation,
tolerance,
environmental issues and access to nature,
urban design,
business conditions,
pro-active policy developments, and
medical care.
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AGENDA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Project application
Liveability indexes
Overview of related projects
Local stakeholders
Possible project focus
Next steps
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NEW BRIDGES:
Strengthening of quality of life through improved
management of urban rural interaction
The project aims to improve the management of the urban-rural interactions and to
strengthen the quality of life within these interactions.
The starting point of the project is that there are certain main elements within urban rural
interactions that influence the quality of life, and thus also the attractiveness of particular
region as a place to live and work in. These three elements are:
Residential preferences
Mobility and accessibility
Provision of services
Our aim in the project is, together with the residents and different stakeholders in the
participating city-regions, to tackle the current challenges within these elements. The
concept of quality of life and the three central elements help to bridge the gap between
the individual level and the political goals to make city-region more attractive. The project
will include specifically the voices of concerned individuals into the discussion among
planners and other stakeholder groups and integrate their views to the development of an
attractive region.
http://www.urbanrural.net/
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USER: Changes and conflicts in
using public spaces
A core USER idea is that the design of urban public spaces and the main goals
of urban planning are challenged by rapid changes in how cities are used. New
trends in how public spaces are used, what the new users’ needs are,
increasing malfunctions and conflicts among uses, etc., are challenging the
way the city is usually “produced”, designed and managed. This approach
entails a process of users involvement as a crucial dimension of public
spaces planning and management. Indeed “users experience” is one of the
main inputs to understand how the spaces are used and what kind of conflicts
are taking place. The USER project will work on the three main aspects that,
according to us, constitute a "good public space":
Friendlier and more interactive social-public spaces by solving malfunctions
and conflicting uses,
Safer public spaces in a friendlier city
Cleaner, better-maintained and upgraded public spaces for a more efficient city.
http://urbact.eu/en/projects/urban-renewal/user/homepage/
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HerO: Heritage as Opportunity.
Sustainable Management Strategies for Vital Historic
Urban Landscapes
The rapidly changing basic conditions of modern times pose a big
challenge on the management of historic towns in Europe. The
imbalance of progress and the preservation of the historic urban fabric
often results in either economic stagnancy or the loss of cultural
heritage values and with it the loss of identity.
In this context, our network HerO aimed to develop integrated and
innovative management strategies for historic urban landscapes. Our
main objective was facilitating the right balance between the
preservation of built cultural heritage and the sustainable, future-proof
socio-economic development of historic towns in order to strengthen
their attractiveness and competitiveness. Emphasis was placed on
managing conflicting usage interests and capitalising the potential of
cultural heritage assets for economic, social and cultural activities
(Heritage as Opportunity).
http://urbact.eu/en/projects/urban-renewal/hero/homepage/
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WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL:
SEOUL 2010
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon declared, “Design is a growth driver of the Seoul
economy. We have surprised the world with the Miracle of the Han River and
advancements in the IT sector. Now we would like to bring global attention to
Seoul with strong design.”
Mayor Oh expressed high hopes for the city’s future and added, “With Seoul’s
designation as World Design Capital 2010, the city will be able to breath
creative energy into the design industry and reinvent itself into a globally
recognised city of design and collaborate with other cities in the world to
communicate with design. Seoul will send out the message that design is the
power to change the world for the better.”
In addition to improving quality of life, design in Seoul provides important
opportunities for aligning the city’s quantitative growth with its qualitative growth
and reflects on the core elements that represent the city’s intangible assets
such as its identity, as well as its history. With the designation of World Design
Capital 2010, Seoul is making efforts to transform itself to become a city
in which its citizens are at the heart of every consideration. Such is the
vision of Seoul – to create an attractive and desirable city: “Design for All”.
http://www.worlddesigncapital.com/world-design-capitals/past-capital-seoul/
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WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL:
HELSINKI 2012
Open Helsinki – Embedding Design in Life
In Helsinki, design is the enabler of building an open city, the booster of its
social, economic and cultural development. This concept of Embedded Design
ties design to innovation from its very beginning. Design oversees the
realisation of the inhabitants’ needs and, in the final stages, ensures that
the solution is desirable. This is how inventions, technologies and systems
are developed into innovations suitable for everyday use.
Helsinki Design is also part of world design – it is created together with the
international design community and the people of the world. Helsinki Design
includes well-known global brands, such as Nokia, Kone and Marimekko,
popular events, like the annual Helsinki Design Week, first class education and
research institutions, such as University of Art and Design Helsinki, and strong
traditions, for example architects and designers Eliel Saarinen and Alvar Aalto.
http://www.worlddesigncapital.com/world-design-capitals/past-capital-helsinki/
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...AND IT’S OFFSPRING:
DESIGN-DRIVEN CITY HELSINKI
"World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 inspired cities to review the possibilities
offered by design, and the new project will help cities to apply the methods of
formal design processes," says International Design Foundation board member
Marco Steinberg. He explains that design can help cities to find new and often
radical ways to operate and to visualise their future.
International Design Foundation will hire three 'city designers', that is,
professional designers who will put their design know-how to concrete uses
working side by side with city staff in city development processes. The city
designers will be tasked to identify areas where design can be applied and to
define the ways to apply design in these areas.
Among their many functions, the city designers can deepen city-staff
understanding of citizen needs, and they can propose ways to encourage
citizens to take more active roles in city decision making and development. As
well as coaching city staff in the possibilities and practices of design, the
Design Driven City project will educate the larger public sector and participate
in public discussion about design.
www.designdrivencity.fi
www.toimivakaupunki.fi/en/
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AGENDA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Project application
Liveability indexes
Overview of related projects
Local stakeholders
Possible project focus
Next steps
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LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS: LATVIA
National government:
Ministry of Regional Development and Environmental Protection
State Regional Development Agency
Municipalities:
Riga City Council, City Development Department
Riga City Architect’s Bureau
Jūrmala City Council
Zemgale Planning Region (partner in New Bridges project)
Universities:
University of Latvia, Faculty of Geography and Land Science
Art Academy of Latvia, Design Department
Riseba University, Faculty of Architecture and Design
NGOs:
Urban Institute
Forum of Latvian Design / Latvian Architecture Information Centre
Professionals:
Latvian Association of Spatial Planners
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AGENDA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Project application
Liveability indexes
Overview of related projects
Local stakeholders
Possible project focus
Next steps
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POSSIBLE PROJECT FOCUS
Themes
• Citizen participation and dialogue with authorities
• Data-driven management of cities / including user-generated data
• Redesign of city functions involving citizens
Focus
• Translating liveability indicators into regional planning (one indicator,
Impact possibility)
• Urban planning through citizen participation (design)
• Pilot/implementing concrete solutions developed by the citizens (related to
smart city application)
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CROSS-BORDER ADDED VALUE
Open for discussion: what would be the
project’s added value to partners in different
cities/regions of the Baltic Sea?
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AGENDA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Project application
Liveability indexes
Overview of related projects
Local stakeholders
Possible project focus
Next steps
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SUMMARY OF PROJECT PLAN
Jan-June 2014
July-October 2014
Nov 2014-Feb 2015
Start-up
Consolidating
Submission
• Partner meeting in
Riga kick-off
• Local stakeholder
workshops in
Latvia, Estonia
and Finland
• URC: innovation
seminiar in
Brussels,
cooperation with
EC, 18.6.2014?
• Proposal writing
• Partner meeting in
Estonia
• Partner search
event in Poland or
Germany?
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• Proposal writing
• Submission of
proposal
• Particpation in
possible funding
programme
information event
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QUESTIONS TO
STAKEHOLDERS
1. What do you think of the LiveBaltic project
idea/problem: is it relevant, timely, achievable?
2. What are your needs that this project could satisfy?
3. What should be this project’s focus?
4. What could we do if we had 1.5m euro today?
5. What – if any – role would you like in the future
project?
6. What can we do today to advance our goals?
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