TerritoriALL - Small cities - big expectations

Small and medium-sized cities are felt less dynamic and vibrant than their big European sisters, but they are still important for millions of their residents, as they can combine urban facilities with direct access to rural areas, more affordable living conditions especially in relation to housing, and better quality of life for families and older people.
But despite their obvious advantages, small and medium-sized cities face great challenges: depopulation, unemployment, lack of high-quality infrastructure, often a poor connectivity, and dependency on the big urban centers for a number of public services.
Read more in our articles from:
Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Third Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
Juana López Pagan, General Director of Demographic Challenge, Joaquín Farinós Dasí, from the University of Valencia, and Erika Jaraiz Gulias, from the University of Santiago de Compostela
Josep Maria Llop Torne, of the Universitat de Lleida
Ioannis Vardakastanis, President, and Florian Marin, member of the ECO Section of the EESC
David Burgalassi, Economist and Policy Analyst, OECD
Marcos Ros Sempere, Member of European Parliament
Kieran McCarthy, Lord Mayor of Cork City and Member of the EU CoR
Guillaume Corradino, Director of Euromontana
Carlos Martínez Mínguez, Mayor of Soria
Michiel Rijsberman, Regional Minister of the Province of Flevoland, member of the CoR
David Kelly, Director at Southern Regional Assembly of Ireland
Paraskevi (Voula) Patoulidou, Deputy Regional Governor of Central Macedonia
Stephanos Georgiades from the Cypriot Ministry of the Interior.

TerritoriALL Small cities - big expectations Articles

Editorial
Editorial 10
Europe and Spain must ensure cohesion, social and territorial justice
Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Third Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge
Small intermediate cities as bases for territorial cohesion policies – the focus from Spain
Josep Maria Llop Torne, Director of the Universitat de Lleida United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Chair in Intermediate Cities: Urbanisation and Development
The demographic challenge: a commitment for the future of EU Cohesion Policy
Marcos Ros Sempere, Spanish Member of European Parliament, S&D Group
Small urban areas as key actors to manage a just transition
Dr Kieran McCarthy, Lord Mayor of Cork City and Member of the European Committee of the Regions
The future of the EU’s small and medium-sized cities should be socially resilient, inclusive and sustainable
Ioannis Vardakastanis, EESC member and president of the Section for Economic and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion, Florian Marin, EESC member
A new socio-territorial contract for Spain within the framework of the 2030 territorial agenda
Juana López Pagan, General Director of Demographic Challenge (government of Spain), Joaquín Farinós Dasí, geography professor, University of Valencia, Erika Jaraiz Gulias, political science professor
Europe needs a new social and a new territorial contract
Carlos Martínez Mínguez, Mayor of Soria/ Special Envoy of the Presidency of United Cities and Local Governments on the New Urban Agenda
We must overcome rural-urban dichotomies and focus on interlinkages
Guillaume Corradino- Director of the European Association of Mountain Areas- EUROMONTANA
Small and medium-sized cities are the backbone of polycentric and high-quality urbanisation
David Burgalassi, Economist and Policy Analyst, OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities
Metropolitan areas delivering on Project Ireland 2040
David Kelly, Director Southern Regional Assembly Ireland
Metropolitan Thessaloniki: a pioneering Sustainable Urban Development programme
Paraskevi (Voula) Patoulidou, Deputy Regional Governor of the metropolitan area of Thessaloniki in the region of Central Macedonia
Local government reform in Cyprus
Stephanos Georgiades, Department of Town Planning and Housing, Ministry of the Interior, Republic of Cyprus