June 2016 - Over the last years, the movement in favour of an integrated European urban policy has gained momentum. Improving urban quality of life, addressing social challenges in cities, facilitating mobility and communications and ensuring that all cities fully contribute to national economic growth and job creation are important and interlinked objectives.

This discussion reaches an important milestone in June 2016, when EU member states and the European Commission will agree on an Urban Pact for Europe.

This Policy Brief aims at:

(1) showing examples of European-wide territorial evidence related to the first 4 partnerships of the Urban Pact that reveals the diversity facing cities within the same urban theme;

(2) presenting some observations and policy considerations that are relevant from a wider territorial perspective;

(3) informing the partnerships and all interested stakeholders of the approved plans to provide new evidence on the priority themes listed in the Urban Pact within the ESPON 2020 Cooperation Programme.

The ESPON Policy Brief "Urban Partnership Themes in a Wider Territorial Context" is available below.

Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact the ESPON EGTC at [email protected]