This annex to the URDICO Final Report examines Ghent, a mid-sized city in the Flemish region of Belgium, and its engagement with EU Cohesion Policy and related programmes. With approximately 270,000 residents and a strong neighbourhood-oriented approach to urban development, Ghent integrates social and spatial objectives through long-term, area-based strategies such as the wijkstructuurschetsen (neighbourhood structure sketches).

The report highlights the city’s active role in both shared management programmes (ERDF Flanders, ESF Flanders, and several INTERREG initiatives) and directly managed EU funding streams, with an emphasis on capacity-building, participatory planning, and strategic investment. Ghent participates in the Joint Urban Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) for Antwerp and Ghent under the 2021–2027 Flemish ERDF programme, formalizing its engagement in the urban dimension of Cohesion Policy, though final decision-making remains with the regional Managing Authority, VLAIO.

The study also explores the city’s institutional setup, including municipal departments, para-municipal agencies and civil society partners, which together facilitate the implementation of integrated projects. While EU funds complement Ghent’s urban agenda, the city faces challenges related to top-down funding logic, fragmented financial streams, co-financing burdens, and administrative complexity, which can limit the delivery of cross-sectoral, socially oriented interventions.

Ghent demonstrates how a mid-sized European city can strategically leverage Cohesion Policy to reinforce neighbourhood-level governance, promote social inclusion, and foster sustainable urban development.