Begin the transition from PITO (Product In, Trash Out) to DIDO (Data in, Data Out).

Distribute innovation across scales, from a maker’s space to a policymaker’s agenda. When Barcelona pledged to become a self-sufficient city by 2054, it initiated a global movement that expanded to 2000 fablabs across 50 cities of the world.

Fab City is building the capacity for local production. Outcomes stay local, the knowledge spreads globally. It is an open-source movement. Since city systems and urban metabolism have been shaped over a long period of time, going through industrialism and consumerism, it becomes difficult to reshape how they operate.

Yet, across energy, mobility, food and waste, cities such as Barcelona have proved that it is possible. And Fab City has the framework to help make this transition happen:

Fab City full stack

1. Infrastructure - Fab Labs and maker spaces for local production

2. Education - Capacity building programs and knowledge transfer

3. Incubation - Converting ideas into real value-generating projects

4. Community engagement - Understanding local needs and contexts

5. Place-based interventions - Prototyping solutions with community involvement

6. Bioregional strategies - Scaling successful interventions across regions

7. Global knowledge sharing - Open source distribution of solutions

This framework helps urban practitioners to understand what factors to analyze at each level and how to scale circularity from a workshop to a regional scale, while considering the differences.

Fablabs are the ground floor of the whole circularity ecosystem, aiming to reduce the need to buy new through repair and redesign. A small-scale digital fabrication ⁺ community working space. Let’s go over some examples;

In Fab City Plymouth (UK) is a research-intensive program with investment mainly going to bio materials.

In the Latin American context, fablabs support grassroots initiatives. Since these cities do not possess the monetary means to develop technology on a large scale, the way to cope with resource mobilization challenge is to become innovative.

In the sub-Saharan region, the focus is shifting directly to self-sufficiency, without going through the destructive consumption behaviors.

In Central Europe, the conversation is different, bringing 3d printers, laser cutters and robotic arms. A Regional network in Germany called Bergisches, has created a loop between cities, where waste from the textile and food sector of one city ends up in the construction industry of another.

There are various challenges and multidisciplinary initiatives in Southeast Asia as well.

How the solutions move within the network

Technology transfer has shifted from being Global North → Global South to locally adapted solutions → fed back to the Globe. The foundation has recognized these initiatives and curated databases and collaboration opportunities for everyone to participate:

Fab City awards

Fab City challenge

Learning hub

Fab academy

Fab City challenge participants become equipped with frameworks and the thinking behind building circular systems. Another way they contribute is by developing entrepreneurial skills at community level. Many participants built their products, found their business partner or started their own ventures.

The emergence of a new profession

Josefina mentions that Fab City Foundation is actively looking to build pathways for a new professional role to emerge. Someone who translates between a workshop and a government, between a fablab and a city climate action plan.

Build solutions for your city

= Start at fablabs, not just to build a solution, but to nurture meaningful relationship
= Identify a problem specific to your city
= Become a part of the network and understand local community needs
= Use entry points to realize your ideas, test and iterate it simultaneously
= Build in systems, not just products, connect platforms and structures

So tell me, if there is a way that you could make your city more sustainable, what would you build? What Idea would you bring to the table? Just a spark is enough. And Fab City has the seed funding for it :)

Josefina Nano is the programme manager at Fab City, responsible for designing and executing challenges, distributing grants, selecting jurors, and aligning organizations with Fab City vision.

Lets push our cities to become Fab Cities. Thanks for your time.

“An Urban Living Lab is meant for improving life, done together with people who live and interact with the environment.”

An opportunity to see Living Labs in practice

Open Living Lab Days is organizing its annual event with an interesting twist this year. Site visits to two Belgian Living labs, one in Brussels and another in Antwerp. It is an event where organizations gather to share their progress and learn from each other. Check it out:

Open Living Labs 2026

29 September - 2 October

This is a list of ~ 40 Urban Living Labs, categorized by location and theme, that I curated to get you familiarized with the most credited ones. So you go to the event prepared. Check it out:

Urban Living Labs database

• Part 1 = Practical (Case studies, key considerations)

• Part 2= Policy (Organization, frameworks, methodologies)

• Part 3= Strategic (Comparison, patterns, dynamics in regional scale)

“Living Lab approach is good when it’s done well”

Within 20 years of operation, ENoLL (European Network of Living Labs) recognized over 400 living labs from around the world. Its living labs contributed to tangible and long-term impacts in the cities that host them. Notable best practices across European cities can be benchmarked:

Eindhoven: The city center was completely transformed over a 5-year plan through regreening industrial heritage sites. The plan also included the installation of interactive lighting and real-time emission monitoring sensors. The project.

Eindhoven case study

Genoa: A former military base in Genoa was turned into an open and green space with the help of UNaLab (Urban Nature Labs) Horizon-funded project.

UNaLab

Tampere: In another Horizon-funded initiative (Living Labs for soil remediation and green redevelopment of brownfields), Tampere was able to regenerate a brownfield site and increase its greenery. The city developed civic resilience and youth participation by joining SOILL and INNATURE living lab networks.

INNATURE netwrok

SOILL network

“They are not gonna be there all the time”

Living Labs are organized cyclically, with a specific project or initiative attached to them. They present partnership opportunities, in-person activities, workshops and events. Citizens are at the heart of these activities, receiving updates, providing feedback and participating in engagement activities.

For academic institutions, living labs bring openness to innovation processes by enabling data collection or research alignment. They help different stakeholders work together to design solutions that are more usable and relevant. Businesses use this space to test, develop, and refine products or solutions with real users. In this sense, living labs act as connectors within innovation ecosystems by linking companies, municipalities, citizens, and NGOs. (Quadruple Helix Model)

Labs are not always coordinated by academia. We can refer to community-based labs or urban living labs hosted by municipalities. Much of this work is directly linked to EU-funded projects, as the enabler for launching and maintaining these initiatives over time.

“You don’t need to say it’s a Living Lab”

The intention behind the creation of living labs is to involve those who have never been engaged. This level of civic engagement requires paying attention to diverse communities, their acceptance level, time and geographic limitations. Using plain language is the key to accommodating the experience for participants. Instead of holding on to the term, communicate the benefits of contribution clearly. ENoll uses different terms to explain what is actually happening and why people should join.

When working in urban environments:

(A) Showcase data (B) Ask their viewpoint (C) follow up.
Maintain the relationship, otherwise, it may be perceived negatively.

ENoLL (European Network of Living Labs) operates in three main ways:

• A network connecting living labs and facilitating partnerships.

• A consultant that provides tailored training and capacity-building.

• A certifying body that evaluates labels living labs through a structured application process.

Established living labs can become members and be certified by ENoLL. The process involves:

1. Virtual training is a great starting point for organizations that want to get started and apply for membership.

2. Going through stakeholder mapping, value capturing and governance trainings.

3. Design business models and developing components of the living lab.

ENoLL homepage

“Local organizations know their stakeholders and context better”

ENoLL does not apply one rigid formula in every case. Instead, it adapts the format to the applicant’s level, needs, and context. in this way, the network keeps the principles, but localizes the practice. The organization trains local actors through virtual learning, case exercises and on-site training built around a real case.

Common methodologies used:

• Co-creation and co-design

• Stakeholder mapping and engagement

• Train-the-trainer capacity building

• Before-and-after assessment

• Policy development through citizen input

• Hybrid engagement methods

Urbanome project

The theme of the network shifts over time. Members change or expand their focus and go across multiple topics. This creates an interesting regional dynamic. Initiatives’ main concerns go hand in hand with the priority areas of the European Commission.

Health and well-being as a long-standing theme
Soil, regenerative design and urban agriculture as emerging topics

Alongside the topics, the model itself is constantly evolving and improved. Different scenarios that we explored in the interview:

Small and medium sizes VS Metlopiltan areas:

In smaller cities, it would be easier to expand activities, because you are able to reach out to more people. In bigger cities, projects focus on specific areas. The aim should be to bring different neighborhoods together and present a holistic picture. Experience of Soria (Spain) and Ljubljana (Slovenia) show that smaller cities are as capable as metropolitan areas of establishing this practice.

Differences between countries:

Cities across the globe are willing to get involved, but this requires a shift in mentality. Organizations have different cultural norms. Certain actors get on board immediately, while other cities express a lack of faith, doubt their own readiness or assume that more established regions are inherently more advanced, even when the methods themselves are not necessarily high-tech.

“Oh, we are not so advanced!”

The solution is being open, starting with the basics and learning from others. That is why the network exists.

ENoLL members catalogue

Thanks to Spela for this one-hour discussion, turned into a less than 5-minute publication. I won’t leave this interesting topic. Hoping to get a chance to dive deep into an Urban Living Lab of a specific city. There are a lot more resources to learn from:

+ Call to research and engagement
+ Exhibitions, workshops and poster challenges
+ Case studies and annual reports
All at the ENoLL knowledge hub

Knowledge hub

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We cannot transform cities by a series of isolated projects, when they are already suffering from internal fragmentation. In today’s urbanism, finding ways to co-govern cities is as important as implementing actions.

1. Urban programmes like URBACT address governance tensions.

2. They promote collaboration between cities.

3. Help us identify friction points and resolve systemic challenges of urban transformation.

"Multi-level / Integrated Governance” is gathering local authorities and decision-making departments around a shared vision, enabling an efficient problem-solving process.

The reason behind transnational learning and thematic networks

• Applying time-saving and resource-efficient methodologies.

• Designing toolboxes that can be tested, measured and localized across. cities.

Given that cities cannot just pick and localize a solution, we need systems that are sensitive to:

• Public and political resistance

• Institutional relationships and agency

• Cultural differences and lifestyle preferences

URBACT leads this system, functioning less as a funding program and more as a translator between knowledge of one city and actions of another. These invisible networks of experts, practitioners and municipal leaders influence urban governance on the scale of Europe and enable us to find out, no sorry! inspire what urbanism will become.

Decoding URBACT

One way to fix things is to break them. URBACT fixes governance frameworks by breaking down departmental silos:

1. Targeting multiple challenges simultaneously (Integrated Action Plans (IAPs))

2. Dedicating 50% of funds to implementation (Action Networks)

3. Creating a chain reaction (Knowledge Transfer Mechanisms)

This pushes cities to innovate, but keeps them accountable.

City networks have created a mechanism to de-risk local decision-making and turn limitations into potential. However, “their primary challenge remains to be finding resources to implement action.”

In an interview with Simone d’Antonio, URBACT lead expert, I asked him to clarify the role and responsibilities of the organization, both in the context of Italy and on the European scale.

- What is URBACT’s role in Urban Innovation?

URBACT’s primary role is to provide a process for cities to create their own unique solutions, rather than suggesting a menu of solutions. It forces different municipal departments to work together (horizontal integration) and links local action to regional and national regulations (vertical integration). URBACT gives local stakeholders the intelligence to design strategies together.

- What does a lead expert do in URBACT?

Lead expert is the curator of the knowledge process. Simon responds, “I lead the transnational exchange, write baseline studies and journals, and design the methodology for meetings.” A lead expert’s goal is to facilitate the thematic city network and oversee key learnings.

URBACT Joint Secretariat is the administrative backbone of the organization. They handle the technical and financial coordination of the overall program.

- How about URBACT’s city networks?

Imagine Manchester, Genoa and Napoli sitting around a table, talking about sleeping giants! That’s an URBACT City Network. A group of roughly 8 to 12 European cities that collaborate on a specific theme (like “Cities After Dark”).

Simone describes “URBACT Festival is a celebration of results.” It is a city-making festival that showcases good governance and achievements, in the scale of Europe. Then he briefly touches upon the URBACT Summer University as a training hub for innovation among authorities.

- Who designs the calls and reviews the applications?

Monitoring committee, composed of representatives from EU members and partner states. A selection panel evaluates proposals based on established criteria. Simone underscores that the success of this system relies on city officials who can effectively implement the "URBACT Method" of transnational knowledge exchange.

“URBACT methodology is centered on participation, adopting a Community-led local development approach.”

- How does URBACT influence national policies?

URBACT has national contact points within each participating country. Their main duty is to communicate activities and results to a local audience. In short, URBACT brings local decision-makers together, providing capacity-building and partnership opportunities for new network proposals.

Simone clarifies that URBACT avoids expertism. He mentions that National Practice Transfer Initiative (NPTI) is an experimental network designed to reinforce multi-level governance in a member country such as Italy, cascading successful European “good practices” into the specific context, and vice versa.

Thematic Networks

Citizens’ daily life improves through URBACT Thematic networks, even if they have never heard of it. Here are some practical examples of how cities benefit from URBACT.

1. Cities After Dark (Night-Time Economy)

Activating a window of time that was traditionally overlooked. Simone is an expert in this theme, treating the night as a driver for creativity, shifting its meaning from “nightlife” (alcohol/clubs) to governing “life at night” (safety, collaboration, inclusive entertainment, transportation).

Concrete Examples:

• Tallinn (Estonia): Established a night bus service and appointed a “Night Advisor”.

• Genoa (Italy): Held DJ sets and guided tours in historical palaces to spread music and entertainment beyond traditional hotspots.

• Budva (Montenegro): Developed the “Budva After Dark” app to provide real-time information on 24-hour services and cultural activities.

2. 2nd Chance (Reactivating “Sleeping Giants”)

Regenerating large, vacant buildings that have lost their original purpose but hold cultural heritage value. Simon facilitated this network in Napoli.

Concrete Examples:

• Leipzig (Germany): Transformed an abandoned building into a community-based theatre.

• Liverpool (UK): Implemented the “Building at Risk” initiative to find alternative uses for derelict properties.

3. C-Change (Culture & Climate Action)

This network uses culture as a medium to mobilize citizens and increase “climate awareness”. Manchester as a hub for arts, shared its approach with other Eurpean cities.

Concrete Examples:

• Manchester: Developed “Carbon Literacy” training specifically for the arts sector and hosted “Climate Control” exhibition at the Manchester Museum.

• Mantua (Italy): Scaled Manchester’s model nationally through Italian NPTI.

4. The Playful Paradigm (Urban Gamification)

Uses “play” and gamification to address inclusion, health, and car-dependency.

Concrete Examples:

• Cork (Ireland): Introduced a “Play Coordinator” role in the municipality.

• Rush (Ireland): Created “Play Streets” to allow for community play and storytelling trails.

5. Tourist Friendly Cities (Sustainable Tourism)

This network focuses on balancing the economic benefits of tourism with the quality of life for residents. During COVID, the network reshapes cities’ tourism strategies from attracting tourists to managing flows sustainably.

Concrete Example

• Genoa (Italy): Experimented with city branding and the use of social media as tools for highlighting raw and regular local activities.

6. Port Cities

This one is led by Naples, integrating ports in urban development as an essential part of urban life, not just commerce and logistics infrastructure. As a result, port cities established waterfront regeneration and governance in their strategies.

Results(Why You Should Care)!

A) To bring “culture of collaboration” into institutional innovation, across your organization or your city.

“The success of a city network is dependent on the persons in the room … the spirit of collaboration.”

This means that the same methodology produces different results based on the ability to communicate priorities and demonstrate tangible impacts a strategic change might bring.

B) To act as a knowledge translation layer, and set the agenda for future of urbanism.

“Topics emerging from networks influence the debate in the next years”

As a final tip, Simon invites urban practitioners and innovation experts to inspire from URBACT and the work of similar cross-city networks to contribute to the urban sustainability discourse.

My Content Ideas

After reviewing URBACT publications, I thought of some micro contents which could be interesting for the audience of Urban Insights. But I leave it up to you and your curiosity:

• How cities own their solutions by appointing an advisor for every challenge (Read more)

• An investigation into how knowledge moves from one city to another
  (Read more)

• If you want to improve the night economy, here are 5 governance models used across Europe (Read more)

• Local social media X city-branding strategies (Read more)

• Similar urban methodologies that led to totally different solutions
  (Read more)

• Hyper-local activities that were replicated in Manchester and Genoa
  (Read more)

• Why does one city succeed in the heritage regeneration, while another leads sustainable tourism? (Read more)

Not every city can tell its story.

What I keep asking myself is what if I am starting my design process from the wrong step. What if the angle I pick is fed by frameworks and regulations that take away the soul and identity of a neighbourhood. You and I know this pattern has become a habit. A large budget, a long list of benefits, ambitious targets, administration costs and the research deliverables. Haven’t we missed something important along the process? How can we shift this narrative? How can we embed the story of the city and its people in our design principles?

Lets face it. We see the problems. But residents know it better. It’s not hard to tell what is wrong with the city. The sidewalks are too narrow for a wheelchair. The park is too dark for a woman walking alone at night. The children cannot walk safely and freely to their school. Designers, experts, authorities and the public have the same frustrations. What sets them apart is the missing link, the narrative.

The Just Streets Project is an organization that is fed up with these frustrations and brings about tangible change in cities through public participation. The project is an EU-funded cross-city consortium across 16 countries, 12 cities, and 32 partners, experts and practitioners, aiming to put citizens first. Elisabeth Meze brings an insider perspective on its street transformation projects. I had a conversation with her to learn how to tell city stories through participatory narrative.

Walk the walk, before you talk the talk🚶🏻‍♀️​🚶🏻‍♂️​

The design process should start outside, always. Narrative storytelling of lived experience is the heart of creating “Just Cities”. Walking a street with the people who use it daily surfaces what no survey captures. After that, you can conduct participatory workshops, do the research, analyze the site, draw the lines, prepare the presentation or speak in an event. You cannot design around a problem you have only read about.

In Kozani, Greece, pupils walked school routes as part of a structured co-creation process with project coordinators. They pointed out their difficulties and fears of coming to school. This is the city walks Jane Jacobs pioneered, almost 70 years ago. It forces the designer out of the role of expert and into the role of observer.

💯​Build trust, they build the capacity

Design for silent voices, not loud opponents. Designing for a just street means asking the ones who are systematically absent. Asking why they stopped their presence or avoid using city infrastructures.

In the same Kozani experience; disabled groups, elderly residents, school children and police were all involved in shaping the school buffer zone . Elisabeth says, “The silent voices are not silent because they have nothing to say. They are silent because no one has designed a way for them to be heard.”

Elisabeth stresses that building trust with local teams and citizens is a long-term process of consistent Interactions. We should identify trust as a condition for learning, and bring deliberation, openness, and credibility to our practice. This includes training officials to value non-expert knowledge, improve project management and communicative skills within our workflow. Training programs and peer-learning networks implemented by the Just Streets Project act as a backup strategy for institutional change, as an “enablement” function that increases the confidence of marginalized groups to participate in planning.

🕵️‍♀️Measure the collectable, target the achievable

Simplify the evaluation. Elisabeth critiques the “unrealistic targets” and complex KPIs often demanded by EU projects, suggesting instead that cities should use “very easy ways” to measure success, such as a simple hands up method in schools to track travel modes. Designers and interactive planners should apply participatory metrics that capture material and experiential impacts of justice rather than technical indicators such as carbon reduction.

The designer’s job is to set success milestones that match the scale of the intervention, not the scale of the ambition. Something that can be asked 6 months later. The difference is that the narrative now demonstrates the evidence from the citizens’ point of view. The same indicators cities are asked to fulfill, without an external consultant.

Tell the story, even if unexpected🥵

In Romanian city of Cugir, a Just Street Project moved beyond a pilot and turned into a long-term story. Something that people wait for to happen once a month. Free transport, free city bikes, cultural groups and sport clubs programming the street. When unexpected situations happened, the team were flexible to work with what they had. On a rainy occasion, the church choir participated in singing on the buses, and it created authentic moments better than what the team was expecting to achieve.

Just Street is not just another announcement for politicians. “They are communications that make citizens feel a project is theirs.” Elisabeth identifies this as one of the most consistent skill gaps across the cities she works with. Not a lack of budget or technology, but a lack of storytelling instinct inside their participatory initiatives.

Narrative capacity building is a design skill. A skill that placemaking and tactical urbanism projects rely on. They are the impacts that funding projects are meant to deliver.

🔥Bring the passion who Burns for It

Own the project beyond your job description. Before committing to a neighbourhood transformation, find the ambassador to understand the root causes of local challenges and build the project around their energy. This works better than any other agent. Helping you build the team, collaborate with civic society, and keep the momentum alive.

Elisabeth visits cities on her own time and budget. She has a WhatsApp relationship with local activists. This is what I take away to my next project. It is never a job. It is a “passion”.

The literature identifies this person as the champion, framing them as critical intermediaries who bridge the gap between formal planning and local communities and establish rapport with residents who might be skeptical.

Storytelling is an honest way to go forward with a funded project. It gives the interventions a core spine to revolve around. If embedded correctly in our workflow, capacity-building activities can promote the advantages of our other skills and tools.

This theme also connects with Breogan’s interview, in which he shared his passion for creating long-term impacts, even if the initial move stays incomplete. Elisabeth’s stories are the prequel to deciding the seeds that urban innovative interventions plant. Urban street and public space transformation projects can be designed for the people whom you have never met, but not without the people who have never been heard.

Cities like London and The Hague have shown that regular streets can be shifted to school streets and play areas without infrastructure investment. Barcelona superblocks created shared social spaces through tactical urbanism, but it is still considered a radical case study. In Ghent, residents took the initiative themselves and wrote their own city story, transforming streets into car-free parklets and playgrounds for an entire summer.

I hope I could convince you to follow along the next conversations and learn key lessons from cross-city case studies. I also hope that by writing these stories, I could contribute to narrating the story of cities, and building my own life story through cities, as I have done till now.

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But remember, a city story is never ready. It is up to you to assemble it!

“Innovation is bridging the gaps, connecting the dots.”

European cities are transforming through small-scale human-centric interventions. Academic institutions, communities of practice and startups are leading this shift through conducting living labs, pilot projects, urban hackathons and participatory design workshops. Urban transformation is becoming an opportunity to test and iterate innovative urban solutions.

Rethinking cities

Urban change happens by making cities greener, step by step, plot by plot. Sometimes, just a parcel locker changes the behavior pattern of residents. A bike lane helps colleagues arrive ten minutes earlier. A pop-up street closure lets a kid hear a bird for the first time without a car drowning it out.

Bottom-up urban transformation initiatives are led by local communities and urban innovation facilitators. BABLE is one of these facilitators, helping cities close their specific gaps. And Breogan's role here is to validate both the perception and lived experience of users of these urban interventions.

Exclusive: Meet Breo

Breogan Sanchez works at the intersection of mobility expertise and European funding. Together with BABLE Smart Cities _an interdisciplinary organization working on human-centric innovative solutions for cities_ aim to reframe urban transformation, empowering citizens and urban practitioners to reimagine cities.

Innovative urban solutions become successful when accelerated and replicated in different city contexts. This is one of the roles companies such as BABLE Smart Cities play, acting as a matchmaker between startups, communities and local authorities, giving niche innovations a platform to establish presence in Europe and validate their proof of concept.

European cities are sources of innovation, growth and competition. Their urban transformation projects can be a showcase for companies looking to expand into the European market as a roadmap to reaching their market readiness level. Consequently, founders should operate their business in a way that correlates with the city’s challenges and future trends, positioning their innovation in a sandbox within the city.

Urban Innovation

Innovation does not start from scratch. It is creating new solutions based on inspiration from previous cases. For cities, innovation means adapting solutions to their unique local context. Therefore, “the role of urban innovation advisors in cities becomes addressing the gap in the implementation of solutions and monitoring their success”.

This process includes organizations and research institutions sending proposals for European grants and calls for funding to secure financial support, in exchange for delivering a positive impact to communities and cities.

Breogan explains, “Small and medium cities often lack the technical and financial capacity to develop new solutions. The European ecosystem of grants, pilot projects, and knowledge networks acts as an accelerator for both startups and the sustainable transition journey of these cities”, aligning them with the carbon neutrality ambitions of Europe. In this process, some cities become pioneers, leading the transition roadmaps, while others become replicators, learning from pioneer cities and increasing their innovation capacity.

He elaborates that “the cultural aspect is important in replicating and localizing solutions. What works in a dense, old European urban core doesn’t transfer automatically to a more sprawled city”. The scale and implementation of projects are mostly determined by the city’s willingness to go forward with a project, but also the public acceptance of adopting change. No matter how small or low-cost it may seem.

Urban Experimentation

“To find out if an innovation works in a specific city, we experiment with and build real-life prototypes in urban areas and assess how the population would react to it.” In a street transformation project in a Turkish city, for example, BABLE proposes a pop-up just street, a “tactical urbanism” to invite residents’ participation in the creation of change in their living environment. “By making them part of the process,” Breo adds, “they don’t feel like somebody else is taking decisions for them.”

He then argues that this experience serves as an example of mindset change. “Instead of saying placemaking projects close a street for cars, we should rather say they open the street for people”. And I totally agree.

Another critical aspect of these interventions is being inclusive. Even for a bike path, factors such as safety, lighting, smell and noise are parameters that are felt differently among men and women. In his view, co-creation and inclusivity are not just checkboxes that European project requirements ask you to tick. They should be the mechanisms through which decisions are made to create cities for all.

Urban Mobility

Urban mobility projects are about two fundamental changes: Change of perception, and change of behavior. Urban mobility project should have a tangible impact on everyday lives. They are designed to be embedded into the urban life of communities in a way that they become invisible.

Breogan suggests, “cities are currently designed based on a 70/30 rule, when 70% of space is dedicated to 30% of users (being cars)”. Drivers prioritize not disturbing other cars, rather than the security of pedestrians, “and this is another perception that needs to change”. When 70% of urban transportation is done by public and active mobility, why do we call it “alternative mobility”?

As an example of this approach, BABLE proposed parcel locker relocation in a city. “We have seen that by only changing the habit of picking up the parcel instead of waiting at home,” he explains, “you can reduce up to 60% of CO2.” They used transport modeling to calculate the probable reduction in the distance that vehicles move in the city and the emissions cut under these measures.

He continues, “while the intervention is being executed, qualitative monitoring fills the gaps of simulation.” asking people, “Would you walk five minutes to collect a parcel?”

Nowadays, Breogan is combining “perceived distance” and physiological parameters to simulate urban mobility. He considers parameters such as topography noise, pollution, heat, aesthetics, green view index, and user differences (gender, age, disability, etc) to analyze pedestrian route choice.

Smart City, Digital Twin & AI

The application of AI and digital twins has made data usable for both residents and decision makers. What is the role of digital infrastructure, dashboards, real-time monitoring, and digital twins in your day-to-day work? I asked Breogan Sanchez.

The methodology has changed, but principles remain the same. He answers, “As a former transport modeler, I worked a lot with traffic modeling software to determine the impacts of projects before implementation. Now I use agent-based models to simulate a baseline scenario, adjust variables, and map the optimal location of places.” With real-time geo-mapping and digital twins, you can have sensors showing in real time how many cars are passing into a district.

In Istanbul, for example, BABLE proposed the city’s digital twin to model safe corridors during seismic events in real time. identifying which routes would remain passable for ambulances, and which areas to direct evacuation toward. He complements this example by saying, “we face the problem of data silos where cities either don’t have reliable data, or data is managed by various external partners”.

Urban Transformation

Urban Innovators are becoming the agents of change for transforming cities. Their work is a part of cities’ efforts to improve the quality of life. I asked Breogen Sanchez how to blend urban planning and innovation, contributing to bottom-up urban transformation. He answers:

1. Think out of the box.

2. Don’t stick to common methodologies and business as usual.

3. Active listening. Understand the needs of a city.

   “Small interventions have a seed impact,
   creating a domino effect in the long term.”

My takeaways

Takeaways for designers and experts

• Design a roadmap for cities to address local challenges, but also contribute to global sustainability goals.

• Lead with citizen well-being rather than moral obligation.

• Generate public acceptance through tangible behavioral change.

• Failure to include diverse groups—including women, the elderly, and those with disabilities—is the failure of the whole project.

• Justify urban changes (like pedestrianization) to city officers with accurate, real-time data.

• Work in collaboration with the innovation ecosystem and institutions to foster the diffusion of new ideas.

Takeaways for startups and urban innovators

• Adopt scale by design in your urban solutions that can be adjusted _with minor changes_ to other urban contexts.

• Prioritize removing daily life barriers of citizens before proposing high-tech solutions for cities.

• Leverage cities’ special sandbox areas to test technology in a real-world environment and observe citizen reactions before full-scale deployment.

• Think about how your business solves critical urban problems.

• Utilize local expertise and partnership networks, best practices and grounded insights to expand.

I am writing this article to serve as a terminology of urban innovation, explaining the main concepts that I’ll discuss with experts and projects I feature here. You can download an introductory document at the end of this post.

European cities differ a lot from various perspectives. Their policy, socio-economic context and community needs create unique sustainability visions, digital transformation, and civic engagement dynamics. However, they share the same infrastructure to boost innovation and cope with their urban challenges.

Innovative cities have showcased that innovation is not the outcome but the process of collaboration and partnerships between regional and global actors. Innovation ecosystems push early-stage ideas and polish their implementation roadmap, helping to commercialize research.

If you are building a startup that requires the integration of your technology in the urban context, taking advantage of existing mechanisms that encourage urban transformation becomes your highest priority.

Building blocks of this experimentation include:

Urban Innovation Landscape

Urban innovators shape the structures that incentivize urban experimentation and turn cities into hubs of creativity. They build initiatives to support early-stage founders and startups in implementing their projects in a small and low-cost environment.

01- Pilot projects/ Cross-city knowledge exchange consortia

Viable Cities is an example of a strategic innovation program. It showcases how cities and governments pilot climate change mitigation measures. However, city officials need to understand how your product can be adopted to a street before they scale it across neighbourhoods. Conducting a pilot project acts as the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) of urban environments. Monitoring a pilot is a way to understand how communities change their behavior or express curiosity about a new intervention.

02- Urban Living Labs/ Innovation hubs

AMS Amsterdam Institute is a Living Labs working across a portfolio of projects that solve urban challenges. Their specialty is developing tangible impacts by implementing technology and research in mobility, energy, circularity, digitalization, food and climate adaptation. Working in such a living lab strengthens the impact that your experiment can generate for the city. Innovation hubs and Living Labs are capacity-building programs that enable direct feedback from users. If pilot projects are the MVP of urban transformation, Living Labs become their GTM (Go To Market Strategy).

03- Innovation districts / Parks / Corridors

Early-stage companies often look for spaces that can accommodate various functions in one place. Innovation districts are inspiring networks and spatial relationships between institutions and ecosystem players, bringing vitality and creativity to urban areas. Innovation District Copenhagen is one of those clusters that hosts communication technology, medtech and digital health start-ups.

04- Funding bodies / Initiatives

In the current urban innovation landscape, funds are not just financial incentives, but matchmaking mechanisms for startups and urban interventions. You can navigate urban best practices and potential cities to locate your base by searching online calls and databases. Urban initiatives help innovation developers generate significant returns on investment on urban renewal, smart city, urban greening and citizen wellbeing projects. EUI and DUT, for instance, play a crucial role in embedding mobility and air quality measures across European cities.

Urban Entrepreneurship Opportunities

This landscape is designed to support your growth journey through collaborative and open innovation.

01- Coworking Spaces / Fablabs

You may need to 3D print your prototype or fabricate a model and present it to your investors and clients. Fablabs empower residents to become "makers" rather than "consumers," turning neighborhoods into self-sufficient cells. They are the birthplace of and green production and the playground of sustainability professionals. Coworking spaces are less experimental, more corporate. They lower barriers to entry by offering meeting and office spaces. By bringing creatives together, a coworking space relies on the concept of proximity and chance encounters to turn aspiring individuals into teams with profitable ideas.

02- Hackathon / Bootcamp

Here are the advantages of joining sustainability hackathons:

In short, Bootcamps are built to inspire a new generation of aspiring individuals and generate new ideas in various spectrums. You can expect to get a combination of hands-on training and mentorship to develop a quick, digital/physical tool, for a specific urban challenge.

03- Incubator / Accelerator

A startup will likely die in the pilot phase if its project implementation does not go beyond one city. This proves that accelerators are not only necessary for the survival of new companies, but also run the idea generation and talent attraction machine of cities. By joining an accelerator, you become a part of the city’s innovation ecosystem. Do not take them as merely a way to prove your concept or secure funding. Rise Europe is one of the ecosystem alliances that establishes a place-based connection between startups and policy-makers.

In addition to the mentioned opportunities, there is an underrated potential for imagination and creativity, especially in urban tech and green startup sectors.

04- Events / Expos

Networking events and gatherings showcase cutting-edge urban technologies, building communities that are eager to share their experience and solve others’ problems. If you are interested in connecting with like-minded founders or international investors and policymakers, I’d recommend checking out related events in your town. Use events to gain insider insight and a stepping stone into career selection, niche identification and market gap analysis.

In this post, I explained how innovation flows through the streets of the city. Are you up for challenging yourself and looking at cities from a business perspective? There is no better time to act and create urban sustainability ventures. Urban innovation and entrepreneurship are becoming increasingly intertwined. And this is what we cover in Urban Insights.

Download our first introductory report here:

Download report

For urban innovation, expectations go beyond commitment to proving tangible social and environmental impacts. On one hand, startups are expected to take off without business or management experience, and on the other hand, they are given a short window of time to satisfy regulators, investors and users. It is most often required that founders validate their idea in a way that brings commercial and environmental values, while complying with local and international standards.

If startups want to cope with these issues and survive, they should become a part of “innovation ecosystems”. The European Union has created a knowledge-based and practical ecosystem to address its lack of transparency and implement a transition process from the early stages of idea development to the growth of startups. It brings local governments, regional market incentives and international regulators together. Additionally, funding bodies, academic institutions, and networks of partnerships are designing calls and frameworks that support early-stage founders and sustainability initiatives and reduce their barriers to entry.

Urban resilience and climate neutrality, civic engagement and economic growth are central to the approval of these funding initiatives. Since neither the problems nor the solutions of sustainability are isolated from their urban contexts, cities become a playground for startups and experts to pilot their innovations and secure funding for their next projects.

State and agenda of EU innovation ecosystem

Joining Europe’s Innovation ecosystem provides a roadmap that eventually increases the success rates of startups. European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), such as EIT Urban Mobility and Climate-KIC can be mentioned alongside major ecosystem players, funding mechanisms like the Horizon Europe, EIC Fund, Innovation Fund and New European Bauhaus.

These opportunities allocate funding for specific sectors. Some calls focus on circular economy and decarbonization, others are tailored towards urban mobility and smart city startups. EIT Urban Mobility is the most important Initiative that focuses on decarbonized transport systems, active mobility, and sustainable urban logistics. Other calls have been introduced to support renewable hydrogen production and the decarbonization of heat and energy systems.

In terms of regional differences, innovation instruments like the Innovation Fund Auctions target the entire European Economic Area, mostly investing in “market-ready” technological solutions. “Place-based innovations”, on the other hand, require physical presence to navigate local governance, culture, and infrastructure. The EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) as an example, works with regions that have lower innovation capacity. Therefore, startups that apply for these funding programs should set strategies that fit local needs and are responsive to local communities.

Your impact

Don’t underestimate the impact you can have in the innovation ecosystem. Projects that are positioned to complement the ecosystem create jobs, increase the presence of youth and women in entrepreneurship, improve business bonds and reestablish regional procurement abilities. Your startup acts within a larger network that relocates talents, balances the distribution of resources and makes tangible impacts on people’s quality of life. That is why the enhancement of urban areas is now tied to startup success and their pilot projects more than ever. Niche innovations and early-stage founders are key to the implementation of Europe’s just transition and net-zero strategies.

Smart city startups have played a major role in providing digital monitoring, simulation, crisis response and participatory planning mechanisms. Green startups support energy and carbon reduction in buildings and construction industry. Public transportation, EV and micro mobility projects are defining long-term market disruptions.

Cities and their innovation districts enable startups and actors to deliver social engagement, strengthen resilience, produce new data and research and create new partnerships and practical learnings.

Clarity and courage to commit

Being a part of an innovation ecosystem drives better innovation and growth before a project is even implemented. Rigorous application requirements help startups in positive ways:

• Startups apply their innovation in the right context and gain market exposure or attract early adopters by identifying and resolving industry-specific challenges.

• Startups develop services for measuring and forecasting CO2 or other potential mitigation measures.

• Founder build a comprehensive view of their long-term plan and their role in the advancement of existing technologies, which is highly attractive to private investors.

• These requirements act as a “stress test”, refining a startup’s business model and expectations before they commit to large-scale implementation.

• Pilots allow experimentation and arriving at real-life solutions, which often materialize better than major infrastructure projects.

Therefore, startups are allowed a low-cost entry into the market by tapping into existing potentials rather than building everything from scratch. They are being invited to embrace cities as a platform to showcase their solutions.

My blueprint for early-stage startups

1. Do not develop solutions in a vacuum:
   Programs like EIT Urban Mobility and Climate-KIC prioritize specific “Challenge Areas” directly responding to city urban and environmental issues.

2. Use cities as Living Labs to co-create and validate your innovation: Take a proactive and experimental approach to your solutions and consider their launch a part of the overall ecosystem’s mission to create a sustainable urban future.

3. Act upon your maturity:
   Programs like RAPTOR fund startups to develop Minimum Viable Products (MVPs), while other funding initiatives support technologies from mid-range TRL (Technology Readiness Level) to high TRL.

4. Measure your success:
   Climate, biodiversity, inclusivity and pollution reduction metrics are tied to funding eligibility and public interest.

5. Assess the innovation capacity of your ecosystem:

   Besides funding instruments and educational institutions, existing realities on the ground and power dynamics may result in complex implementation. Innovative projects flourish in ecosystems that do not delay or limit transition.

6. Prevent the risks of ecosystem misalignment early on:
   Availability of an active innovation ecosystem does not always result in the application of startup’s products. A pilot may be too fragile to compete with the established businesses or traditional infrastructure investments that still dominate cities’ markets. Other emerging innovation ecosystems suffer from a limited uptake of nature-based or circular economy solutions.

7. Target inconsistent improvements:
   This may seem obvious, but urban issues can never be fully addressed by one actor or startup; and remain the gap that the whole ecosystem wants to fill. This proves that startups and city leaders work in tandem to develop strategies that adopt an array of technologies and policy packages that integrate with each other rather than compete.

Being a part of the right innovation ecosystem demands consistent opportunity seeking, identification of breakthroughs and forecasting turmoil before they happen. Early-stage founders should make the most use of this enormous talent and knowledge pools and benefit from the current pro-environmental atmosphere to scale climate‑driven innovations and urban sustainability startups across the EU.

References

1. Dealroom. (2026). State of European Mobility Startups_2026 Edition.

2. Ecorys. (2026). EIT Impact study.

3. EIT. (2025). CATALYSING INNOVATION IN THE KNOWLEDGE TRIANGLE.

4. European commission. (2025). Ex post evaluation of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund for the programming period 2014-2020.

5. European Commission. Directorate General for Research and Innovation. (2017). EU research & innovation for and with cities: Yearly mapping report : September 2017. Publications Office. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/64586

6. Whicher, A., & Walters, A. (2017). Mapping Design for Innovation Policy in Wales and Scotland. The Design Journal, 20(1), 109–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/14606925.2016.1233006

1. EIT Manufacturing’s RIS Hubs, available at: https://www.eitmanufacturing.eu/what-we-do/regional-innovation-scheme-ris/ris-hubs/

2. The EIT Knowledge Triangle, available at: https://www.eitmanufacturing.eu/what-we-do/the-eit-knowledge-triangle/

3. EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, available at: EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy

4. Climate entrepreneurship, available at: https://www.climate-kic.org/programmes/climate-entrepreneurship/

5. Auctions in the Innovation Fund, available at: https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/eu-funding-climate-action/innovation-fund/competitive-bidding_en

6. DUT, ECLECTIC, Enabling Circular Economy Action Plans, available at: https://dutpartnership.eu/projects/eclectic

7. European Commission, New European Bauhaus, available at: https://new-european-bauhaus.europa.eu/funding/how-new-european-bauhaus-funded_en

Urban practitioners can implement this mindset to acknowledge the geographical nuances and readiness of cities for certain innovations.

Theory of transitions

Sustainability transitions theory sees cities as systems that tend to formalize their existing situation and stabilize established practices. However, current energy insecurity, housing crisis, environmental degradation, urban segregation and political polarization are widening the cracks of cities’ old system. Public perception and expectation of change are making way for a new one to emerge. This is the phase in which policies and institutions push innovations to adjust and reconfigure the existing situation and become the new norm.

Innovation is crucial for urban transition. But more importantly, the protected experimentation spaces, networks and political will that help novelties break through and succeed. I will refer to these enablers as “support networks”.

Support networks

Initiating change requires justification, and consequently, proof of success. Support systems are responsible for making this happen. They prototype sustainability measures before scaling them across cities, and facilitate innovation by bridging the gap between niche ideas and systemic change. In the context of European cities, these support systems include:

• Funding bodies and EU Instruments

• Accelerators and communities of practice

• Innovation hubs and urban living labs

• City networks

The fundamental issue that each city faces and its socio-political context determine which innovations are protected and which verticals the ecosystem specializes in. This makes each urban transition pathway different.

My take on geography of transition(s)

The geography of transition explains why a city would be more suitable for an innovation than another. It defines why an urban mobility startup might relocate to Copenhagen and succeed in its innovation ecosystem, while it might take longer to raise investment or secure funding in another city. It is also the basis of why some cities attract talent and founders in a vertical of technology, but struggle to regenerate their overall economic vitality.

A city’s R&D and execution capacity, infrastructure readiness and talent pool makes it more appealing for specific niche innovations. Cities build their identity around certain sectors and assemble a narrative to support this transition. Every transition strategy, therefore, is designed to reflect the city’s past identity and future ambitions. Your innovation scales if it correctly positions itself in city’s transition pathway and integrates into the niche of local support systems.

Remember, you should be flexible enough to pivot when the signs of the next shift appear. That is why I emphasize that your entry point in urban innovation is where your project meets current local resources, future city agenda, and global socio-political atmosphere.

Let’s get specific

Selecting a city that already hosts similar talents and respects your values will be another option that eases your integration into its knowledge sector and creative industry. Making such a decision is more difficult than it seems.

• If you work in capital-intensive ventures, international innovation hubs in metropolitan areas (e.g., London, NewYork, Tokyo, Paris) are ideal.

• Choose a secondary city (e.g., Stockholm, Barcelona, Helsinki) to specialize in a specific niche, alongside developing alternatives to diversify.

• Cities like Madrid, Rome, and Berlin are suitable options for both technical and soft innovation.

• If you want to establish headquarter of your corporation, consider Brussels, Geneva, and Vienna

• If you develop a startup targeting international trade or mature industries, port cities (e.g., Rotterdam, Antwerp) host a resilient market.

• For early graduates starting their careers, selecting small and medium-sized cities may be a better option because of their lower barriers to entry.

• If you are an expat or digital nomad, you already know several cities across Europe (e.g., Porto, Tallinn, Budapest, Dubrovnik) that provide tax incentives, advanced digital infrastructure and a relatively affordable cost of living.

By relying on the international mobility of talent and startups, especially in the urban sector and climate tech, you are not limited to one geographic area, but can operate in multiple cities. You can base your headquarter in a city like Copenhagen and aim to develop your spin-outs in the neighboring country’s R&D hubs (e.g., Malmö, Lund, Gothenburg).

Thus. you need a relocation strategy to make impact. I prepared a KPI that makes your decision-making easier.

My city selection criteria

• Universities and academic institutions

• Established innovation ecosystem, hubs and coworking spaces

• Event venues, frequent exhibitions and summits

• Urban vibrancy and nightlife

• Creativity culture and entertainment

• Public transportation

• City’s sustainability/NetZero commitment

• Public spaces and parks

• Inclusivity and multiculturality

• participation of civil society and NGOs

• Alignment with niche or specialty

• An environment open to new ideas

After assessing qualitative measures, I will look at quantitative figures.

• Employment rate

• Housing prices and cost of living

• Life satisfaction (mostly in the scale of the country)

• GDP

• And lastly, a level of competitiveness that is not too low, leading to stagnation, nor too high to restrain landing in the market (for me, this is the factor that makes the final choice, since it directly determines my self-development journey and the chance of achieving my goals).

This KPI should be adapted to your practice. You may also look at a city’s upcoming urban regeneration projects, calculate the turnover of hosted startups working in your field, or search for the number of startups that successfully exit or the amount of investment they have raised.

My last tips

1. Get a first impression of your chosen city, either in person, or via Google Earth, Trip Advisor and Social Media

2. Start your relocation strategy from selecting the city, not the country

3. Explore the startup visa requirements of the country, its growth opportunities and entrepreneurship atmosphere

4. Study best practices and the growth journey of similar experts and companies

5. Base your competitive analysis on the related businesses operating in the city and locate their hotspot(s).

6. Align your business plan with what the city is currently working on and the funding calls that target the region or your area of specialty

7. Create a list of organizations you can partner with, relevant events coming up in the city, or workspaces and clubs you can join.

8. Aim to network with the local talent and learn from the people who have worked with the city and its innovation ecosystem

9. When you made your decision and relocation strategy, commit.

References

1. Castaldi, C. 2023. The geography of urban innovation beyond patents only: New evidence on large and secondary cities in the United States. Urban Studies, 61(7), 1248-1272. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980231204718 (Original work published 2024)

2. Concilio, G. Tosoni, I. 2019. Innovation Capacity and the City: The Enabling Role of Design. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00123-0

3. European Commission. 20225. An EU Agenda for Cities: Driving Growth and Prosperity

4. European Commission. 2017. EU Research and Innovation for and with Cities – Yearly Mapping Report

5. European Urban Initiative. 2024 Leveraging Innovation Ecosystems for

   Sustainable Cities; Executive Summary

6. Geels, F. W. 2011. The multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions: Responses to seven criticisms. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 1(1), 24-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2011.02.002

7. The Designscapes consortium. 2019. Green Paper on Design Enabled Innovation in Urban Environments.

8. World’s Best Cities. 2026. The 100 Global Cities Shaping Tomorrow
   

The city we operate from provides the context of our innovation. The insight we gain from this urban context can go beyond mere information, helping to stimulate intellectual methods, activate links to other relevant evidence or apply the solutions to a set of problems. Contextual understanding ignites the ability to understand an evolving environment and capitalize on its trends. This setting should be taken into account when investigating future plans and actions. That is what I call “Place-based decision making”.

Place-based decision making as the secret to innovation

I argue that what you accomplish in life directly depends on how you analyze your environment and seek hidden clues and ideas from it. This, in turn, pivots your career choices, your network and partnerships, your research interests and internal concerns. Contextual intelligence helps a leader to align tactics and define strategies in varying situations. It is easier to differentiate between conflicts and constraints, potentials and opportunities.

Place-based action is crucial for urban innovation, replacing generic solutions with customized interventions based on local needs, resource availability and collaborations. This explains why one project that works in one place might not work in another context. Embracing innovation and collaborative efforts paves the way for place-based transformation.

European Union defines place-based transformation as:

In conclusion, we are talking about a mutual relationship between our activities and our city. A relationship in which the city is centered in both personal and professional strategies. An alignment with its vision and upcoming policies. To navigate and integrate into the system easier, I take metaphorical views of my city:

City as your life partner

Is our life journey an outcome dependent on our geography?

Contextual factors play a mediating role between backgrounds, interests and aspirations. The insights provided by urban areas can usefully be combined with those from education, work or social relationships to help you and your city get ready for what is coming next. This model of critical analysis is needed for steering your actions and prioritizing time spent on them toward the most favorable and efficient option.

City as your talent acquisition

The environment you choose to live and contribute to has the power to approve your career decisions. It can define what you should look for. As a talent acquisition specialist’s role is to find and highlight the hidden talent of employees, the city thrives when it shapes people’s hidden purpose within its unique constraints. The role of a creative city is to discover you, and you are the talent waiting to be discovered.

City as your co-founder

Environmental characteristics have major implications for business management. Place-based decision-making in such settings is crucial in helping executives filter valuable growth options out of existing noise. This is particularly important for creation of a safer landing and preparation for the local challenges; for example, the high levels of unemployment, poverty, corruption and the lack of incentives. Startups scan through multiple information sources to select the most relevant cues that eventually aid their action. Joining local networks would be one of the most important ones.

Local positioning of a startup is completely intentional. Urban innovation literature has made it clear that cities need to provide support systems and capacities to boost innovation. Additionally, the chance of a startup’s success is directly related to the integration of its business in the place and alignment with long-term visions. This goes beyond business clusters and corporate plazas and delves into the soft dynamics and social contracts of the host city.

City as your research gap

Urban spaces create chance encounters for different disciplines and enthusiasts to meet. What if we can imagine cities as a common concern to be resolved or a capital to be shared? Can they be recognized as blueprints for development and success, as sandboxes for experimentation!

Despite the role of universities in providing practical solutions for urban challenges, cities remain the case study and background of research rather than being actively examined and upgraded. The students who define their problem in their respective urban context and relate their research to the high-level priorities and capabilities of their city build the initial cornerstone in contributing to its advancement.

Bringing innovation to our daily lives

As urban practitioners and sustainability professionals, we are well-equipped with methodologies and toolsets to analyze our surroundings. Yet, our decisions are mostly based on reaction to life events, rather than setting future expectations and fulfilling ambitions. Scholars suggest that many executives use more intuition than formal analysis. Interviews with major organizations across various industries have revealed that intuitive decision-making prevails most of the time.

Therefore, the ones who shift this intuition to contextual intelligence have a higher chance of receiving value from the system. Place-based innovation may be the scope of our investigation. It gives us a magnifying glass to enlarge life achievements or identify hidden patterns.

You should constantly place yourself where the right conditions collide. Place-based decisions enable decision makers transition from improvisation to evidence-based intervention. It lets you go deeper than streamlined media and stereotypes of a location and identify the root causes of its growth or stagnation.

Place-based decision making in practice

A new gym has moved into town and is evaluating the best location to start its campaign. A startup is looking to relocate its office to a region where similar businesses and partners exist. A family is looking to sign their child in a school. Suddenly, the geography and neighbourhood hosting these places become important.

Next time you wanted to decide which district to start from or which innovation hub to get involved in, tap into your contextual understanding. Seeking to start your career in an environment that supports open innovation and collaboration? Compare cities, university entrepreneurship hubs and rankings. Willing to gain understanding of accelerators, funding bodies, and regional opportunities! Or want to know how you can showcase your creativity? Map the innovation ecosystem of your city and identify its opportunities in boosting creative industries.

In this blog post, I discussed what approaches would be best to facilitate decision-making process. And how you can leverage innovation to align yourself not only with the existing situation, but with upcoming changes. Hence, considering the contextual influences within life journey helps any decision-maker pay attention to existing institutions and relationships, which in turn lead to certain opportunities coming to you, rather than you chasing them down.

Therefore, urban intelligence becomes the key for perceiving one’s surroundings, its social capital and stakeholders. It directs our awareness of existing dynamics into strategic alignment with suitable development pathways within our city. In this process, innovation becomes the driver of change. Place-based innovation ties together actors and agencies, existing technologies and emerging capabilities; and most importantly, places you and the ecosystem you build at the center of them.

References

1. Acedo, A., Painho, M., Casteleyn, S., & Roche, S. (2018). Place and City: Toward Urban Intelligence. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 7(9), 346. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi7090346

2. Burke, L. A., & Miller, M. K. (1999). Taking the mystery out of intuitive decision making. Academy of Management Perspectives, 13(4), 91–99. https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.1999.2570557

3. Elbanna, S., & Fadol, Y. (2016). The role of context in intuitive decision-making. Journal of Management & Organization, 22(5), 642–661. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2015.63

4. European Commission. Joint Research Centre. & European Committee of the Regions . (2024). Innovation for place-based transformations: ACTIONbook to build partnerships for fair green and digital transitions. Publications Office. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/561797

5. Hodkinson, P. (2024). Understanding career decisionmaking and progression: Careership revisited: The fifth John Killeen memorial lecture, October 2008. Journal of the National Institute for Career Education and Counselling, 21(1), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.20856/jnicec.2102

6. Mohd, F., Salleh, A. M., & Mustapha, R. (2010). The Influence of Contextual Aspects on Career Decision Making of Malaysian Technical Students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 7, 369–375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.10.050

7. Oldridge, L., & Greene, A. (2025). A person-in-context perspective on care(e)r success: Examining (changing) conceptualisations of career success of mid-life women providing informal care for dependent adults. Human Resource Development International, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/13678868.2025.2557784

My innovation ecosystem mapping procedure

To produce an ecosystem map, I start with urban infrastructure as the basemap. Then add layers of anchor institutions (Universities, research centers, local government bodies, etc.), social and physical assets (e.g, parks, culture and community centers, transportation hubs) on top of their respective geographic locations. By locating existing players and institutions, I can reveal weak relationships or potential agreements. Then I see if there is a common urban issue or spatial distribution that brings them together and builds a common vision for the future of the city, through innovation and ecosystem creation.

However, there is more to an innovation ecosystem map than just a simple location identifier. It lists available spaces of research, experimentation and collaboration. It creates a database of ongoing and upcoming projects, exhibitions, communities of practice and pools of funding. This helps us move beyond infrastructure and identify policy levers and incentives. Leeds innovation Arc is a great example of this approach, in which clusters and knowledge institutions are not only mapped, but the effect of their relationship is felt throughout the city and in connection with Leeds long-term vision.

Benefits of innovation ecosystem map for practitioners, startups and cities

Urban practitioners make use of ecosystem maps to identify and invest on competitive advantage of their specific region of interest. Startup founders would analyze it to investigate the human capital of a place in addition to its financial capital and prepare themselves for opportunities in knowledge sectors, skills and new spin-out capacities.

Cities are looking to build a compelling narrative based on their core value in order to attract you. This strategy is often regarded as “place branding” or “creative city”. But more often than not, cities don’t know what they are good at, what their value proposition is. This confusion keeps urban innovation behind closed doors. Ecosystem mapping is a way to reveal the hidden backdoor to urban innovation and get involved in its activities.

Let me elaborate by narrating the benefits of mapping the innovation ecosystem of cities in a 4-phase process:

From ideation to research and development

In a dynamic system such as a city, ideas do not just “fit” with their urban context. They evolve with it. Therefore, cities do not only test one idea; they discover and explore multiple pathways. Enabling cities to define and direct technological advancements requires flexibility and mechanisms to reduce risk. Gaining geospatial insight from innovation ecosystem shifts urban authorities from decision fatigue to taking action by highlighting desirable scenarios. It distributes the resources to where it needed the most and tailors the investments to specific contexts.

Cities and startups can work on various scenarios based on future trajectories of urban innovation ecosystems. Helsinki’s innovation ecosystem can be mentioned here, where each research and development can be traced back to the city’s (and to a larger extent, Finland’s) Circular Economy roadmap.

From specialization to competitive advantage

We map cities’ innovation ecosystems to identify their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. Ecosystem maps are produced to leverage unique competitive advantages, allowing cities to pivot quickly into niches where they are globally relevant. Additionally, consulting and comparing ecosystem maps supports practitioners and startups to diversify, aligning products or services with the technologies and sectors in which the city has already built a strong supply chain or has showcased an interest in developing further. Barcelona is a successful example where the correct identification and creation of a brand led to the common development of Smart City.

From networking to clustering

Mapping the ecosystem (startups, universities, communities, organizations, etc) visualizes the complex networks of actors and collaborators and helps cities coordinate them more effectively. It will foster partnerships never actualized before. To build effective clusters that can compete in this age of urban-oriented globalization and 4th industrial revolution, cities need more than physical proximity of industries. Innovation ecosystems depend on multi-stakeholder governance—public–private partnerships. But these partnerships will not be realized if the initial encounters are not made.

I argue that clustering starts from regular cafes, networking events, workshops and even common urban spaces; and then it is scaled to innovation districts. The right conditions and social forces should meet long before the physical establishments are in place to build a welcoming space for inspiration and entrepreneurship.

From design to problem-solving

This is where having place-based insights empowers actors the most. In this stage, we locate the high-priority hotspots by identifying problems through stakeholder engagement/community participation or spatial analysis. These insights are then evolved into business propositions by filtering high-feasibility opportunities. In short, we utilize design to address local needs. Mapping identifies these pain points as market gaps and adds a layer of critical understanding in which problems are no longer seen as “system failures” but design briefs. Here, cities and their innovation ecosystem act as an enabler of change, providing the agency and framework for urban transformation.

Glasgow’s innovation district, for instance, is built on the idea that students as future entrepreneurs can turn their university campus into a space for problem-solving and business development.

In conclusion, we can use urban innovation and ecosystem maps as instruments to determine where we should start from, create small wins, build new R&D opportunities and scaleups, and turn place‑specific advantages into market outcomes. In practice, urban innovation ecosystem mapping provides a framework to prioritize niches, de-risk urban projects, and accelerate growth.

References

1. Bontje, M., & Musterd, S. (2009). Creative industries, creative class and competitiveness: Expert opinions critically appraised. Geoforum, 40(5), 843–852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2009.07.001

2. Centrinno. (2021). Urban Ecosystem Mapping Guidebook.

3. City of Helsinki. (2020). The City of Helsinki’s Roadmap for Circular and Sharing Economy.

4. Hospers, G.-J. (2003). Creative cities in Europe: Urban competitiveness in the knowledge economy. Intereconomics, 38(5), 260–269. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03031728

5. Huggins, R., & Clifton, N. (2011). Competitiveness, Creativity, and Place-Based Development. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 43(6), 1341–1362. https://doi.org/10.1068/a43559

6. Inclusive Growth Leeds available at: https://www.inclusivegrowthleeds.com/

7. Sitra available at: https://arkisto.sitra.fi/en/

8. Strathclyde University. (n.d.). Glasgow City Innovation District [Map]. Retrieved https://www.glasgowcityinnovationdistrict.com/engagewithgcid/districtmap/

9. Urmetzer, F., Gill, A., & Reed, N. (2018). Using business ecosystem mapping to generate new competitive value propositions, University of Cambridge.

10. World Economic Forum. (2018). Agile Cities: Preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

11. World Economic Forum. (2025). Innovation Ecosystems: A Toolkit of Principles and Best Practice.

Creativity and innovation flourish in cities. The critical mass and multidisciplinary collaboration opportunities cities offer impact people’s mindset. I believe cities are a place for exploration and experimentation. Especially in the face of uncertainty, socio-economic restrictions and environmental challenges. Cities now produce much of the global carbon emissions and observe unbalanced development. While urban innovation should inherently be inclusive to work properly, Innovation ecosystems are among the most exclusive workplaces where chances for integration become limited.

Environmental psychology and early urban studies have showcased that our actions and behaviors are highly determined by our perception of urban areas. This will in turn lead to unique life stories and entrepreneurial pathways. Considering that built environment influences our ideas and opportunities, makes gaining a contextual awareness of challenges and innovation opportunities a necessity.

Why is that a city like Copenhagen thrives on climate tech while Helsinki offers stronger emphasis on research and development of circular economy. Due to contextual differences that may not be considered in big data or high level reports, but can be observed first-hand through an experienced perspective. A critical understanding that truly matters for our future. Therefore, understanding cities not only serves our professional career, but also personal aspirations.

By actively seeking clues on urban spaces, regular discussions, gathering events and exhibitions, mapping and analysing creativity and knowledge-based sectors; one can determine where the future of the city is headed.

Audience

• Urban Practitioners, Sustainability Professionals and Innovation Experts actively working on urban challenges and contributing to their improvement and strive for wellbeing and sustainability of cities.

• Startup Founders and Urban Entrepreneurs who are looking for a starting point on urban innovation, questioning which city to establish their business or are confused about where to start, which coworking space to join, which accelerator to apply.

• Accelerators and organizations focusing on urban sustainability, smart city, circular economy and climate action.

What value this newsletter brings

- Identifying contextual opportunities and challenges will generate better ideas and help your strategic planning and decision making.

- Mapping cities’ innovation ecosystem, the publication will serve as a comparative study and analysis of urban innovation capacity.

- Sharing insights and best practices from events, hackathons, small-scale initiatives and urban transformations.

- Featuring funding bodies and cross-city consortia aiming to reduce carbon emissions and achieve sustainability agendas through innovation.

What to expect

I aim to write at least 3 posts every month. I am also thinking of including expert interviews and deliver a behind-the-scenes perspective of urban events and living labs. A majority of the work will be on how urban innovation relates to the long-term sustainability of cities. I will touch on relevant theories and utilize academic references. reports and online platforms to draw the conclusion. However, I will narrate the story through my own perspective.

Some of the topics and paradigms I am interested to write about (if you keep on reading)1 :

• Innovation spaces; Co-work spaces/ Fablabs/ Urban Living labs

• Ecosystem players: Accelerators/ International Organizations/ Funding bodies

• Urban interventions: Pilot projects, Innovation hubs/ Districts

• Paradigms: Creative City/ Smart city/ Urban Experimentation

Context

In the race to achieve NetZero, the pressure and weight of urban transformation is expanded to the full spectrum of urban governance. Organizations, authorities and stakeholders have been seeking to support climate action and urban transformation while grassroots, communities of practice, startups and universities are investing on practical on-the-ground solutions. Multiple knowledge exchange networks are established across various countries. Funding programmes such as Horizon funding and New European Bauhaus (will be discussed in later posts) aim to fund companies and projects that showcase contributions to sustainability and improving the quality of life within urban areas.

The challenge

While these networks are shaping a new wave of infrastructure investment and innovation development , urban innovation remains to be place-based. The solutions should be tailored to specific contexts of every region. Therefore, comparison of innovation ecosystems may be the best form of evaluation and local capacity building. It becomes necessary for startups and new founders looking to relocate to integrate into this ecosystem and make the best use of existing potentials.

With this newsletter, I try to address the complexities of urban innovation ecosystem, identifying difficulties, support systems and incentives built to attract and creative industries and entrepreneurs. Whether the long term strategies to increase cities’ competitiveness and attract foreign talent work, depend on your specialization and chosen path and your ability to find growth opportunities. Having a list of co-work spaces or scouting living labs and accelerators that offer support to sustainability professionals and urban innovators can prove valuable.

You can be the next person who begins your urban entrepreneurship and innovation journey in European cities.