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Category: News from Asia & Australasia

C2C CoP 12: Economy in cities – StartUps, Innovation Ecosystems, Branding

“Green transition” refers to an economy-wide shift away from high-impact, resource-intensive activities toward practices that remain within planetary boundaries and support long-term sustainability, resilience, and well-being (OECD, 2025). Its aim is to reduce—and keep—the cumulative impacts of human activity within Earth’s ecological limits (OECD, 2025). Deep technologies—advanced, emerging technological solutions to major societal challenges—are one pathway to accelerate this transition....

IURC CoP 9 Cities Share Stakeholder Mapping Insights to Strengthen Digital Transformation

_ultp_gl_ic_full_screen_ultp_gl_ic_end__ultp_gl_ic_zoom_in_ultp_gl_ic_end__ultp_gl_ic_zoom_out_ultp_gl_ic_end__ultp_gl_ic_close_line_ultp_gl_ic_end__ultp_gl_ic_gallery_indicator_ultp_gl_ic_end_Load More On 13 May, the IURC Community of Practice on Data-driven City and Digital Governance (CoP9) convened an online session where participating cities shared the results of a stakeholder mapping activity aimed at strengthening more strategic and inclusive approaches to digital transformation. The exercise addressed a common priority across cities: ensuring broader and more meaningful stakeholder engagement in digital...

CoP 16 2nd Deep Dive Webinar: Sueña Madrid – Charting a New Course for Housing, Climate Neutrality, and Smarter Planning

Madrid’s drive to reshape how the city plans for the future took center stage during the second webinar in a Community of Practice (CoP) 16 series on Integrated Urban Planning. The session featured Madrid’s “Sueña Madrid” initiative—an ambitious new master plan designed to tackle three pressing realities: housing demand, sustainability goals, and climate neutrality targets. Presenting the framework were Luis Tejero...

EU Ambassador Highlights IURC Partnerships on Christchurch Visit

During his recent visit to Christchurch City, the European Union Ambassador to New Zealand, H E Lawrence Meredith, met with Mayor of Christchurch Phil Mauger to discuss the city’s growing cooperation with the European Union and its active participation in the EU-funded IURC Asia and Australasia programme. H E Lawrence Meredith, EU Ambassador to New Zealand, with Mayor of Christchurch...

Melbourne and Berlin Deepen Exchange on Affordable Housing and Social Cohesion

Representatives from the cities of Melbourne and Berlin met through the IURC Affordable Housing & Social Cohesion Community of Practice (COP) for two interactive exchange sessions focused on housing affordability, urban inclusion, and community wellbeing. The meetings, held on 30 April and 8 May 2026, created a valuable platform for both cities to compare policy approaches, share local experiences, and...

IURC Partner: The 5th SDG City Awards Open for Applications (Deadline: 30 June 2026)

Celebrating its 5th anniversary, the SDG City Awards is now officially open for applications. Since 2022, the programme has recognised innovative urban policies, initiatives, partnerships, and case studies that contribute to the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local government level. The awards programme is jointly organised by the Urban SDG Knowledge Platform and its partners: CityNet,...

Coimbra demonstrates how AI-Powered Tourism Takes Centre Stage in Shaping the Future of Smart Destinations

The International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) Programme convened its second Deep Dive Online Technical Session (DDOTS) under Community of Practice 3 (CoP 3) on Sustainable Smart Tourism on 30 April 2026, hosted by Coimbra. Bringing together cities from Europe and Asia, the session focused on smart destination intelligence and artificial intelligence (AI) as key drivers of sustainable tourism development....

CoP 14 Webinar: Cities Showcase Digital Innovation & Climate Governance Solutions

From urban digital twins and climate data platforms to climate budgeting and citizen-centred tools, partner cities explored how data-driven governance can accelerate climate resilience. The International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) Programme successfully launched the first webinar of Community of Practice 14 (CoP 14) on Climate Adaptation, bringing together partner cities and regions from Europe, India and Australasia for a...

Brisbane’s 2032 Host City Legacy Playbook: Turning Olympic Ambition into Lasting City Benefits

During the first CoP 16 Deep Dive Webinar, Brisbane has shared an executive-level look at how legacy planning for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games is being designed to shape the city well beyond 2032, aligning long-term urban outcomes with Games delivery. Hosted by Brisbane City Council, the webinar focused on the realities of dispersed Games venues and growing community...

CoP 15 Knowledge Exchange Webinar: Affordable Housing and Social Cohesion Key Challenges and Best Practices

Representatives from Berlin, Bari, Basque Country, City of Melbourne, Region of Valencia and Singapore recently came together for the first ‘Urban Planning – Affordable Housing and Social Cohesion’ Community of Practice (CoP) knowledge exchange webinar. Through shared experiences, participants highlighted the challenges their cities and regions face, including demographic shifts, private sector involvement, financing, and climate change—and the strategies to...