METREX Expert and Network Groups meet virtually
Five METREX Expert Groups and Network Groups met online in March in lieu of meetings planned for the Lisbon Conference. In light of the global Covid-19 lock-down, which forced the cancellation of the METREX Lisbon Conference, a number of Expert and Network Groups responded by holding their meetings online. Meetings took place for the Nordic…
Survey on the economic impact of the Covid-19 Virus
We are all facing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in our daily life and in our work. Governments across the world are getting more concerned about the economic impact of this crisis and ways to accelerate the recovery. METREX is a place where we can learn from each other, and this very special situation…
CoR COVID-19 exchange platform
News from the COVID-19 exchange platform The COVID-19 outbreak continues to expand globally. Governments at all levels, and in particular local and regional authorities, are being called upon to provide emergency services, communicate on how to contain the spread of disease, coordinate efforts, and mitigate as far as possible the impact on economies. Regional and…
€1m Helsinki Energy Challenge to decarbonise city’s heating
Helsinki Energy Challenge is a global one-million-euro challenge competition to answer the question: How can we decarbonise the heating of Helsinki, using as little biomass as possible? Cities such as Helsinki have a key role in driving the shift to a low-carbon economy. And it is not alone! The climate crisis is the most crucial…
METREX Lisbon Conference postponed and ‘Virtual’ Expert Groups planned
Update 19 March 2020 Update on the METREX Lisbon Conference – Covid-19 Virus With the continued spread of the Covid-19 virus and increasingly restrictive measures being taken across Europe, METREX is unfortunately not in a position to indicate a workable date for the Lisbon Conference to take place. This decision has been led by our…
METREX Research Portal Survey
Survey of members to support the development of the new METREX Research Portal At our conference last year in Stuttgart it was announced that we intend to setup a METREX Research Portal. The main objective is to develop a better view on existing scientific research that can support our members in their work. In addressing…
ReProLa – Regionally Specific Land Management in Urban-Rural Partnerships
Stadt-Land-Plus: Achieving more together for a strong region Motivation Economic growth, demographic developments, and changing lifestyles result in an increased competition regarding land use. Focusing on the production of regional agricultural goods, helps increase regional value, improve the quality of resources, and ameliorate urban-rural conflicts regarding land use. Goals and Approach With the Nuremberg Metropolitan…
US-European exchange on climate change approaches
Present your region’s approach to climate change in our series of webinars with four US regions Resulting from a November meeting in Brussels between the US metropolitan regions of Chicago, Denver, Kansas and Washington, and Stuttgart Region, the EU programme International Urban Cooperation (IUC) and METREX are organising a series of webinars to take place…
METREX to launch two new Expert Groups at the Lisbon Conference
‘Metropolitan Landscapes’ to address issues between urban and rural areas and ‘From Roads to Streets’ to explore the transformation of roads in the urban fringe. In response to changing external circumstances and heightened interest from METREX members, we are pleased to announce the formation of two new Expert Groups, both of which will meet for the…
METREX and EUROCITIES reaction on the CoR draft opinion on metropolitan areas
METREX and EUROCITIES have produced a joint response to the Committee of the Regions draft opinion on “The challenges of metropolitan regions and their position in the future Cohesion Policy post 2020.” The main objectives of this opinion are to bring a better recognition of the challenges of the metropolitan regions, of their contribution to…
METREX appoints two long-standing contributors as Honorary Fellows
Gianfranco Fiora and Douglas Gordon appointed as first two Honorary Fellows, recognising their positive and sustained input into METREX. METREX announced during its recent Conference in Stuttgart (11-13 September 2019) the introduction of a new Honorary Fellow status to recognise the considerable contribution to the organisation from individuals. The status has been initiated by the…
METREX signs the Helsinki Impact Declaration
METREX Secretary General signs the Helsinki Impact Declaration during the Helsinki Impact Conference Helsinki invited other cities and collaboration partners to take systemic and rapid actions in solving global challenges. The joint declaration was signed on 10 October 2019 in Helsinki as a conclusion to the Helsinki Impact Conference. During the two-day conference, policy makers,…
Helsinki Impact Conference – Championing Cities
In advance of METREX’s contribution to the Helsinki Impact Conference, METREX Secretary General Henk Bouwman writes about the strength that comes from exchanging knowledge. “The city is arguably one of mankind’s greatest innovations. A focus for creativity and exchange, its identity is defined by its Places of Connection, Places of Arrival and Departure, Places of…
Share your knowledge and examples of monitoring metropolitan and cross-border areas
Westpomeranian Region is appealing to METREX Members for practical and proven examples of monitoring metropolitan and cross-border areas among for its project ‘Model of cross-border monitoring – innovative ways of obtaining data in the Metropolitan Region of Szczecin’. The main issues include: Open data – providing decision-makers and residents with reliable and legible data on…
Re-establishing the URBAN Intergroup at the European Parliament
Call for support from METREX Members to re-establish the URBAN Intergroup at the European Parliament In July 2019, the METREX President and Secretary General met with Mr. Jan Olbrycht MEP to discuss the idea of re-establishing the URBAN Intergroup at the European Parliament. The group, of which Mr. Olbrych is the current President, has been…
‘Networking promotes our future viability and competitiveness’ – interview with Dr. Nicola Schelling
Europe-wide cooperation is part of the Stuttgart Region’s DNA. With her considerable European experience, in 2014 Dr. Nicola Schelling was elected Director of the Verband Region Stuttgart as well as President of METREX. In this interview, Dr. Schelling talks about batons, think tanks, showcases and new forms of cooperation between metropolitan areas. In 2016 and…
METREX’s new address in Lyon
The METREX Administration has a new address, kindly hosted by UrbaLyon, the Lyon Agence d’Urbanisme. Please direct your mail to: METREX Tour Part-Dieu 129 Rue Servient 69326 Lyon Cedex 3 France Please note that we remain registered for legal purposes in Brussels. While our new base in Lyon will be the focus of our administrative function, METREX…
Workshop on the ESPON State of the European Territory Report
Thank you to METREX members who responded to the recent call for input to the ‘State of the European Territory’ report. For the next stage of consultation, those leading the report invite you to a half-day workshop in Brussels to discuss the latest draft. Two dates have been proposed for this workshop – 27 June 27 or 28…