Latest news for selected city

How do cities know if their mobility plans really work? On 7 October, the UBC Sustainable Cities Commission and the Interreg Baltic Sea Region SUMPs for BSR project brought this question to centre stage in a UBC TALKS webinar. The discussion focused on Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) as a hands-on tool—helping cities measure progress, engage people, and move faster toward sustainable mobility.

On 1–3 October 2025, over 70 urban leaders, climate experts, and changemakers gathered in Malmö, Sweden, for the annual Union of the Baltic Cities Sustainable Cities Commission meeting. Under the theme “Creating Climate-Proof and Nature-Positive Cities Together,” the event became a powerful platform for cities across the Baltic Sea Region to collaborate on urgent environmental challenges – and the solutions needed to meet them.

Our UBC Sustainable Cities Commission teamed up with the Turku University of Applied Sciences in organising a joint session, building on the research, piloting and data findings within the EMPEREST and NonHazCity3 projects. The objective of the panel was to explore how the harmful effects of hazardous substances on nature, people, and the circular economy can be minimized.

We are happy to announce that the 2025 disclosure cycle of the CDP-ICLEI Track is opening tomorrow on June 18!

The Urban Biodiversity Parks project pilots the concept of a biodiversity park as a tool for urban ecological restoration and regeneration. The aim is to establish a 20-hectare biodiversity park that provides a platform for testing various nature management activities, focusing on local species and habitats, while also serving as a space for community engagement and experiential learning.

Due to climate change, extreme weather events like droughts, heavy rainfall, and heatwaves are becoming more frequent across the Baltic Sea Region. As these impacts intensify, cities face growing pressure to adapt and prepare. In response, the city of Turku is strengthening its climate resilience through the RESIST project.

The event opened with remarks from Anders Ekman, a local politician actively engaged in mobility issues in Gävle. He shared experiences of the city working towards reaching the ambitious climate goals, emphasising the importance of influencing the travel choices made by citizens. Like in many other cities, in Gävle, transport emissions and car dependency remain the key barriers to reaching climate goals. 

Unveiling the background story of the Urban Biodiversity Parks Project and understanding what it sets out to achieve.

Organised in early October 2024, the project meeting of Climate-4-CAST created a great exchange opportunity for different climate budgeting practices from cities in the Baltic Sea Region.

The International Photo Competition on Active Mobility brought attention to the importance of sustainable mobility modes across six project partner cities.

The heat pump solution developed and implemented in Turku Student Village PED area was awarded by the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) in Brussels on 25 September 2024. Tyyssija’s heat pump solution won 1st place in the category “Heat Pump City of the Year”, which recognizes heat pump projects implemented at the local level with the support of the city. The solution was co-developed in the project RESPONSE by partners VTT, Oilon, Högfors GST, and Turku Energy.

This seminar was titled “Sustainable transformation for resilient coastal city”, focusing on three areas of the hosting city of Gdańsk: two parts of the harbour zone and the area next to the football arena built for UEFA Euro 2012. The aim of the seminar was to provide new functional visions for these areas, prepared by the teams of international experts from UBC member cities in line with the hosting city’s strategic objectives.