News for topic Urban-planning

How can cities strengthen resilience and preparedness in the face of increasing climate risks? In Jyväskylä, Finland, this question is being addressed through the project combining data, planning and collaboration to turn climate knowledge into practical action.

How can cities move from plans to real change in their transport systems? Across the Baltic Sea Region, many municipalities are asking the same question.

The training materials for independent learning, consisting of webinar and workshop recordings, individual exercises and curated learning materials, are available at the Baltic Sea Region SUMP Competence Centre. The programme was created by the SUMPs for BSR project.

Our Commission joined the EUSBSR Annual Forum on 11-13 May 2026 in Tallinn and shared highlights from our city network with its 500 participants. With cities in the center of the discussions, we oranised a session on urban mobility, supported the discussions on climate resilience, introduced a range of concrete tools in climate budgeting, green procurement and hazardous substances governance, and also run the Networking Village stand of UBC.

The two surveys presented in the webinar were conducted in late 2025 and early 2026. The Survey on Sustainable Urban Mobility and Logistics Planning ran from December 2025 to February 2026, targeting cities and regions across the Baltic Sea Region. The Questionnaire to National SUMP Contact Points ran from October to December 2025, focusing on national‑level representatives responsible for SUMP coordination.

Neighbourhoods as living laboratories Halinen and Jyrkkälä are ordinary, lived-in suburbs where forests, courtyards and riverbanks are part of daily routines. Before choosing any pilot sites, Turku carried out ecological mapping and resident surveys to understand existing habitats, how people use them and where realistic opportunities for biodiversity improvements exist.

The training brings together the expertise of the project partners, the Union of the Baltic Cities Sustainable Cities Commission (UBC SCC), the University of Gdańsk, the Institute of Baltic Studies, and UBC member cities of Turku, Gdynia, Cēsis, Greifswald, Panevėžys, and Gävle.

The conference reaffirmed the network's primary goal of creating a more resilient, innovative, and united Baltic Sea region. Cities need to be at the table, not on the menu With these key words, UBC President Mantas Jurgutis addressed the conference participants. In these tumultuous times, it's vital to have strong and consolidated messages amplifying the city voices.

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.

The national award was given to the City of Greifswald recognising the city's outstanding progress in the area of resilient urban development, particularly in Schönwalde I and II districts. Within the framework of the urban development funding programs Greifswald has focused specifically on the sustainable improvement of infrastructure and the creation of climate-friendly living spaces.

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.