URBACT Residents of the Future

The last episode of the Residents of the Future podcast presents the City of Šibenik (Croatia) as the lead partner of the URBACT Residents of the Future network. Hosted by Tiago Ferreira, the episode features Nikolina Gracin and Ines Kulušić from the City of Šibenik – Department for Economy – who coordinated the project and led a partnership of nine European cities addressing population decline an...

Trebinje is a city known for its quality of life, cultural heritage, and natural surroundings — but like many small cities across Europe, it is facing long-term depopulation and the outmigration of young people. In this episode of Residents of the Future , Tiago Ferreira speaks with Tamara Dursun and Slobodan Vulešević about the structural challenges behind these trends: young people leaving for e...

In this episode of the URBACT podcast Residents of the Future , lead expert Tiago Ferreira speaks with Terho Savolainen and Mari Kuronen from the City of Iisalmi, Finland. Iisalmi is a small city in northern Finland, surrounded by lakes and forests, known for its high quality of life, strong local companies and close connection to nature. Despite its size, it combines a vibrant local economy with...

In this episode of the URBACT podcast Residents of the Future , lead expert Tiago Ferreira speaks with Tudor Drambarean from the municipality of Alba Iulia, Romania. Alba Iulia is a historic city with more than 2,000 years of history and a strong symbolic role in the formation of modern Romania. Over the past two decades, the city has undergone a major transformation through strategic use of EU fu...

How can a historic city facing population decline reinvent itself for the future? In this episode of Residents of the Future , URBACT Lead Expert Tiago Ferreira travels to Plasencia, Spain — a city known for its cathedral, medieval old town and natural surroundings — to explore how it is responding to urban shrinkage. Guests Juan Ramon, Fernando and Francisco share personal stories of staying, lea...

Residents of the Future – Saldus, Latvia: People First in the Face of Urban Shrinkage In this episode of Residents of the Future , an URBACT podcast series exploring how small cities across Europe respond to urban shrinkage, we travel to Saldus, Latvia — a small town with a strong sense of belonging, creativity, and care for its people. Host Tiago Ferreira , Lead Expert of the URBACT Residents of...

The podcast episode introduces the Residence of the Future network and explores Mantova's cultural identity, challenges of urban shrinkage, housing issues, community efforts, personal connections with Mantova, initiatives and projects with the ULG, and the integrated action plan for the future. Mantova's cultural heritage and sustainability efforts are highlighted, along with the impact of...

In this episode of URBACT Residence of the Future , lead expert Tiago Ferreira visits Saint-Quentin in northern France to explore how the city is responding to decades of population decline and industrial restructuring. Guests Barbara Domont (Urbact Local Group) and Nicolas Gibbe (City Office) discuss their personal connections with Saint-Quentin, the city’s evolving identity, challenges linked to...

In this week’s episode of Residents of the Future , we’re heading to Mangualde — a vibrant small city in Portugal that’s proving how community strength and smart newcomer-integration policies can shape a sustainable future. Residents of the Future is an URBACT action planning network of nine small European cities united in the mission to stand strong against urban shrinkage. Each week, we travel a...