Small and Medium-sized cities (SMCs), often referred to as Small Giants, face specific challenges but also bring with them specific strengths, when it comes to becoming more circular. Their closer connection with their citizens, shorter timeframe from idea to action and their better appreciation of local resources are counterbalanced by a lack of funding, human capacity constraints and a general tendency to be overlooked by national, European and private funding and support schemes, losing out to their larger counterparts.
This is all reflected in relation to the topic of circularity at the city scale, so what actions can small cities take to accelerate the transition from linear to more circular models and how can European programmers support them in achieving their goals?
In this workshop, organised by the Small Giants Focus Group under the European Commission’s initiative the Smart Cities Marketplace, and with input from the Circular Invest project under the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), small and medium sized cities, along with representatives of regional city groupings, are invited to connect and exchange on the specific challenges faced by them. Short presentations will be given by Small Giants of their successes in tackling different aspects of circularity. Participants will collaboratively identify specific strengths and challenges and provide input on what European Initiatives can do to better support them in their quest.
Join the workshop on 4 July to share your experiences of circularity with other ‘Small Giants’ and help shape actions accelerating progress on this important initiative.
You can learn more about the Small Giants Focus group here, or about the project development assistance offered by Circular Invest here.