The Scalable Cities Secretariat is launching the 14th Call for Visitor Cities in Lyon which will host the conference of the initiative on August 26-28 in Lyon, France.
Within the Scalable Cities conference, four parallel site visits will be organised in Lyon, France, on the morning of August 27, 2025. The visits will be led by SPL Lyon Confluence, coordinator of two Scalable Cities projects: Smarter Together and ASCEND.
The site visits have the following objectives:
- Showcase scalable solutions for climate-neutral cities, with a focus on real-world applications from ASCEND and Smarter Together.
- Facilitate peer learning through four thematic site visits, allowing cities to explore the solutions most relevant to their local challenges:
- Energy Communities in action: Discover Lyon’s innovative PV installations and collective self-consumption models in La Confluence.
- High-performance buildings: Explore large-scale retrofitting and new construction techniques in heritage and dense urban areas.
- Greening the city: Visit the future Positive Clean Energy District (PCED) and learn about cost-effective urban greening strategies.
- Mobility and urban transformation: Experience the transformation of the Part-Dieu district into a multimodal mobility hub and green urban space.
- Promote collaboration between cities, EU institutions, and national stakeholders.
- Encourage knowledge exchange on energy, mobility, digitalisation, and citizen engagement.
- Get inspired by local implementation by connecting participants with experts in urban planning, technology, and governance.
- Support cities in overcoming implementation barriers by offering tailored insights and practical examples from Lyon’s flagship projects.
The organisers expect the participation of cities that are part of the 28 Scalable Cities Projects funded by the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes, as well as cities beyond this scope who are interested in the topics of smart and sustainable urban development.
A dedicated P2P discussion session between the Host City and Visitor Cities will be held on 28th August.
Applicants are invited to complete the Site Visit Application Form for Visitor City (available at this link and on the P2P Program website) and to submit it together with the request form on the P2P Application Platform. Applicants can learn more about the eligibility criteria, reimbursement of costs or the programme by reading the Terms of Reference, available on the website.
The deadline for submitting the Site Visit Application Form for Visitor City is July 23rd, 2025, at 12:00 CET.
For any inquiries, please contact the Scalable Cities Secretariat via the helpdesk.
Do not miss the deadline and submit your application for an exciting site visit in Lyon!
Site Visits promote the exchange of best practices, policies and solutions between cities through an on-the-field visit and direct exchange between one Host City and up to five Visitor Cities. Site Visits offer a platform for cities that are leading important initiatives to showcase them to other peers and share their experience on a concrete domain.
Key topics of site visits:
- From Positive Energy Building to Positive Energy District
- Upscaling of pilot projects within the own city/Governance innovation
- Funding and new business models
- Transition from a Fellow to a Lighthouse city
- Digital transformation
- Monitoring and evaluation
How to apply?
One representative of the city can submit a proposal (city department, public or semi-public utilities companies, public agencies, coordinating authorities, and other public bodies directly linked to the city).
Please fill in the application form (downloadable documents) for becoming a Host City or a Visitor City and submit it on the EU Survey Application Platform. More details and information on the general eligibility, reimbursement and methodology can be found in the terms of reference (Site Visits).