+CityxChange brings the two aspiring Lighthouse Cities Trondheim (NO) and Limerick (IE) together with their distinguished Follower Cities Alba Iulia (RO), Pisek (CZ), Võru (EST), Smolyan (BG) and Sestao (ES), to underline their ambition to achieve sustainable urban ecosystems that have zero emissions and establish a 100% renewable energy city-region by 2050.
Trondheim is situated in central Norway by the Trondheim Fjord and is Norway’s third most populous city. Trondheim is situated where the river Nidelva meets the Trondheim Fjord, and is known as an important harbour city. The city is the major public transport and logistic hub in Central Norway and Mid-Scandinavia. Trondheim has a population of about 190,500 people, with the wider region exceeding 280,000 inhabitants. The core of the city has a total urban area of just over 340km2, with a population density of 557 per km2. Trondheim is a strongly growing city, with a low unemployment rate (2.5%).
Located on the western periphery of Europe, within close proximity to Shannon International Airport and Shannon Foynes Port, Limerick is Ireland’s third largest city and designated as one of Ireland’s Gateway Cities under the National Spatial Strategy (2002); it has held the title of Ireland’s Smarter Travel Demonstration Area since 2012. The city has excellent
connectivity with the other large urban centres of Ireland through high-quality road and rail networks. Limerick’s historic core, within the contemporary urban centre has grown in a sustainable and resilient manner that has harnessed the unique location as one of international importance.
The most problematic issue for Võru town is that people are moving out from Võru town to surrounding municipalities or bigger cities in Estonia. The centre of Võru and heritage area is week and poor from activities, which is why people are moving away from the centre to live in the suburb areas of the town. As there are no universities in town, young people move to other towns in Estonia or abroad. Insufficient public transport, is also an important factor, in residents moving to larger cities. There is urgent need to bring people and life back to city centre, to make heritage area attractive place to live and have business and to reconstruct buildings to make them more energy efficient.
The Municipality of Pisek has a population of approximately 30,000, an urban area of just over 63km2 and a population density of 475 per km2. Písek is considered a mid-sized city situated in the South-Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, approximately one-hour travel time to Prague. Its economy has been significantly strengthened by foreign direct investment (FDI) in the industrial zone north of the city, with strong influences from the automotive industry and electro-technics. The Technology Centre Písek and Centre of Low Energy Buildings are two innovation centres built as ‘brownfield site investments’ at a total investment cost of €40M.
With a population of almost 74,000 and an urban area of 104km2, Alba Iulia has a population density of 713 per km2. Alba Iulia is located by the Mureş River in the heart of Transylvania in the central part of Romania. Cultural heritage and tourism are of significant importance for Alba Iulia. The historical centre is highlighted as a geometric centre and also as the core of the urban organisation. The Alba Carolina Citadel, the most representative Vauban Citadel in Romania, outlines the city of Alba Iulia. After a series of large rehabilitation projects over the last decades of more than €70m, financed by EU funding (ESIF), the Municipality has enhanced the city’s cultural heritage and provide the opportunity for both citizens and tourists to explore an area.
Sestao City has a population of approximately 28,300 (2016) with an urban area of 3.5 km2 giving with a population density of 8,085 persons per km2. Sestao is located in Bizkaia, one of the three provinces of the Basque Country. Situated on the left bank of the Nervion River, Sestao belongs to the shared conurbation of Bilbao, Barakaldo, Portugalete and Santurtzi. The city is very well connected to the surrounding communities through road, rail and metro, and a future tram development, which will connect the city to the Leioa Campus
of the University of the Basque Country, making the commuting system more efficient and sustainable through an intermodal station.
The Municipality of Smolyan is situated in a mountainous region in South Bulgaria on 1000m above sea level, in the heart of the Rhodope Mountains, near on the Greek-Bulgarian border. Smolyan is 250km away from the capital Sofia and 100km from the second largest city in the country – Plovdiv. The cross-border checkpoint with Greece (Zlatograd-Thermes) is situated only 55km from Smolyan. The opening of another point in the near future – Elidge border checkpoint, only 30km away from Smolyan, is on the way, which will be the fastest
link with Xanthi and the Northern Aegean coast.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 824260.
This page reflects only the authors’ views and the European Commission/INEA is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
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