The deliverable D6.2: Bold City Vision 2050 for each FC (BCVs for Alba Iulia, Smolyan, Võru, Písek, and Sestao) was submitted by ISOCARP Institute (ISOCARP), Alba Iulia (MAI), Mesto Písek (MP), Municipality of Võru (Võru), Municipality of Smolyan (SMO), and Sestao Berri (SB), with contributions from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Future Analytics Consulting (KPMG), and Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) in March 2023. The executive summary of the deliverable is available below and the full deliverable is at the end for download:
“In working towards climate neutrality, urban decision-makers and planners must contend with a number of available aims, strategies and technologies. With many ideas of how to address issues of energy generation and consumption, such considerations have entered a space of political absorption and practical roll-out. Still, the alignment of developments and long-term climate neutrality visions is a challenge for policy makers and practitioners. To address such challenges, a process of goal setting and planning is proposed, through the development of Bold City Visions (BCVs). BCVs enable policy makers and practitioners to feasibly consider how to reach climate neutrality, through common energy efforts and the establishment of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). The process considers the long-term roll out of solutions, over various generations and scales, with reflection on how to do so and the development of roadmaps to inform future planning and execution.
This deliverable demonstrates how the +CityxChange Cities of Alba Iulia, Smolyan, Võru, Písek, and Sestao have utilised the BCV Framework to create visions for their cities. It serves as a collection of visions across these cities, and a reflection on the processes and value of utilising the BCV Framework. The BCV Framework was employed in the +CityxChange project to help Lighthouse Cities and Follower Cities in their design and construction of energy neutrality visions. This report outlines the process by which each city developed their BCVs, understanding the key stages and methods of enactment that led to their development. Each BCV for the five Follower Cities, constructed by municipal representatives in each city, is presented, outlining planning processes, implementation roadmaps, guidelines for deployment and monitoring of process. A reflection is then made on the process and outcomes of building BCVs in this project.
The value of the Bold City Vision process is highlighted at multiple points throughout the report, in its ability to make tangible that which is often abstract and seemingly unattainable. It connects localised strategies and activities to emergent ideas and technologies in pursuit of climate neutrality. It also allows for governors to merge national and international goals and targets with local policy-making. The BCV process is one that draws in many various actors and shares the responsibility of information sourcing and encourages co-creation and co-development of solutions at a city level. The BCV also aids in the consideration of scale, political will and temporal changes in the creation of realistic and attainable visions for climate neutrality, through common energy solutions.
In the deployment and replication of the BCV process, the value of careful consideration of purpose and design are crucial to producing usable outputs. A diversity of actors should be drawn into the BCV process, including politicians, law-makers and citizens, and co-creation should be encouraged to produce mutually beneficial results. The BCV process is inherently a malleable and adaptable one, able to fit multiple contexts and political landscapes. This, however, does imply that replicating BCV construction should consider consistency and how BCVs may feed into one another, especially under broader national and international planning banners.“
