There’s a party in Brussels today. The EU is celebrating 20 years of urban-development support. This support, to help cities become more competitive and to develop long-term, sustainable strategies, has been given from 1989. Results of this support in this region can be seen in Nottingham and Peterborough.
The European Union calls the urban development support one of the priorities on it’s cohesion policy. Between 1994 and 1999 the EU invested over EUR900 million in community money in 118 cities across the EU. By this the EU tried to create jobs, combating social exclusion and environmental problems. After 2000 the money was more targeted on the design and implementation of social regeneration in deprived areas. Around EUR30 billion is targeted at urban development in 2007-2013.
One of the best known examples in England of using this fund is a project called ‘The Space-makers’ : In Bristol, young people in a deprived part of the city took part in a scheme aimed at designing a new public space. They helped to select the landscape architect and materials used.
Although Lincoln has not received any EU urban development funding in the past 20 years, there are some cities in the regions that did. Between 1994 and 1996 Nottingham received EUR13.572000 to create additional economic opportunities and make them accessible to local people; to develop a safe community and to develop the confidence of local people. In 2000-2006 Peterborough received over EUR 11million to reach the same sort of goals.
Photo-source: Wikimedia
