The DUT City Panel met in Szeged
“My key takeaways from these days are the strong level of engagement, the relevance of the topic and the seriousness with which these issues are being addressed,” says Zandra Thuvesson, transition pathway coordinator management team DUT.
Representatives from city administrations, municipal officials, and elected politicians were present to share needs, experiences, challenges, strategies and solutions related to the theme. The discussions were clearly shaped by a security-policy perspective, including topics such as energy supply, cybersecurity, water, climate and housing, as well as related perspectives on mobility, regenerative urbanism and circularity.
“It was striking how many of the issues DUT works with came up in these discussions. What also feels particularly positive this year is that in contrast to previous years, also elected politicians took part, bringing deep subject-matter expertise. This strengthens the link between policy and administration and increases the chances of putting these lessons into practice,” says Zandra, who is sitting next to the deputy mayor, Sándor Nagy, in the picture.
Also present was the Deputy Mayor for Urban Development of Szeged, Sándor Nagy. Sándor explained that the city is involved in several international projects, including the DUT-funded SUMODO project on Sustainable Urban Mobility Development in Outskirts. Szeged plays a central role in “Cool Life”, a project that has mapped the city’s tree population and developed an app for watering trees. Through the app, residents can help water the city’s trees together, thereby helping to reduce the effects of drought and dryness. Participants had the opportunity to explore the project further during one of the site visits offered as part of the programme.
Another project presented, “ReGreenX”, focused on a multi-approach solution to problems caused by climate change within the framework of a European Urban Initiative (EUI). The project provides a new and innovative model for city-level participation in climate-resilient greening, helping citizens to recognise and understand the growing threats of desertification and empowering more people to adapt. These are two strong examples that inspire and demonstrate the opportunities for sustainable urban development.
The event also included two guest lectures focusing on engagement and decision-making support. Annette Klinkert, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), EUSEA Director and founder of city2science, presented Co-Existence to Co-Creation and Building Partnerships for Sustainable Urban Transformation, a project that describes a shift in how cities are planned and developed: from various actors merely existing side by side to them actively creating sustainable solutions together. Annette emphasised the importance of not working in silos but instead collaborating and creating a space where different forms of knowledge can meet.
Alexander Ståhle, an urban researcher, urban planner, PhD in urban design at KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden) and CEO of the architecture firm Spacescape, spoke about the urban development project Digital tools for the green city. As part of the project, residents in different cities were asked about what they felt was missing in their local surroundings, such as access to green spaces. Digital tools make it possible to collect local knowledge and feedback in a systematic way, visualise proposals effectively and show how different contributions influence the process. This gives cities a stronger basis for decision-making and makes it clearer which investments should be prioritised.
In smaller groups, specific ongoing projects and challenges from participating cities were presented and discussed – the opportunity for direct peer-to-peer exchange among city experts is one of the key assets of the DUT City Panel. With the different workshops and discussions, the event gave DUT a clear picture of cities’ current needs and challenges in relation to sustainable urban development — insights that will be carried forward into future work.
“The needs and challenges identified by the cities will make an important contribution to exploring themes for next year’s calls,” says Zandra.
Now we look forward to further exchange in another city in 2027.
About the DUT City Panel
The DUT City Panel brings together city representatives as active partners in shaping and implementing urban transitions. They meet twice a year: onsite, held in one of the participating cities, for peer-to-peer learning, discussions, and site visits, and online for cities to reflect, exchange insights, and discuss pressing challenges. Previous years DUT City panel have been arranged in Umeå, Bordeaux and Vienna.