The Helsingborg + Competition

In 2008, the municipality of Helsingborg in the South of Sweden launched a competition for proposals about the regeneration of a large former industrial district in the South of the city. The process adopted for the selection of the winning teams was unique in that it involved the setting up of an Expert Group which worked over the past six months with Helsingborg's key stakeholders to evaluate 5 proposals by different teams.

The Expert Group featured, among others, experts in the public realm (Gehl Architects) and cultural planning (Noema Research and Planning). On the 18th of March the Expert Group delivered their report to the Jury and a decision will be made over the next few weeks.

This 'Open Source' innovative approach to planning is an excellent example of how by drawing on the expertise of professionals from various disciplines civic leaders can deliver quality of life, distinctiveness, sustainability and competitiveness for their cities.
For more information on this ongoing process, contact Hakan Asmoarp, or Kristoffer Nilsson at Helsingborg's Planning Department.

Forum for Creative Europe

On Thursday 26 March the Forum for Creative Europe will take place in Prague. Organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in collaboration with European Commission, the conference is one of the main events of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009. With over 50 speakers, artists, policy makers and practitioners from Europe and outside the Forum will be an opportunity to make the case for creativity in a world in turmoil.
Lia Ghilardi will be among the speakers and in her presentation she will discuss how cities can be more creative in the way they deal with competitiveness by focusing on their unique DNA defined across urban, social, human and cultural capital.

To follow the Forum live please go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J526Q-Wczbc
www.forumforcreativeeurope.cz/en