A NEW URBANISM FOR EUROPE: THE EUROPEAN RECOVERY FUNDS, AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE FUTURE OF CITIES

ABSTRACT

The Next Generation EU (NGEU) fund is a European Union economic recovery package to support member states adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This program represents an unprecedented effort. Besides promoting a European Union more ecological, digital, and resilient, the recovery funds aim at financing projects of public-private partnership around a series of issues. Some especially related to urbanism, such as ecological transition, smart, sustainable, integrative growth, or social and territorial cohesion. In the first part of the present work, we analyze the evolution of urbanism in Europe since the 1972 European Soil Charter, adopted by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Secondly, we examine potential areas where urban projects could be promoted implementing European funds, in connection with the new Leipzig Charter and the European Territorial Agenda 2030, which support an urban environment more just, green, and productive.