Mayors play a critical role in shaping the economic, social, and environmental landscape of their cities. With rapid urbanization and the increasing demand for sustainable and smart cities, Mayors need to be equipped with the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions that will benefit their communities in the long run. To this end, the Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG) network has launched the Urban Learning Center (ULC), an initiative that aims to provide capacity-building and knowledge-sharing opportunities for municipalities.

The ULC is an ecosystem that encompasses various programs and learning opportunities, knowledge management, and stakeholder engagement for the M4EG network. It seeks to help Mayors and their teams transform their cities with a focus on green and digital transitions, foresight, social and community listening, sensemaking, adaptive, and agile management. The ULC is envisioned as a platform for cooperation and learning among its members to support the development of sustainable, inclusive, and smart cities.

The ULC aims to benefit around 350 local authorities over four years, offering training, capacity development, and knowledge exchange activities. At least 50 local authorities will be supported in developing Local Economic Development Plans based on the Mayors for Economic Growth methodology (more about the journey).

Smart City course to be created among other learning modules

Different learning modules that will be created within the project provide valuable knowledge, starting from Foundation and continued by Local Economic Development Plan 2.0 (LEDP); Transition, and Financing. These courses will be developed for mayors, municipal staff, and other stakeholders who seek to learn and implement best practices for urban development. The Foundation course is an introductory course, while the others delve deeper into local economic development plans, green transitions, and smart cities.

Luiza Schuch de Azambuja, an Early Stage Researcher at FinEst Centre, and PhD student at Ragnar Nurkse Department of Innovation and Governance at TalTech, is part of the Urban Learning Center project. Her main role in the project is to support the development of the content for ULC.