1. ESPON Citybench ‘quickscan’ webtool for cities
Working Party on
“Regional Statistics and Rural Development”
ESPON Citybench
‘quickscan’ webtool for cities
Eurostat, Luxembourg
Instructions for ESPON Project Presenters
The presenters are requested to:
• Not exceed the total of 10 minutes that is allocated for your presentation.
• Use the ESPON Template provided and address the two questions below
What are the main territorial trends or observations since 2007/8 from your project concerning the impacts of the last economic crisis)?
Please select maximum 2 maps from your project and include maximum 5 bullet points in the .ppt template attached that could illustrate and synthesize this question.
Maximum use 3-4 slides for showing ESPON evidence on question
2. What are the opportunities and challenges that exist for fostering recovery and resilience in the next programming period? (according to your mind / your ESPON findings)?
Please include maximum 3 bullet points in the .ppt template attached that could illustrate and synthesize this question.
Please use up to 2 slides to answer to this question.
• Be prepared to actively contribute to the discussion concerning what have been the lessons
learned in territorial development since the last economic crisis

2. ESPON 2013 Programme Mission:
Territorial evidence providing comparable information on territorial dynamics that can reveal territorial capital and potentials.
Key principles:
Policy demand driven, usability, quality, timing, continuity, transfer and complementarities
Budget :
47 mill Euro
34 mill. Euro from European Commission
13 mill. Euro from 31 participating countries

3. Programme Delivery Volume of projects:
25 Applied Research projects (policy driven themes)
23 Targeted Analyses (defined by stakeholder demand)
12 larger projects under Scientific Platform and Tools
7 Transnational Networking Activities
Project implementation status:
Of these 67 projects, 22 have still to deliver final results
Additional 16 MA-led projects, each with several actions with implementation by Calls for Tenders
One final Call for Proposals for the ECP network
Budget implementation status:
All funds allocated, but high performance needed in Progress Reporting and spending needed to avoid de- commitment in 2013

4. Citybench context and objectives
The project - European Urban Benchmarking webtool
Cities of all sizes play a crucial role as engines of smart, sustainable and inclusive territorial development.
Help policymakers, practitioners and public and private investors to identify “similar” cities around issues such as demographic challenges, economic challenges, social disparities/polarisation, urban sprawl and greenhouse gas emissions.
Citybench is a ‘quickscan’ webtool highlighting both the risks and opportunities for cities, the potential aspects for investment and allow benchmarking of cities.
Large Urban Zones
Objectives
Comparing regions
Attracting investors

5. Territorial Trends & Observations
Data
Reduced official, top-down data providers -> difficulty in up to datedness
Increasing volunteer, non-official, bottom-up, real time data providers
Information
Reduced investment
Increased unemployment …
Exploration of official data shows….
In the other hand, last years we’ve seen a growing trend on VGI…
In direct relation with the actual crisis, data suggest a descencing investment
And a big growth of unemployment (more in the more affected countries: Spain, Greece…)

6. Territorial Trends & Observations
Ilustrating previous ideas, from eurostat data:
In the left, a random set of european cities showing the unemployment rate in 2003 – 2006, …. We see the rise of unemployment and the lack of updated data.
In the right, a random set of European cities showing cinema seats per 1000 inhabitants: descending activity and again lack of up to date data

7. Potential Users Targeted to the use of:
Policymakers and practitioners concerned with attracting and managing the development in cities.
Public investors, including the European Investment Bank and its traditional lending operations in sustainable urban projects.
Private investors seeking to get a quick overview of European urban regions.
Opportunities:
Similar cities face similar cities: partnerships, lessons learned
Urban Audit data, LUZ
VGI (i.e. social media) provides real-time up-to-date data -> concentrated in cities
From our project point of view, we see some challenges for what our tool provides some opportunities.
Our tool is a comparation and similarity finding tool, which will help investors to choose with a criterium where is the best place to invest-
In the other hand, this will bring cities managers a tool for learning how other cities have cope with similar problems.
Finally, VGI and social media, providing real-time and up to date data, and concentrated in cities, is an opportunitty to get more information, bu also a challenge to make it usefull.

9. opportunities & challenges
distribution of tweets along europe
Illustrating the previous ideas, a mockup schema of our similar city finder tool and the distribution of tweets along europe: clearly related to urban areas.

10. Selecting and Comparing cities
Multi-dimensional city (each indicator a dimension)

11. Selecting and Comparing cities

12. Selecting and Comparing cities

13. Selecting and Comparing cities

14. Next steps 30 November 2013 - Draft Final Report and deliverables
Final web text sections
• Draft Final European Urban Benchmarking Webtool
• Draft Final Report
• Draft ‘European Urban Benchmarking Webtool Demonstration Report’
28 February Final Report and deliverables

15. Inspire policy making by territorial evidence
ESPON Territorial Evidence
Thank you for your attention
Inspire policy making by territorial evidence