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Belfast, IR, June 2015

Reggio Calabria, May 2014

San Diego State University, San Diego, CA (USA) 11-12 June 2013

Sustainable Urban Development. The role of urban rural regeneration in regional context

The Second International Workshop “Sustainable Urban Development: The role of urban rural regeneration in regional context” was part of the activities planned by the research Cluds.
The event, organized in collaboration with the San Diego State University, was held in San Diego, CA, on 11th and 12th June 2013. The workshop pursued the objective to summarize the activities carried out during the Working Package No.2 Research Cluds.
In particular, the purpose of the event were related to the successful factorsin the urban regeneration interventions in the United States and in a specific manner in the area of San Diego, with reference to two specific aspects:

1. The Community-led approach “: in this case urban regeneration initiatives were analyzed with respect to their ability to generate benefits to meet the needs of local communities.
2. The Urban-Rural Connection: as a means of contributing to the definition of usable tools for urban regeneration.

The workshop pursued the objective to summarize the activities carried out during the Working Package No.2 Research Cluds. The CLUDs project has introduced the concept of “milieu” to offer a different source of sustainability within urban regeneration initiatives, that is the connections with the surrounding rural areas to reinforce local economy. Among different contributions in literature about the meaning of milieu, the more suitable explanation, according to the CLUDs project, is the following: “a set of potential expressed by a particular territory that should be recognized and captured by the organization of local actors in order to be exploited as sources of local development”.

The main feature of the milieu is the capability to relate physical resources with local actors, by covering three dimensional aspects: the individual (value attitudes, life-style, actions, perceptions); the level of the district/neighborhood (locality); and the level of the network. Connected to this general meaning, some specifications arise from the new economy or new economic geography implications, especially with respect the GREMI (Groupe de Recherches Européensur les Milieux Innovateurs) model.

Boston, April 2013

In Boston, MA, USA, at the Northeastern University, in April 2013, an institutional workshop was held in order to establish the international cooperation between the Northeastern University and the Università Mediterranea from Reggio Calabria, Italy, for the extension of the international doctorate “Urban Regeneration and Economic Development”.

Since the academic year 2012-2013, in fact, the University Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria has launched the first round of the international doctorate as a result of the research activities of the CLUDs project (Commercial Local Urban Districts) of the 7th FP, and funded by the Calabria Region through POR ESF resources Calabria 2007-2013. Ten Professors, belonging to the network of the CLUDs project (Aalto University, Helsinki; Salford University, Manchester; Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA; San Diego State University San Diego, CA, USA) were committed to hold courses during the first and third years at the University of Reggio Calabria, mandatory for the six European fellows selected. Second-year courses, mandatory, are held at the Department of Economics of Northeastern University in Boston. For the Regional Administration was present in Boston, Giacomo Mancini who emphasized how “The doctorate will allow six young European graduates, participating in high-level training lessons fielded in the Mediterranea University by ten renowned international teachers, to develop innovative design ideas in public private partnership and ” Urban Regeneration “, therefore aimed at offering a scientific contribution to the revitalization of urban and rural areas in Calabria. We participated with enthusiasm to this successful path, drawn by the Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, financing (thanks to a good use of the Community funds POR- ESF 2007-2013) the first three-year cycle of the doctorate programme, with an amount of over one million euros. Our goal is to strengthen sustainable initiatives, to occupy a permanent space on the international stage for higher education, with the concrete possibility of international experiences for young Calabrian researchers”. The workshop was coordinated by Professor Alan Dyer of the Economics Department of the “Northeastern University”. The Italian Consul in Boston, Giuseppe Pastorelli, took part at the meeting.

San Diego, August 2012

School Of Public Affairs, San Diego, California

The Second Midterm Meeting of CLUDs Project took place on 22-27 of August 2012. The specific objective of the WP2 concerned “Setting up an analytical process to understand how a territorial milieu could reinforce local urban regeneration initiatives”. The research activities were implemented in the San Diego area, through selected case studies. General consensus was on the fact that urban-rural linkages should be analyzed in a wider context, with a particular concern on the concept of bioregion. The methodological approach was better defined by the Salford unit, which was the European lead partner, along with the Aalto unit.

Reggio Calabria, IT – June 2012

Economic Development Strategies. The Role of Public Private Partnership

The International research partners presented the first work package findings in Reggio Calabria on 11-15th June 2012.

The International research partners presented the first work package findings in Reggio Calabria on 11-15th June 2011. In particular they shared the successful factors of the public- private partnerships acting on urban regeneration initiatives in the metropolitan area of Boston. Local stakeholders, experts and all interested people were invited to discuss the findings. Throughout one week work, the partners have not only put the research project forward, but also organized the International doctorate on “Urban Regeneration and Economic Development”, which was launched on the 12th. Both the International doctorate and the further initiatives empowering the CLUDs project stemmed from the commitment of the Region Calabria on empowering local economy and human capital and were financed under the Operational Program European Social Funds 2007-2013 of the Region of Calabria.