Green Transition of Coastal Cities – roundtable in Šibenik
The roundtable “Green Transition of Coastal Cities” was held in Šibenik on July 26, 2024, gathering around 50 participants. Innovative student solutions were presented, addressing real challenges faced by Šibenik, Liepāja, and many other coastal cities. The event featured two panel discussions, “Knowledge for Positive Change” and “New Solutions for Sustainable Cities,” followed by awards and certificates for students and mentors.
This year’s REAL RIS summer school concluded with this roundtable. Seven teams presented their work to H.E. Agnes Kalniņa, Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia to Hungary, as well as representatives from Šibenik, Liepāja, and the interested public. The teams also received feedback from a panel of experts on their work.
The core of the roundtable was the presentation of solutions developed during the international summer school “Co-creation for Innovation.”
Gradski parking – the app for public transport and parking in Šibenik underwent a renaissance. Two teams worked on improving the app by proposing new features and establishing Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in the Šibenik area:
- SEBENICO – multimodal mobility for tourists and residents
- Urban Navigator – multimodal mobility for tourists and residents
The next two teams explored Šibenik’s resilience to climate change. They proposed several different solutions tailored to Šibenik’s context to help the city cope with heat islands, lack of green sun protection areas, water scarcity, droughts, and extreme rainfall:
- Enhancing climate resilience through urban climate shelters
- Climate-resilient Šibenik – mitigating the effects of climate change in coastal cities
One team addressed the problem of numerous physical barriers to the movement of elderly and disabled persons in Šibenik with a digital support service – an app for citizens and visitors:
The sixth team proposed improving accessibility and mobility for tourists in the coastal park of Liepāja in three steps. The solution focused on parking problems and offered an innovative autonomous shuttle from parking lots to the beach:
The final team, which won first place for the best solution, focused on reducing traffic congestion in Šibenik by offering a creative alternative – coastal ferry lines that can serve both citizens and tourists, taking seasonality into account:
The expert panel, composed of Julije Domac (REGEA), Petar Mišura (City of Šibenik), Ivan Kundid (Gradski parking Šibenik), Lucija Jusup (Association of Cities), and Kristina Perkov (Faculty of Architecture, University of Zagreb), provided feedback to each group and awarded them with the final scores.
In addition to the student presentations, the roundtable hosted experts who participated in two panels to share experiences and exchange knowledge on various aspects of the green transition of cities, which includes social, technological, and spatial changes.
The first panel discussion, “Knowledge for Positive Change,” focused on the benefits and methods of engaging citizens in changes aimed at sustainable mobility. Lucija Jusup from the Association of Cities presented the perspective of the URBACT network, Marko Slavulj from the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences in Zagreb highlighted the benefits of the PUMA project, and Petar Mišura from the City of Šibenik shared examples of projects and plans for improving urban mobility in Šibenik. The panel was moderated by Goran Lampelj from ODRAZ.
In the second panel discussion, “New Solutions for Sustainable Cities,” the emphasis was on connecting the academic, civil, and private sectors to present and implement innovations in urban mobility and how they impact the quality of life in urban areas. Concrete examples can be found in ongoing projects. Marijana Serdar from the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Zagreb spoke about the activities and example of the GREENCO project, Sven Harjaček from Bird Incubator shared his experience from the Accelerate2Move project, while Magdalena Makar from ODRAZ introduced the participants to the goals of the SPINE project. The panel was moderated by Petra Grgasović from REGEA.
For a successful green transition of coastal cities, it is essential to encourage innovation, critical thinking, and teamwork. Young professionals and students from various disciplines, with experience working in interdisciplinary and international environments, will play an important role in creating sustainable solutions that will shape the future of the cities.
View the photo gallery HERE.
More about the summer school “Co-creation for Innovation” can be found HERE.
More about the REAL RIS project can be found HERE.
The roundtable “Green Transition of Coastal Cities” was organized by REGEA and ODRAZ as part of the REAL RIS project, in collaboration with the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Zagreb as part of the GREENCO project. The roundtable is part of the activities of the RESPONSIBLE EDUCATED AGILE LEADING RIS project, funded by the EIT Urban Mobility initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, and the GREENCO project, funded by the ERASMUS+ program.