Urban Lab is an all-day international think tank within the Mikser Festival 2024, which brings together local experts from all around Europe, Asia, and Latin America, of various profiles around the topic of improving the application of nature-inspired solutions and citizen participation in shaping our cities.

It is taking place on Friday, May 24, 2024, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the main hall of Miljenko Dereta, Dobračina 55. Participation in the URBAN LAB program is free, with mandatory registration by filling out this form. All sessions of the Urban Lab program are in English.

The Urban Lab program is dedicated to architects, urban planners, activists, city representatives, experts, and enthusiasts, everyone who invests their knowledge, experience, and passion in shaping and maintaining our cities, to make them more ready for the challenges of climate change and more just concerning needs of all citizens.

The Urban Lab Think aims to present tangible examples of urban interventions based on nature and recommendations obtained through citizen participation and Illustrate the impact of this holistic approach to shaping cities on improving the quality of life, psycho-physical health and well-being of citizens. Urban Lab will also transfer the experiences of cities in Europe, Asia and South America that pilot the principles of NBS and participation in reality through two Horizon EU projects – euPOLIS and HEART, with a special focus on “lessons learned”, exchange of challenges and co-creation of recommendations for more effective implementation of these principles together with representatives of the local professional public.

In addition to a series of dynamic and inspiring lectures and presentations, an important part of the Urban Lab program is an interactive session (word café workshop), during which we will combine the experiences of local and international experts and city representatives and, in synergy, generate recommendations for innovative and unconventional models of citizen involvement in important urban processes through hubs of cultural exchange and social interactions. We will include the results of the workshop in the documents that we are developing as part of two international research projects, which the partner cities will try to further integrate into their strategic documents and processes. The document will be publicly available to the domestic and international public, while all participants in the workshop will be credited as contributors and awarded a certificate of participation in the Urban Lab meeting.

Being fully aware that all cities face challenges on their road to re-introducing nature into their cores and public spaces, and root those processes into decisions and preferences expressed through citizens’ participation, the Urban Lab program also has an exhibition showcasing the experiences of cities across the world along with our both front-runner and follower euPOLIS cities and other partners’.  It is a path of try and fail; every step can be a lesson for professionals and doers from other cities to learn from someone else’s experience. Good examples can be replicated and further enhanced through open and honest dialogue among professionals and decision-makers in the city hierarchy.

This collection of posters and video materials are the lessons that cities learned and an opportunity to join knowledge, experiences, tools, and capacities to make themselves even better, healthier, and happier in the future:

City of Bogotá, City of Gladsaxe, City of Lodz, City of Palermo, the City of Piraeus, City of Trebinje, the City of Castelfranco Veneto, the City of Chania, City of Dundalk, the City of Gyira, City of Leuven, City Novo mesto, The city of Skelleftea, Yugo cycling campaign, Embassy for Urban Planning, Vertical Farm Institute…

FULL URBAN LAB PROGRAM

Important notes:

  • Refreshments and a light meal will be served at the venue
  • By filling out the form below, you reserve one seat to participate in all sessions of the Urban Lab conference and workshop.
  • All sessions of the Urban Lab program are in English.
  • Participants coming from other cities need to organize their transportation.

APPLY HERE