The Zorrotzaurre project, used as an example of sustainable and integrated development in the Urban Initiatives Network (RIU) plenary session held last Friday in Bilbao

Last Friday, the 7^th Plenary Session of the Urban Initiatives Network (RIU after its initials in Spanish) 2017 was held in the Auditorium of the Azkuna Centre, Bilbao. The RIU is an open forum to facilitate the sharing of experiences and urban best practices that have received EU funding. The platform (made up of the Central Administration, Regional Authorities, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces and Local Administration representatives) channels FEDER funds aimed at fostering urban policies that improve city and town development in Spain.

Bilbao has been chosen to host this event as an example of the synergies attained in projects financed with European funding. In Zorrotzaurre, two projects are to be undertaken in parallel: On the one hand, the DUSI Strategy to be developed and financed with Spanish FEDER funding; and on the other the Urban Innovative Action (UIA) project, financed with funds directly from the European Commission.

The session was opened by the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan María Aburto and attended by numerous national and foreign representatives responsible for urban development schemes.

In his inaugural speech, Aburto emphasised that cities are the drivers of past, present and future development and economic development cannot exist without social cohesion, underlining the importance of acting locally without losing the global view. Regarding the Zorrotzaurre project, the Mayor of Bilbao highlighted that the island will be the setting of an ambitious urban development strategy that is both sustainable and integrated and which is being financed with 15 million euros from FEDER funds.

At the end of the plenary session, the attendees were taken on a tour of Zorrotzaurre to better understand the major aspects of its regeneration project.