Applications now open for the “Compact Cities” Partnership!
The Partnership will bring together stakeholders from the public and private sectors, urban authorities, academia, and non-governmental organisations, with the aim of promoting dense, efficient, and sustainable urban development in response to the challenge of urban sprawl across Europe.
What is a Thematic Partnership under the Urban Agenda for the EU
The Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU) is a multilevel and multistakeholder working method to address the urban dimension of EU policies. It promotes cooperation between cities, regions, Member States, the European Commission, and other stakeholders, by forming Thematic Partnerships on critical urban challenges. The overall objective is to integrate urban considerations into EU policies, ensuring better regulation, funding, and knowledge for cities across Europe.
The UAEU has previously launched 20 Thematic Partnerships, each focused on a specific urban challenge. In 2023, the Gijon Agreement prioritised the theme of "Compact Cities”. Since then, significant efforts have been made to explore the strategic importance of this topic within the framework of current urban development challenges and EU policy objectives. An Ex-Ante Assessment was conducted to investigate how compact urban forms can support the creation of more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive cities, improving accessibility, enhancing urban mobility, and encouraging mixed-use development. This assessment was officially endorsed by the Directors-General on Urban Matters (DGUM) on 16 May 2025.
Strategic focus of the new Partnership
Urban sprawl, marked by low-density, car-dependent, and fragmented growth, poses significant environmental, social, and economic challenges. These include increased greenhouse gas emissions, rising infrastructure costs, and growing social inequality. Compact urban development offers a potential solution to mitigate these costs using a combination of approaches to urban containment, densification and regeneration, with the objectives of promoting efficient land use, reducing car dependency, and enhancing social cohesion.
Recognising that urban form results from a complex interplay between demographic trends, market dynamics, planning systems, and governance structures, this theme highlights the crucial role of public policy in shaping more compact urban areas.
Given the complexity of the theme, a diverse and interdisciplinary partnership is essential to ensure a comprehensive approach. The Compact Cities Partnership should cover expertise across multiple domains to address the identified gaps in knowledge and implementation capacity. To achieve a well-balanced and effective partnership, it is also crucial to engage stakeholders at multiple levels, ensuring representation from different sectors and governance scales.
How is this topic related to the Urban Agenda for the EU’s pillars?
As highlighted in the Ex-Ante Assessment, there are several potential links between compact cities and the three pillars of the Urban Agenda for the EU (Better Regulation, Better Funding, Better Knowledge).
Better Regulation: Effective frameworks for land use and urban development are crucial. Key examples are the Soil Monitoring Law (still in the legislative process) and the Nature Restoration Law, which are both in line with urban greening priorities. However, as urban planning is not an EU competence, regulatory outcomes are highly dependent on the actions of national governments, so their involvement is crucial.
Better Funding: The development of new EU budgetary frameworks presents an opportunity to support sustainable urban development through instruments such as the European Urban Initiative (EUI) and InvestEU. The New European Bauhaus (NEB) adds an additional dimension by connecting funding priorities with urban planning and design for compact cities.
Better Knowledge: It is important to enhance EU policymakers’ understanding of compact city principles and integrate these concepts into the evolving urban policy framework. Strengthening knowledge-sharing mechanisms and aligning urban initiatives with funding and regulatory tools can help embed compact city approaches into EU strategies.
Why become a partner
Joining a Thematic Partnership offers a unique opportunity to drive innovation, policy reform, and practical solutions that will benefit both the environment and communities. Thematic Partnerships facilitate multi-level cooperation, enabling cities of all sizes, regions, Member States, civil society, and research institutions to jointly drive transformative change. They provide a platform for knowledge exchange, policy development, and advocacy for better regulation, funding, and collaboration.
During the lifespan of the Partnership, members will agree on key topics of interest as well as on a set of common actions that will be defined in an Action Plan. This Action Plan is the key output of the Partnership and will outline a clear roadmap for the implementation of each action (steps, activities, timing, resources, responsible partners).
Have a look at this short video and find out how current partners experience their involvement in the Urban Agenda for the EU.
How to apply
Cities of all sizes, regions, Member States, Partner States, and other relevant stakeholders interested in joining the Compact Cities Partnership can apply by submitting the appropriate application.
Deadline: Applications must be submitted by 1 October 2025 at 14:00 CEST.
Apply to become partner of the Thematic Partnership on “Compact Cities”
An online applicant seminar will be held on 3 September to inform interested stakeholders about the application process, what to expect from a Thematic Partnership under the Urban Agenda, and specific details regarding the Compact Cities Partnership. Register here.
EUI support for Thematic Partnerships
Partnerships receive support from the EUI Secretariat. The Partnership will be assigned a dedicated Thematic Partnership Officer (TPO) for the duration of the Partnership. The TPO will act as the main liaison between the EUI Permanent Secretariat and the Thematic Partnership Coordinator/s, Action Leaders, and members, offering operational guidance on planning, management, and monitoring.
The support also includes access to external experts who can provide specialised knowledge to assist in the development of action plans. Additionally, financial support is available for small and medium-sized cities to participate in meetings and capacity-building activities.